Helena Sodergren Equestrian

18/08/2024

I teach all my horses the parking spot. It seems like a simple thing, but it's of huge value since it lays the base of all schooling. It's an invaluable tool when teaching the horse life kills such as waiting, chill, relax and being able to calm themselves down and control their emotions. Being able to wait is super important no matter what discipline or level you aim for. It's also great way to connect and team building.

Dunstan tend to be a bit anxious so I practice the parking spot regularly, every time before we do any schooling. This gives him time to ease into the more challenging tasks and be able to relax in it.

This video shows how I work with the parking spot atm with Dunstan- before his schooling work.

07/08/2024

35 years ago I chose to take a different path in my horse riding. It was my horse Babsan who made me take the turn. She was very difficult and I almost gave up horse riding. That's when Karin came into my life. Karin showed me what true connection with a horse feels like, what true lightness is even high up in the dressage levels. She taught me what true self carriage is, what straightness and balance is and how to get there. She taught me how to help crooked, broken or injured horses recover and come to life again, no matter their breed or background.

This was the time when I gave up competing. The more I learned, the more crooked, unhappy, unbalanced horses I saw. I also saw that good horsemanship wasn't rewarded in competition. "Push and pull" was rewarded and i was already then astonished how little knowledge about biomechanics, straightness, self carriage and healthy riding was out there. The training approaches that were taught were "push and pull"- lots of leg and "catch with the hand". I never ever understood it. The more I learned from Karin, the more I understood that "push and pull" only creates tension- not self carriage, creates compressed necks, clinging jaws, tense shoulders, dropped backs and uneven hind legs.

It is mind blowing- however at the same time no surprise to see where what we used to call dressage has developed today. It's developed into its own "sport" and so far, far away from what dressage was meant to be. What we used to call dressage has turned into circus- a show for an audience.

Even though it's good that it's coming into light, I see so many misunderstandings around what has happened lately. It's not about the 24 whips that CD gave the horse during a minute. It's ABOUT THE WAY DRESSAGE TRAINING HAS DEVELOPED. Taking off nosebands, competing bridle less or without spurs won't make a difference. A complete new way of thinking is needed. A whole new mindset.

I was very lonely with the way I was training at that time, 35 years ago. I chose not to listen to people talking or laughing and just did my own thing, took the path that felt right for me. I'm still on that path and I am so grateful for that.

The article below highlights that it's not about the 24 whips CD gave the horse- it's about the training behind what you see in most of the Olympics riders right now- blue tongue says quite alot about the rider. And it's far from only one or a couple. It's a whole generation.

The equestrian governing body in charge of Olympic riding in Versailles has found pictures of horses with blue tongues caused by oxygen shortage during dressage competition.

21/07/2024

... and then Charlie takes his desensitize exercise one step too far and ripping the thing to pieces 😬

20/07/2024

Desensitized horses? I'm not a fan of exposing horses to flags, plastic bags and other stuff in order to desensitize them - unless they're already in a calm state of mind, mature and ready for the challenge and the aim is to help the horse learn how to handle his emotions and settle himself down. I believe in schooling the horse to build trust and create calmness and peace in mind to reduce stress and spookiness.

I've never worked on desensitizing my horses, and as you see in the video- they do a pretty good job themselves 😃 and my horses are pretty darn chill 😎 🥰

30/06/2024

My horses decided to go for a wander all by themselves. Eventually I found them in the neighboring (massive) paddock. I told them to go home and they did 😆 ❤️ - connectionisthekey

14/05/2024

I want to share this beautiful writeup from my dear many-year-long-student Cyndy, after our lesson yesterday. Cyndy is really putting her soul into her horse Kahu, and she's got the right mindset to become a brilliant rider. She understands that the path to becoming a great rider is long and slow, and that working through the basics is necessary to keep the horse happy in mind and body. She's learning to really understand what freedom in the shoulders of the horse feels and look like. Horses often carry alot of their tension (mental and physical) in their shoulders (similar to humans), and schooling is also a lot about being able to balance the horses mind and body, with freedom in the shoulders as a result. Thank you Cyndy for your wonderful way of putting words to your experience 🙏 ❤️ The photos are of Kahu before and after 🥰

"Thank you so much for our wonderful proactive lesson today Helena.. it has given me lots more to work with..
thinking and initiating in myself through my thoughts and body awareness, what is my intention....
fine tuning through the height and feel of soft quiet hands.
allow the outside shoulder space through my awareness of the outside rein...particularly my right hand.
Being aware of freeing kahus shoulder every step, using counterflexion when needed
initiate a feeling of lifting his inside shoulder and stepping across to help free him up in shoulderin while allowing space for him to step sideways through opening my outside hip.
Initiate when haulting a feeling of lifting his shoulders for him to sit with his haunches allowing space with my body for him to step under himself ..
Wow What fabulous learning all will be so helpful in moving forward.
Thank you ### kahu and cyn 🐎
your a star trainer Helena⭐ ⭐⭐⭐⭐"

16/03/2024

Another inspiring day in Oamaru/ Waimate/ Timaru/, so awesome to see everyone again. It's especially inspiring for me to come back and see that people have worked on their home works. Many of us have very busy lives and for some of us it's very tricky to fit in riding as much as we want to. I often tell my students that quality is more important quantity and that 15 minutes of intentional work is actually better than an hour just ploddering around. I'm feeling so lucky being able to get to know all these wonderful horses and people. I'll sort out dates for next time, looking forward to it.

24/02/2024

So awesome to see my Oamaru/ Waimate/ Timaru horse family again! I always feel absolutely exhausted but with a high stoke factor after a day up there with you guys.

I'm useless at taking photos, I'm usually too focused on my horses and people. I managed to get one this time of gorgeous team Brenda and Freckles. Freckles and Brenda have been enjoying some nice hacks this summer, which they both love. Schooling is super important for all disciplines, including hacking out. It was nice to see how much they still remembered from last time. We continued working on Brenda's seat, to help her be more balanced and "grounded" to be able to use tiny aids. Freckles is not the most forward horse, and especially for that kinda horse, less is more. It was really nice to see how he starts releasing his shoulders and move more freely- not as a result of pushing him forward but as a result of improving his balance and releasing his shoulders ❤️

Marnie wanted help with building up the topline of her fjord horse whose been out of work due to having foals. I suggested a few ground work exercises to help her improve the vertical balance, which in turn will help build the right muscles in her topline. Marnie has such a wonderful connection with her collection of horses, and it's awesome to see how interested she is in learning properly.

Tania and Ally Cat showed off their canter work- changes from left to right and right to left without difficulty. When I saw Tania and Ally Cat for the first time two or three years ago, Ally Cat couldn't take the right lead in canter. Schooling work has helped him become more symmetric and balanced, which helps his canter. We also worked on opening Tanias hips a bit more, to help her become more efficient in her seat and fine tuning their shoulder ins. I had a wee ride on Ally Cat and he really feels aw- nice and soft and balanced with good rhythm.

I saw Roxanne for the first time with a horse I've seen before- stunning Philly. Roxanne is recovering from a fall and we were doing long reining, which suits Philly very well. Philly gets anxious easily and we worked on keeping the energy levels low and get her to relax so that she could balance herself and stretch out her topline, which tends to be tied up. Roxanne is a perfect match for Philly, it was wonderful to see Philly relax her mind and body and to see how she appreciated being in that state and how Roxanne allowed her to be there. Roxanne is a dressage rider who hasn't really been guided in the classical approach of dressage before. It was a pleasure to coach her as she picked up things so easily and seem to totally understand what I talked about. I look forward to see these two progress in the near future 🥰

Thank you all for a wonderful day, I look forward to next session and I also looking forward to see those of you I missed this round 😊 🐎

24/12/2023

Merry Christmas to all my wonderful horses and people 🐎 🎄 🎅 I'm having a white Christmas with family in Sweden this year but looking forward to see you all again old and new clients next year. Photo is from 1987, of me and my very first pony Rosita, in.a cold wintery Sweden.

03/12/2023

Little Willow is being introduced to a harness for cart driving. She's super chill and not faced by much at all- except maybe the grass.

I used to do cart driving many years ago and I seem to still remember. The basics are the same as when riding- start with calmness in the horse, relaxation of the mind and an understanding of what is asked for.

I look forward to see Willow learn how to pull things like tires and eventual her little cart.

26/11/2023

Some days the waiting, the doing nothing or doing the space in between is the only thing we do. Calm energy is one of the most important cornerstones in training of my horses. When my young Dunstan becomes too eager or too high in energy, then it's time for me to guide him towards stillness and calm energy. We are practicing the parking spot in many different locations. We do more standstill than moving. Few people have patience for this, but it pays off in the long term. Without calmness and being able to wait things easily turn into chaos amd noone can learn anything during chaos. I want my horses to wait for me and to be interested in what I have to say. The waiting and the calm energy starts here, in the parking spot, and follows all the way up to the higher levels of training.

23/11/2023

Hello, a friend of mine just lost her beloved pony whos been with her since tne beginning of times, and is now looking for another sweet nature pony, 11-12hh. Is there anything out there among all my lovely horsey friends (non horsey too for that matter 😄). Caring, lovely good home with friend guaranteed.

12/11/2023

Another lovely day in Oamaru/ Waimate/ Timaru area with two and four legged locals 🐎 😁

Stunning weather and stunning horse/ rider teams. For me as a trainer It's very motivating and inspiring to work with riders who really want to learn and are willing to practice what they learn. That's when progress is happening! I'm so stoked to see every single one of you doing such awesome jobs with your horses and to see progress and improvements in yourselves as riders and in your horses.

I'm feeling so lucky and always looking forward to next time I see you 😄 🐎🦄

I really tried to take photos of everyone, however most photos were crap since I struggle do two things at the time (teach and take photos) and also I completely missed taking any photos during my last session for the day- Marnie with her beautiful standardbred. Marnie had made such beautiful connection with he newish horse, he follows her all around the farm. Photos of them next time 😊🥰

27/10/2023

One of the first rides on my wonderful Dunstan. He's super easy and a pleasure to ride and work with. Always amazingly positive, keen to work and motivated. And that's how it always should be.

To me, starting horses is an ongoing process. Backing is not the big thing- all the preparation is. With lots of thorough ground work and an understanding that the horse needs to be allowed to explore and figure out how to carry a load on his back will set both horse and rider up for a pleasant experience rather than a chaotic one.

Too many people rush from the stage of sitting on his back to the first walk, without allowing the horse to figure out how to deal with the extra weight on his back. It takes a lot for the horse to lift one foot off the ground with a load on top. It's amazing to observe how he figures that one out and how he deals with it. To be patient and allow him the time he needs sets him well up for the future. He will learn early on to carry himself and the rider with good technique and good posture and therefore is set up to be healthy later in life.

It's an amazing feeling to guide a horse from scratch- his natural balance is already there, he doesn't have any mental or physical luggages that need to be worked through. Our job is to maintain and reinforce his strengths and personality. To be able to do that we need knowledge, understanding and loads of patience.

I am brewing plans on a "Start a horse" clinic here in Dunedin, where I'll go through stages around starting a horse (not necessarily a young one) and introduction to long reining. No dates or details set yet, but please keep an eye out and Pm me if interested.

27/09/2023

Hammer on the nail....

When they swear the nervous horse is “bored with fundamentals” and is happier being pushed up the levels without the necessary skills to do those movements well

27/09/2023

This is a must see and listen for every horse person. This is a debrief from the horse dissection clinic I attended in September.

From my view, one of the huge takeaways here is that horses are amazing at masking their pain and discomfort. Charlie, the horse that was studied, was tricky to put saddle on but once on her back she was "easy" to ride. Looking at her inner, and seeing the deformation of the bones, there is no doubt she was in great pain. Horses are so darn easy to bully into work, despite the discomfort or even pain.

Over the years when I've trained horses and people and supported people in buying a horse for a certain purpose, I found that one of the challenges is to make people understand that the quiet horse is not always the most suitable one. Unfortunately, more often that's the horse with issues and pains. Weak horses are easy to ride because they don't have the strength to buck or rear or bolt.

Also, in my experience, horses that are well schooled (horses that are in balance in body and mind) feels good about themselves, they feel beautiful and strong and healthy. So, often when schooling horses and getting them healthy, strong and happy, they also become more demanding of knowledge from their human. I'm not saying more difficult, just require more sensitivity and understanding from their human. If you let the horse show their emotions (and even encourage it) then he will early on show you when something is too difficult or uncomfortable for him- which we of course want- our horse is our absolutely best teacher.

So, how do you know if a horse is quiet because of pain or actually is a quiet nature? I look at the balance and conformation of the horse, as well as behavior. If he is well balanced and got the muscles on the right place then he is more likely to be comfortable and healthy. If the gaits are uneven, if he's tight in the shoulders, has a pointy back, leaning lots towards one side, looks like an upside down banana and so on, then the alarm bells ring very loud to me. If you know what a perfectly sound horse looks like and know how it moves, then you will know if something is off. It takes time and many horses to train the eye to see this.

Horses are not made to be ridden, they need to learn how to carry a rider efficiently. Schooling is absolutely essential if you want a happy and healthy horse, no matter what discipline you choose- dressage, showjumping, eventing, cart driving, racing- even if it's "just hacking out". Just like people, horses are right or lefthanded. Of some reason, the vast majority of horses I've seen over my 30 years of experience, favor their left front and carry themselves less efficiently on their right hind (more or less). Knowledge about the horses balance and how to help him when we ride him is crucial for the horses comfort.

I so much hope that the information that is revealed now, by study the horses issues, imbalances and behavior before the dissection and then see what actually going on inside, will change the way we train and see our horses. In Charlie's case the evidence is right there- except for the girthiness (which as they point out in the video is considered a typical thoroughbred thin) she's very imbalanced in her movements and confirmation, however "easy" to ride, and then revealed to us lots of deformations in her bones, indicating a great deal of pain.

25/09/2023

What an amazing day teaching in Oamaru/ Waimate/ Timaru area. I'm stoked to see all you horses and people being so interested in learning and making such awesome progress. Awesome to see all different horses and people with different backgrounds and goals. Thank you all for having me and sharing my passion 🐎 💙

As usual I was too busy talking so forgot to take photos... here is a couple of older ones of Debbie and beautiful Boston and Tania and her Ally Cat 😊

16/09/2023

About a month ago I attended a whole horse dissection with the very knowledgeable Lindsey Field (The study of the equine hoof) , Becks Nairn and Sam K Spaans (Steepdown Horses). I have schooled horses with posture, balance and biomechanics in focus for 30 years now, and can usually point out imbalances, stiffness and issues in the horses body, and usually know what to do to fix it. However I've never seen what it really looks inside. For me this was an absolute mind blowing experience that only reinforced my belief in training horses with the classical approach I've followed since I was a teenager.

I had a lot of mind blowing moments and here are a few of my thoughts and reflections from the weekend.

- Horses are amazing at adapting and putting up with unreasonable stuff that us humans come up with, despite pains and discomforts. They are easily bullied into doing things that are expected from humans and either shut off or develop problematic behaviors. It's the ones that shut off that often draw the shortest straw since they tend to end up with beginners or unexperienced people due to their "quiet nature".

- It's our responsibility as riders to have enough knowledge and awareness to pick up on the often small signals our horses give us, before the horse shut down or become dangerous.

- The body has an absolute mind blowing capacity to repair and compensate for issues that arise. One example that I saw this weekend was how two transverse processes of lumbar vertebrates had started to overlap and built "a bridge" in between them. It looked like an "H". Likely an attempt from the body to compensate for an overflexing pelvic joint and destabilized sacrialic joint.

- It's awesome to see how people become more and more aware of issues in the horses body, and no doubt its a good start. However, the problem still remains if we don't look at ourselves and change the way we use and train our horses. It's easy to change diet, to change to a better farrier, to get the body worker out more often. While these are obviously super important parts, it's most of the times not enough and a change in ourselves and in the way we train our horses is necessary to get a sustainable good, long term result.

I follow Becks Nairns ground breaking and super important work on Facebook and patreon and I recommend any horse person to attend their clinics. I believe this is the way forward, in combination with an understanding that we have to work on ourselves and learn more about how to train our horses.