Amana Holistic Horsemanship

15/07/2023

BOOK SIGNING
Day 1, Wed 19 July
Meet at Salt Rock Hotel for a book signing with Di. (Dinner and drinks can be purchased)
Have the pleasure of meeting the author of her newly released book, "Connect".
Arrive at 6:30pm.

DEMONSTRATION
Day 3, Thurs 20 July
Meet at Sugar Rush for your morning coffee at 8:30am.
We will then convoy to The AMANA Herd just down the road where Di will give us a peep into developing the technique and will include another one of her interests, understanding the spectrum of unsoundness. She will also do a hand-on demonstration on exactly what we riders actually sit on!

Don't miss this fantastic opportunity.
She has shown many top British Riders exactly this. The subtleties of movement that many of us overlook in our hurried competitive lives!

We will serve Champagne and orange juice as well as snacks.

RSVP: Donna 0828788131 by Tues 18th July.

12/06/2023

Hacking out with friends.

12/06/2023

Winter Sunsets!!

11/06/2023

Not everyone will be ready to journey with you.

Pour into those who are ready; those who are ready to be challenged, tested, and questioned. Those who are ready to love deeper, break dysfunctional patterns, and push into uncertainty.

You will not be everyone’s cup of tea.
You can’t be everyone’s friend.
You can’t pour into a cup that’s got a lid on it.

11/06/2023

Every muscle in the horses body eventually connects to the hyoid.

Muscular Connections:
The tongue connects to the hyoid apparatus.

The hyoid apparatus has muscular connections from the throat to the forelimbs (omothyroid), shoulder (omohyoid), and sternum (sternohyoid)

The main functions of the hyoid are to support the tongue, to stabilize the pharynx involved in swallowing, and the larynx involved in breathing and vocal noise, also due to its complex fascial relationship with the cervical spine, it plays a role in maintaining the position of the head.
It’s tight relationship with the temporal bones means that it also plays a role in hearing, balance, and steering.

In osteopathy, we are taught to see how every part of the body is connected – and not only every part of the body, but everything from the structural, to the cellular fluid, to the energetic and beyond. A well trained equine osteopath (EDO) will assess the visceral and Cranial sacral along with the musculoskeletal and myofascial links. The musculoskeletal is only 30% of the problem!!

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9222872/

In horses, the hyoid apparatus is made up of several paired bones: the stylohyoid, epohyoid, ceratohyoid, and thyrohyoid, attaching to the central basihyoid bone. The basihyoid connects to the lingual process, where the tongue is attached. Unlike humans, the hyoid in horses articulates with the petrous portion of the temporal bone via the stylohyoid bone.
This joint can be prone to temporohyoid osteoarthropathy, sometimes referred to as “middle ear disease,” and is caused by an overgrowth of bone and potentially a fusion at the temporohyoid joint. This condition can affect the facial and vestibulocochlear cranial nerves (nerves 7 and 8), responsible for balance, facial expression, and eye lubrication. If your horse has one eye that consistently leaks or dries out or a floppy ear on one side, call your vet to investigate.

In my experience, having had a client with a horse that it turned out to have this, it can take a specialist vet to spot it when it's in its early stages before the eye or ear is affected.
The diagnostics done by a vet are the only way to diagnose this. As a therapist, I've only ever seen the strange cranial things I was feeling turn out to be this the once. Underdiagnosed? It's a question for sure.

Tack/gadgets that restrict the mobility of the mouth and jaw n therefore swallowing, and training that creates forced and false flexion at the poll, can significantly inhibit breathing as well as balance and movement throughout the horse’s whole body. Shut down one end, you shut down whole horse movement. It's that simple!

In horses, we also see the connection of the occipitohyoid muscle from the poll to the hyoid, which extends through fascial lines down the nuchal ligament and myofascial chains along the spine and back so......

⚠️ an issue in the poll, of which I've seen 3 in one day just this last week as its so common- can affect the hyoid and the health and relaxation of the back!❗️

Pull back injuries ARE SO COMMON. Just the once is enough to set up an imbalance that, over time, will travel through the body. Therefore, I feel its important horse owners have skills to be able to check their own horse!

https://facebook.com/events/s/horse-owners-empowerment-cours/216833067598885/

Over the next week, I will do a video of how to check your horses hyoid for tension to detext imbalances or discomfort.

🌷🌻I also teach this on my horse owners Empowerment Course (August and October next dates 12 participants max)

See previous post for a video of me working on a ponies hyoid. It's extremely enjoyable done correctly.

Photo: iStock/Mishella

11/06/2023

FREE TRAILER LOADING

I am offering a free trailer-loading session for a horse that has developed difficulties. This session will be filmed for Heartfelt Horsemanship's Patreon page, and I would like to have spectators allowed too.
While I would love to be called out to help with horses fo their first-ever trailer loading, this needs to be a horse that has substantial difficulty. First-time trailer-loadings are usually an easy affair when done well, which is certainly ideal, but I need to be able to help people from a distance with horses that have already learned unhealthy habits.
It is worth pointing out that I no longer adopt the typical ' Natural horsemanship' approach to trailer loading.
I also won't be loading horses backwards, this was just a horse that build confidence going in backwards!
The offer is for the greater Hillcrest /Summerveld /Shongweni area.

10/06/2023

Face to Face
Through my Horsemanship, The Creator has revealed himself to me as my leader, my partner, my equal.... This has been my journey with each horse I work with as well.
I start with leading, helping the horse to feel safe enough to yield to my lightest pressure. I lead by putting boundaries, always in love and being consistent with those boundaries.
I lead by asking politely with love... No fear.
I look inward when things don't go as planned and I let go of my ego, my false identity.
I become aware of emotional patterns and triggers that pop up in me and I surrender them to The Father.
I enjoy my journey of Remembering who I am.
I feel safe because my Lord keeps showing up and is always patient, kind, gentle and consistent with me.... I have grown to trust Him with my life.
My goal is to become this kind of leader for each horse I work with!

09/06/2023

09/06/2023

AMANA
From Song of Songs 4:7
"Now you are ready, my bride, to come with me as we climb the highest peaks together.
Come with me through the archway of trust."
(The Crest of AMANA is the place where all God's promises are kept and realized.
AMANA can also be translated "a place of settled security".)

I believe in our Union with God.
I believe that we are ALL included in His love.
I believe that he lives in me and In you.
I believe that we are all one.
I believe that he is in all of creation.
I believe that we are already living in the heavenly realms.
I believe that there is only one True Reality.
God is LOVE.

15/04/2023

😂

21/01/2023

Every day I find time to walk into the paddock and just visit with my herd.
I have been practising this for a few months now and I make sure that I am not in a rush to get anywhere. I spend quality time with each horse either being still with them, loving on them or talking to them.
I also have no agenda. I don’t get offended if one walks away and doesn’t feel like connecting on that day.
I know that I have become an important part of the herd and I can see that they truly love my company.
This last journey that I have been on has changed me and I’m so grateful for these magical creatures who have held the space for me to grow into a better horse woman…. They are my best teachers!💕

01/12/2022

What does it mean to hold space?
To hold space for another being is something that I am holding very close to my heart at the moment.
I spent months learning how to hold space for horses and now I’m seeing it transfer into holding space for my fellow human beings.
The other day, a beautiful friend, Rachel Janse van Vuuren, held space for me and I’ve seen how that time with her, redirected my thought patterns, brought peace once again to me and reminded me of who I am.
Be Still and know that I am God!
The God of this Universe lives inside of you and He wants to unleash his great power in your life. It starts with being centred, still, calm, quiet, peaceful, patient, gentle and kind.
Contact me and i will teach you how to hold space for your horse!
Let go of trauma, anxiety and fear and regain love, trust, connection and relationship!
0828788131

23/11/2022

17/11/2022

Always choose to see the Beauty!🍃💕🍃

🦅

We all have a Medicine Woman inside of us.
It’s an energy you can call forth.🙏🏽

True leaders don't create followers,
they create more leaders.

🖊: Sheree Bliss Tilsley .spirit.medicine

09/11/2022

Does R+ (clicker training) create robots? Can two-way communication happen with positive reinforcement training?

Two-way communication is the result of two beings conveying information, listening, understanding, and responding.. with each other. If any one of the participants isn't listening or understanding or conveying information, communication is cut off. OR, if one voice is so very loud and controlling, that the other voice is being silenced and suppressed... A one-way conversation is happening.

Regardless of the type of training you use, if you're having a one-way conversation with your horse...if you're talking AT your horse and you're not listening to what they are telling you, you are creating a robot.

Horses are communicating with us all the time, especially during the times we are tempted to suppress it with punishment. When a horse bites, they are communicating. When they kick, they are communicating. Punishment tells the horse they are not allowed to communicate.

They communicate in much subtler ways too.. a swish of the tail, moving their ears to the side, pausing and looking off into the distance, a yawn, a sideways look, a head shake...This is your horse communicating with you. If you ignore it and cue again, add pressure, increase the value of your food reward, remove the access to reinforcement, or punish it...You're having a one-sided conversation.

Training like this may result in a horse that does exactly what you say, only when you say it, and wouldn't dare think to do otherwise. They shut down, they go past their comfort zones, they stop communicating what and how they feel because nobody listens to them anyway...(why bother?) OR, they start shouting (sometimes VERY LOUDLY) at whomever, in an attempt to be heard.

So yes, two-way communication DOES happen when training with positive reinforcement, and NO it does *not* create robots ... Unless you aren't listening to your horse, understanding what they are telling you, and respecting it.

16/09/2022

Chair Seat

The chair seat is often considered the mark of an inexperienced rider who has not yet mastered the ability to keep their leg beneath them, completely ignoring the simple fact that the leg SHOUDN'T have to be held beneath you to achieve correct alignment. The act of holding one's leg in position removes all fluidity and suppleness required to move with the horse and utilize the seat and leg aids properly. The tension required to constantly hold yourself in a position not only makes the rider a jackhammer in the saddle but decreases stability in the saddle as well while reducing how much and how well they're able to communicate with the horse and feel the subtle ways the horse moves beneath them.

The chair seat is often a symptom of the equipment not fitting the rider and forcing them to shift around to find comfort and support, but also simply pulling the rider into a position that is not conducive to soft and balanced riding.

The key areas that affect rider position are:
Seat Width
Twist (a commonly misunderstood/misidentified part of the saddle)
Waist (also commonly misidentified)
Stirrup bar length & placement
Seat balance
Seat pitch

When any of these areas are not fitted to the rider, consciously or not, the rider will shift to alleviate pressure, find support and find some semblance of balance.

Seat Width - too narrow and the rider will find themselves shifting back to get support beneath their seat bones.

Twist - too wide and the rider feels pulled apart at the hips, routinely shifting back and adjusting their leg to be more in front of them to find some comfort.

Waist - Too narrow and it rubs against the 'underwear line' something that males do not experience.

Stirrup bar - too forward/too short and it pulls the leg in front of the rider.

Seat balance - too far back and the rider feels behind the movement, having to lean forward to stay in balance with the horse.

Seat pitch - if shaped like a roof it will press and impact against the p***c region, forcing the rider to either shift back and away or to tilt the pelvis back, losing the neutral seat.

14/09/2022

Yes! We can take command over our mind. And, when we do, we will start to realize how the mind is the beginning of any action, speech we put out into the world.. harnessing and shifting what we choose to fill our minds with and how we direct our thoughts; the overflow of this has a profound impact on..well... your whole life...

14/09/2022

September/Oct holidays around the corner! - a truely beautiful opportunity for your daughter, don't miss out!

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18/08/2022

AMANA Community. I love meeting new friends!

18/08/2022

My beautiful Tack Room at AMANA Rehabilitation Centre!♥️ Our rescue dog Meekah also being rehabbed with love!

18/08/2022

Love hanging out in the paddock with my amazing partner Tsi!♥️ We planned to work horses that day but spent 2 hours hanging in the paddock with them instead!

18/08/2022

AMANA Community Work.

18/08/2022

Kyla enjoying using positive reinforcement with Promise Keeper, my two year old Appaloosa X Shire.

18/08/2022

AMANA Connection. Young Lexi working with my old man, Simba♥️

18/08/2022

My partner Tsi and I working on Pillar 3 of the Balance Through Movement Method. Teaching the horses to mirror us and Abduct. What a lovely journey we are on and so happy to be adding this work to our AMANA Holistic Horsemanship!!!