• Need help with a poor top line, or to get your horse round and working in a good frame, with engagement, collection and self-carriage?
  • Want to get this done without force and enhance the relationship in the process?
  • Want a safe, sound, happy and healthy horse?
  • Want to rehabilitate a “broken” horse?
  • Want to develop a super athlete?

 

I can show you how.
These courses are taught in simple easy to understand layman’s terms. They contain the fundamental principles of biomechanics that every horse rider should know – whether they are a pleasure rider or whether they are aiming for peak performance in a specific discipline. It all starts on the ground and is then transferred to the saddle.

This two part series of courses will get you started. They go hand in hand.

Part 1 – Connection, Communication & Fundamental Feel  in  Ground skills – April 24-26

Learn to connect, communicate and feel for your horse. These skills will be the basis for relationship building, problem solving, postural development and developing a super athlete.  It gives you the skills to start influencing your horse’s posture and in this course we begin influencing the horse’s posture and movement with biomechanically correct body yields. This course also addresses the mental and emotional state of both ourselves and our horses – it is the very first thing we need to address when we want to improve posture and the physical body. For both horse and human the physical state of the body is largely influenced by the mental and emotional state

For more information about Part 1 and to book click here

N.B. Anyone who has already done the Connecting & Fundamental Feel in Groundskills  course can jump straight into part 2

 

Part 2 – Postural Development & Biomechanics – Ground work therapy – June 26-28

 

Understanding your horse’s physical body is just as important as understanding their mind and emotions, especially if you are asking your horse to do anything physically (eg. groundwork /play or riding). If what you are asking your horse to do causes them to inadvertently feel “bad”  because they are unbalanced, your timing is wrong, their body is biomechanically not well organized or they are sore, this will be relationship destroying. However if you cause your horse to feel better because you are helping them to feel more balanced, aligned, free and powerful, this will be relationship enhancing  in a big way. In this course you will learn what correct biomechanics are, what they look like and how to get your horse started in using his or her body in a better way.

When a  horse is moving with truly correct biomechanics – it will be exuding positive emotions and a positive expression. A horse with correct biomechanics will not be shut down, resigned, tense or stressed. To the contrary they will be in a state of energised, active relaxation and be happy and willing. There are many technical aspects, which we go into in the courses, which must coincide with these emotional aspects but it is helpful to know that if a horse is not in a positive emotional state, it is not possible to have truly correct biomechanics - they cannot be forced into a correct biomechanical state. They are engaging not only their hindquarters but also their heart, mind and spirit.  The horse must choose to follow your lead because they are firstly willing and secondly physically able.

All great things start with a great foundation. These courses are a foundation for success upon which incredible things can be built. The next succession of courses will teach how to develop good riding skills and biomechanics under saddle.

CASE STUDIES
Following are some before and after pictures of a few of the horses that I have worked with showing the changes in their postures. Most of these changes took place over a 6-12 week period. The process involved groundwork, riding and energetic healing and bodywork.

For more information about Part 2 and to book click here

 

Who are these courses for ?

These are fundamental principles that EVERY horse rider should know, but also for people that just want to play/work with horses on the ground or help rehabilitate horses. This program can help horses with hollow backs, weak backs, poor top lines, poor posture* ( commonly and incorrectly confused with bad conformation) , downhill horses, horses that pull themselves along with their forehand,  horses that don’t travel straight, have trouble turning, bending, picking up certain canter leads or have difficulty with you on a trot diagonal. It will give you the tools to prepare your horse to be balanced and develop some strength in preparation for riding either because your horse has been on a spell, has never learned to use his body well or  is about to be started under saddle. It can help with horses who are spooky, shy, oversensitive and reactive, impulsive or who lack impulsion and are shut down and lack energy and motivation. This teaching is VERY powerful in helping horses and humans work together in harmony and reach their highest potential.

*What is the difference between posture and conformation?

Conformation is the size and shape of the bones and posture is how the soft tissue holds the bones in place. You can’t change conformation much but you can change posture a LOT.

And the GOOD NEWS is  – most things that people refer to as conformation faults are actually postural issues !!!!

Things like –  ewe necked, hollow backed, narrow chested, splay footed, pigeon toed, cow hocked, camped out, camped under, downhill ( yes even in quarter horses there is potential to change), poor top line, mutton whithered, high whithered, roach backed, hunters bumps – just to name a few. As long as these conditions haven’t become calcified they are changeable and even with calcification (calcifications have been known to dissolve) there is still possibility for change. This is EXCITING !!!!!!

Why do healthy or correct biomechanics matter?

In a nutshell – a horse or human doing something with correct biomechanics will be more efficient, more powerful and or have more speed with less effort. The same task or activity when performed with correct biomechanics will seem relatively effortless and easy compared with poor biomechanics making it tiring, strenuous and uncomfortable, sometimes to the point of painful and damaging to the body. Good biomechanics mean there will be less strain and wear and tear on the body therefore less injury prone. Good biomechanics also lead to the better functioning of all the internal aspects of the body for example the nervous system, digestive system, cardiovascular and lymphatic system. It also puts us in a more positive mental and emotional state.

All these things add up to a horse with good biomechanics enjoying being ridden or with poor biomechanics for the experience of being ridden to be uncomfortable and even unbearable – which as you can imagine is going to lead to a lot of emotional and so called “bad” behavioural issues.

So riding can either be therapeutic and a positive experience for the horse or a detrimental and damaging experience. If we choose to ride a horse we have a responsibility to make it a positive experience for them. When it is a positive experience for them it will be an even more positive experience for us. When we can give the horse what they need they can give us what we want.

For more information about Part 1 and to book click here

For more information about Part 2 and to book click here

For questions contact Mel  (But be sure to look at the above links first because they will most likely answer most of your questions)