Canter Therapy

By Dr Shelley Appleton and Kathryn ChristiesonEducation Self-Improvement

Canter Therapy episodes

September 18, 2022 46: Herd Dynamics with Kerry M Thomas Part 5
PTSD in Horses: And we are back for Part 5 of our Herd Dynamics Series. In this episode we dive into the idea of PTSD in our horses and what it looks like. PTSD doesn’t just happen from that time your horse was beaten with a whip, it’s much more complicated than that. We need to be aware of the ways in which we keep horses and the impact of their living environment has on them.
Every physical response we get from a horse is linked to an emotion that they are feeling. We need to set them up to successfully navigate situations, being a sense of safety and contentment to their lives.
‘Horses are emotional creatures and respond to how they feel. People are scared of the emotions of horses and just want the learned behaviours to be the only thing (they show)’
59 min
September 10, 2022 45: Emotional Horsemanship with Lockie Phillips
Lockie Phillips brings empathy to horsemanship. Through his experiences as a professional dancer he has learnt so many lessons which can help us improve the equestrian community. A fantastic conversation, touching on so many important ideas. Find him on Facebook and Instagram @Emotional Horsemanship https://www.emotionalhorsemanship.com
54 min
August 12, 2022 44: Herd Dynamics with Kerry Thomas Part 4
Breed Traits: We are so excited to have Kerry back for Part 4 of our Herd Dynamics Series. This week we got to delve into a conversation about breeding horses and the consideration of herd dynamics when choosing mares and stallions. While athleticism and conformation are important aspects, we feel that behavioural genetics are often left out and harder to define. Kerry talks about his experiences breeding for specific herd dynamic traits and this allows us to go even deeper into the ideas we have previously discussed.
‘The less road block you have in the way mentally, the quicker the coaching, the faster things are going to go for you’
50 min
July 31, 2022 43: Horsemanship Insights with Amy Skinner
Amy Skinner is an incredible influence in the equestrian world. She writes amazingly and manages to merge the ideas of horsemanship and classical dressage for relaxed and harmonious relationships with our horses. Find her on Facebook and Instagram @Amy Skinner Horsemanship https://amyskinnerhorsemanship.com/
38 min
July 16, 2022 42: The Art of Seeing the Horse with Tami Elkayam
Tami Elkayam is an equine bodyworker based in San Jose, USA. She is an incredible equine body worker, writer, artist and educator that can change the way to see and appreciate horses bodies forever.
In this interview Tami describes how her journey started and how her intense interest and passion for understanding the horse's body has furthered her education and ability to track down the root cause of problems.
Such a super fascinating episode and a great expert to follow on social media as she is so dedicated to sharing her insights.

Find her on Facebook at: Tami Elkayam Equine Bodywork, Website: https://elkayamequinetherapy.com. and her excellent educational resources on Vimeo: Elkayam Equine Therapy.
41 min
July 08, 2022 41: Herd Dynamics with Kerry Thomas Part 3
Understanding Outsourcing: We are joined again by Kerry Thomas for Part 3 of this fantastic conversation about Herd Dynamics. In this episode we talk about some real life situations, delving into it from the horses point of view and understanding them better. We discuss horses going out and about at competitions, separation anxiety and how to thoughtfully manage herds at home.
To find out more about Kerry and his services check out his website: https://thtbloodstock.com

54 min
July 01, 2022 40: The Importance of the Autonomic Nervous System
Recently there has been lots of discussion about the autonomic nervous system. Shelley and I discuss the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system and their impact (or lack of) on the way that we train horses.
Inspired by the explanations of the stress response described and documented by American Psychiatrist Bruce D Perry, a well-known expert in trauma.
1 hr 2 min
June 24, 2022 39: Foal Handling & Training with Luke Thomas
Luke Thomas is the absolute master of handling foals. Over the last few years he’s handled thousands (literally) of foals and learnt how to ‘hack’ them. You’ll be surprised when he explains what he can achieve in 10 days with only 10-15 minutes a day
1 hr 4 min
June 12, 2022 38: Lessons from Mustangs
A fascinating interview with Amber Espinoza from Isidro Espinoza Horsemanship (Arizona, USA). Amber and Isidro train horses for the public and have a special interest in competing in Extreme Mustang Makeover competitions and Endurance racing. We discuss common problems of taming mustangs, the needs of working with these horses and the lessons they teach. Amber also describes the complexities of the wild horse situation.
They share their stories, knowledge and skill via social media and have created a new platform called the "Perpetual Training Toolbox" - because with mustangs you can NEVER stop learning. They have numerous approaches ready to share through their video library, community and monthly Q&A sessions.
To find out more about Amber and Isidro check to their website: isidroespinozahorsemanship.com
59 min
June 02, 2022 37: Herd Dynamics with Kerry Thomas Part 2
Inherent Tendencies Verses Learned Behaviour
In this second brilliant conversation with Kerry Thomas we delve into more insights into herd dynamics and how important it is to recognise and appreciate the horse at this level of their individual hard wiring. Kerry introduces the idea of a horse's individual herd dynamics and the extent of their basic instincts to outsource to a herd the processing of sensory changes in their environment and emotional stress. In other words when horses get triggered to feel stressed, either by changes in their environment or acute stress they may be experiencing when being worked, they will be triggered to seek the reassurance and comfort of other horses. When this is not able to be done, they will struggle and may become emotional and distressed. Part of developing a good partnership and connection with the horse is being able to nurture their abilities to do this but to also get them to turn towards us to help them feel a sense of security when they are triggered. In other words, they need to look toward us. Kerry explains how important it is to modify training approaches for individual horses. For example, horses that may be slow to struggle to process sensory data and distance may need more time to adjust to fence height changes in show jumping. Unfortunately, horse's struggling with this might be misinterpreted as being difficult and put under more pressure which can lead to the horse becoming overwhelmed. This episode will deepen your understanding and appreciation of horses and their emotional response to situations and how we can help them.
55 min

About Canter Therapy

From the publisher's feed

A podcast hosted by Dr. Shelley Appleton of Calm Willing Confident Horses and Kathryn Christieson of Firenza Park Equine Services on all things horse and learning