July 2022 I went through the Buteyko breathing practitioner training to add a tool to my tool kit when working with the horses and my students. I didn't expect to be so thoroughly impressed by how easily it taps in to our nervous system, although I shouldn't have been surprised with how intimately our breath and nervous system are connected. Mim has been kind enough to offer a quick 3 minute exercise for you to try out with your horses or just by yourself. 

It has taken a couple of months practise to build the body awareness and understand the symptoms associated with the shift of nervous system state as well as getting used to how the horses respond and reading their body language in responses and with each practice the horses show us new and exciting things.

To work with Mim you can jump over to her website. https://mimbeim.com/ 

And if you would like to do the breath training online via zoom you can check that out here. https://mimbeim.com/services/breathe-well-online-course/

If you have been following along with us for a while and know how to recognise tension holding, tension releasing and relaxation cues jump over to our stronger bond community and share how you are seeing your horse respond to the breathing. https://www.facebook.com/groups/5dayimprovehorserelationship

When it comes to training theory, operant conditioning tends to be touted as our gold standard. However, if you've been following us for any period of time you will understand why training isn't this black and white. 

In the latest episode of the First Do No Harm Podcast, I share some of my biggest take home lessons from the application of negative reinforcement/pressure release and how it made me a worse training for a period of time while I stumbled back to the middle ground.

We love hearing your aha moments! Jump over to instagram and share with us your biggest take home and don't forget to tag us! https://www.instagram.com/equestrian_movement/

Missing the relationship component in training? Grab our free connection training here 

In this episode I'm going to dig in to one of my many failings - as per normal, my emotional agility for frustration. 

Frustration is a biologically, hard-wired response, and any time you have yourself and your horse set a goal and a time frame it is inevitable that you will be at the mercy of frustration. 

I've been there, trust me.

In this episode I'm going to share with you some ways I have been working on navigating frustration, so that if you are like me, you can work on your own emotional agility. 

Are you experiencing frustration, or have your own tips? Keep the conversation going and join us in the stronger bond community here

Check out our free online connection training here

In this episode Sarah hijacks the mic to interview me! We talk about the highs and lows 2022, strategic and intentional shaping plans in all areas of our life, why security and stability is vital to your horses mental and emotional health and how this builds trust and confidence. 

Looking for a likeminded community to share training notes? Join our stronger bond community.

Grab our free connection training and see what a difference a relationship oriented plan can make

Happy 100th episode!!!

We are talking about goal setting and what setting audacious goals look like. 

(Hint: Its a lot of overcoming frustration and recommitting to the goal!)

In this episode I am going to talk about the 3 key elements I have learnt while learning to do this podcast are critical to achieving big goals set. 

Keep the conversation going: What is your big audacious goal you are working towards? Share it with us in the stronger bond community

Register for our free connection training here

Sarah’s been kicked out of the nest! (So to speak)

In episode 100 of the First Do No Harm Podcast, we are looking at Sarah's training experience for 2022.

Sarah's biggest win for the year was spreading her little wins as she navigated her training obstacles solo with the knowledge she has. Sarah shares how she worked the problem and built confidence in herself and her horse.Looking for a community to support you navigating training obstacles with a holistic approach? Join our the stronger bond community.

Grab the free connection training here

Join us for part 2 of our chat with Celeste from wild magic llc. Celeste is the creator of the balance through movement method which is an whole horse development program. The 3 pillars of the program are, relationship to connection, center of balance and spinal integrity with a focus on nerve impingement release and prevention.

Join Celeste's masterclass here

Check her out and follow Celeste on facebook 

Check out Celeste's website here

Join us for part 2 of our chat with Celeste from wild magic llc. Celeste is the creator of the balance through movement method which is an whole horse development program. The 3 pillars of the program are, relationship to connection, center of balance and spinal integrity with a focus on nerve impingement release and prevention.

Join Celeste's masterclass here

Check her out and follow Celeste on facebook 

Check out Celeste's website here

Join us for part 1 of our chat with Celeste from wild magic llc. Celeste is the creator of the balance through movement method which is an whole horse development program. The 3 pillars of the program are, relationship to connection, center of balance and spinal integrity with a focus on nerve impingement release and prevention.

Join Celeste's masterclass here

Check her out and follow Celeste on facebook 

Check out Celeste's website here

Some of the behaviours we see in our horse and want to "fix" our horses aren't always in control of. If our horse has a reactive behaviour to an environmental stimulus and is punished for it they learn nothing because they can't change that behaviour themselves anyway. 

An important part of training is watching for our horses nervous system response to our ask. Are they holding tension or releasing tension? If they are holding tension and we continue to push they do inevitably reach the point of no longer being able to control their behaviour because they no longer have control over their nervous system and hormonal response. It is our job to see tension holding and use our emotional agility exercises to support their experience of the ask.

Want to develop less reactive and more responsive behaviours? Check out our free online connection training here