While most people tend to focus on strength and cardiovascular fitness, balance training is a critical component to well rounded athleticism, and can be done with horses at any level of training.

As riders we have all had that feeling that our horse fell into a halt transition, taking an awkward step to rebalance and catch himself. The inability of the horse to shift his weight back is cause of many poor upward and downward transitions.

And all too commonly, horses struggle to re-engage their balance for the second or third element in a triple combination, resulting in a shortened step, loss of scope or even rails.

Join me for today’s episode where I go in-depth into how the horse’s visual, vestibular, and proprioceptive systems work together to recover his balance. And, I chat about how we challenge those systems in un-mounted balance training exercises to improve conditioning, enhance under tack techniques and improve automatic reactions in the horse.

The benefits of this type of training are HUGE and include:

• Improved functional strength of muscles (which can lead to a reduction in injuries caused by fatigue)
• Improved reflex time and co-ordination
• Reduced pain in the back, neck and weight bearing joints due to a strengthened core and thoracic sling
• Improved static and dynamic posture and postural control

This type of training is the finesse you and your horse have been looking for!

PLEASE CONSIDER RATING, REVIEWING AND FOLLOWING THIS SHOW.

This will help us reach more people and more horses, to support their journey and relationship together.

LINKS RELATED TO THIS EPISODE:
>> Balancing Act™️ https://starlinebodywork.com/online-education

Connect with us:
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Website - starlinebodywork.com

DISCLAIMER:
The ideas expressed in this podcast are opinions only, and are not substitutes for proper veterinary care, veterinary medicine and other forms of bodywork. The opinions are not intended to be prescriptive or diagnostic in nature.

With the excitement of show season being just around the corner, now is often a time when we increase workouts to get ready for the spring circuit.

Halt!

Before you get going, it’s important to have a close look at your horse’s tissue preparation. You should be making a plan for long-term success, and map out the best way to reach long term goals.

In this episode I will outline and explain the 5 mistakes to avoid going into show season. These include:

• Too much focus on skill acquisition and not enough focus on tissue preparedness.
• Too much training on the same footing.
• Too much focus on getting ready for the first show/ not enough focus on staying sound for the whole season.
• Having no baseline for mobility and no frequent check-ins on your horse’s body.
• Not being sure your horse has a good base for increased workload.

Let’s get you ready for success the whole season long!

PLEASE CONSIDER RATING, REVIEWING AND FOLLOWING THIS SHOW.

This will help us reach more people and more horses, to support their journey and relationship together.

LINKS RELATED TO THIS EPISODE:
>> Online Equine Kinesiology Taping Course: stuckupcourse.com
>> Triumph Equine Kinesiology Tape: triumphtape.com

Connect with us:
Instagram - @starlineequinebodywork
Pinterest - https://pin.it/7kvSCpt
Website - starlinebodywork.com

DISCLAIMER:
The ideas expressed in this podcast are opinions only, and are not substitutes for proper veterinary care, veterinary medicine and other forms of bodywork. The opinions are not intended to be prescriptive or diagnostic in nature.

Over the course of several cycles of “Stuck Up: Equine Kinesiology Taping Course” I have had the incredible honour of working with some amazing horse owners and bodywork professionals.

Join me for today’s episode where I chat with some former students.

I will be chatting to a horse owner who took her new found skills and launched a highly successful and exciting equine kinesiology taping business.

I also talk with a horse owner whose drive to help her own horse overcome his obstacles brought her into the taping world. Now she’s out helping her friends’ and family’s horses achieve greater success through taping.

And lastly we will chat with an experienced bodywork practitioner who has used Stuck Up protocols as an added service to her business, and has been able to help transform her client‘s horses between sessions with taping homework!

These students are nothing short of inspirational. Their stories are just some of the amazing Stuck Up: Equine Kinesiology Taping Course successes.

Join the course for this cycle. Enrolment closes March 31/2023.

PLEASE CONSIDER RATING, REVIEWING AND FOLLOWING THIS SHOW.

This will help us reach more people and more horses, to support their journey and relationship together.

LINKS RELATED TO THIS EPISODE:
>> triumphtape.com
>> Join our popular and acclaimed online equine kinesiology taping course stuckupcourse.com
>> @orangegirltaping
>> @viksequestrianlife

Connect with us:
Instagram - @starlineequinebodywork
Pinterest - https://pin.it/7kvSCpt
Website - starlinebodywork.com

DISCLAIMER:
The ideas expressed in this podcast are opinions only, and are not substitutes for proper veterinary care, veterinary medicine and other forms of bodywork. The opinions are not intended to be prescriptive or diagnostic in nature.

I have been really thrilled to hear that so many of you have tried taping a little bit already. And it seems many of you have the exact same questions about making your applications successful.

I hear you. Yes, learning to tape does require some know-how. But once you’ve mastered the techniques, I’m know you can do it too.

Today I’d love for you to pour your favourite cup of tea or coffee and have a listen to this episode. I am chatting about the 5 mistakes people make when taping their horses (and of course, how to fix them!).

PLEASE CONSIDER RATING, REVIEWING AND FOLLOWING THIS SHOW.

This will help us reach more people and more horses, to support their journey and relationship together.

LINKS RELATED TO THIS EPISODE:
>> triumphtape.com
>> Join our popular and acclaimed online equine kinesiology taping course: stuckupcourse.com

Connect with us:
Instagram - @starlineequinebodywork
Pinterest - https://pin.it/7kvSCpt
Website - starlinebodywork.com

DISCLAIMER:
The ideas expressed in this podcast are opinions only, and are not substitutes for proper veterinary care, veterinary medicine and other forms of bodywork. The opinions are not intended to be prescriptive or diagnostic in nature.

You have kinesiology taping questions. I have answers!

Join me for today’s episode where I answer all of the equine taping questions I get asked in my email, by clients, in my coaching groups, and in my DM’s.

These include answers to:

What does it achieve?
What does tape colour mean?
What are contraindications to taping?
How do you handle winter hair and clipped hair when taping?
Can you re-use tape?
Can you ride in tape?
Is tape competition legal?
Does tape direction matter?
How long do I leave tape on for?
Who can take Stuck Up (our online equine kinesiology taping course)?

So if you have unanswered questions, grab a coffee and have a listen!


PLEASE CONSIDER RATING, REVIEWING AND FOLLOWING THIS SHOW.

This will help us reach more people and more horses, to support their journey and relationship together.

LINKS RELATED TO THIS EPISODE:
>> triumphtape.com
>> Join our popular and acclaimed online equine kinesiology taping course stuckupcourse.com

Connect with us:
Instagram - @starlineequinebodywork
Pinterest - https://pin.it/7kvSCpt
Website - starlinebodywork.com

DISCLAIMER:
The ideas expressed in this podcast are opinions only, and are not substitutes for proper veterinary care, veterinary medicine and other forms of bodywork. The opinions are not intended to be prescriptive or diagnostic in nature.

Join me for this episode where I spill some of the professional secrets to getting the most from your equine kinesiology taping applications.

From surface preparation, to tape storage (and everything in between), these 6 strategies will help you become wildly successful when taping your own horses!

I’ve even put together a FREE download to ensure you have all of my secrets on hand when you need them. I have linked to it below!

PLEASE CONSIDER RATING, REVIEWING AND FOLLOWING THIS SHOW.

This will help us reach more people and more horses, to support their journey and relationship together.

LINKS RELATED TO THIS EPISODE:
>> triumphtape.com
>> Join our popular and acclaimed online equine kinesiology taping course stuckupcourse.com
>> Equine Kinesiology Tape Secrets:
6 Strategies To Get The Most From Your Tape Application (FREE DOWNLOAD)
https://view.flodesk.com/pages/63dc1995781752946ff2ade4

Connect with us:
Instagram - @starlineequinebodywork
Pinterest - https://pin.it/7kvSCpt
Website - starlinebodywork.com

DISCLAIMER:
The ideas expressed in this podcast are opinions only, and are not substitutes for proper veterinary care, veterinary medicine and other forms of bodywork. The opinions are not intended to be prescriptive or diagnostic in nature.

Several years back I was sitting in the stands at a horse show and heard the people behind me talking about kinesiology tape. “How the heck can a tiny piece of tape effect a horse?!?!”

It is a very valid question, and it was all I could do not to turn around and explain!

Join me in this episode where I unpack the science of taping.

I look at using the hair of the horse and all of its nerve endings to our great advantage.

This of course leads into the Pain Gate Theory, and how we can use tape as a stimulus to reduce pain signals too the brain.

I go beyond the mechanical uses of tape in muscle inhibition and activation. I chat about its use in lymphatic situations, and even as an outside input to send different information to the central nervous system about movement quality.

This is an information packed episode, full of scientific reasons to look at kinesiology taping for your horse.


PLEASE CONSIDER RATING, REVIEWING AND FOLLOWING THIS SHOW.

This will help us reach more people and more horses, to support their journey and relationship together.

LINKS RELATED TO THIS EPISODE:
>>Pain Gate Theory: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=M-rL8XdHo6Q&feature=emb_logo
>> Join our popular and acclaimed online equine kinesiology taping course: stuckupcourse.com
>> triumphtape.com

Connect with us:
Instagram - @starlineequinebodywork
Pinterest - https://pin.it/7kvSCpt
Website - starlinebodywork.com

DISCLAIMER:
The ideas expressed in this podcast are opinions only, and are not substitutes for proper veterinary care, veterinary medicine and other forms of bodywork. The opinions are not intended to be prescriptive or diagnostic in nature.

In today’s episode I will be looking at things that, while they may be common thought and practice, actually go against the science of training the horse’s body. 

This is not an episode about stifles, but they do have a lot to do with the inspiration behind this episode. If you have ever had a horse with weak stifles and have wanted to try hills or weighted boots, this episode will make you think! 

We look at some basic themes:

1. Don’t do something you can’t do, and do it under a load. Remember injury happens when the load you introduce exceeds the capacity of the tissues to handle that load. If you know you have weak or dysfunctional tissues, DON’T LOAD THEM. Hill work counts as loading.
2. I chat about being able to assess what the horse is capable of, and programming its loading capacity based on this. This affects group lessons and clinic planning! Are all the horses in the group physically prepared for the exercises? Can blanket homework solutions even be possible for strength training and injury recovery?
3. I look at the internal and external systems at play to produce good movement. This includes the up regulation of certain skills from outside influences, and the afferent feedback from the body itself.
4. I discuss the order in which we should proceed when training horses as athletes: Correcting their body first, setting up the tissues for the ability to receive the capacity of loading, and when tissue loading (like hill work) could more safely be added.

To be honest, this episode covers a lot. So grab a coffee and sink in! 

PLEASE CONSIDER RATING, REVIEWING AND FOLLOWING THIS SHOW.

This will help us reach more people and more horses, to support their journey and relationship together.

Connect with us:
Instagram - @starlineequinebodywork
Pinterest - https://pin.it/7kvSCpt
Website - starlinebodywork.com

DISCLAIMER:
The ideas expressed in this podcast are opinions only, and are not substitutes for proper veterinary care, veterinary medicine and other forms of bodywork. The opinions are not intended to be prescriptive or diagnostic in nature.

I have heard more than one professional bodywork practitioner say they don’t feel the “carrot stretch” (Dynamic Mobilization Exercise) that puts the horse’s chin to their chest is necessary. In fact, they implied it is rehearsing Rolkur (or deep hyper flexion under tack).

I have a very different opinion.

Join me for this episode where we define the difference between passive and dynamic movement, discuss the interdependence of one joint to another, and the importance of working through all available ranges of motion.

PLEASE CONSIDER RATING, REVIEWING AND FOLLOWING THIS SHOW.

This will help us reach more people and more horses, to support their journey and relationship together.

LINKS RELATED TO THIS EPISODE:

>> https://starlinebodywork.com/online-education

THE DME’S Challenge™️ SELF STUDY FORMAT

Connect with us:
Instagram - @starlineequinebodywork
Pinterest - https://pin.it/7kvSCpt
Website - starlinebodywork.com

DISCLAIMER:
The ideas expressed in this podcast are opinions only, and are not substitutes for proper veterinary care, veterinary medicine and other forms of bodywork. The opinions are not intended to be prescriptive or diagnostic in nature.

Guys…. Seriously, turnout is not training.

Turnout has MANY benefits. 
*Fresh air
*Mental stimulation
*Socialization
*Light exercise and movement
*Ability to forage and graze

Yes! These are amazing things.

But turnout alone is not going to make an athlete out of your horse.

In this episode we will take a look at the natural, evolutionary model of what horses were made to do.

What we do in sport tests the body’s capacities, and it celebrates its abilities. It is not what it was naturally made to do.

Turnout alone doesn’t produce the tissue set up and joint articular health to create athletes.
But, neither does under tack training alone.

But how then do we prepare the joints and soft tissues for SPORT?

Joint mobilizations are a great place to start!

Mobilizations are a tool to train the body, creating a better afferent feedback loop to the Central Nervous System about movement quality.

Further, synovial joints need to move to imbibe the joint’s cartilage with nutrients!

Next time you drive down the driveway and see the horses in the paddock watch them.  Take a moment to ask yourself, “Is what they are doing now putting their joints and soft tissues through ranges of motion I am asking for under tack?” Then ask, “Is it fair that I haven’t prepared the body for these movements and still ask my horse for them under tack?”

Trust me when I say, body training or tissue preparation is an important part of helping these horses celebrate their athletic potential. And turnout alone isn’t going to make them a more physically prepared athlete.

PLEASE CONSIDER RATING, REVIEWING AND FOLLOWING THIS SHOW.

This will help us reach more people and more horses, to support their journey and relationship together.

LINKS RELATED TO THIS EPISODE:

>> https://starlinebodywork.com/online-education

EASY MOBILIZATION AND SOFT TISSUE RELEASE TECHNIQUES™️

Connect with us:
Instagram - @starlineequinebodywork
Pinterest - https://pin.it/7kvSCpt
Website - starlinebodywork.com

DISCLAIMER:
The ideas expressed in this podcast are opinions only, and are not substitutes for proper veterinary care, veterinary medicine and other forms of bodywork. The opinions are not intended to be prescriptive or diagnostic in nature.