The Equestrian Connection

Susan Tenney is the founder of Elemental Acupressure, where she has trained animal professionals in Five Element Acupressure and EnergyWork™ for over three decades.

Originally certified in shiatsu and acupressure at the Shiatsu Institute of San Francisco, Susan built her equine practice in Northern California before expanding into an international career that blends Classical East Asian Medicine with modern bodywork, anatomy, biomechanics, and the EnergyWork™ system she co-developed with her husband, Jonathan Cohn.

Her client roster has included school horses and elite competitors alike, among them the Swiss Equestrian Teams and Gold Medal–winning teams and riders for the USET. As her practice grew, Susan began teaching across the U.S., Canada, and Europe, leading equine acupressure certification programs in several countries and teaching for internationally recognized schools such as Equinology. She is the author of Basic Acupressure for Horses, published in English and German, with her writing appearing in leading equine publications worldwide.

Now based in Seattle, Susan leads the Elemental Acupressure Certification Program and a range of online trainings that draw students from more than 40 countries. She is known for making complex concepts genuinely accessible — and for the lasting impact her method has on both practitioners and the animals in their care.

Connect with Susan:

Kelly Wendorf is the founder & CEO of EQUUS, an executive and personal coach, published author, spiritual mentor, and socially responsible entrepreneur.

Her early experiences were vitally and deeply shaped by the natural and ancient world around her where she learned a way of listening to forces within people, nature and moments. Throughout her life she has lived and worked around the world, studying with many spiritual and Indigenous leaders in India, Africa, Indonesia and Australia.

Kelly founded, edited and published Kindred magazine, an evidence-based publication that explores the social, cultural and biological underpinnings of a compassionate society. Here she spent 15 years immersed in the field of neuroscience and neuropsychology and its relationship to social justice and transformative cultural change. Kelly also authored and Edited Stories of Belonging, an anthology from authors around the world, including the often excluded Indigenous voices. Her latest book, Flying Lead Change, was released in December 2020.

As the founder of EQUUS, and as an intuitive lifelong horsewoman, she also developed The EQUUS Experience® — an award-winning equine-assisted transformational learning process.

Together with her team, Kelly continues to develop and grow The EQUUS Experience, Wisdom Circles, and EQUUS’s other complimentary processes that curate various awareness-based frameworks that create breakthrough learning and discovery.

Connect with EQUUS:

Dr. Steve Peters is a board-certified clinical neuropsychologist and internationally recognized equine neuroscientist. With more than three decades of experience in brain research and clinical practice, he brings together human and equine neuroscience to support thoughtful, science-informed horsemanship.

For more than a decade, Dr. Peters has presented neuroscience concepts to equestrian audiences across the United States and internationally. And in recent years, he founded Horse Brain Science Clinics, combining classroom instruction, live horse demonstrations, and equine brain dissections to provide clear, practical insight into behavior, learning, stress, and welfare.

His vision is that understanding the horse’s brain is the most direct path to better communication, reduced stress, and deeper connection between horse and rider — science serving the art of horsemanship.

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Shannon Beahen specializes in teaching her own consent-based approach to natural dressage and liberty, equine care and co-living, as well as the creation of species-appropriate habitats that promote dynamic movement and autonomous equine lifestyles.

She is passionate about exploring and articulating the ethics of embodied horse-human relationships. And her hope is that, through teaching a deeper awareness of human-animal and human-environment relations, equestrian education ceases to be a privileged pastime that replicates outdated domination logics; and instead may just provide some of the seeds to birth a new earth.

Shannon has been an Equestrian Canada certified Competition Coach since the late 90s, studying topics related to human-animal ethics, language and philosophy since 2008 (BA, MA, PhD Candidate). She holds certifications in horse-human trauma-recovery and lives on Vancouver Island where she tends acreage with her multi-species family.

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Elisa Walfish (also known as the Data-Driven Equestrian) is a biologist by training, host of the EquiScience Podcast, and a certified Equine Manual Therapy practitioner through Equineology (EEWB), specializing in Functional postural rehabilitation, Myofascial and nervous system relaxation and Equine sports massage.

Elisa’s approach combines a scientific understanding of the body with targeted manual techniques to guide the horse towards greater comfort, balance and overall well-being.

Her platform of the Data-Driven Equestrian explores the intersection of biology, physiology, and horsemanship to offer evidence-based solutions for improving the physical and mental well-being of sport horses. Through a scientific lens, Elisa aims to optimize care practices to promote not only peak performance but also longevity and happiness for the equine athlete.

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Franke Sloothaak is a true legend of show jumping: During his active career, he became World Champion and Olympic gold medalist, winning numerous major prizes. He trained and competed in top-level competition with more horses than almost anyone else. Today, he works behind the scenes, coaching students all over the world.

In conversation with Christian Kroeber, he looks back on his career, recounting how he began teaching at the age of 15, how his time at Alwin Schockemöhle's stable shaped him, and his first appearances for the German team. What unites all the stages of his equestrian career is a keen eye for a horse's strengths and weaknesses. He discusses how seemingly minor details can be crucial and always returns to one key principle: His focus is on training horses in a way that promotes their health, improves their movement, and motivates them for long-term work with humans.

An inspiring conversation full of horsemanship, about Franke's personal journey, his will to win, and current challenges in the sport.

*Important to note: This podcast episode was originally recorded in German for the wehorse podcast. We used translation software to dub the episode for our English podcast, The Equestrian Connection.

Michelle Bannink is an equine behaviour and trauma specialist, operating internationally with horses and humans facing complex behavioural and emotional challenges, who are looking for ways to bring balance and joy back into their lives.

In her work, Michelle became known for helping horses who were labeled as "difficult" or "dangerous" return to regulation, connection and trust.

Michelle’s work integrates a holistic view on equine behavior and communication and practical training structures. This allows horses and humans to experience real, lasting change. And creates a place where learning, connection and true partnership become possible again.

Connect with Michelle:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bestableeducationcenter/

Baylee Summer helps ethical horse trainers to create, launch, and sell online offers in just 4 months in her business mentorship program, “Ethical Trainer Alchemy, and she has helped dozens of trainers get their businesses off the ground and generate actual profit (instead of barely breaking even).

Baylee has made it her mission to help them get booked out & well paid, so they can sustainably do the work we so desperately need—horse & human alike.

I originally interviewed Baylee two years ago, on episode # 69, and today she is back to share her latest FREE offering, “How to Make Your First $5k Online,” which is a mini-course for ethical horse trainers & practitioners where they’ll get a step by step process to to take their work online, attract aligned clients, and generate thousands (even with a tiny following)—without sacrificing integrity OR client success. So, be sure to scroll down to get your free access.

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Dr. Ben Sykes is a world leading expert on Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome and is actively changing the way we think, talk about, treat, prevent, and manage gastric ulcers in our horses. He has pioneered research on gastric ulcers with a focus on Equine Glandular Gastric Disease and is a well-recognised speaker at numerous conferences around the world on subjects relating to equine health and Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome.

Dr. Sykes is also a veterinarian with over 28 years of clinical experience and is boarded with the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine. He graduated from Murdoch University in 1997 before completing an internship at Randwick Equine Centre followed by a residency in Equine Internal Medicine in Virginia, gaining his Diplomate Registration in Large Animal Internal Medicine in 2004. He then spent 7 years in Finland as head of the Equine Hospital at Helsinki University, in private practice, and as a visiting Professor in Equine Medicine and Surgery in Estonia. He has a special interest in equine gastric ulcers, with many peer-reviewed publications to his credit, including being the lead author on the 2015 European College of Equine Internal Medicine Consensus Statement on Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome in adult horses.

Throughout his career Dr. Sykes has worked with a wide range of horses, focusing on high performance horses in racetrack, breeding, and sport horse settings.

In this episode, we discuss - you guessed it - ulcers. Our discussion includes what they are, signs to look for, treatment, prevention, and so much more

Connect with Dr. Ben Sykes:

Rebecca Haddock is a trailblazer in equine taping, with over 30 years of hands-on experience in the horse industry. She is the Owner and President of EquiTecs Equine Technologies Institue, a Certified EEKT and EEBT practitioner, and the author of Stick With Success – Equine Functional Taping Made Simple.

Rebecca is known for blending science-based expertise with ranch-tested wisdom and humor, making her teaching both practical and engaging. Her work has transformed equine wellness education, from developing the first scientifically researched equine tape to creating innovative training programs now used in over 26 countries.

In this episode, we discuss what Equine Taping is, when and why to use it, how it can benefit every horse, and so much more.

Connect with Rebecca:

Website: https://www.equitecs.com/