The HorseTribe Podcast

Louise has an infectious personality and a hatred for Kissing Spines.

Originally from France, she is now a permanent UK resident, operating as an Equine Manual Therapist and Osteopath, with a specialism in treating Kissing Spines.  In this episode Louise shares her first memories of falling in love with horses and plotting a career that involved equines, from age 10! 

Listen out for her top tip for the horse tribe, her philosophy on treating horses in a way that prevents problems from developing and how her personality sparkles as she shares with us her funny stories about treating patients that relaxed more than planned.

To find out more about Louise and her knowledge on understanding and preventing back pain in horses, join her webinar for the HorseTribe or watch it on demand.

It's not unusual for Helen to watch the sunrise on the beach.

She does fitness work for eventing with her horses on the nearby beach, not far from Swansea.  What a wonderful way to start the day and it gives an insight into the passion that Helen holds for horses.

Riding since she was around 4 years old, she has ridden and groomed for both an International Dressage rider and eventer.  Helen has always ridden, alongside her developing career as an award-winning saddler, lecturer in saddle fitting and she is also currently the President of the prestigious Society of Master Saddlers.

Listen as we hear about the person behind the expertise and Helen shares her career highlights and challenges.  We get an insight into the person that inspired Helen along her path to becoming a saddler and of course she shares the funny stories that come along with the job!

To find out more about Helen and her work, you can visit HR Saddler and for more insight into the work that the Society of Master Saddlers do, check out their website here.

Andrew is not only a super-bright academic, he's super-friendly and truly passionate about providing everyday horse-owners with practical insights that they can apply and help them to understand their horses even better. 

Having ridden from an early age, evented up to novice level, and worked as a riding instructor, he understands horses and horse-ownership.  

Listen as he shares his favourite horsey memories and how his academic career and research developed. Following a fantastic time at Aberystwyth University, completing his Degree and Masters, Andrew has spent 20 years at the Royal Agricultural University where he heads up the department that specialises in equine management and science. 

Andrew's specialist subject is the horse's brain and he spends most of his research time digging into this complex organ and it's impact on behaviour.  It's these behavioural insights that we can use everyday to communicate more effectively and build a stronger relationship with our equine friends. 

In this podcast we get a fascinating behind the scenes glimpse into this important research combined with Andrew's amusing anecdote from his time working with horses. And what would Dr Hemming's top tip be for the HorseTribe?  Well let's just say it's well researched and based on 55 million years of evolution....listen to find out more!!

She was captivated, the moment she saw the most beautifully crafted Victorian bit.  That was it - Tricia Nassau-Williams knew what she wanted to be when she "grew up" - a Loriner, helping horse-owners with everything metal for the horse (except shoes) from bits to bridles and harnesses, they cover it all. 

Her love of horses, however, started much earlier, age 3, with Tricia riding around on her pony "Lollipop" as soon as she could talk and say pony!  She talks about the following happy years, doing cross-country, chasing across the countryside with the bloodhounds and showing Shetlands in hand to a high level - with a Royal Windsor and a Supreme Champion at Malvern happy memories.

Now the Lorinery consultant for BETA and Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Loriners, her incredible knowledge and experience helps her have good conversations with horse owners to help them find the right bit for their horses that make the difference.

Listen as Tricia shares her career highlights and the challenges plus her top tips for the HorseTribe - and don't give her directions using Oak trees please?! (It'll make sense when you listen...)

When a friend invited her to try stunt riding in a lesson - Georgia Plimbley was hooked!  In this week's podcast episode for HorseTribe, Worcestershire based Georgia tells us about her traditional pony-club background and her passion for horses from the age of 2, that acted as a platform for her work with horses.

Fast forward a few decades and Georgia is a talented liberty trainer and artist and an accomplished stunt rider, with many films credits under her belt!

She shares how she wasn't always confident and that this took a lot of time and work to develop.  Part of this work was learning to fall off - safely!

Listen as she shares how becoming a mother changed her focus, how she believes that liberty can help horses with behavioural problems and some of Georgia's most memorable horsey moments.

And her funny story - well it involves a stallion!

If you want to laugh, have goose-bumps and learn loads, then this is the podcast episode! Caroline Ward has the most incredible job, helping change people's lives for the better at the Riding for the Disabled Association.  As Communications and Insight Director, she gets to the heart of the activities and campaigns that have brought her "the most joyful horses moments you can imagine".

Her passion for horses began when she was about 7 years old and she shares fond memories of the pony called 'Polo' who really helped grow her confidence, but had a talent for breaking onto her parents front lawn!

Her career at the RDA has allowed her to experience the many and varied activities that they offer to their members, including carriage-driving, vaulting, in-hand work and a wonderful concept called "Tea with a pony", developed to support those with long terms conditions and dementia.

"The things I've seen horses help people achieve never ceases to inspire me" Caroline tells us. 

You'll find her bubbly sense of humour and energy equally inspiring, as she shares her funny stories and relatable top tips for the HorseTribe.

In an inspirational episode, we speak with Kate French, Olympic GOLD medallist and modern pentathlete, about her love for all things horse, her athletic career and life.  We start as ever by understanding how her love for horses and riding began - "I've been riding all my life" Kate tells us.

She shares how she came to be a modern pentathlete, who inspired her and what has helped her become the highest placed modern pentathlete of all time, with medal success throughout her stellar career.

We also touch on her thoughts surrounding the sad & negative headlines from Tokyo, and the recent news that riding will be replaced as the 5th discipline in the modern pentathlon by another sport, yet to be confirmed.

Kate goes on to share further insights on her favourite horsey moments, her future goals and what it's like to try and teach your husband to ride! Listen out of course for the usual top tips (Olympic style this week) for the HorseTribe from Kate.

We visit South Africa (via technology!) in this episode to talk to Ray Erasmus, a passionate horseman with a desire to improve the lives of horses across the globe, by improving the way we as humans communicate with horses.

Ray is an accomplished Big Five Horse Safari guide, a career path that developed after specializing in walking safari's in big five environments across Southern Africa. Being able to negotiate his way through the bush with lions, elephants, black rhino and all other wildlife from horseback and on foot has cultivated great respect and insight in the way we communicate with animals, and has contributed to his equine training processes in particular.

We had a fascinating chat with Ray, hearing about his incredible equine journey and he shares some of the special horses that have impacted him along the way.  His training methods are born out of experience and research - absorbing information and insights from lots of different equine and human mindset experts and blending this into his own training methods.

Is it possible to help a horse face-off a lion? Ray tells us that it is, with time and positive mindset training, encouraging the horse to become confident and trusting of their human in pressure environments.  It's this training approach that he wants to share with the broader horse owning community, through his 'Horse Flow Academy' - "the only way to help horses is through people" he says.

Listen out for his story about the lady who got of her horse to go 'safari' in the bush and what caught her in the act!  

To find out more about Ray, sign up to his webinar for the HorseTribe and check out our summer festival for horse lovers - HorseFest, visit horsefest.org