The Whole Horse Podcast with Alexa Linton

After reading the article Life as a Black Equestrian on Chronicle of the Horse and realizing that we lived right across the ocean from each other as the crow flies and had spent time in the same barns growing up, I knew I needed to reach out to fellow horse lover Stephanie Kallstrom. I am deeply appreciative to Stephanie for this opportunity to have this important conversation and to continue the discussion around diversity and inclusion within the horse industry, and to begin the essential conversation about anti-racism, the impact of racial trauma, and how we can begin to adopt a trauma-informed approach in barn cultures, horse communities and beyond. This may not be an easy podcast to listen to, as the subject matter can be challenging, but I believe that awareness and knowledge is healing, and just like with horses, there is always more to learn and ways to do better (you'll experience my own personal learning process happening throughout the podcast). Thanks for listening.

From Stephanie: I'm a forever west Coast stereotype. I'm a dedicated daily power yogi, I like to hike with my dogs, be at the dog beach, am nearly vegan, an equestrian (hunter princess) and case manage for a shelter on the Downtown Eastside. Im Peruvian born and adopted (Afro-Peruvian, Nigerian heritage). I am also a survivor of trauma which has led me to strongly believe in trauma informed care an communication in order to serve all humans with dignity. I'm a strong advocate for marginalized people and personally and professionally work for equality for all. My favorite color is pink and you can always win me over with vegan baking of any kind and compassion for other human beings.

Another mind-stretching and learning-rich episode, this time with Equine Hanna Somatics Educator Alissa Mayer! Alissa shares about how she found somatic work, what it is and how it works on a physiological level with a specific and important reflex, and how she works with it to shift the health and performance of horses and riders. She also shares a simple daily somatic-based exercise near the end of the podcast that I have been using since with great results. Hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did!

Alissa Mayer has been the mind-body instructor, interspecies-relationship advisor and Hanna Somatic Educator to dressage trainers, international clinicians, Olympians, dancers, fitness instructors, horsemanship gurus, business owners, grandmothers, recreational horse riders, and thousands of people around the world wanting to be more supple and pain-free.

She teaches Hanna Somatics for horses and riders, and has her own unique approach, A Somatic Approach to Horsemanship™. She helps equestrians and their horses to access their natural reflexes of self-care and self-carriage to get rid of the chronic tension that causes pain, stiffness, crookedness, and fatigue, to reveal their natural balance, great posture, and effortless performance potential.

Learn more about Alissa's work at https://alissamayer.com

In this episode of the podcast, my awesome guest host Allie Goin is back as we chat about the story of my new mare Raven and my current learning about her injury, rehabilitation, and looking at the "whole" horse, physical, emotional, energetic, and spiritual, when moving through a healing process. We get into the woo-woo parts of things, and ways that intuition can show up that we may not realize (funny story about this one at 16 minutes in!) and how we can connect with or listen to our horses in different ways, beyond body language. We also discuss the current edges of my work and my upcoming online Whole Horse Apprenticeship program, beginning on September 15th (as you can hear I'm pretty darn excited about it). Thanks Allie for hosting!

Learn more about Alexa here and get more details about the Whole Horse Apprenticeship at http://alexalinton.com/apprenticeship-2020

Enjoy!

What a mind-blowing episode with Sharon and Laura Wilsie of HorseSpeak! Did you know horses have a face, and use blinking, nodding, chin, mouth and nostril movement and more to communicate with other horses, and if you're paying attention, with you? As you'll hear in this episode, this had not fully occurred to me. This is the kind of simple, yet major stuff we were discussing, as well as getting into roles in the herd and horse personalities, and how taking on the characteristics of the different roles can change your relationship with your horses in profound ways.

Sharon Wilsie has enjoyed a professional career as a horse trainer/rehabilitation specialist, intercollegiate coach, and riding instructor. Her love for horses has been life-long and she had the desire to fill in the gap of communication between humans and equines. Sharon is the creator of HorseSpeak®, which is a practical system to understanding the nuances of horse body language and has created a way for you to learn their language instead of expecting the horse to understand ours. She has developed and implemented several programs over the last decade, including; volunteer training groups for horse rescues and therapeutic riding centers, Equine Assisted Learning course at Landmark College, as well as hundreds of workshops, seminars, and engagements in a variety of topics about Equine Facilitated Therapies, alternative training and rehabilitation methods for difficult horses and horses with PTSD. She worked with students of all ages, including at-risk youth programs. Sharon's passion has always been to create a two – way street of mutual healing, awareness, and betterment for both horses and people. She is the author of Horse Speak the Equine Human Translation Guide, Horses in Translation and Horse Training in Translation.

Laura Wilsie is the Co-Founder of Horse Speak and utilizes her many years of business management and customer service experience, Laura keeps the ball rolling behind the scenes. Laura comes from a long line of horse enthusiasts and had experience in many disciplines while growing up. Her love of horses was re-ignited when she started volunteering at a local horse rescue. There she adopted a PMU filly and met Sharon. Laura works with Sharon in creating new and innovative ways to help folks better understand the world from the horse's perspective and learn the language of the horse.

Find out more about HorseSpeak and all the links to books, programs and more at www.sharonwilsie.com

Loved speaking with Jamie Lau, founder of Haybales & Barbells in this episode of the Whole Horse Podcast! During these challenging times, Jamie has pivoted, followed her heart and launched her company, sharing with us about why it's so important for riders to be strong, coordinated and flexible (and some funny stories of how this work has saved her a few times in the saddle!). I met Jamie through a group called Equestrians of Colour, and am so appreciative of her perspective on diversity and accessibility within the horse industry, and how we can create positive change in simple ways to make it more inclusive for all. Definitely an important conversation in these ever-changing times.

Jamie is the founder of Haybales & Barbells, a fitness for Equestrians business that provides rider specific fitness programs for equestrians of all levels. Jamie has been involved with horses since she was 10 and has done jumpers, dressage and is just starting her journey with Western riding. She started her career as an equine professional after completing her Masters Degree in Recreation Therapy, and working as an equine assisted recreation therapist and certified therapeutic riding instructor for individuals with special needs. Jamie also holds a certification in inclusive fitness training and believes that equestrian athletes can highly benefit from cross training in order to be the best athletes they can be for themselves and their horse. She is extremely passionate in educating riders about the importance of strength training, conditioning and flexibility training in order to become the best horse riders that they can be.

Find our more about Jamie and her work at www.haybalesandbarbells.com

Use the code twenty to receive 20% off Jamie's products.

What a joy of a podcast episode! Susan Tenney of Elemental Acupressure brought her passion and expertise to our time together, sharing about how her journey with horses and acupressure began, how she works with Chinese medicine concepts and horses, some ways to begin using acupressure simply and effectively with your horses. It was a pleasure to learn from her, and I hope you feel the same.

Susan's students and clients say that she positively shines when she works. Her love of animals comes through in everything she does. To illustrate her ideas, Susan can be theatrical – making an idea come alive by panting like a happy dog or drooping her head and sighing like a horse relaxing into a massage. These images stay with students, helping them integrate ancient Chinese Medical concepts into their modern day lives. To Susan, Five Element acupressure for animals is so insightful and powerful that it seems wondrous. She passes on that sense of wonder to her students, clients, and readers.

Susan feels strongly that massage and acupressure are for everyone – not just the "experts". This you- can-do-it attitude carries over into her classes where she delights in demystifying Chinese Medicine and Five Element theory. Her deep experience and gentle touch makes her very popular with her students and readers as well as her four-legged clients! Susan teaches the Shiatsu, acupressure and Five Element theory courses. She is the co-founder of Elemental Acupressure along with her husband, Jonathan Cohn.

For more information about Susan head to www.ElementalAcupressure.com

I'd been looking forward to my conversation with Elisha Edwards for a while, and it did not disappoint! After hearing about her teaching and online programs, and watching the evolution of Riva's Remedies over many years, I was filled with questions about her work with horses. In this conversation we covered a lot of ground, from her guidance around vitamin-mineral supplementation and supplementation in general, to working with metabolic disorders, to flower essences, to muscle testing, and beyond. I learned a lot and I think you will too! Elisha will definitely be back as we have much more to chat about.

Elisha Edwards is a long-time horse lover who holds both a Bachelor of Science in organic chemistry and an MBA from the University of Alberta. Elisha is the Director of Education at Riva's Remedies and she is also the developer and instructor of the online course Healing Horses Their Way. She teaches horse owners all over the world how to use holistic health care to promote good health for their horses and how to restore good health in unwell horses. She believes that through education and awareness of natural horse health we can drastically improve their quality of life and longevity. Elisha also regularly facilitates workshops and seminars on natural horse health care across the country.

Learn more about Elisha at https://elishaedwards.com/

What a beautiful conversation with Karine Vandeborre of Horsefulness Training! I left the conversation feeling relaxed and more aware of my breath and my impact on my horses and clients, and grateful for the new subtleties added into my breathing practice. We also touched on how to bring this awareness into your training, how to start slow (and at liberty) to go faster later, and how to work with more difficult horses by building trust and foundation of connection.

Karine Vandenborre is the founder of Horsefulness Training. She has worked with horses professionally for almost 25 years now and is known for her expertise with severely traumatized horses that she helps to gain self-confidence and trust in humans again. She coaches people to develop a true connection with their horse and train their horse mindfully and sensitively.

Learn more about Karine and her work at: https://horsefulnesstraining.com/ and https://www.facebook.com/connectingwithhorsefulness/

She has some excellent free resources here that I look forward to checking out: https://horsefulnesstraining.com/free-resources/

When my friend and client Allie asked me to turn my podcast on its head and tell my own story, I found myself both hesitant and excited. She had shared that she really didn't know what I did in the world before becoming a client and wondered if others felt the same - if you do, then this episode is for you! The story of my journey, how I came to love horses, how I became an equine therapist, an animal communicator and the steward of Diva, and what the heck brought me to doing this podcast. Enjoy!