In this moving episode I am joined by horse trainer Diana Waters of Responsive Equine. We begin with an overview of some of Diana's formative equestrian experiences, including her passion for training at the walk and its many benefits to the equine-human partnership, and then head into a vulnerable conversation about her journey rescuing a horse whom she diligently and compassionately attempted to rehabilitate, only to ultimately make the incredibly difficult choice to end his life. 

I am very grateful for Diana’s courage to share the story of her time with this young gelding, Forrest, and for all the moments of wisdom and humanity throughout our discussion. Choosing to lay our animals to rest, especially when they are young and/or struggling with mysterious ailments is often the hardest, most fraught time in our shared lives, and I hope this episode serves as a portal to navigating those spaces with increased self trust and grace. 

Diana Waters is a qualified riding coach, ethics teacher and equine-assisted psychotherapist. She is passionate about the benefits of walk work with horses, finding a magical place where deep connection and profound changes happen. Inspired by her experiences with the French classical technique of 'School Walk', and after witnessing the incredible benefits of walk work on her own horses, Diana recently created the live online course, The Power of Walk, which builds on a foundation of deep connection with gentle classical exercises, utilising the regulated nervous system to bring about long term change. Diana also facilitates a course for other equine-assisted psychotherapists, where they explore how they can further enhance horse-human relationships in their practice. Diana would like to live in a world where horses and humans connect authentically and find joy together. She is on a lifelong journey of learning from the horse and is always looking for ways to better the lives of domesticated horses and to enrich the horse-human relationship. She currently lives in NSW Australia, but dreams of returning to the UK for a simple life of long trail rides in the beautiful countryside.

You can visit Diana's website https://www.thepowerofwalk.com to learn more about her work.

It was such a pleasure to have Shannon Beahen back on the show today for an impassioned discussion about our mutual interest in stewarding and cultivating relationship with land - with special attention as to how that endeavour relates to keeping horses, obviously!  

We wandered together through the topics of land having its own nervous system, what it feels like for us to be on a path of evolution as horse people, and how we can benefit from navigating our relationships with the land, our horses and ourselves through a lens of emergence, rather than one of fixed ideals and blueprints of “success”. 

If you haven’t listened to my previous recordings with Shannon, check out episodes 92 and 81 of the Whole Horse Podcast, or dive right in to today’s episode for a more conversational, but equally important interview! 

Shannon is an alternative horse trainer, online educator, academic and writer. She specializes in teaching her own “high vibration” approach to natural dressage and liberty as well as the creation of species-appropriate habitats that promote dynamic movement and sovereign equine lifestyles. She is passionate about exploring and articulating the ethics of embodied horse-human relationships. Her hope is that through teaching a deeper awareness of human-animal and human-environment relations, equestrian education ceases to be a privileged pastime; and instead may just provide some of the seeds to birth a new earth.

Learn more about Shannon and her work at www.humminghorse.com

This week on the podcast I was joined by holistic veterinarian Dr. Rachel Heart Bellini for her perspective and experience of the scope of vet med and the ways in which she’s supplemented her education over the years in order to be of better service to horses. 

We had a really interesting conversation about the gap and, at times, inconsistencies between body workers and veterinarians, and discussed possible solutions for bridging these professions in a way that optimizes care and treatment for our equines. 

Whether you’re an equine care provider or a horse owner, this episode will leave you with food for thought on the horse health and wellness industry, and hopefully some new ideas about assessing where to start when it comes to helping the horses in your life feel their best. 

Heart Equine is owned by Rachel Heart Bellini DVM CVSMT CVA CVBM. Rachel is a holistic sports medicine veterinarian who uses her broad based education, years of experience and MOST importantly a large NETWORK to provide you with the absolute best whole horse solutions available. Rachel began her career on the racetrack, travelling the country with access to the best horses, trainers and veterinarians in the industry. That was followed up by a lengthy stint doing referral sport horse medicine clinic working for an industry pioneer in imaging and treatment of the cervical spine. She had access to the most up to date conventional diagnostic and treatment resources. After hitting a plateau in what she could offer she embarked on what has now been a fifteen year deep dive into multiple non conventional modalities. She has since acquired certifications in both traditional and balance method veterinary acupuncture and veterinary spinal manipulation therapy. Other certifications and trainings include many advanced manual therapy techniques, applied kinesiology, advanced neurology, human classical homeopathy, spiritual and anthroposophical medicine, postural rehabilitation, multiple ISELP courses and canine rehabilitation. Most recently her interests have turned to training techniques doing multiple clinics with industry leaders like Manolo Mendez, Mark Rashid and Celeste Lazaris. What she brings to her clients is a melding of all things with the goal of treating each partnership where they currently are and providing the guidance, support and therapies for long term health and soundness of our equine athletes. 

Follow Rachel on her FB page, Heart Equine, and visit her website to learn more http://heartequine.com

I was excited to be joined by Amy Dell of Abbotts View Livery for this episode, who wrote the book Horse Track Systems and runs her own track livery in England. 

What I loved about Amy’s book is how it laid out the steps and tips for creating your own track system in a very thoughtful and practical way, and it was great to be able to go into more detail about many aspects of tracks systems within this episode. Our discussion ranged from footing, to forage, to considerations for shelter and integrating new herd members. 

It was truly inspiring to hear how successful Amy has been at providing enriching and healthy living environments to a variety of horses, and I hope our chat leaves you with lots of ideas as to how to get started on your own ideal equine environment or improve upon the one you have already built!  

Amy Dell runs Abbotts View Livery, a successful track system livery based in the south east of the UK. 

Amy started AVL in 2016 at the age of 21, after completing a degree in Animal Behaviour and Welfare. In November of 2022, she released what would become a best selling book entitled Horse Track Systems to share her hard earned knowledge with the world and help other equestrians create amazing environments for their horses, either as a livery or for their own use. She also runs a consultancy business, and has helped many people worldwide over the phone to plan, get started, or develop their track systems. She dreams of the day when all horses get to live outside with free choice, forage and friends. 

Learn more about Amy's work and purchase her awesome book at her website: https://www.barefootandbacktonature.com/ 

This week I was joined by my long-time friend and colleague Jodine Buydens (pictured here with her mare Breeze) for a beautiful conversation on the horses who have shaped her life and given her the tools to be able to help humans receive the many teachings of their own equines, or, for some folks, encounter horse wisdom for the first time.

We talked about what it can look and feel like to have soul contracts with our horses, and how those lessons and missions differ depending on each unique horse. Jodine also shared how she’s learned to tune into and differentiate between her own nervous system and that of the horses and people she works with, and how this skill has been integral to being able to meet any situation with what it needs. 

I hope after listening to our chat that you walk away with a renewed appreciation for your equine relationships, and perhaps a fresh perspectives on the impact knowing one another has had too. 

Jodine Buydens is an Equine Behaviour Specialist, author of If Your Horse Could Talk, and Pro-EFW Dual Certified Equine Professional, Learning Professional and Mentor. A lifelong horsewoman, she has dedicated her career to empowering and improving the lives of horses and humans through education, communication, and the depth of connection found through her teachings. You can find out more here: https://www.capallcoaching.com/links 

Tune in to this episode with equine sports therapist Christy DiColla for a great chat about her latest work and area of research: rib entrapment and fascial chains. Christy filled me in on how she was seeing common patterns of posture and muscular appearance in her equine clients and how these dysfunctional presentations were chronically affecting movement and performance. She then shared how, through her human bodywork training, she discovered that working with the ribs - due to the nature of their attachments - provided release of these patterns in a number of horses. This has since become a curiosity and passion of hers, and it was lovely to spend the hour talking fascia, highlighting the need for as much movement as possible in our horses, and exploring kinetic lines. 

I hope our discussion leaves you with a better understanding of what’s going on beneath your horse’s skin, and an appreciation for the interconnectedness of all the body’s systems. 

Christy is an FEI approved equine sports therapist that travels the U.S. working on everything from Kentucky Derby racehorses, Dressage & Jumpers up to Olympic level, to 5 Star Eventers. She has over 20 years experience in the equine wellness industry. Her equine education began at the University of Georgia Pre-Vet and Animal Science Programs, and from there she has become certified in a variety of equine & human bodywork modalities.  

Christy specializes in a wide range of bodywork modalities including myofascial kinetic line balancing, neurovascular conditioning, electo-fascial stim, PEMF therapy, joint mobilization, and her unique RIB ENTRAPMENT balancing technique. Christy has been a student of the kinetic myofascial lines since 2017, and has worked ever since finding techniques on how to alleviate neurovascular entrapments along these lines.

She is also a Master Reiki practitioner and a Balanced Body Movement Specialist for people.

You can learn more about her work at: https://www.zenmawellness.com/

It was lovely to have Lockie Phillips back this week for his fourth time on the podcast. We got to chatting about how he’s feeling and what he’s been up to since his big move across the country to the North West of Spain last summer, which I have been excited to talk to him about!  Unsurprisingly, he’s been busy turning his new property into a super functional, horse-centric environment and learning how to manage best amidst some pretty wet weather conditions (think: Atlantic hurricanes). Throughout our discussion Lockie emphasized the Horse in Horsemanship, leading him to share some stories illustrating that prioritizing and considering the horse is still far from being a common value amongst equestrians, along with some neuroscience to contextualize why that is. 

Our conversation ended with us both describing recent moments with our own horses, and talking about the kinds of interactions that become possible when we lean into cultivating true relationship with this incredible creatures. I hope this episode got you feeling and thinking as much as it did for me! 

Lockie Phillips teaches deeply caring horse people to create emotionally balanced horses using science, empathy and feel. Emotional Horsemanship can be explored with online courses, online lessons, online coaching, international clinics and retreats in Spain. A retired pro-dancer, Lockie lives in North Western Spain and is a horse dad to 4 geldings.

Follow him on IG and FB @emotional.horsemanship and check out his website https://www.emotionalhorsemanship.com 

I was so excited to welcome Jane Myers of Equiculture onto the podcast for our first episode of 2024! Jane is a wealth of knowledge on the subject of land and pasture management, and an expert on equine grazing behaviour. We covered a lot of ground (pun intended!) chatting about the ways in which horse owners can learn to keep horses in a way that creates a mutually beneficial interaction between the land and the horses who live on it. We also discussed the importance of keeping horses in herds, prioritizing access to forage and grazing, and how these management practices ultimately create safer, healthier horses and environments! This topic is very near and dear to my heart, and it was inspiring to hear Jane’s practical perspective as well as her many success stories implementing her methods. 

As I say in the episode, I really hope to see more and more horse owners feeling empowered to make changes in their horse-keeping practices to make for a more sustainable and supportive habitat for all.  

Jane Myers teaches horse owners worldwide how to manage horses and the land they live on in a way that is sustainable, good for horse welfare, good for wildlife, creates biodiversity and saves humans time, expense and energy. She is highly qualified (having a Masters Degree in equine grazing behaviour) and has researched and taught these subjects worldwide for many years. Jane, along with husband Stuart, are the authors of several books on these subjects. These vitally important subjects are gaining momentum in the modern world. Read more about Jane & Stuart Myers on this page of our Equiculture website - About us -  https://www.equiculture.net/about-us

In this episode with farrier Kendra Skorstad, our conversation covers my many (and maybe yours too!) hoof-related questions from both the perspective of horse steward and body worker, including the interplay between horses' posture, body, and the health of their feet, as well as specific inquiries surrounding navicular, high-low syndrome and heel first landings. It was so refreshing and affirming to hear how Kendra approaches hoofcare from a holistic and horse-first perspective, where making choices such as whether to go barefoot, wear metal shoes or use other tools such as composite shoes or boots are made based on the needs of each individual horse. 

I hope you enjoy our conversation full of interesting tidbits as much as I did - the possibility for fascinating rabbit holes here was endless, so we covered a lot of ground and had some fun doing it. 

Kendra Skorstad brings artistry, science, and her love for horses together in her life long career as a farrier and horsewoman. She is highly sought after in her community due to her experiences as a barefoot trimmer and farrier combined with proficiency using new technologies and alternative materials for hoof protection. In her teamwork approach, she embraces a balance between research based work and honoring the individuality of each horse. She has published articles, gives clinics and lectures in the US and has lectured internationally, is a guest speaker for the University of Guelph and has been featured in podcasts for The Plaid Horse and The Humble Hoof.

You can follow Kendra on her FB page Skorstad Farrier Service

Today’s conversation with Elisse Miki is a special edition podcast episode that we are affectionately dubbing a ‘geek out’, and we want to hear what you think! This episode is the first of what will be a four-part series together over the next year, and could eventually turn into its very own show if people like you are curious and hungry to listen to more in-depth anatomy and physiology-based discussions. If getting nerdy is your jam, you may even want to start with our previously recorded chats before hitting play on this latest one! 

https://wholehorse.ca/episode-38/

https://wholehorse.ca/episode-88/

https://wholehorse.ca/episode-99/

We opened up this episode with a look at senior horse management and the crucial role of mobility in maintaining health well into the golden years. Elisse, who’s herd ranges in age from 22 up to 37, shared about the track system she’s set up at her farm and the focus she puts on enrichment and flow in her horses’ environment. This led us beautifully into a discussion on the role of circulation and fluid flow as the underpinnings of a vital body, and why assessing for and restoring vitality from a bodywork perspective is such an important (and yet often overlooked) starting point for treatment. I shared around what is known in osteopathy as the Rule of the Artery, and how understanding that the body prioritizes the function and protection of vessels (arteries, veins and nerves) begins to illuminate why we see certain bracing patterns show up as well as avenues through which we can successfully help unwind them. We round out our chat with a look at the three diaphragms, and invite you to join us in an upcoming webinar where we’ll be sharing two vitality techniques. We would also love to see you in our 2024 Cranial Therapy Certification program - applications are now open: https://www.equilibriatherapeutics.com/equine-craniosacral

You can register for the equine cranial webinar with Elisse and Alexa at https://bit.ly/cstwebinar

Find out more about how to register for the intro webinar and Q&A at https://eqtherapeutics.thinkific.com/courses/intro-craniosacral-therapy-webinar

And please send me an email at [email protected] or shoot me a message on social media if you’d like to hear more episodes like this one!

As a human and equine therapist with over 15 years of experience working with clients in a therapeutic setting, Elisse brings a wide variety of modalities into her practice. She began her career working as an Exercise Physiologist having completed her Bachelors in Kinesiology then went on to obtain her Registered Massage Therapy Licence. She has since gone on to complete Diplomas in Equine Therapy, Equine Craniosacral, and is currently in the process of completing both her Human and Equine Osteopathy Diplomas concurrently. Elisse is also an Instructor of RMT at the West Coast College of Massage Therapy and a Certified Equine Assisted Learning Instructor. Some of her clients include the Langley Equestrian Academy, Cloverdale Rodeo, and the International Professional Rugby 7s teams. Her current focus lies in research and development of current standards of practice in the equine industry. 

Website – www.equilibriatherapeutics.com Email – [email protected] Facebook Personal – https://www.facebook.com/elisse.miki Facebook Business Page – Equilibria Therapeutics – https://www.facebook.com/elissemikirmt/