The Whole Horse Podcast with Alexa Linton

It's my second podcast conversation with Shannon Beahen of Humminghorse Equestrian and boy, was it a good one. We travelled a lot of territory as we discussed the nuances of no, the possibility that comes with choice, some of the core wounds of horses (specifically the "weaning" wound) and how to support, and Shannon's new course, Cleaning up the contact zone, and some key take-aways from her exciting curriculum. Much gold to be found here and I hope you enjoy as much as I do!

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

It is good to be back! Especially when the conversations are like this gem with Allison Goin of Centaur Soul Work. We get into the ins and outs and sometimes trickiness of combining our spiritual path, our love of horses and our work, how our own soul path with horses shows up in our astrology chart, how connections and collaboration can be key, and what to pay attention to as we move forward, astrologically speaking! Hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did.

Allison Goin is an Evolutionary Astrologer & Equine Specialist who combines practical tools, eclectic modalities, and inspirational ideas to support transformational soul-work and holistic healing for horses and humans. She offers 1:1 consultations, long-term coaching & mentorship, workshops, public talks and writings to inspire new ways of looking at our lives and horses, and empower people to embrace positive change.

Her interdisciplinary approach blends her expertise in personal and spiritual development with her knowledge of horses, healing modalities, and mission-driven work to help individuals and organizations find creative and effective ways to come into alignment with their true purpose. As an emancipated horsewoman, Allison has developed her own solutions and intuitive approach to relationship-building with horses, informed by extensive study and work with both horse and human teachers.

Allison loves to collaborate with other innovators and always has a variety of projects in development. Learn more about her current and upcoming work at www.allisongoin.com and follow her on Instagram @centaur_soul_work.

-- As a special promotion for Whole Horse listeners, Allison is offering a $25 discount on all first-time services with her. Use the code CENTAURSOUL on her website to take advantage of this offer!--

Another beautiful conversation with Kerri Lake, and the perfect chat for this time we find ourselves in, as we get right into some incredibly rich territory around re-framing our learning process (and supporting our horses through this shift), what surrender really means, learning to love the boring and mundane, and the gifts in taking things slow and easy for ourselves and our horses. As always, so many potent nuggets of wisdom come through Kerri in this chat. Enjoy!

Kerri Lake shares wisdom and guidance for humanity to live closer to the heart. At age 11 she began asking horses directly how she can be with people in the same presence of love that horses share unconditionally. Everything she shares bridges innate consciousness and personal experience. She shares with simplicity and humour how effective healing and effective creation emerge from the same foundation - the absence of judgment. She shares her own journey to help you see that if she can do it, so can you.

Kerri is a "hands-on" facilitator, guiding individuals and projects to perpetually greater clarity and heart-inspired action. Her books, "Listen Like A Horse: Relationships Without Dominance" and "Spiritually Gifted" have an international audience that expands beyond the human-animal relationship, inviting people to generate a harmonious relationship with themselves. They are available on amazon and on Kerri's website. Kerri is available for 1-1 facilitation and longer engagements to lift inspired projects to new heights.

You can read more and contact Kerri on her website, www.kerrilake.com.

My first episode in over three months! It feels great to be back and to have this conversation with my dear friend Geri Ramsay to share about my recent intense health event, where I am at now, and what is to come. Grateful to be alive and to continue to share great knowledge and horse people with you here on the podcast. Thanks for listening and for all your support! Enjoy.

We're getting geeky again! Elisse Miki of Equilibria Therapeutics and I venture into more of our favourite territory, this time focusing on the nervous system, neuroplasticity, motor control, rehabilitation, what cranial work has to do with any of this, and all things neuroscience. With a herd of seniors (one over 40 years old!) that love to move and are getting more agile and fit every time I see them, Elisse is definitely doing something very right. Rehabilitation of horses is a huge topic, and this episode might give you some clues on why your horse is not recovering from an injury or accident the way you thought they would, and some simple exercises that incorporate motor control and neuroplasticity to start shifting gears, even if your horse is on stall rest.

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 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. Elisse hosts clinics for horse owners and existing health care professionals and equine therapists.

www.equilibriatherapeutics.com

Learn more at www.emotionalhorsemanship.com

Josh Nichol is back on the podcast, and sharing more wisdom, this time sharing his thoughts and practices around how to support healthy and safe integration of horses into herds. We get into the nitty gritty of his process and why he works this way, how he supports horses to work together, how to work with insecure horses and changing herd dynamics, and why throwing horses in together and hoping for the best often doesn't work for anyone involved. As always, I walked away with more great tools in my toolkit, and more ways to support the horses in my world. Enjoy!

In Josh's words: "I like to think of myself as a professional student of the horse; learning is what I do first and teaching is second. Mentoring people, building relationships and watching growth is truly my passion. I currently teach clinics throughout Canada in the summer and work out of our home ranch in the winter, helping people develop their relationships through horsemanship.

This style of horsemanship is very relational, it allows you to see yourself through your horse and continues as you advance through the process. Mastery in horsemanship begins with a commitment to bettering ourselves! This starts with taking ownership and responsibility for our part of the story, thus interpreting the horse's actions and performance differently. When we are aware of – and work on developing – our side of the relationship, we truly facilitate not only growth in our horses, but growth in ourselves. Good horsemanship challenges everything about our inner person. What an amazing gift: progressing in our horsemanship goes hand in hand with developing our best self!"

Learn more about Josh at https://www.joshnichol.com

This conversation with Kathy Sierra literally shifted my direction with my horses! It was pivotal in the best possible way and I am excited to share her work with you, as I believe it is one of the keys to changing our minds about our horses, our training, their movement, and their performance, and supporting so many horses to be happier and healthier. It has even shifted my way of thinking as an equine manual therapist, and what I am seeing, how I am working, and how I can support the horses I work with in better ways. I really encourage you to listen to our chat, and if it impacts you as well, please share with your horse communities. Thank you for supporting horses to be happier in their bodies and minds - it is all about the ripples!

Kathy Sierra is the creator of Intrinzen, a movement-science approach to helping horses rediscover a love of movement expression. She has a BSc in Kinesiology, and spent the first half of her career as a *human* movement professional before switching to computer science. She also taught design for motivating experiences at UCLA, Virgin, and Universal Studios. A horse owner for more than 40 years, she combined her background in both movement science and motivation to help save one of her own horses. Eventually she began sharing the Intrinzen science principles and philosophy with others.

Find her course Pain Science and Performance here: https://www.pantherflow.com/

Follow Kathy on Instagram at pantherflows

Resources from Kathy:

Book - How we learn to move by Rob Gray

Books - A Guide to Better Movement by Todd Hargrove

Book - Playing with Movement by Todd Hargrove

Our last episode of 2021! In this wide ranging conversation, Lockie Phillips of Emotional Horsemanship shares about his unique path to horses by way of a life of movement, as a dancer, how he believes sensitivity is a superpower, and the role of emotion as a helper in our horsemanship. Enjoy!

Lockie Phillips is an Australian horse trainer, instructor and coach living in Spain, a former professional dancer, Lockie focuses on the emotional well being of horses and humans in his business, Emotional Horsemanship.

Learn more at www.emotionalhorsemanship.com