Learning About Sensory Soundness

Kat and Shelley discuss what they discovered at "Herd Dynamics Seminar" presented by Kerry Thomas From THT Bloodstock.

They report what happened, what they thought and what they learnt. Everyone cares about physical soundness but what about sensory soundness which has such an impact on the emotionality of the horse and its ability to regulate stress.

AND most importantly, find out what Kerry said about Kat's horse Roger!!

To learn more about herd dynamics and sensory soundness you can check out our 8 part interview series with Kerry. You can also check out Kerry's website thtbloodstock.com and join his Facebook group: Sensory Soundness and Herd Dynamics with Kerry Thomas.

Anna Minogue has a love of learning and has followed her curiosity for learning through a career in vet nursing before she studied as an equine dentist. She now uses her understanding of anatomy, biomechanics, training and the role of the rider; to aid her in bit fitting and bridle fitting. This episode touches on a bit of everything, teeth, bits and bridles! You can find out more about Anna on Facebook at: The Bit Fitter and Anna Minogue -Equine Dentist And on Instagram at: thebitfitterau

Melinda Macaulay provides us with an insight into posture and position while riding. She has a background in Sports and Exercise Science and helps break down the ideas for us in simple terms. This episode discusses working with what you’ve got and improving yourself to be the best you can for both yourself and your horse. You can find find Melinda on Facebook and Instagram @StrongStableSeat

In this episode Kathryn & Shelley have the pleasure of chatting with Ian Leighton. They get to discuss all the important aspects of ‘good old horsemanship’ and how older principles impact the way we currently work with horses. You can find Ian on Facebook and Instagram @ianleightonhorsemanship

The internet and social media has had a big impact on the equestrian world. It has allowed ideas to be spread and made experts more accessible. However, sometimes you can get lost in the relentless bombardment of voices in your newsfeed. It is hard to pick a path to follow. Shelley is one of those voices and in this episode she describes what she is doing to provide a place to spell out her process. If you are interested in joining Shelley's membership group, it is called the Calm Willing Confident Horse Society and information can be found out about it here: https://www.calmwillingconfidenthorses.com.au/members

Nahshon Cook is a insightful horseman and has an incredible vocabulary. His unique way of saying describing things help people to better understand the connection we have with horses. This episode discusses the rehabilitation of horses’ bodies and minds, and link the two have with each other. We also talk about the influence that humans have on their horses, and in turn that horses have on their humans. “We make the most progress when we don’t feel like there is too much to do”. You can find Nahshon Cook on Facebook at Nahshon Cook Horsemanship.

This week we had the absolute pleasure of chatting with Lysette Smith from Candid Equitation. Lysette has such an incredible amount of experience travelling the world, working with horses. She has learnt to keep horses in both extremes of heat and cold and worked in numerous professional stables in a range of disciplines. If that isn’t cool enough (it is), Lysette has also overcome both cancer and sepsis and discusses the impact these have had on her work with horses. If you’d like to find out more about Lysette Smith, look her up on Facebook and Instagram @candid_equitation

GOAL SETTING & LIVING WITH PURPOSE

2022 is coming to an end and it’s time to reflect on the year we have had! It’s a great opportunity to set our intentions for 2023 and goal setting can really give us purpose. Shelley and Kat discuss the year they have had (including Equitana) and some of the things they are working on for next year. Thank you for all the incredible support of our listeners this year and we are so excited for next year.

In this episode Kerry talks about his visit to Australia and the Herd Dynamics Seminar he will be appear at on the 25-26 March 2023 at Sutton Forrest, New South Wales.

In this episode Shelley and Kat discuss the needed stepping stones along the way of choosing your horsewomanship path. How to choose a mentor, how to sort through the information on social media and so many other tangents and rabbit holes.

Our herd dynamic conversations continue with Kerry M Thomas. In this episode we delve into what it is Kerry is evaluating when he goes to yearling sales to help owners to select their next race horse. Kerry reveals his process of creating a short list and how he has reviewed and adjusted his evaluation techniques over time.

Everyone is wanting to do the best for their horse. But how do you do that in a world full of polarised advice. How do you sort out the trends from advice that is good and advice that just "looks" good but can be flawed. Tami Elkayam gives us her advice how to navigate the horse world. How to be open minded, but not so open minded our brains fall out! Find her on Facebook at: Tami Elkayam Equine Bodywork Website: https://elkayamequinetherapy.com and her excellent educational resources on Vimeo: Elkayam Equine Therapy.

Training Using Herd Dynamics: Another great episode with Kerry Thomas. In this episode we talk about the practical application of training horses based on a horses’ herd dynamics. Horse can be defined as having either individual or group herd dynamic tendencies and these tendencies are going to impact the way they learn, how quickly they learn and more importantly, the best way to train them.

There are some common things that we see again and again in horses. Often these horses are struggling with their current training and when you take a closer look they have an unsoundness. When have an obligation to our horses to ensure they are as comfortable as possible so that they can learn as best as possible.

PTSD in Horses: And we are back for Part 5 of our Herd Dynamics Series. In this episode we dive into the idea of PTSD in our horses and what it looks like. PTSD doesn’t just happen from that time your horse was beaten with a whip, it’s much more complicated than that. We need to be aware of the ways in which we keep horses and the impact of their living environment has on them. Every physical response we get from a horse is linked to an emotion that they are feeling. We need to set them up to successfully navigate situations, being a sense of safety and contentment to their lives. ‘Horses are emotional creatures and respond to how they feel. People are scared of the emotions of horses and just want the learned behaviours to be the only thing (they show)’

Herd Dynamics with Kerry M Thomas (Part 4)Breed Traits: We are so excited to have Kerry back for Part 4 of our Herd Dynamics Series. This week we got to delve into a conversation about breeding horses and the consideration of herd dynamics when choosing mares and stallions. While athleticism and conformation are important aspects, we feel that behavioural genetics are often left out and harder to define. Kerry talks about his experiences breeding for specific herd dynamic traits and this allows us to go even deeper into the ideas we have previously discussed.

“The less road block you have in the way mentally, the quicker the coaching, the faster things are going to go for you”.To find out more about Kerry check out his website: https://thtbloodstock.com

Amy Skinner is an incredible influence in the equestrian world. She writes amazingly and manages to merge the ideas of horsemanship and classical dressage for relaxed and harmonious relationships with our horses. Find her on Facebook and Instagram @Amy Skinner Horsemanship https://amyskinnerhorsemanship.com/

Tami Elkayam is an equine bodyworker based in San Jose, USA. She is an incredible equine body worker, writer, artist and educator that can change the way to see and appreciate horses bodies forever.

In this interview Tami describes how her journey started and how her intense interest and passion for understanding the horse's body has furthered her education and ability to track down the root cause of problems.

Such a super fascinating episode and a great expert to follow on social media as she is so dedicated to sharing her insights. Find her on Facebook at: Tami Elkayam Equine Bodywork, Website: https://elkayamequinetherapy.com. and her excellent educational resources on Vimeo: Elkayam Equine Therapy.

Understanding Outsourcing: We are joined again by Kerry Thomas for Part 3 of this fantastic conversation about Herd Dynamics. In this episode we talk about some real life situations, delving into it from the horses point of view and understanding them better. We discuss horses going out and about at competitions, separation anxiety and how to thoughtfully manage herds at home.

Recently there has been lots of discussion about the autonomic nervous system. Shelley and I discuss the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system and their impact (or lack of) on the way that we train horses. Inspired by the explanations of the stress response described and documented by American Psychiatrist Bruce D Perry, a well-known expert in trauma.