Category Archives: exercise

Picked by a horse

August 11, 2014abused horses, animal communication, energy work, equines, exercise, fear, healing, herd behavior, herd dynamics, horse training, horsemanship, horses, Horses at Liberty Foundation Training, Liberty training, OrthoHorse, Uncategorizedanimals, endurance riding, energetic connection, energy work, equine bodywork, equine liberty training, equine rescue, equine training, equines, herd behavior, herd dynamics, horsemanship, Horses at LIberty Foundation Training, OrthoHorse, rescue horseshorsesatliberty

Have you ever been “picked” by a horse?

Continue reading Picked by a horse →

Sharing heart and mind with your horse on a trail ride

July 25, 2014bodywork, exercise, fear, healing, herd behavior, herd dynamics, horse training, horsemanship, horses, Horses at Liberty Foundation Training, liberty rein, Liberty training, Natural Horsemanship, Ortho-Bionomy, riding, trail riding, Uncategorizedbodywork, equine bodywork, equine healing, equine rescue, equine training, equines, exercise, horse trainers, horsemanship, Horses at LIberty Foundation Training, liberty training, OrthoHorsehorsesatliberty

I have recently written about the trail in The Trail as a Metaphor for Life.

Continue reading Sharing heart and mind with your horse on a trail ride →

10 tips for working with a fearful horse

July 5, 2014abused horses, animal communication, energy work, equines, exercise, fear, healing, herd behavior, herd dynamics, horse training, horsemanship, horses, Horses at Liberty Foundation Training, Liberty training, performance horses, rescue horses, riding, Uncategorizedanimals, bodywork, chakras, endurance riding, energetic connection, equine liberty training, equine positional release, equine rescue, horsemanship, horses, Horses at LIberty Foundation Training, leadership, OrthoHorse, rescue horseshorsesatliberty

Horses are fearful by nature; they are flight animals. How we address fear in the horse has to be a very fluid and dynamic thing because not all horses will respond to the same approach. A frightened horse is potentially dangerous because they are hard wired to flee or react suddenly when frightened.

Continue reading 10 tips for working with a fearful horse →

Healing horses from 500 miles away

July 2, 2014abused horses, alternative therapies, animal communication, bodywork, energy work, equines, exercise, fear, healing, herd behavior, herd dynamics, horse training, horsemanship, horses, Horses at Liberty Foundation Training, Liberty training, Ortho-Bionomy, OrthoHorse, UncategorizedAlternative therapies, animals, bodywork, chakras, energetic connection, energy work, equine, equine bodywork, equine healing, equine liberty training, Equine Ortho-Bionomy, equine rescue, healing, herd behavior, herd dynamics, horsemanship, horses, Horses at LIberty Foundation Training, OrthoHorsehorsesatliberty

For a number of years now, I’ve been doing distance bodywork on horses and people. Honestly, it doesn’t matter how far away those horses are, they can still greatly benefit from this help both anatomically and physiologically.

Laurie sharing breath with Starwyn. October 2013 Spirit Horse Ranch Liberty Foundations Clinic

Continue reading Healing horses from 500 miles away →

How a caretaking horse is born

June 20, 2014abused horses, alternative therapies, animal communication, energy work, equines, exercise, healing, herd behavior, herd dynamics, horse training, horsemanship, horses, Horses at Liberty Foundation Training, liberty rein, Liberty training, OrthoHorse, riding, therapy horses, Uncategorizedequine liberty training, equines, horses, Horses at LIberty Foundation Training, liberty horse training, OrthoHorse, ridinghorsesatliberty

“At any kind of transition point in our lives we all need the certainty of knowing at some level that we are securely held. This is the ground from which we leap, however near or far, and to which we can return and be welcomed back.” – Wisdom of the Body Moving, by Linda Hartley.

Continue reading How a caretaking horse is born →

The trail as a metaphor for life

June 7, 2014bitless riding, equines, exercise, fear, herd behavior, herd dynamics, horse training, horsemanship, horses, Horses at Liberty Foundation Training, Liberty training, Uncategorizedendurance riding, equines, herd behavior, herd dynamics, horseback riding, horsemanship, horses, Horses at LIberty Foundation Training, liberty horse traininghorsesatliberty

I have ridden many miles of trail in my life. Years ago, I had the thought that the trail really is a metaphor for life, because we choose the trail according to the same basic criteria as we choose to embark on activities in life, except that no one is paying us to do it, usually!

Continue reading The trail as a metaphor for life →

What does your horse work say about you?

May 30, 2014bitless bridles, bodywork, equines, exercise, fear, herd behavior, herd dynamics, horse training, horsemanship, horses, Horses at Liberty Foundation Training, Liberty training, Ortho-Bionomy, OrthoHorse, riding, Uncategorizedbodywork, energetic connection, equine liberty training, Equine Ortho-Bionomy, equines, herd behavior, herd dynamics, horseback riding, horsemanship, Horses at LIberty Foundation Training, liberty horse training, OrthoHorsehorsesatliberty

I recently became aware of how the Liberty work I teach really expose to us not only our greatest strengths and weaknesses, but also what parts of the work we are drawn to.

Continue reading What does your horse work say about you? →

When your horse has had enough

May 23, 2014alternative therapies, bodywork, energy work, equines, exercise, fear, healing, herd behavior, herd dynamics, horse training, horsemanship, horses, Horses at Liberty Foundation Training, liberty rein, Liberty training, OrthoHorse, riding, Uncategorizedanimals, bodywork, energy work, equine bodywork, equine healing, Equine Ortho-Bionomy, herd behavior, herd dynamics, Horses at LIberty Foundation Training, liberty horse training, OrthoHorsehorsesatliberty

From the standpoint of a bodyworker, when the horse has “had enough” is pretty obvious. But even so, students will continue to press on an area and worry over it even when the horse has moved away. Why don’t they see it? Feel it?

Continue reading When your horse has had enough →

Thinking as a herd

April 18, 2014animal communication, bitless bridles, bitless riding, equines, exercise, herd behavior, herd dynamics, horse training, horsemanship, horses, Liberty training, performance horses, riding, Uncategorizedanimals, energetic connection, equine, equine healing, equine liberty training, equine positional release, herd behavior, horsemanship, horses, Horses at LIberty Foundation Training, liberty horse training, rescue horses, ridinghorsesatliberty

In the beginning there was the herd. The herd traveled as one; each member had its own thoughts but they thought as one being when deciding where to move, when to move, where to eat, to drink, what to do if a predator approached. Their days flowed together and were designed around the quest for food, shelter and space. They shared a language that consisted of body language, sounds, just thinking a desire.

Continue reading Thinking as a herd →

For the love of ponies!

April 11, 2014abused horses, animal communication, energy work, equines, exercise, fear, herd behavior, herd dynamics, horse training, horsemanship, horses, Horses at Liberty Foundation Training, Liberty training, performance horses, rescue horses, riding, Uncategorizedequine healing, equine liberty training, Equine Ortho-Bionomy, herd behavior, herd dynamics, horse training, horseback riding, horsemanship, Horses at LIberty Foundation Training, OrthoHorse, ponies, rescue horseshorsesatliberty

This past weekend I had the opportunity to work with some ponies, all with different personalities and levels of training. While they are really no different than horses, they are often treated differently and are in some cases so small that adults can’t get in the saddle, which may mean they might lack some basic training.

Rose, the feisty pony, comes into relationship.

Continue reading For the love of ponies! →

Susan Smith. A framework for healing—horse and human

A framework for healing—horse & human.