Tag Archives: riding

Great expectations for horses

December 27, 2014equines, fear, herd behavior, herd dynamics, horse training, horsemanship, horses, Horses at Liberty Foundation Training, liberty rein, Liberty training, OrthoHorse, rescue horses, riding, therapy horses, trail riding, Uncategorizedbodywork, energetic connection, equines, healing, herd behavior, herd dynamics, horse training, horseback riding, horses, Horses at LIberty Foundation Training, leadership, OrthoHorse, rescue horses, ridinghorsesatliberty

We all want something from the horse. Otherwise most of us wouldn’t have one or work with one.

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Grow body awareness around horses

December 6, 2014bodywork, endurance, energy work, equines, exercise, fear, healing, herd behavior, herd dynamics, horse training, horsemanship, horses, Horses at Liberty Foundation Training, Ortho-Bionomy, OrthoHorse, performance horses, riding, therapy horses, trail riding, UncategorizedAlternative therapies, animals, bodywork, energetic connection, energy work, EPR, equine, equine bodywork, Equine Ortho-Bionomy, equine positional release, exercise, healing, herd behavior, horseback riding, horsemanship, Horses at LIberty Foundation Training, liberty training, Ortho-Bionomy, OrthoHorse, ridinghorsesatliberty

Most people who have been around horses for a long while have suffered injuries. These injuries –unless treated deeply, and I mean with bodywork after the stitches or surgeries have healed, may continue to cause restrictions both in the physical body and the emotional and psychic bodies.

Patches with his owner, Ariana, when we first brought him home, August, 2011.

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Beyond the norm: no force = great horse

October 25, 2014equines, exercise, fear, geriatric horses, healing, herd behavior, herd dynamics, horse training, horsemanship, horses, Horses at Liberty Foundation Training, liberty rein, Liberty training, OrthoHorse, performance horses, rescue horses, riding, therapy horses, trail riding, Uncategorizedbodywork, energetic connection, energy work, equine liberty training, equine rescue, equines, herd behavior, herd dynamics, horse trainers, horsemanship, Horses at LIberty Foundation Training, leadership, liberty horse training, liberty training, ridinghorsesatliberty

Recently I’ve been in social situations with my horse and other riders where I’ve been faced with how differently I do things.

I have come to a rift in thinking with most people who ride or work with horses. The popular jargon states that we must “make our horse do things” and “keep the feet moving” and “don’t give up on the activity or the horse will have won.” “I run my horse around in the round pen so I know what kind of horse I have before I ride.”

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Seven toning exercises for older horses

September 20, 2014alternative therapies, bitless bridles, bitless riding, equines, exercise, geriatric horses, healing, herd behavior, herd dynamics, horse training, horsemanship, horses, Horses at Liberty Foundation Training, liberty rein, Liberty training, Natural Horsemanship, Ortho-Bionomy, OrthoHorse, performance horses, rescue horses, riding, trail riding, Uncategorizedbodywork, energetic connection, energy work, equine, herd dynamics, horse trainers, horse training, horseback riding, horsemanship, horses, Horses at LIberty Foundation Training, leadership, liberty horse training, liberty training, Ortho-Bionomy, OrthoHorse, rescue horses, ridinghorsesatliberty

Last year, my older gelding Khami, at 24, was diagnosed with Cushings. This is common for older horses these days. But there are many things that can be done to maintain the health of an older horse so that his organs and other body parts function well, in spite of the aging process.

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Better riding through Ortho-Bionomy on horseback

September 14, 2014alternative therapies, bareback riding, bitless bridles, bodywork, energy work, equines, healing, herd behavior, herd dynamics, horse training, horsemanship, horses, Horses at Liberty Foundation Training, liberty rein, Liberty training, Ortho-Bionomy, OrthoHorse, riding, trail riding, Uncategorizedbareback riding, bodywork, energetic connection, Equine Ortho-Bionomy, equine training, equines, exercise, healing, health, herd behavior, herd dynamics, horse trainers, horseback riding, horsemanship, horses, Horses at LIberty Foundation Training, leadership, liberty training, Ortho-Bionomy, ridinghorsesatliberty

Riding is the next step in our relationship with our horse. Working with relationship on the ground comes first, then the saddle.

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Horsemanship isn’t built in a day

September 7, 2014bitless bridles, bitless riding, energy work, equines, exercise, fear, herd behavior, herd dynamics, horse training, horsemanship, horses, Horses at Liberty Foundation Training, liberty rein, Liberty training, OrthoHorse, riding, trail riding, Uncategorizedenergetic connection, energy work, exercise, healing, health, herd behavior, herd dynamics, horse trainers, horseback riding, horsemanship, horses, Horses at LIberty Foundation Training, liberty horse training, liberty training, OrthoHorse, ridinghorsesatliberty

Holly Smith riding Roman style

Yes, this is exciting, but don’t try this without professional guidance! You will need to know your horses inside and out and know you have the balance required to accomplish this feat!

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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.

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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.

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Straight from the heart…what do horses tell us?

February 14, 2014abused horses, alternative therapies, animal communication, bareback riding, bitless riding, dude string horses, equines, exercise, fear, healing, herd behavior, herd dynamics, horse training, horsemanship, horses, Horses at Liberty Foundation Training, Liberty training, mustangs, OrthoHorse, performance horses, rescue horses, riding, therapeutic riding programs, therapy horses, UncategorizedAlternative therapies, bareback riding, bodywork, Ellen Kaye Gehrke, endurance riding, energetic connection, Equine Facilitated Mental Health Association (EFMA), Equine Guided Education Association (EGEA), equine healing, equine rescue, herd behavior, horsemanship, North American Handicapped Riders Association (NAHRA), Ph. D, ridinghorsesatliberty

Valentine’s Day is a great opportunity to talk about what we think of “love” between ourselves and our horses. We don’t really need studies to tell us what we feel about our horses and probably we have a good sense of how our horses feel about us. So much of what we feel would be considered “anecdotal evidence,” yet it is powerful and real. But there have been pilot studies done on the relationships between people and their horses, with some surprising, validating results.

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Cold hooves, warm heart – holistic equine care for the cold weather

December 30, 2013energy work, equines, healing, horse training, horsemanship, horses, Liberty training, Ortho-Bionomy, UncategorizedAlternative therapies, animals, bodywork, EPR, equine bodywork, equine healing, Equine Ortho-Bionomy, equine positional release, herd behavior, horseback riding, horsemanship, liberty horse training, ridinghorsesatliberty

In my previous post, I talked about physical exercises for horses during winter, to avoid “wild and crazy horse behavior.” In this post I’d like to talk about using bodywork to support your horse at any time, but I think it’s very appropriate right now, when movement is difficult for horses because of the footing and the cold weather.

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