Horse Geeks

When training doesn't work to resolve problems it tends to be the horse or student who suffers the blame. Lack of success is often attributed to a person lacking talent or failing to learn. Lack of success for horses is often attributed to the horse lacking talent, having bad conformation, being the wrong breed or poorly bred or just a personality flaw like stubborn or crazy. But what if it is really the system of methods, the training programs, that are producing poor results? Maybe how we go about training is what needs to change in order for all students and all horses to succeed, overcome problems and develop latent talents. Deb and I tuck into this topic because it is personal for both of us. After slogging through programs and being on the receiving end of the blame game we both found solutions by changing what we focus on during training. Instead of just getting through all those tasks mapped out in any training program, we decided to focus on how things were getting done. What is happening on the inside of people and horses has a much bigger influence on success or failure no matter what kinds of tasks we choose to do. Guest: Deb Romero, Certified Alexander Technique Instructorwww.optimalposture.orgHost: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainerdeveloper of Training for Optimal Balancewww.wexfordfarm.com

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We tend to think that horses always respond the same way to rein, seat and leg aids but the don't. We forget that some horses have a lot of trouble with trailers while others just don't. Horses have thoughts and opinions, and personalities, and good days and bad days. Predicting how any particular horse will respond to anything is actually wildly unpredictable. The horse's response is actually what should shape training, spending more time patiently working through challenges - and there will be at least one! - and feeling a bit more grateful while doing things that come easy to that horse. We have to remember that perceptions are what trigger feelings. Thoughts are part of perceptions. How any given horse perceives any given situation is complex, unpredictable and not in our control at all. But we can notice how horses respond and adjust what we are doing or how in ways that help horses instead of just demanding obedience and ignoring how horses feel about things. Guest: Deb Romero, Certified Alexander Technique Instructorwww.optimalposture.orgHost: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainerdeveloper of Training for Optimal Balancewww.wexfordfarm.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit https://kirstennelsen.substack.com

The process of observing and then assigning meaning happens so fast in our nervous system that it takes practice to separate the two events. Often we have no idea we are even assigning meaning instead of just observing because our brains are predictive machines. It just feels normal to see something and immediately decide it is good, bad, right or wrong. It feels almost intuitive to decide a person or horse is just lazy, stubborn, has attention deficiencies or is just naturally high or low energy, which we like or don't like. Practicing observation, pulling our brain away from giving everything a meaning, is harder than it sounds but worth the effort. In the space of observing we have to slow down, pause our words and actions, and take in information. The information we take in about horses is what actually guides training, especially during rehab training or while developing balance for the first time. Timing yourself for just 5 full minutes of nothing but observation is how observational skills are developed and refined. Guest: Deb Romero, Certified Alexander Technique Instructorwww.optimalposture.orgHost: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainerdeveloper of Training for Optimal Balancewww.wexfordfarm.com

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The differences between multitasking and taking time to focus on one thing can make the difference between anxiety and calmness, tension and adaptability. Making changes during training, changing anything or creatively creating something new all require more concentration and focus compared to doing things that are already habitual, familiar. If we are not good at focusing on one thing, then making improvements with horses becomes harder not easier. The busier we are as riders, the less we feel or even notice how a horse is responding to what we are asking. Responses are unpredictable, from horses or people, so if we don't notice them, then we often don't know how to proceed. We get stuck going through the motions of training and miss a deeper connection with our horses. Guest: Deb Romero, Certified Alexander Instructorwww.optimalposture.orgHost: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainerdeveloper of Training for Optimal Balance www.wexfordfarm.com

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Guest Abby Shpilman shares some of her expertise as an anxiety therapist with anyone struggling with confidence issues. Whether we call it anxiety, self doubt or fear Abby and I are in agreement that the feelings are the key, not willpower! In order to move past fear issues we have to figure out what the feelings of it actually are inside the body, not the brain. Abby takes it a layer deeper with riders and non-riders alike by really digging into emotional memories that can become stuck in the body. And fear around horses can start to become a problem no matter how much horse experience you have, it happens to all of us at some point or with some horse. Abby works remotely with clients, like I do, in order to offer her specialized help to people with anxiety around the world. Guest: Abby Shpilman, Anxiety Therapistridewithconfidence.com.au@AbbyShpilman on YouTube Host: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainerdeveloper of Training for Optimal Balance wexfordfarm.com @kirstennelsen on YouTube

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit https://kirstennelsen.substack.com

Calmness is the observable energy output from a regulated nervous system. When the parasympathetic portion of the autonomic nervous system is dominant, the body is in a "relaxation response." This does not mean resting, just a use of the body that supports long term survival. The opposite function of the nervous system, for short term survival, is called a "stress response" and happens when the sympathetic portion of the autonomic nervous system is dominant. While we can't control if a person or horse has a stress response, we can recognize the outward nonverbal result, the expression of stress with energy and body language that looks and feels anything but calm. Calm is the energy of pleasure hormones running through the body. Not calm can mean tense, angry, anxious, nervous, placating, stuck, frozen or shutdown. So anything other than calm, even during strenuous activities, is how we learn to recognize stress responses. Once we recognize them, then we can also develop the skill of redirecting, counteracting or repurposing all that energy towards a change of function in the nervous system. Whether the body is mostly operating in a stress response or more often in a relaxation response, especially during work, is what makes the difference to long term health. Guest: Deb Romero, Certified Alexander Technique Instructorwww.optimalposture.orgHost: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainerdeveloper of Training for Optimal Balancewww.wexfordfarm.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit https://kirstennelsen.substack.com

Understanding how the two movements of the spine, lateral bending and rotation, affect each other is important if we want the best possible performance from horses. Rotational movements stabilizing, not moving, is what makes a horse's back and hindquarters level side to side. When we ask a horse to laterally bend too much, it causes rotational movement of the vertebrae at the same time. It has always been that way, but we do not talk about in classical or traditional horse training. So rotational movement of the barrel and pelvis is a prevalent problem but lives in our collective blind spot as riders, trainers and judges. Becoming aware of when a horse is un-level is a substantial part of helping horses into a mechanically sound functional and balanced coordination. Guest: Deb Romero, Certified Alexander Technique Instructorwww.optimalposture.orgHost: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainerdeveloper of Training for Optimal Balance www.wexfordfarm.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit https://kirstennelsen.substack.com

The unspoken assumption of driving horses energetically forward into bit resistance is that the only option a horse has is to lift the back and engage the hindquarters. But coordination is complicated, just not that simple. Many horses simple drop the back or adjust by going crooked, laterally bending or rotating the spine, instead. As riders we are often unaware of the subtle compensation patterns. Head sets, neck sets and collecting horses into a frame does not cause internal coordination to balance or even be used in a healthy mechanical way. We can't make a horse look right in order to be right on the inside. Bodies have a way of adapting in order to relieve pressure in many ways that are not balanced or even a healthy use of the body. We need to know what balance feels like and let the posture or frame reflect whatever internal coordination is actually doing during development. Guest: Deb Romero, Certified Alexander Technique Instructor www.optimalposture.orgHost: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainerdeveloper of Training for Optimal Balance www.wexfordfarm.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit https://kirstennelsen.substack.com

Deb and I do our best to answer a listener's question about her sensitive mare that gets a bit snarly when being touched, groomed and tacked up. As people we tend to zero in on these "don't touch me" spots and try to use desensitization to gain acceptance. But the real issue is trust and those areas are protected by a horse for a reason. How we approach, our energy as well as our actions, makes the difference between gaining trust and working through self-protection or not. If we begin with the thought that the horse has a good reason to feel protective, it changes how we handle the entire situation. If we approach respectfully, instead of blasting into protected areas, then horses can at least learn to tolerate the required touching. If we work with what a horse does like, can authentically accept first, then little by little we can work our way into the protected areas and gain trust from our horse. Guest: Deb Romero, Certified Alexander Technique Instructorwww.optimalposture.orgHost: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainerdeveloper of Training for Optimal Balance www.wexfordfarm.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit https://kirstennelsen.substack.com

There was recently a bridle-less riding competition in England that has gotten a lot of attention on line. Deb and I both love and support these types of competitions because they demonstrate great horsemanship skills, essential self-carriage and refined communication between horses and riders, as it should be. These events help us move away from “framing” horses into uncomfortable, unnatural postures and movement, which we feel is a positive change for competitive riding.

Riding horses bridle-less is not a trick, it is a result, the side effect of good training methods. Riders must have better balance because they can’t rely on their hands for stability. Horses must be balanced enough that steering and speed adjustments are easy and can be communicated through the rider’s seat and torso. When horses have freedom to move the neck naturally they find it easier to balance and rebalance during the performance.

Guest: Deb Romero, Certified Alexander Technique Instructorwww.optimalposture.org

Host: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainerdeveloper of Training for Optimal Balancewww.wexfordfarm.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit https://kirstennelsen.substack.com

How do we work on balance in simple ways everyday? Deb gives us lots of hints from her work as an Alexander Technique Instructor. Often we have poor internal maps about where major joints are in our body, which can throw off the use of our head, arms and legs as a result. Deb goes over in detail where 3 major joints are located and how we can bring our awareness to them, gently moving them, in order to improve our balance while we are out and about doing normal daily stuff. Guest: Deb Romero, Certified Alexander Technique Instructorwww.optimalposture.orgHost: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainerdeveloper of Training for Optimal Balance www.wexfordfarm.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit https://kirstennelsen.substack.com

Balance in mind and body brings a sense of ease, efficiency, focus and clarity. Finding balance is a self-rewarding process because every time we improve emotional, mental or physical balance we just feel better - thanks to pleasure hormones and reduced muscular tension during motion. Working on balance is something we can do all the time internally even during challenging situations that the external world throws at us. The very first step of working on balance is awareness. Becoming aware of our thoughts, emotions and ease or lack of ease in physical movement is the very first step. Without awareness we rely on habits and instincts. With awareness we have the choice to change our habits. Small pauses with a shift to internal awareness can be done anytime, anywhere and in any situation. Giving ourselves permission to pause and create a little space internally in order to develop more awareness is not hard to do but does require practice. Our habits and instincts will kick in unconsciously all the time. Once we feel bad, muddled, stressed or have physical discomfort, those are the moments we can build awareness and start exercising choice about our internal world. Guest: Deb Romero, Certified Alexander Technique Instructorwww.optimalposture.orgHost: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainerdeveloper of Training for Optimal Balance www.wexfordfarm.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit https://kirstennelsen.substack.com

When it comes to the health of our horse typically the last thing to be considered is how our horse is moving and how we balance as riders - how habits of coordination may be affecting our horse's well being. The veterinary term for dysfunctional coordination is mechanical lameness, meaning discomfort before any limping or pain manifests. While research on equine biomechanics has advanced, the information from that research is not yet part of our regular riding and training work. We have traditions in training that actually cause dysfunctional coordination in horses but they are so prevalent and common that they are never questioned. We contribute to our horse's healthy, balanced coordination or dysfunction every single time we ride and train horses. Because coordination, movement, are just habits stored in the nervous system the person who rides or trains a horse the most frequently has the single biggest impact on that horse's coordination and health over the long term. Guest: Deb Romero, Certified Alexander Technique Instructorwww.optimalposture.orgHost: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainerdeveloper of Training for Optimal Balance www.wexfordfarm.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit https://kirstennelsen.substack.com

Being "just a trail rider" still means that how we balance on the back of a horse has a positive or negative impact on how horses feel, mentally, emotionally and physically. We are not neutral when we interact with horses. We are either helping horses thrive or we are making life harder. Learning how to adapt to different situations, sometimes rapidly, in order to help our horses feel safe, stable and comfortable during trail rides is the challenge of trail riding. Just because we don't compete with our horse does not mean that we don't have the same impact on our horse's well being. As riders we need to know how to help horses feel safe once they don't, and how to feel physically stable and comfortable when they don't. If we don't know how to do this then we may be more of a burden to our horse than a friend. Guest: Deb Romero, Certified Alexander Technique Instructorwww.optimalposture.orgHost: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainerdeveloper of Training for Optimal Balance www.wexfordtraining.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit https://kirstennelsen.substack.com

What we put our attention or awareness on has a direct affect on our perceptions. Our perceptions are what trigger general nervous system use, for short or long term survival. Dominance of the sympathetic (fight or flight) or dominance of the parasympathetic (rest or digest) affect the body globally - influencing health, brain function, decision making, behavior and responses, further strengthening or altering the original perception. Focusing our attention on what is wrong is a good way to stimulate a stress response, dominance of the sympathetic portion. Focusing on what is right, gratitude or appreciation for what is going well, is a good way to stimulate dominance of the parasympathetic portion. We actually have a choice about how we feel and how we help our horses feel. How we feel directly alters our perceptions of all situations which influences our behavior and future choices. We can stop a negative spiral into anxiety, tension or depression by consciously altering what we put our awareness and attention on. Guest: Deb Romero, Certified Alexander Technique Instructorwww.optimalposture.orgHost: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainerdeveloper of Training for Optimal Balance www.wexfordfarm.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit https://kirstennelsen.substack.com

When human hands connect to horses heads and necks through the reins the situation becomes very tricky. It does not matter what bit is used or if the reins connect to a bit-less bridle or halter. The reins are the part that connect the person and horse. How we use the reins always has a dynamic effect on a horse's balance in both mind and body. The inherent challenge of using the reins in ways that benefit horses is that humans love to grip with the hands. We cannot stop gripping with our hands as long as our torso is unstable in the saddle. The most mobile, adjustable part of the horse's entire body is the neck and head. Horses need to make adjustments in neck use when weight distribution becomes unbalanced in the barrel and hindquarters. When we restrict the use of the horse's head and neck through the reins, we can often cause horses to adopt unbalanced patterns of compensation that become habits of dysfunctional coordination. Learning how to use reins effectively - for the benefit of a horse's balance - is a learned skill for all people and takes a bit of practice to override our instincts to grip. Rein contact and even rein aids can be last on the list of things to do when it comes to developing a balanced coordination in horses. A dynamic rein contact only becomes necessary as the horse moves closer to three dimensional balance overall. Guest: Deb Romero, Certified Alexander Technique Instructorwww.optimalposture.orgHost: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainerdeveloper of Training for Optimal Balance www.wexfordfarm.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit https://kirstennelsen.substack.com

It is a major shift of perspective in horse training to turn the tables on tasks. Most training programs outline a series of tasks to be accomplished in a particular order. This is how most horse training programs are structured. The unspoken promise is that a calm, focused, well moving horse - or balance - will the side effect of doing all those tasks in that order. But we have waaaay too many examples of that methodology just not working for people or horses. When there is a problem either the rider or the horse is blamed for a lack of results. But what if the program is the real problem? When a program cannot adapt to the individual needs of people and horses, then what? Turning the tables on tasks means we learn first how to recognize balance and imbalance, in mind and body, in people and horses. Then we utilize any task in any order to help develop or improve balance. There really never needs to be an order to tasks. Instead we learn how to find the path of least resistance to balance by trying out different tasks and mixing up the order of things. That idea, of turning tasks into tools for balance, is a big one! Guest: Deb Romero, Certified Alexander Technique Instructor www.optimalposture.orgHost: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainerdeveloper of Training for Optimal Balancewww.wexfordfarm.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit https://kirstennelsen.substack.com

Whether we or horses are mentally and emotionally unstable or physically unstable really makes no difference. Unstable thoughts, emotions and coordination all intertwine and affect each other. We don't often look to something as instability as the root cause of our problems, but it affects all horses and people at an instinctual level. We simple can't feel safe and unstable at the same time without a lot of conscious effort. Deb and I look at stability and instability in different ways, how it manifests in our experience frequently but fails to get a lot of attention. Knowing how to focus thoughts, calm emotional states and find stability in the right areas of the physical body is how we work through a huge variety of problems and turn things around during rehab. Guest: Deb Romero, Certified Alexander Technique Instructorwww.optimalposture.orgHost: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainerdeveloper of Training for Optimal Balancewww.wexfordfarm.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit https://kirstennelsen.substack.com

Our bodies are mass with weight. How we distribute our body weight internally and how we use muscular contractions generate invisible forces that always have an impact on a horse's movement. When we ride or drive, our balance or imbalance in the saddle or cart has a direct impact on a horse's ability to balance coordination or resort into dysfunctional coordination because of us. We are never neutral to a horse. How we use our bodies can guide a horse's coordination into a better, balanced, healthy use becoming a primary aid before, during and after using our leg and rein aids. How we use our bodies can also contribute to a dysfunctional coordination already adopted by a horse and can even cause dysfunctional coordination in horses. If we are riding to please a judge or adopting postures that look the part for our sport, then we may not be aware of how we are influencing our horse's movement as soon as we get in the saddle or cart. When our horse has problems, looking at our own balance as a contributing factor is just not on our radar - but perhaps it should be. Guest: Deb Romero, Certified Alexander Technique Insturctor www.optimalposture.orgHost: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer developer of Training for Optimal Balancekirstenwexfordtraining.mvsite.app

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The skeletal design of the female body is different than the skeleton of a male body, mostly through the shape of the pelvis and lumbar portion of the spine. Can't reference where I learned it, but I remember reading that the female body also has roughly 20% more connective tissue than males. Our traditional riding instruction works well for male riders but the same instructions actually have the opposite effect on female riders. In order to stabilize our seat as female riders we can begin with heels flat, not down, and shoulders down, not back. In order to learn the muscle use needed to coordinate stability through the lumbar and pelvis, the seat, slumping is a girl's best friend! Guest: Deb Romero, Certified Alexander Technique Instructorwww.optimalposture.orgHost: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer developer of Training for Optimal Balance kirstenwexfordtraining.mvsite.app

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit https://kirstennelsen.substack.com