Wharfedale Equine Therapy

08/01/2026

Life with horses isn’t a race. We need to be happy with small steps as often time and patience are more important than any technique 🥰

Hello. Happy new year to you.

02/01/2026

As many of you know I am a big fan of Nahshon Cook, and I absolutely loved this podcast. So much so that I have already listened to it several times. There were things to learn in there but also many validating points for me.

I’ve felt recently that I perhaps needed to change the way I work a bit for many of the reasons mentioned in the podcast. Today something happened that really made me understand the way to go forward with this (more about that in my next post).

I love this podcast but I did wonder if it some people wouldn’t be ready for it, but today made me realise that it’s not for me to say who is ready or not and also if I hide from things that I truly believe then I am not being true to myself, and the thing horses (and people deep down I believe) hate is a lack of congruency..

Thank you Nahshon Cook for your honesty and wisdom, and thank you to the beautiful young lady who has no idea just how much she taught me about myself and how I can help people today ❤️

The Little Horse Big Conversation Podcast · Episode

24/12/2025

Merry Christmas to you all! May you have a relaxing time with your family human and equine and look forward to seeing you in the New Year 🎉🎄🤶🥂###

21/12/2025

This 🥰

14/12/2025

Why I don’t do deep tissue work on horses.

I am extremely grateful for the quality of training I received as a body worker. Before I could qualify as an equine massage therapist I had to train in human massage. I had no desire to do this (I mean, human bodies……….) but there was an important reason why. We humans have a voice, and can and should use it when receiving therapy. It is easy to impose ourselves on the equine body in a way we imagine feels good, but does, in fact, not. Spending time on human bodies first provides the verbal feedback many of us need.

Several years ago I got ran over by a training horse. A good looking Arab who’d had it with people. Not his fault, but the end result was he ran over me - all four feet- up my side, over my neck and head. I learned a lot, about horse owners and horses. And of course, my own short comings.

I have been gently - and sometimes not so gently- suffering ever since. It caused a bone spur in my neck which produces residual pain in my shoulder and arm. Mostly it just grumbles, sometimes it spasms.

Ever since I have taken myself along to an incredible cranial sacral therapist who, by ostensibly ‘not doing very much at all’, is actually doing an awful lot. This keeps me out of serious pain and comfortable enough to function.

A few weeks ago this injury was aggravated. and as my cranial sacred goddess is away I looked for a massage therapist. She did what is often done, and dug away with her elbow on the sore bits and applied a lot of cross tissue pressure on the spasmy bits. I said ‘Oh that’s a bit sore’ in a small breathless voice a few times, and she said ‘I’m not really using that much pressure’. So I shut up and held my breath.

Now, following this treatment, I can’t move that arm or shoulder at all. I’m rattling with pain killers, strapped to a TENS machine and trying not to get too far away from a hot water bottle. Again, my fault. I should have got off that table and protected my body, rather than her feelings.

The more time I have spent with my hands on horse bodies, the less and less it seems necessary to do. I don’t impose stretches, I don’t use trigger point therapy, I don’t use knuckles, or elbows or digging about into sore points.

If a body is having to protect itself from a therapist, my experience is that not much good is being achieved. It might feel satisfying to knead away at tight muscles, but bruising should not be the outcome of a treatment. I no longer have my horses cracked, or ‘overly’ manipulated, or in any way manhandled in treatments. There are very, very few people I’ll let get their hands on my horses.

The body will do its own remarkable amount of healing in response to small suggestions and touch which feels safe, Very often ALL we need to do is provide a space for the body to feel safe in and it will begin to weave its own magic. It’s remarkable what we can offer our horses with the most minimal of touch (I don’t want to say ‘light’ touch as this often produces something from a human which horses also don’t appreciate).

While we may enjoy seeing a body worker ‘Get right in there’ with our horse; very often their body might have been better off with a lot, lot, less.

04/12/2025

The problem with change, is that we have to do it.

A couple of weeks ago I taught someone I have worked with for a long time. Even as she walked in, I could sense things were different in her. And her horse was more than able to tell the story of change - his expression was happy and interested; rather than frustrated and defensive.

As soon as she started doing some things with him, everything was different. It was probably one of the most exponential changes I have ever witnessed. I asked her what had happened and she said she just got tired of hearing the same things in lessons, over and over. From me, and from every other teacher she encountered. In her case the message was pretty simple. For the sake of every horse, get clearer. Be more effective.

She was a gold star student in being soft. Being quiet, being gentle. She is a sensitive human and a lovely rider. But these qualities can't exist in isolation, otherwise you are limiting the conversation to a very small range.

This - of course - does not mean you need to be aggressive or angry. But what could be seen is that horses were often left in a vacuum by her. Where ARE you? What do you MEAN?
With some horses this just resulted in things getting a bit woolly and their understanding diminished or didn't progress. In her own horses case, he got cross. He could not stick that feeling from her. I don't believe horses are sent to us for a reason (amazingly, we are not the center of the universe), but sometimes one comes along which is well timed. In this instance, he was the perfect teacher.

Therefore, in order to meet her horse where he was, she took a long hard look at the thing she found came least naturally to her and decided to address it. A way of being she found the hardest to be, and had the least desire to practice. And she practiced it. I take my hat off to her (and then put it back on because it's bloody freezing).

Because, what many of us do instead (myself included) is just keep practicing more of the same. Or gathering acres of information, going to clinic after clinic, having hundreds of lessons, and resolutely not addressing that elephant in the corner of the arena - the thing we need to actually change. It's why we plateau, despite the hours we put in. It's why we keep getting the same results even though we know we are 'trying really hard'.

And it's also why early next year we are going to be running an online coaching course for horse riders and owners, because seeing these kind of changes is what keeps me inspired as a teacher, I love it. Thanks for the inspiration young Jedi, your horse is also delighted.

01/12/2025

I really enjoyed this podcast. I’m lucky enough to have been able to buy a few acres and we are trying to take a rewilding approach to our land. I know how challenging this can be for many horse owners situation but perhaps there are small changes ypu can make to benefit your horses and the land they live on.

The Brand New Episode

‘IN CONVERSATION WITH.. KATE LEMON & RINA QUINLAN: EQUINE CONSERVATION CONVERSATION'

Episode 15

'In this auroch-sized episode, Amy and Ross are joined by two special guests, Rewilding Delivery Manager, Kate Lemon of the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust and rewilding specialist, Rina Quinlan of Rina Quinlan Research & Rewilding Consultancy.

Together, we delve into public misconceptions that surround rewilding, benefits that rewilding can have on humans and our long-term management of equines, and of course, what equines can bring to conservation and rewilding projects across the world.'

Streaming now on all platforms; Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Podbean, Spotify & More!

Listen here:
https://littlehorsebigconversation.podbean.com

-

Areion Academy
Rosca Horsemanship
Strong Foundations Hoof Care
Little Horse Big Conversation Podcast
The Wildlife Trusts

30/11/2025

It’s great these days that people think so much more about physical causes. When I trained as an AI in the 1980s it was rarely mentioned. The trouble is that it isn’t always the case, and we need to consider everything else which may be affecting the horse too.

Why is the horse struggling?

The horse could have a physical issue. It could be a genetic condition - that is becoming increasingly common, sadly, due to unscrupulous breeding practices.

But, sometimes, the most simple answer is the correct answer.

A few occasions that illustrate this point well:

-A horse who was being investigated by vets, saddle fitters, and other trainers to see if they could discover the reason the horse was "off." The saddle fitters tried six, seven, eight saddles on him in one session. He became irritated and reluctant to go forward, pinning his ears. Is this because the saddles became increasingly worse in fit, or due to the irration of constantly being stopped, messed with, fiddled with, and being asked to ride one sloppy lap with little direction before the next saddle fit change?

Several riders, possessing two very different styles of riding, tried this same horse. One found him to go fine after a bit of redirection of attention from the saddle fitting pandemonium. The other found the horse resistant, unsteerable, incapable of moving forward.

Is this a sign of lameness, or a confused irritated horse tired of being "tried" by everyone?

As you can see, diagnostics are not that simple. Even as this horse went on to veterinary diagnostics, x rays revealing not much, a vet lunging a horse on a circle possesses different lunging abilities than an accomplished and trained rider. Is the horse crooked and lame, or is the horse being lunged crooked and completely out of rhythm? Assessment is not as simple as it would seem.

Another occasion:

-a frustrated horse owner posts on a biomechanics group that her horse will not lunge to the right. She shares photos of the horse being lunged: counter bent, pulling to the outside. And photos of the horse free lunging with no tack: better alignment, happier expression. The comments explore every option: have you had her x rayed? Have you tried this bit, that trainer's methods, have you considered this or that supplement? Test for this, could be EPM, and so on. And yet, upon inspection of the photo, it is quite easy to see the horse's equipment is attached in a way that the line is pulling the horse to the outside, hence why the horse lunges fine loose and not well attached to equipment.

Does this horse have physical issues? it's possible ,but it's quite likely this moment is easily fixed by a tack adjustment.

In no way am I saying investigation is not necessary. But let's not forget skill, tact, good equipment and good use of said equipment, understanding how to use the seat and aids well, and so on. I can't tell you how many "lame" horses I've met who were in fact not lame at all, hence why they were not responding to treatments - what they needed was better, more correct riding, or a few little adjustments in management, and so on.

So in seeking how to help horses, keeping a well rounded view is essential. Don't toss out your diagnostics when you need them, and keep considering what could be lurking deeper - but don't lose sight of feel, good handling, good riding, and common sense as our first line of defense against lameness.

24/09/2025

In my work I can never be sure about what’s going on for a horse, but what I can often do is recognise patterns that might lead you to make an educated guess.

The more I get used to noticing patterns the more I notice them in everything. Horses and people often display patterns in their behaviour too. Often a behavioural pattern can be due to a combination of so many things both physical and emotional that have happened in people’s and horses past. Certainly from a horses point of view, whilst trying to have an understanding of factors that might have lead to patterns it is often better not to get too embroiled in the why and just help the horse with the now.

Horse live in the moment so it is definitely the now that is most important to them no matter what has gone on on the past. I know it is a lot easier said than done but perhaps this is a lesson we can learn from them too. These days I am so much more interested in what horses can teach me and less worried about what I can teach them.

29/08/2025

It’s lovely when you see a horse you haven’t seen for a while and find them so much more open to a session.

This little girls owner has obviously done a lovely job with her, that and finding her a home where she is obviously very happy.

I travel around a lot and I always find that nice calm well managed yards with nice people always have a positive effect on horses even though they can be very different from each other in set up.

10/08/2025

The Art of Producing the High-Level Horse

In today’s world, where goals are king, results are worshipped, and egos often take the reins, we’ve lost touch with something essential: the art of the journey. The quiet, thoughtful process of developing a horse, not just for performance, but for partnership.

Too often, the pursuit of high-level training becomes a checklist of movements, an external badge of status. Grand Prix as the pinnacle. Piaffe, passage, pirouette all proof of success. But we rarely stop to ask: Success by whose measure? And at what cost?

Because if a horse’s well-being were truly at the centre of our goals and not just a footnote in our mission statements our training would look radically different. It would move slower. It would feel softer. It would sound quieter. And it would be far more beautiful.

Producing a high-level horse is not about simply teaching them the movements required on a score sheet. It’s about cultivating a horse who is sound in body, stable in mind, and joyful in spirit. It’s about shaping one who offers those movements willingly, expressively, even playfully. Not as a result of pressure, punishment, or the clever placement of aids that corner them into compliance but from a place of physical readiness and emotional trust.

And this……….this is where the art comes in!

Imagine dressage as a painting. Each training session is a brushstroke, delicate, deliberate, layered. The impatient artist might throw out the canvas at the first mistake. But the true artist? They work with the paint, blend it, adjust it, stay curious. They know that beauty often lives in the imperfection, in the subtle corrections, in the layers of time and care.

The same is to be said in riding: the art lies not in domination, but in dialogue. Every stride, every transition, every still moment is part of an evolving composition. The rider’s aids are not commands but questions; the horse’s responses are not obedience but answers. Together, you create something greater than the sum of its parts.

The highest levels of dressage are not the goal. They are the byproduct of a thousand conversations, a thousand small moments where the rider listens, adjusts, supports, and receives. When done well, Grand Prix is not a performance. It is the horse’s voice, amplified through movement.

To produce a horse to that level is to understand that their body is not a tool, but a home. Their mind, not a machine, but a mirror. Their spirit, not a resource, but a companion.

This is not just training a horse
It is stewardship.
It is art
And it begins not with ambition,
but with reverence.