Lotus Heart Equine Massage & Wellness, LLC.

01/05/2024

Doors close next week!✨✨✨

My favorite moments this year were when I really surrendered and FINALLY was able to fully detach from a specific outcomes of things. I was WORKING SO HARD to manifest (which is exactly the opposite of what you are supposed to do) AND DEEP DOWN I KNEW THAT! 😅

07/31/2023

THIS.

One can never hope to have true connection with their horse when learned helplessness is is their “normal”.

A horse with true trust also knows that she can say NO and will still be seen and heard.

Learned helplessness is the behaviour exhibited by being subjected to enduring repeated aversive stimuli beyond their control🥲 Its not horsemanship,
Every day is a school day.
Image credit :

07/27/2023

Here's a spicy one for you this evening - because i havent made a career limiting post in a hot minute(!)

How complicit are you in your own (or your horse's) suffering?

I appreciate we all have horses for a reason, and I appreciate their care and management is a complicated thing.

When I work with people, sometimes I have to say things they dont want to hear:

"Your horse shouldnt be ridden right now" - because theyre in pain, their posture is too compromised, they barely have enough muscle to support themselves yet alone a rider, their saddle doesnt fit.

"You shouldnt be jumping your horse" see above reasons why.

"You shouldnt be cantering right now" because it will definitely strengthen the compensatory pattern.

Compromise can be made when making the argument between streamlining the process - not riding will get quicker postural changes, but if you want to ride and ultimately the horse isnt in overt pain/discomfort, then that should be fine.

But I really dont compromise when your horse is in pain. Nor should you.

There are SO many people who are wonderful when they hear this -

"I just want my horse to be happy" - literal music to my ears

But there are many people who want their horse to be happy - stating as much - but when it comes to taking the above guidance, they push back.

It's not the answer that they want to hear.

Yet they've been chasing an issue with their horse for months or years and you've given them a solution... its just not a solution where they get to do what they've always done...

And I wonder about the graveyard of professionals behind me, who have given them appropriate advice that again was not heard because it wasnt the answer that they wanted to hear.

I understand that professionals dont always get it right. I also understand that there are many professionals that get it really really quite wrong -

I just find it to be very profound that when you point out the behavioural indicators of pain, the lameness and the biomechanical dysfunction, you can still be totally ignored -

Especially when your friend in the stable next door (with no formal training in anything equine related) says their horse does the same thing, so therefore your horse must be fine!

-

📸 sharing a moment with a lovely patient during my most recent trip to Aberdeenshire 🤍

06/29/2023

They’re not fine. They’re just incredibly generous, even when they’re on their way to being broken. 💔

06/20/2023

Yes!✨

I truly believe that we get to live a life with horses in it because they are here to teach us. 💜

Best laid plans of mice and men-

Most of us buy or acquire a horse for a purpose- to show, to develop for a specific purpose, for a project to fulfill some need in us. Whether we admit to ourselves or not, whether we’re aware or not, we are usually driven to horses for some purpose, and we have some ideas about how the future will go together.

There’s a saying, “if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.” We get a lame horse when we wanted to compete- a horse who doesn’t excel at our discipline, a road block, a question with no answer, a problem to be solved, and our plans are derailed.

I really believe that horses are part of a universal plan to aid in the development of human consciousness- that we get the lesson we need to learn, until we learn it.

I believe horses come into our lives to teach us what we struggle most with: patience, flexibility, humility, awareness, open mindedness. I believe when we get set on a philosophy, we find a horse in our lives that doesn’t fit the box. They didn’t read the manual, and they are here to teach us, if we’re open to it.

06/17/2023

Fascia is amazing! It looks like beautiful, delicate spun sugar, AND has such strength and power. 🙌🏾

06/16/2023

Yes. 🙌🏾

06/08/2023

For those of you wondering about ALL the things I’ve been learning and trying to incorporate with my time with my own horse as well as clients, THIS is a fabulous read!

I follow and greatly respect and admire ALL of these women and the work they are doing to shift the horse world in such beautiful, magical ways. ✨✨✨

My love goes out to each and every one of them as they bless the the world of horses and humans with this transformative work. 💜

05/12/2023

Did you know that a horse that hasn't been taught how to properly support and carry the weight of a rider will instinctually hollow their back away from the weight of the rider? Many riding horses spend their entire careers going around with hollow backs, even upper level competition horses.

Carrying weight with a hollow back is, at best, uncomfortable for the horse, and in many cases is actually quite painful. Many horses tolerate this discomfort because they don't know any alternative. Other horses develop behavioral problems and become labeled as bad horses.

For a horse to remain healthy and comfortable in his work he must be taught how to support the weight of a rider with first a neutral back and then later on with a lifted back. This is a process that takes time, as you can't rush muscle development.

I've found that the best way to teach a horse to lift his back is on the ground first, through classical in hand work. Without the extra weight of the rider, it is easier for the horse to learn how to lift his back and it is easier for him to develop the strength that he needs in order to maintain a lifted back for an extended amount of time.

Once the horse has an understanding of this healthier posture and has developed some strength, it will be much easier for him to accomplish the same thing with a rider on his back.

The horse will then feel more comfortable and have an easier time performing his job. He will be less prone to injuries and behavioral problems and he will be able to continue doing his job for much longer than if he never learned to move in a healthy way.

As stewards of our horses, we owe it to them to give them the best lives possible. That includes taking the time to teach them how to move in a way that is healthy and comfortable for them.

Want to learn more about the horse's back and how you can teach him a healthy posture? We invite you to join our Healthy Movement through In Hand Work course, available in our Virtual Classroom. You'll learn how you can help your horse to move in a healthier way through the use of In Hand Work.

This work is beneficial for horses of all ages, breeds, and disciplines and no previous experience is necessary.

Learn more and sign up here- https://tuskeydressage.com/register/virtual-classroom/

05/11/2023

Getting away with it!

I had an interesting conversation with a clinic spectator yesterday. She is a confident and capable rider at a yard that puts more focus on the horses mental well being than average, so this conversation did surprise me a little. It just shows how prevalent certain unhelpful outlooks are in the industry.
I was working with one of the horses she rides in the clinic. He was a nervous arab and we had great success getting him relaxed through the day.
Her question was about his exercise rides for endurance. Now I generally recommend a horse like this needs more practice being emotionally fit before working on physical fitness, but I also need to offer advice of how to proceed if that doesn't happen.
My main advice is to pay attention to signs of building anxiety and do something about it. In extreme cases that something is "get off and do groundwork".
This raised the question. "... But isn't that letting him get away with it".
I answered with a question. "What would he be getting away with? Being scared?"
Horses don't enjoy an overwhelming sense of doom. They don't plan it just to make their riders have a bad day. They genuinely fear for their lives.
The simple act of noticing they are worried and doing something constructive to help them through it builds their belief in our ability to keep them safe.
Sure, if you get off your scared horse, and while they're still scared untack them and let them go, they will associate riding with fear. Their last memory of a ride was them in terror for their life. If they get worried and a disengagement doesn't bring them out of flight mode, getting off and addressing that worry on the ground is only going to build confidence. Getting them relaxed and maybe getting back on a relaxed horse, or even just working them on the ground at the place they got worried until they relax is not letting them getting away with anything.
I feel the idea of horses getting away with things shouldn't be in our vocabulary. Yes, release teaches, so be mindful of what you release on, but it's not a battle of wits.
If anything I see riders trying to get away with surviving a ride on an animal in fear of it's life.