Horse Geeks

The Horse Geeks Podcast - Where we look at horses and riding from the inside out FREE TICKET link for the Art of the Horseman Online Horse Fair September 27-28 https://www.becauseofthehorse.net/a/23333/a2zsSgDH NEW: Sign up for Kirsten's email list and get all four of the horse fair videos as part of the welcome sequence and a free monthly newsletter. Sign up is at the bottom of the home page at www.kirstennelsen.com   Topic: Sorry for the delay in episodes! Things have been challenging lately and episodes fell behind. Deb and I discuss what to expect going forward for just a little while. We might not be able to keep up with our normal weekly episodes for some time, but we will keep producing podcasts as often as we can. We would love to hear from you - either in the comments on YouTube or through contact forms on our websites listed below - if you are a fan of the podcast and would like to see it continue. Just trying to sort out where to put more time and energy these days as we approach episode 200! Thank you for all your support! Guest: Deb Romero, Certified Alexander Technique Instructor www.optimalposture.org Host: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer Developer of Training for Optimal Balance https://kirstennelsen.com/ The workbook series mentioned is only available at: https://kirstennelsen.com/shop/

The Horse Geeks Podcast - Where we look at horses and riding from the inside out FREE TICKET link for the Art of the Horseman Online Horse Fair September 27-28 https://www.becauseofthehorse.net/a/23333/a2zsSgDH NEW: Sign up for Kirsten's email list and get all four of the horse fair videos as part of the welcome sequence and a free monthly newsletter. Sign up is at the bottom of the home page at www.kirstennelsen.com   Topic: Deb and I continue our discussion about time and how it relates to our perceptions of progress, especially horse training progress. When we think competitively, time becomes a big deal with our horse. When we think creatively, in terms of a relationship with our horse or development of our balance and our horse's balance, then time is just less of a factor. Taking the time it takes to gain authentic, healthy changes regarding coordination is what allows us to do more and more with our horse over time. Rushing to get tasks accomplished as soon as possible is what gets us stuck with horses for years! Our primary perception of horse training has a lot to do with how we view and use time, and whether we think of training as a competitive project or creative project. Guest: Deb Romero, Certified Alexander Technique Instructor www.optimalposture.org Host: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer Developer of Training for Optimal Balance https://kirstennelsen.com/ The workbook series mentioned is only available at: https://kirstennelsen.com/shop/

The Horse Geeks Podcast - Where we look at horses and riding from the inside out FREE TICKET link for the Art of the Horseman Online Horse Fair May 31-June 1, 2025 https://www.becauseofthehorse.net/a/23333/a2zsSgDH NEW: Sign up for Kirsten's email list and get all four of the horse fair videos as part of the welcome sequence and a free monthly newsletter. Sign up is at the bottom of the home page at www.kirstennelsen.com   Topic: Time is just a way to measure changes. Without changes, there is no time. When it comes to developing horses we can look at changes on a clock, feeling stressed or frustrated because our horse is not cooperating with our time frames. Or, we can measure progress through the changes that our horse makes, even if they take a while. When we think competitively, time becomes a task master. When we think of training as a creative development, time stands still or just doesn't matter so much. Enjoying the creative process of developing ourself as a rider or developing our horses has a way of getting things done faster and with more permanence. Guest: Deb Romero, Certified Alexander Technique Instructor www.optimalposture.org Host: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer Developer of Training for Optimal Balance https://kirstennelsen.com/ The workbook series mentioned is only available at: https://kirstennelsen.com/shop/

The Horse Geeks Podcast - Where we look at horses and riding from the inside out FREE TICKET link for the Art of the Horseman Online Horse Fair May 31-June 1, 2025 https://www.becauseofthehorse.net/a/23333/a2zsSgDH NEW: Sign up for Kirsten's email list and get all four of the horse fair videos as part of the welcome sequence and a free monthly newsletter. Sign up is at the bottom of the home page at www.kirstennelsen.com   Topic: Deb takes a deeper dive into what she is always saying and explains what all the joints being open and available really means. And of course, we wander a bit into how this combination of muscle and joint use affects so many other aspects of riding. Guest: Deb Romero, Certified Alexander Technique Instructor www.optimalposture.org Host: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer Developer of Training for Optimal Balance https://kirstennelsen.com/ The workbook series mentioned is only available at: https://kirstennelsen.com/shop/

The Horse Geeks Podcast - Where we look at horses and riding from the inside out FREE TICKET link for the Art of the Horseman Online Horse Fair May 31-June 1, 2025 https://www.becauseofthehorse.net/a/23333/a2zsSgDH NEW: Sign up for Kirsten's email list and get all four of the horse fair videos as part of the welcome sequence and a free monthly newsletter. Sign up is at the bottom of the home page at www.kirstennelsen.com   Topic: Training bands of different types are really popular right now. Deb and I take a look at the pro's and con's of using this type of equipment and how they work. The differences between tools that are dynamic and tools that are proprioceptive is also explained and how both can be beneficial at different stages of training - but only if they actually guide a horse and rider to the ultimate goal of self-carriage. Guest: Deb Romero, Certified Alexander Technique Instructor www.optimalposture.org Host: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer Developer of Training for Optimal Balance https://kirstennelsen.com/ The workbook series mentioned is only available at: https://kirstennelsen.com/shop/

The Horse Geeks Podcast - Where we look at horses and riding from the inside out FREE TICKET link for the Art of the Horseman Online Horse Fair May 31-June 1, 2025 https://www.becauseofthehorse.net/a/23333/a2zsSgDH NEW: Sign up for Kirsten's email list and get all four of the horse fair videos as part of the welcome sequence and a free monthly newsletter. Sign up is at the bottom of the home page at www.kirstennelsen.com   Topic: Fawning is a defensive strategy used for coping with high levels of stress, like trauma, or chronic stress. It is a strategy often used when a person or horse is punished harshly for expressing fight or flight, perceived as disobedience. Fawning is one of the newer defensive strategies defined by psychologists, but has been adopted long before it was well defined. This particular strategy is often confused as a "well trained" or "push button" horse, one that often anticipates what move we want next, but with constant anxiety and tension just below the compliant behavior. When horses are obedient but don't feel safe or comfortable internally, then fawning is a strategy for just staying out of trouble. The most common side effects for horses are food related issues or feeding time anxiety, ulcers and a tendency to colic. A horse's digestion seems to take the brunt of being obedient without calmness. Guest: Deb Romero, Certified Alexander Technique Instructor www.optimalposture.org Host: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer Developer of Training for Optimal Balance https://kirstennelsen.com/ The workbook series mentioned is only available at: https://kirstennelsen.com/shop/

The Horse Geeks Podcast - Where we look at horses and riding from the inside out FREE TICKET link for the Art of the Horseman Online Horse Fair May 31-June 1, 2025 https://www.becauseofthehorse.net/a/23333/a2zsSgDH NEW: Sign up for Kirsten's email list and get all four of the horse fair videos as part of the welcome sequence and a free monthly newsletter. Sign up is at the bottom of the home page at www.kirstennelsen.com   Topic: There are as many different ways to actually ride a horse as there are people and horses. While we all learn how to not fall off with our basic training, moving from one level to another in riding often feels like we have to start over again. What works to keep us on a horse in the early levels of riding are actually skills that hold us back from advanced riding, where we learn how to influence the movement and balance of a horse. Balance as a rider, without gripping, is more like surfing - where there is nothing to hang on to. Balance is more about soft, subtle weight shifts than anything else and we have to let go of all those tight muscles, jamming our heels down, thrusting our shoulders back in order to even feel what we need to feel from a horse. If you want to really advance your riding skills, then be prepared to feel like a beginner all over again. Guest: Deb Romero, Certified Alexander Technique Instructor www.optimalposture.org Host: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer Developer of Training for Optimal Balance https://kirstennelsen.com/ The workbook series mentioned is only available at: https://kirstennelsen.com/shop/

The Horse Geeks Podcast - Where we look at horses and riding from the inside out FREE TICKET link for the Art of the Horseman Online Horse Fair May 31-June 1, 2025 https://www.becauseofthehorse.net/a/23333/a2zsSgDH NEW: Sign up for Kirsten's email list and get all four of the horse fair videos as part of the welcome sequence and a free monthly newsletter. Sign up is at the bottom of the home page at www.kirstennelsen.com   Topic: When we decide to look a little deeper at horse behavior, we begin to become aware of what is driving the behavior - what thoughts or emotions horses have that is motivating any action they take. Demanding obedience means gaining compliance without ever considering the emotional state of another. Some horses will comply while others will defend and escalate the defensive actions over time. Developing a mutually beneficial relationship with horses starts by understanding what they are thinking and feeling more than what they are doing or not doing. Until we understand our horse's emotional life, we typically continue to have "horse problems". Guest: Deb Romero, Certified Alexander Technique Instructor www.optimalposture.org Host: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer Developer of Training for Optimal Balance https://kirstennelsen.com/ The workbook series mentioned is only available at: https://kirstennelsen.com/shop/

The Horse Geeks Podcast - Where we look at horses and riding from the inside out FREE TICKET link for the Art of the Horseman Online Horse Fair May 31-June 1, 2025 https://www.becauseofthehorse.net/a/23333/a2zsSgDH NEW: Sign up for Kirsten's email list and get all four of the horse fair videos as part of the welcome sequence and a free monthly newsletter. Sign up is at the bottom of the home page at www.kirstennelsen.com   Topic: Learning how to see and feel muscle use in our horse can be really helpful at understanding the underlying coordination. When the outer muscles are tight and hard, like well done meat, then we know the core muscles are weak. When chronic tightness shows up in one area, we know that too much weight is habitually carried in the opposite direction. Coordination is what dictates muscle use throughout the body. So no matter how many massages we give, the chronic tightness is perpetual until coordination is improved. Guest: Deb Romero, Certified Alexander Technique Instructor www.optimalposture.org Host: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer Developer of Training for Optimal Balance https://kirstennelsen.com/ The workbook series mentioned is only available at: https://kirstennelsen.com/shop/

The Horse Geeks Podcast - Where we look at horses and riding from the inside out FREE TICKET link for the Art of the Horseman Online Horse Fair May 31-June 1, 2025 https://www.becauseofthehorse.net/a/23333/a2zsSgDH NEW: Sign up for Kirsten's email list and get all four of the horse fair videos as part of the welcome sequence and a free monthly newsletter. Sign up is at the bottom of the home page at www.kirstennelsen.com   Topic: It is actually quite literally true when we say that our body sort of has a mind of its own. Our nervous system is more than just our brain, it travels to all areas of our body and picks up information all the time. The power of our brain is to interpret information gathered by the nervous system and make sense of it, remember past stress events in order to avoid them and normalize whatever becomes habitual, even if it is not healthy for us. Fear is the visceral response that often gets us to tap into our body intelligence and start listening. But the nervous system outside of the brain can also be our best source of information regarding our balance, our relationship with gravity, especially while we are navigating the movement of a horse. This incredible resource of information is always available to us, we just have to learn how to listen to it instead of always trying to use our brain for every single job. Guest: Deb Romero, Certified Alexander Technique Instructor www.optimalposture.org Host: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer Developer of Training for Optimal Balance https://kirstennelsen.com/ The workbook series mentioned is only available at: https://kirstennelsen.com/shop/

The Horse Geeks Podcast - Where we look at horses and riding from the inside out FREE TICKET link for the Art of the Horseman Online Horse Fair May 31-June 1, 2025 https://www.becauseofthehorse.net/a/23333/a2zsSgDH NEW: Sign up for Kirsten's email list and get all four of the horse fair videos as part of the welcome sequence and a free monthly newsletter. Sign up is at the bottom of the home page at www.kirstennelsen.com   Topic: Deb and I discuss what suppling horses means - which is to increase flexibility - but making our horses do yoga poses does not really help if our horse has a habit of moving with unbalanced body weight. Tension through the soft tissues always increases when body weight becomes unequal in any direction. In order to sustain healthy, supple muscles horses must learn to balance and control their body weight distribution during motion. Guest: Deb Romero, Certified Alexander Technique Instructor www.optimalposture.org Host: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer Developer of Training for Optimal Balance https://kirstennelsen.com/ The workbook series mentioned is only available at: https://kirstennelsen.com/shop/

The Horse Geeks Podcast - Where we look at horses and riding from the inside out FREE TICKET link for the Art of the Horseman Online Horse Fair May 31-June 1, 2025 https://www.becauseofthehorse.net/a/23333/a2zsSgDH NEW: Sign up for Kirsten's email list and get all four of the horse fair videos as part of the welcome sequence and a free monthly newsletter. Sign up is at the bottom of the home page at www.kirstennelsen.com   Topic: We get to geek out a little in this podcast talking about rotation, which is a function of the spine, and how different it is ideally coordinated in horses compared to people. Addressing rotation issues is not part of any classical horse training and yet it is a reality that becomes a major source of lameness or poor movement if we don't know about it and how to address issues in horses. Hope you can stick with our wandering conversation that involves a bit of physics in order to understand a very important part of balance for horses. Guest: Deb Romero, Certified Alexander Technique Instructor www.optimalposture.org Host: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer Developer of Training for Optimal Balance https://kirstennelsen.com/ The workbook series mentioned is only available at: https://kirstennelsen.com/shop/

The Horse Geeks Podcast - Where we look at horses and riding from the inside out FREE TICKET link for the Art of the Horseman Online Horse Fair May 31-June 1, 2025 https://www.becauseofthehorse.net/a/23333/a2zsSgDH NEW: Sign up for Kirsten's email list and get all four of the horse fair videos as part of the welcome sequence and a free monthly newsletter. Sign up is at the bottom of the home page at www.kirstennelsen.com   Topic: Navigating changes in coordination, for both people and horses, can feel like a tricky process. Bodies do not change in a straight progression, they change randomly and in unexpected ways. There are some overall changes that are really significant for both people and horses so we talk about the difference between stabilizing movement through good skeletal coordination compared to doing the same with muscular effort. This transition from muscular stability to skeletal stability is a big deal and a tricky process for all people and horses while improving balance. For horses, there is another big transitional change from stabilizing on the forehand, muscle or bone, into stabilizing through the back and hindquarters. This transition of coordination from the front to the back for horses is also a very big deal and happens gradually when it is authentic. Guest: Deb Romero, Certified Alexander Technique Instructor www.optimalposture.org Host: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer Developer of Training for Optimal Balance https://kirstennelsen.com/ The workbook series mentioned is only available at: https://kirstennelsen.com/shop/

The Horse Geeks Podcast - Where we look at horses and riding from the inside out FREE TICKET link for the Art of the Horseman Online Horse Fair May 31-June 1, 2025 https://www.becauseofthehorse.net/a/23333/a2zsSgDH NEW: Sign up for Kirsten's email list and get all four of the horse fair videos as part of the welcome sequence and a free monthly newsletter. Sign up is at the bottom of the home page at www.kirstennelsen.com   Topic: Changing habits of coordination is not an easy or quick process and there are many bumps in the road. Understanding the process that always includes a little difficulty, resistance to change, thresholds of physical changes and uncovering the mechanical issues that have been hidden helps us navigate through the process. Rehab, which involves altering patterns of coordination in both horse and rider, is often a messy process with lots of trial and error and wobbles along the way. It's sometimes good to know that is just how things go. While we seek the path of least resistance by adjusting in order to reduce defensiveness and increase cooperation, changing physical habits and restoring function to under used parts of the body is not easy for people or horses. The balance, comfort and ease that is on the other side of the these changes in coordination is something that we can understand as people but our horses will not understand until we work through the challenge and our horse experiences the ease first hand. Guest: Deb Romero, Certified Alexander Technique Instructor www.optimalposture.org Host: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer Developer of Training for Optimal Balance https://kirstennelsen.com/ The workbook series mentioned is only available at: https://kirstennelsen.com/shop/

The Horse Geeks Podcast - Where we look at horses and riding from the inside out FREE TICKET link for the Art of the Horseman Online Horse Fair May 31-June 1, 2025 https://www.becauseofthehorse.net/a/23333/a2zsSgDH NEW: Sign up for Kirsten's email list and get all four of the horse fair videos as part of the welcome sequence and a free monthly newsletter. Sign up is at the bottom of the home page at www.kirstennelsen.com   Topic: Today we venture out of the normal and look at working with energy, reiki and horses. While energy healing is still considered a bit woo woo, there is actual science behind the invisible forces that we can learn to tune into. Horses have a highly refined sense of touch and seem to respond to invisible forces that are so subtle we think they are magical. But just like wind, humidity and temperature, we can sense these invisible forces or at least see our horse respond to them in order to understand the existence of what we cannot see or grab. Amy explains her work with horses and how they show her all the time that the energy work she does is both real and helpful. Guest: Amy Potter, Reiki Master and Intuitive From the Earth Creative www.fromtheearthcreative 540-270-8546 fromtheearthcreative@gmail.com Host: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer Developer of Training for Optimal Balance https://kirstennelsen.com/ The workbook series mentioned is only available at: https://kirstennelsen.com/shop/

The Horse Geeks Podcast - Where we look at horses and riding from the inside out FREE TICKET link for the Art of the Horseman Online Horse Fair May 31-June 1, 2025 https://www.becauseofthehorse.net/a/23333/a2zsSgDH NEW: Sign up for Kirsten's email list and get all four of the horse fair videos as part of the welcome sequence and a free monthly newsletter. Sign up is at the bottom of the home page at www.kirstennelsen.com   Topic: When we think of training horses we tend to think of putting information into a horse, teaching cues, conditioned responses and maneuvers. But the only real honest answer to any horse training question is, "It depends" because every person and horse is an individual. In order to know how to train as a rider or how to train our horses, we have to spend a little time exploring, especially when things are not going the way they are supposed to go. How an individual responds to any stimulus or how a body coordinates doing any task is wildly unpredictable. Including some exploration time during training is how we know what strategies are actually getting us where we want to go with our horse, or not. Guest: Deb Romero, certified Alexander Technique Instructor www.optimalposture.org Host: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer Developer of Training for Optimal Balance https://kirstennelsen.com/ The workbook series mentioned is only available at: https://kirstennelsen.com/shop/

The Horse Geeks Podcast - Where we look at horses and riding from the inside out FREE TICKET link for the Art of the Horseman Online Horse Fair May 31-June 1, 2025 https://www.becauseofthehorse.net/a/23333/a2zsSgDH NEW: Sign up for Kirsten's email list and get all four of the horse fair videos as part of the welcome sequence and a free monthly newsletter. Sign up is at the bottom of the home page at www.kirstennelsen.com   Topic: If we simplify things into just understanding balance as weight distribution, then it gets a little easier. Weight distribution has to be equalized on the left and right sides of the body in order to balance, which is simple to understand. In the human, equalizing weight front to back is also easy to understand. Because horses have long necks and heavy head, equalizing body weight front to back is a little more complicated, just like equalizing weight in the human up and down is a bit more complicated. But essentially, in a 3 dimensional body, horse or human, just thinking in terms of equalizing weight already moves us away from forcing frames and contorted ridings positions. Have a think about it.... Guest: Deb Romero, certified Alexander Technique Instructor www.optimalposture.org Host: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer Developer of Training for Optimal Balance https://kirstennelsen.com/ The workbook series mentioned is only available at: https://kirstennelsen.com/shop/

The Horse Geeks Podcast - Where we look at horses and riding from the inside out FREE TICKET link for the Art of the Horseman Online Horse Fair May 31-June 1, 2025 https://www.becauseofthehorse.net/a/23333/a2zsSgDH NEW: Sign up for Kirsten's email list and get all four of the horse fair videos as part of the welcome sequence and a free monthly newsletter. Sign up is at the bottom of the home page at www.kirstennelsen.com   Topic: Understanding the difference between coordination, that is changeable, and conformation, that is not changeable, helps us navigate training. So often horse conformation is blamed for lack of athletic abilities, performance issues and lameness. But really conformation - what is unchangeable - comes down to the size of the bones, proportion of muscle fiber types and minor genetic influences. Coordination is how the bones, soft tissues and genetics are used. When we start to consider that coordination can be changed, we suddenly see a lot more potential in ourselves and our horses. Guest: Deb Romero, certified Alexander Technique Instructor www.optimalposture.org Host: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer Developer of Training for Optimal Balance https://kirstennelsen.com/ The workbook series mentioned is only available at: https://kirstennelsen.com/shop/

The Horse Geeks Podcast - Where we look at horses and riding from the inside out FREE TICKET link for the Art of the Horseman Online Horse Fair May 31-June 1, 2025 https://www.becauseofthehorse.net/a/23333/a2zsSgDH NEW: Sign up for Kirsten's email list and get all four of the horse fair videos as part of the welcome sequence and a free monthly newsletter. Sign up is at the bottom of the home page at www.kirstennelsen.com   Topic: We can't become great riders by watching great riders and trying to mimic them. We have to feel our way into becoming a great rider from the inside out. Classical riding postures are what they are for a reason. A beautiful classical seat, whether western, dressage, jumping or racing, is easy to recognize and considered classical because it is the most efficient and effective functional posture for riding. All good riders look sort of the same, quietly stable and soft, because they have discovered the most optimal coordination of the body for the sport they ride. The half seat and racing postures allow a person to use the leg joints more, which is how we keep the torso stable during fast speeds, tight turns and while going over huge obstacles. Riding more upright, like in western and dressage, requires a different posture because we are refining the movement of the horse in different ways. But any classical, beautiful riding posture must be functional first in order to look right. Trying to look the part does not help with the function, so it is always a bit off and not quite right. Once we try to feel and work with the movement of our horse, developing a classically correct seat and riding posture is the result. Guest: Deb Romero, certified Alexander Technique Instructor www.optimalposture.org Host: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer Developer of Training for Optimal Balance https://kirstennelsen.com/ The workbook series mentioned is only available at: https://kirstennelsen.com/shop/

The Horse Geeks Podcast - Where we look at horses and riding from the inside out FREE TICKET link for the Art of the Horseman Online Horse Fair February 22-23, 2025 https://www.becauseofthehorse.net/a/23333/a2zsSgDH NEW: Sign up for Kirsten's email list and get all four of the horse fair videos as part of the welcome sequence and a free monthly newsletter. Sign up is at the bottom of the home page at www.kirstennelsen.com   Topic: Until we feel a step or two of balance while riding or driving it is hard to know what we are looking for. We get distracted by focusing on maneuvers, tasks and things to do while riding and forget to pay attention to what the ride feels like. It is so easy to recognize balance in our horse's coordination because riding suddenly feels effortless, smooth, stable and easy to guide. We feel the movement all around us, but our horse's movement no longer affects our balance, no longer transfers to us. We have all experienced moments of balance - because they feel so wonderful they are hard to forget - but it is usually by accident and we don't really know how to get that feeling back again. This is why focusing on balance as the priority of training is so different. Instead of hoping for those magical strides and moments as the result of struggle, we just develop those magical moments on purpose. Guest: Deb Romero, certified Alexander Technique Instructor www.optimalposture.org Host: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer Developer of Training for Optimal Balance https://kirstennelsen.com/ The workbook series mentioned is only available at: https://kirstennelsen.com/shop/

The Horse Geeks Podcast - Where we look at horses and riding from the inside out FREE TICKET link for the Art of the Horseman Online Horse Fair February 22-23, 2025 https://www.becauseofthehorse.net/a/23333/a2zsSgDH NEW: Sign up for Kirsten's email list and get all four of the horse fair videos as part of the welcome sequence and a free monthly newsletter. Sign up is at the bottom of the home page at www.kirstennelsen.com   Topic: And...Yes, spelling it like brakes in a car is on purpose. We tend to think of spontaneous downward transitions as breaking gait, like something is broken, but there are so many benefits when horses choose to slow down or make a downward transition. Choosing to slow down or brake gait gait is what actually activates our horse's entire braking mechanism. The braking mechanism provides stability during motion, controls body weight internally and is how horses increase engagement of the hindquarters. When we disallow or even get after our horse for braking gait, then we cause a weakening of the braking mechanism which can lead to bad brakes or no brakes at all. When we allow our horse to brake gait, even if only for a stride or two, we strengthen the same braking mechanism and help our horse improve both balance and self carriage. Guest: Deb Romero, certified Alexander Technique Instructor www.optimalposture.org Host: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer Developer of Training for Optimal Balance https://kirstennelsen.com/ The workbook series mentioned is only available at: https://kirstennelsen.com/shop/

The Horse Geeks Podcast - Where we look at horses and riding from the inside out NEW: Wexford Training monthly newsletter! Get micro lessons with Thoughts to Ponder, Info on new content, learning offers and updates to my calendar delivered to your inbox monthly by signing up on the email list. Sign up is at the bottom of the home page at www.kirstennelsen.com   AND - For a FREE Power Hour consultation please visit: www.kirstennelsen.com Topic: Deb and I dive into what fitness can mean for people and horses. There is more to it than just cardio vascular fitness, so we don't always need to make our horses trot and canter in order to warm them up or help them stay fit. It really depends on the unique body that we are trying to help get fit. Fitness also ties into how we warm up and help our horse's warm up before a training session too. Again, what works for one does not work for all. All exercise can either deplete the body or strengthen it, encourage better coordination or create dysfunction. How we train is not really ever neutral, what we choose to do and how we do it with our horse always has a direct impact on our horse's health and well being. Guest: Deb Romero, certified Alexander Technique Instructor www.optimalposture.org Host: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer Developer of Training for Optimal Balance https://kirstennelsen.com/ The workbook series mentioned is only available at: https://kirstennelsen.com/shop/

The Horse Geeks Podcast - Where we look at horses and riding from the inside out NEW: Wexford Training monthly newsletter! Get micro lessons with Thoughts to Ponder, Info on new content, learning offers and updates to my calendar delivered to your inbox monthly by signing up on the email list. Sign up is at the bottom of the home page at www.kirstennelsen.com   AND - For a FREE Power Hour consultation please visit: www.kirstennelsen.com Topic: If we are not paying attention to signs of stress that our horse communicates and just call it naughty or disobedient, then horses suffer in the hands of humans. If we don't understand the essentials for healthy horse coordination, then our horse also suffers our ignorance by adapting and getting on with things while sustaining low or high levels of chronic discomfort internally. We can only help horses thrive in the domestic environment by understanding what horses need from us, how it is not optional for horses to feel safe and comfortable during work and how we can help our horse feel that way by how we work with our horse all the time. Guest: Deb Romero, certified Alexander Technique Instructor www.optimalposture.org Host: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer Developer of Training for Optimal Balance https://kirstennelsen.com/ The workbook series mentioned is only available at: https://kirstennelsen.com/shop/

The Horse Geeks Podcast - Where we look at horses and riding from the inside out NEW: Wexford Training monthly newsletter! Get micro lessons with Thoughts to Ponder, Info on new content, learning offers and updates to my calendar delivered to your inbox monthly by signing up on the email list. Sign up is at the bottom of the home page at www.kirstennelsen.com   AND - For a FREE Power Hour consultation please visit: www.kirstennelsen.com Topic: When we begin to understand what balance means in mind and body, we also come to see that our goal is not out there, ahead of us. Instead, our goal is in the middle, between 2 opposing problems, two directions, or any duality. Balance is an equalization of whoa and go, left and right, energy and relaxation or equal parts of any opposite qualities. Anything we have or do in excess is what defines a problem. Finding or developing a counterbalance to what we have too much of are the skills needed in order to restore balance. We all miss the mark many times, swinging between too much of this and too little of that many times before we discover the middle way of balance. Guest: Deb Romero, certified Alexander Technique Instructor www.optimalposture.org Host: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer Developer of Training for Optimal Balance https://kirstennelsen.com/ The workbook series mentioned is only available at: https://kirstennelsen.com/shop/

The Horse Geeks Podcast - Where we look at horses and riding from the inside out NEW: Wexford Training monthly newsletter! Get micro lessons with Thoughts to Ponder, Info on new content, learning offers and updates to my calendar delivered to your inbox monthly by signing up on the email list. Sign up is at the bottom of the home page at www.kirstennelsen.com   AND - For a FREE Power Hour consultation please visit: www.kirstennelsen.com Topic: Any aid we give a horse, using reins, legs, seat or tools, does not automatically mean that our horse responds the way we want or does what we think we are asking for. Aids are a dynamic resistant force that we apply. Aid resist what is currently happening but does not really tell our horse what to do. We give a leg aid when we want to resist the current speed in order to get more speed from our horse. But our leg aid can not tell our horse how fast or for how long. When our horse slows down is the next opportunity we have to give the same aid again. If we constantly drive our horse forward - anticipating a slow down that has not happened yet - then our leg aids start to mean nothing at all. We just sound like a nag to our horse. Our aids can only say "no" to our horse, doing whatever our horse is currently doing, but we have to wait and see how our horse responds to our aids in order to know when and what kind of aid is needed next. Guest: Deb Romero, certified Alexander Technique Instructor www.optimalposture.org Host: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer Developer of Training for Optimal Balance https://kirstennelsen.com/ The workbook series mentioned is only available at: https://kirstennelsen.com/shop/

The Horse Geeks Podcast - Where we look at horses and riding from the inside out NEW: Wexford Training monthly newsletter! Get micro lessons with Thoughts to Ponder, Info on new content, learning offers and updates to my calendar delivered to your inbox monthly by signing up on the email list. Sign up is at the bottom of the home page at www.kirstennelsen.com   AND - For a FREE Power Hour consultation please visit: www.kirstennelsen.com Topic: Because horses are naturally masters of compensation, in order to avoid the eye of a predator, we really have to feel balance before we can fully recognize it visually. We all try to determine if our horse is moving well by what we see in the use of the head, neck or legs. But how our horse balances during motion is determined by much deeper, more central parts of the body that then dictate how the head, neck and legs are used - not the other way around. When we start to work through our sense of touch, what we feel, instead of relying on our sense of sight, what we see, then we can begin to tell the difference between balanced and unbalanced movement in our horse. Gaining the feel or experience of balance, even improvements in balance, changes what we see while observing horses. If we don't know what balance and imbalances feel like, then we are often fooled by horse's frames, speed, stride length or head set. This is why even high level performance horses can be moving in severely dysfunctional coordination, leading to behavior issues, lameness issues, poor health and early retirement, while we remain clueless to our horse's suffering. Guest: Deb Romero, certified Alexander Technique Instructor www.optimalposture.org Host: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer Developer of Training for Optimal Balance https://kirstennelsen.com/ The workbook series mentioned is only available at: https://kirstennelsen.com/shop/

The Horse Geeks Podcast - Where we look at horses and riding from the inside out NEW: Wexford Training monthly newsletter! Get micro lessons with Thoughts to Ponder, Info on new content, learning offers and updates to my calendar delivered to your inbox monthly by signing up on the email list. Sign up is at the bottom of the home page at www.kirstennelsen.com   AND - For a FREE Power Hour consultation please visit: www.kirstennelsen.com Topic: Dr. Hancock shares with us some important parts of our horse's nervous system that we may be influencing without really knowing it. The more we understand about how our horse's body works, which parts of the body are key parts of the nervous system, the more we can make better choices for our horse's well being. Both health and performance are affected by how well or how poorly our horse uses the nervous system. Chronic stress can lead to health issues of all kinds as well as hind our horse's ability to compete or even do the simple jobs we ask our horse to do. Hopefully this information helps you help your horse, supporting the function of the nervous system, in one way or another. Guest: Dr. Ann-Marie Hancock, DVM and Equine Osteopath True North Equine in Marshall, VA www.truenorthequinevet.com dr.hancock@truenorthequinevet.com Host: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer Developer of Training for Optimal Balance https://kirstennelsen.com/ The workbook series mentioned is only available at: https://kirstennelsen.com/shop/

The Horse Geeks Podcast - Where we look at horses and riding from the inside out NEW: Wexford Training monthly newsletter! Get micro lessons with Thoughts to Ponder, Info on new content, learning offers and updates to my calendar delivered to your inbox monthly by signing up on the email list. Sign up is at the bottom of the home page at www.kirstennelsen.com   AND - For a FREE Power Hour consultation please visit: www.kirstennelsen.com Topic: The anticipatory reflex is an unconscious, core reaction in us and our horse as soon as we perceive a possible threat or possible destabilizing action to the body. This reflex is why we can't help but tighten everywhere when our horse does something unexpected, even when it is not dangerous. It's also why our horse acts out suddenly when something unexpected happens in the environment. We and our horses will always have this initial, unconscious reaction to something unexpected, startling or out of our control, but we can learn to pause instead of reacting. When we become more aware of this reflex, we automatically gain more control over it. We learn to pause and redirect, ourself and our horse, in order to over-ride unsafe instinctive behavior and work together in harmony. Guest: Deb Romero, certified Alexander Technique Instructor www.optimalposture.org Host: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer Developer of Training for Optimal Balance https://kirstennelsen.com/ The workbook series mentioned is only available at: https://kirstennelsen.com/shop/

The Horse Geeks Podcast - Where we look at horses and riding from the inside out NEW: Wexford Training monthly newsletter! Get micro lessons with Thoughts to Ponder, Info on new content, learning offers and updates to my calendar delivered to your inbox monthly by signing up on the email list. Sign up is at the bottom of the home page at www.kirstennelsen.com   AND - For a FREE Power Hour consultation please visit: www.kirstennelsen.com Topic: Author Victor Bahna joins us to talk about his new fictional thriller book about a Thoroughbred race horse named Heliacal Star. Victor shares his background with racing and race horses and how the book took shape. I share some of my favorite parts of the book, without giving away the story or ending! And of course, two horse people always have to share a bunch of horse stories and opinions. If you are a horse person, you will love the accuracy of the details throughout the book, especially if you are familiar with Thoroughbred racing. If you are not familiar with racing and have a bad opinion, this book gives a more accurate picture of what the racing world is actually like. If you know nothing about horses, but are interested, then this book offers a glimpse into the horse racing world with all the complicated characters that actually exist in real life. I highly recommend a read! The book, Heliacal Star, is available at all major book sellers. Guest: Victor Bahna, author of "Heliacal Star" www.victorbahna.com www.royalvictb.com The workbook series mentioned is only available at: https://kirstennelsen.com/shop/ Host: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer Developer of Training for Optimal Balance https://kirstennelsen.com/

The Horse Geeks Podcast - Where we look at horses and riding from the inside out NEW: Wexford Training monthly newsletter! Get micro lessons with Thoughts to Ponder, Info on new content, learning offers and updates to my calendar delivered to your inbox monthly by signing up on the email list. Sign up is at the bottom of the home page at www.kirstennelsen.com   AND - For a FREE Power Hour consultation please visit: www.kirstennelsen.com Topic: Dr. Ann-Marie Hancock visits us again and shares information about Osteopathy for horses, what it is and how it works, especially compared to chiropractic and massage therapies. We also get a bit of her personal background and some history of how osteopathy developed and expanded as a health treatment. Dealing with some health issues or idiopathic lameness means we have to expand our awareness of things that support our horse's health when all the conventional methods are not healing our horse. Looking at the whole body often holds the key for health issues that are hard to figure out. Dr. Hancock is available for consultations and working in conjunction with your local vet to help resolve health issues that are not getting better. Guest: Dr. Ann-Marie Hancock, DVM and Equine Osteopath True North Equine in Marshall, VA www.truenorthequinevet.com dr.hancock@truenorthequinevet.com The workbook series mentioned is only available at: https://kirstennelsen.com/shop/ Host: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer Developer of Training for Optimal Balance https://kirstennelsen.com/

The Horse Geeks Podcast - Where we look at horses and riding from the inside out NEW: Wexford Training monthly newsletter! Get micro lessons with Thoughts to Ponder, Info on new content, learning offers and updates to my calendar delivered to your inbox monthly by signing up on the email list. Sign up is at the bottom of the home page at www.kirstennelsen.com   AND - For a FREE Power Hour consultation please visit: www.kirstennelsen.com Topic: Special guest Linda Drattell, author and poet, shares her latest poetry about her horse Vegas. Linda and Vegas were together for 29 years after instantly bonding at their first meeting. When we keep our horse, for better or worse, and spend time with them even in old age, the lessons and magical moments enrich our lives in ways that are hard to describe. Linda's poetry puts words to those private moments with depth, humor and words that touch the heart. Linda's newest collection of poems, "The Lighter Side of Horse Manure" is available for order now and will be in stores soon. Linda's previously published books, "Remember This Day" and "Who Wants To Be Friends With A Dragon" are already available at booksellers everywhere. Guest: Linda Drattell, author and poet "The Lighter Side of Horse Manure" www.LindaDrattell.com Youtube channel  @LindaDrattell  Facebook: AuthorLindaDrattell The workbook series mentioned is only available at: https://kirstennelsen.com/shop/ Host: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer Developer of Training for Optimal Balance https://kirstennelsen.com/

The Horse Geeks Podcast - Where we look at horses and riding from the inside out NEW: Wexford Training monthly newsletter! Get micro lessons with Thoughts to Ponder, Info on new content, learning offers and updates to my calendar delivered to your inbox monthly by signing up on the email list. Sign up is at the bottom of the home page at www.kirstennelsen.com   AND - For a FREE Power Hour consultation please visit: www.kirstennelsen.com Topic: Guest Anne Leary, founder of "Annie's Sole Paint," talks about the product she created, sells and uses to help horses have stronger, healthier hooves. If you are not familiar with sole paint, then you might want to give it a try. Sole paint is a South Florida thing - for helping horses that have to live in wet conditions all year. Sole paint helps dry and thicken horse's sole, whether wearing shoes or barefoot, whether the shoes include pads or not and even if horse boots are worn regularly. Sole paint helps harden the sole, which helps our horse grow more depth of sole and become more resistant to hoof problems of all types. Our horse's sole is the most weight bearing part of the hoof - so all horses benefit from the dehydrating and disinfecting effects of sole paint on a regular basis. Contact Annie through her website or facebook page if you would like to try out a bottle on your horse or if you have questions! Guest: Anne Leary, "Annie's Sole Paint" www.anniessolepaint.com Facebook: anniessolepaintLLC The workbook series mentioned is only available at: https://kirstennelsen.com/shop/ Host: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer Developer of Training for Optimal Balance https://kirstennelsen.com/

The Horse Geeks Podcast - Where we look at horses and riding from the inside out NEW: Wexford Training monthly newsletter! Get micro lessons with Thoughts to Ponder, Info on new content, learning offers and updates to my calendar delivered to your inbox monthly by signing up on the email list. Sign up is at the bottom of the home page at www.kirstennelsen.com   AND - For a FREE Power Hour consultation please visit: www.kirstennelsen.com Topic: Creating space and setting up situations for making mistakes, exploring, being wrong more often than right and interrupting our preconceived ideas is so important for authentic learning. If we only practice for what a judge wants to see, always pushing to be perfect ourselves or make our horse work perfectly all the time, we miss out on all the little details that move us from being good with horses into being great with horses. Giving ourselves and our horses a safe space for making mistakes without fear or punishment is probably the most important thing we can do to improve our feel, timing and balance, moving into a higher level of working with and communicating with our horse. Guest: Deb Romero, certified Alexander Technique Instructor www.optimalposture.org The workbook series mentioned is only available at: https://kirstennelsen.com/shop/ Host: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer Developer of Training for Optimal Balance https://kirstennelsen.com/

The Horse Geeks Podcast - Where we look at horses and riding from the inside out NEW: Wexford Training monthly newsletter! Get micro lessons with Thoughts to Ponder, Info on new content, learning offers and updates to my calendar delivered to your inbox monthly by signing up on the email list. Sign up is at the bottom of the home page at www.kirstennelsen.com   AND - For a FREE Power Hour consultation please visit: www.kirstennelsen.com Topic: Dr. Anne-Marie Hancock shares her knowledge, experience and expertise about horses and why stumbling can indicate a problem lurking inside our horse. Inflammation, no matter how it increases, is something a healthy body still needs to process. When our horse's gut health and immune system are not functioning well, then chronic inflammation starts to build up in the body and opens our horse to all kinds of illnesses. Dr. Hancock also reviews her diagnostic and treatment protocols for gut health, immune boosting, EPM and Lymes in horses. We may have more options that we thought! Dr. Hancock is also available for phone consultations and is happy to work with your local vet if your horse is not responding to current treatments. Guest: Dr. Anne-Marie Hancock, DVM True North Equine in Marshall, VA 540-363-9111 dr.hancock@truenorthequinevet.com The workbook series mentioned is only available at: https://kirstennelsen.com/shop/ Host: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer Developer of Training for Optimal Balance https://kirstennelsen.com/

The Horse Geeks Podcast - Where we look at horses and riding from the inside out NEW: Wexford Training monthly newsletter! Get micro lessons with Thoughts to Ponder, Info on new content, learning offers and updates to my calendar delivered to your inbox monthly by signing up on the email list. Sign up is at the bottom of the home page at www.kirstennelsen.com   AND - For a FREE Power Hour consultation please visit: www.kirstennelsen.com Topic: In this discussion we talk about why horses stumble as it relates to training, balance and physical condition. The more serious reasons, such as EPM, Lymes or systemic inflammation are for another day. But there are a lot of reasons why horses stumble, sometimes alerting us to problems and other times just part of the process of change. Knowing what to pay attention to when our horse takes a misstep or trips helps us decipher the difference between a problem lurking and just a normal part of change. Guest: Deb Romero, certified Alexander Technique Instructor www.optimalposture.org The workbook series mentioned is only available at: https://kirstennelsen.com/shop/ Host: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer Developer of Training for Optimal Balance https://kirstennelsen.com/

The Horse Geeks Podcast - Where we look at horses and riding from the inside out NEW: Wexford Training monthly newsletter! Get micro lessons with Thoughts to Ponder, Info on new content, learning offers and updates to my calendar delivered to your inbox monthly by signing up on the email list. Sign up is at the bottom of the home page at www.kirstennelsen.com   AND - For a FREE Power Hour consultation please visit: www.kirstennelsen.com Topic: Defining what impulsion is in horses is the first part of the discussion because there are so many misconceptions in our horse world. We begin developing impulsion through our horse choosing to be both self-propelled and self-controlled when it come to forward motion as the very first step. Once our horse is both self-propelled and self-controlled, at least during walk, then we can begin to play with refining balance into a precise tempo. Using a metronome app or music is what helps US help our horse. Without an external, consistent sound, it is extremely for any of us to actually be accurate enough with our aids to fully develop impulsion in our horse. We need consistency somewhere in order to equalize our horse's physical ability to push and brake during motion. Guest: Deb Romero, certified Alexander Technique Instructor www.optimalposture.org The workbook series mentioned is only available at: https://kirstennelsen.com/shop/ Host: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer Developer of Training for Optimal Balance https://kirstennelsen.com/

The Horse Geeks Podcast - Where we look at horses and riding from the inside out NEW: Wexford Training monthly newsletter! Get micro lessons with Thoughts to Ponder, Info on new content, learning offers and updates to my calendar delivered to your inbox monthly by signing up on the email list. Sign up is at the bottom of the home page at www.kirstennelsen.com   AND - For a FREE Power Hour consultation please visit: www.kirstennelsen.com Topic: The end of our horse's spine is about 1/3 of the tail. When we consider movement of the tail, we need to connect that to the use of the spine. In other words, a tail off to one side can help us detect lateral imbalances. A tight tail can be part of a tight back. While we can't assign specific meanings to all possible uses of the tail we can generalize and maybe investigate a bit more. A busy tail can indicate our horse is struggling with something. A soft, quiet tail can reflect softness through the back muscles. No tail use is right or wrong, but sometimes odd use of the tail can let us know that horse has a story to tell us, about something. Guest: Deb Romero, certified Alexander Technique Instructor www.optimalposture.org The workbook series mentioned is only available at: https://kirstennelsen.com/shop/ Host: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer Developer of Training for Optimal Balance https://kirstennelsen.com/

The Horse Geeks Podcast - Where we look at horses and riding from the inside out NEW: Wexford Training monthly newsletter! Get micro lessons with Thoughts to Ponder, Info on new content, learning offers and updates to my calendar delivered to your inbox monthly by signing up on the email list. Sign up is at the bottom of the home page at www.kirstennelsen.com   AND - For a FREE Power Hour consultation please visit: www.kirstennelsen.com Topic: Because horses move their head, neck and legs a lot, we tend to look only there in order to assess balance. But the truth is up higher, in the back and top of the hindquarters. Deb and I discuss all the different ways we can visually find clues about our horse's coordination. If we simplify engagement into "stability" and disengagement into "instability" then the more we see our horse's pelvic bones and back move, the more unstable or disengaged the hindquarters are. When our horse is engaged, we cannot see the pelvic bones move, just the muscles. Tips and ways to develop our eye for balance are also discussed in this episode. Guest: Deb Romero, certified Alexander Technique Instructor www.optimalposture.org The workbook series mentioned is only available at: https://kirstennelsen.com/shop/ Host: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer Developer of Training for Optimal Balance https://kirstennelsen.com/

The Horse Geeks Podcast - Where we look at horses and riding from the inside out NEW: Wexford Training monthly newsletter! Get micro lessons with Thoughts to Ponder, Info on new content, learning offers and updates to my calendar delivered to your inbox monthly by signing up on the email list. Sign up is at the bottom of the home page at www.kirstennelsen.com   AND - For a FREE Power Hour consultation please visit: www.kirstennelsen.com Topic: Tracking up is a common way that we have been taught to assess horse movement. It means that our horse's hind hoof lands in the hoof print left by the front hoof on the same side. This is supposed to indicate engagement of the hindquarters with a free swing of the hind leg forward. But there are many examples of horses with a very unstable pelvis that are tracking up, even the back can be dropped in spinal extension and the hind hoof can land in the print of the front. So if an unbalanced horse can "track up" than why do we use this visual as a guide at all? It is also possible that the overloaded front legs are not leaving the ground as soon as they should, leaving a hoof imprint that is so far back that even if the hind legs are barely stepping forward the hoof will land in the print. Tracking up is just not an accurate way to assess our horse's balance at all. There are other ways we can see and assess balance if we just let this metric go. Guest: Deb Romero, certified Alexander Technique Instructor www.optimalposture.org The workbook series mentioned is only available at: https://kirstennelsen.com/shop/ Host: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer Developer of Training for Optimal Balance https://kirstennelsen.com/

The Horse Geeks Podcast - Where we look at horses and riding from the inside out NEW: Wexford Training monthly newsletter! Get micro lessons with Thoughts to Ponder, Info on new content, learning offers and updates to my calendar delivered to your inbox monthly by signing up on the email list. Sign up is at the bottom of the home page at www.kirstennelsen.com   AND - For a FREE Power Hour consultation please visit: www.kirstennelsen.com Topic: Taking the discussion about both hindquarter engagement and superfluidity to a practical level of daily work. How do we know if our horse's hindquarters are engaged or disengaged - by how stable they are when engaged and by how unstable they are when disengaged. When we can visually see our horse's hindquarters rolling, tilting or shifting around up on top, then we know that movement of the pelvic bones is putting excessive stress on the SIJ and compromising spinal stability through the sacrum and lumbar. Only when our horse is stable in the pelvic bones and connection of the pelvis to the sacrum and lumbar can our horse finally release all excessive tension through the neck, jaw, head and even through the thoracic sling that involves shoulder placement. The barrel and hindquarters must be very stable in order to free up the neck and shoulders. Guest: Deb Romero, certified Alexander Technique Instructor www.optimalposture.org The workbook series mentioned is only available at: https://kirstennelsen.com/shop/ Host: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer Developer of Training for Optimal Balance https://kirstennelsen.com/

The Horse Geeks Podcast - Where we look at horses and riding from the inside out NEW: Wexford Training monthly newsletter! Get micro lessons with Thoughts to Ponder, Info on new content, learning offers and updates to my calendar delivered to your inbox monthly by signing up on the email list. Sign up is at the bottom of the home page at www.kirstennelsen.com   AND - For a FREE Power Hour consultation please visit: www.kirstennelsen.com Topic: The term superfluidity is a physics term that describes what it feels like to ride a horse in balance so succinctly. If only this was the goal of riding for all of us, this feeling of balance in motion that appears to defy gravity and feel like floating. We have all had accidental moments of this feeling, a small sneaky peek at what a beautiful ride feels like. These fleeting moments are what motivate so many of us to get better as riders and put the time into training our horse. While learning a competitive sport is a job unto itself, if balance, or this experience of superfluidity, was also a goal then we would be so athletically prepared that the competition training would feel easier. Guest: Deb Romero, certified Alexander Technique Instructor www.optimalposture.org The workbook series mentioned is only available at: https://kirstennelsen.com/shop/ Host: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer Developer of Training for Optimal Balance https://kirstennelsen.com/

The Horse Geeks Podcast - Where we look at horses and riding from the inside out NEW: Wexford Training monthly newsletter! Get micro lessons with Thoughts to Ponder, Info on new content, learning offers and updates to my calendar delivered to your inbox monthly by signing up on the email list. Sign up is at the bottom of the home page at www.kirstennelsen.com   AND - For a FREE Power Hour consultation please visit: www.kirstennelsen.com Topic: This is a confusing topic even for professionals and difficult to describe accurately. But the way Deb and I discuss engagement of the horse's hindquarters, or pelvic engagement, is functionally not that different from how we ideally stabilize through our pelvis. Instead of sticking with strictly scientific terms, we talk about what it means for the pelvis to engage and what it means when the pelvis disengages, from the perspective of balance and functional use or the job of the pelvis in the body. Hopefully this helps clarify what it means to engage or disengage our horse's hindquarters, and how engagement or disengagement of our pelvis directly affects our balance in the saddle Guest: Deb Romero, certified Alexander Technique Instructor www.optimalposture.org The workbook series mentioned is only available at: https://kirstennelsen.com/shop/ Host: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer Developer of Training for Optimal Balance https://kirstennelsen.com/

The Horse Geeks Podcast - Where we look at horses and riding from the inside out NEW: Wexford Training monthly newsletter! Get micro lessons with Thoughts to Ponder, Info on new content, learning offers and updates to my calendar delivered to your inbox monthly by signing up on the email list. Sign up is at the bottom of the home page at www.kirstennelsen.com   AND - For a FREE Power Hour consultation please visit: www.kirstennelsen.com Topic: Deb takes the lead on this conversation, sharing her expertise about how our perceptions of our body influences the use of our body. One issue common with riders is attaching our pelvis to our legs instead of our torso. But we actually balance on our pelvis in the saddle, as the supportive structure for our entire torso, while our arms and legs are meant to dangle while we straddle a horse. A few tips for how to feel a better coordination are included as well. Guest: Deb Romero, certified Alexander Technique Instructor www.optimalposture.org The workbook series mentioned is only available at: https://kirstennelsen.com/shop/ Host: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer Developer of Training for Optimal Balance https://kirstennelsen.com/

The Horse Geeks Podcast - Where we look at horses and riding from the inside out NEW: Wexford Training monthly newsletter! Get micro lessons with Thoughts to Ponder, Info on new content, learning offers and updates to my calendar delivered to your inbox monthly by signing up on the email list. Sign up is at the bottom of the home page at www.kirstennelsen.com   AND - For a FREE Power Hour consultation please visit: www.kirstennelsen.com Topic: This is a tough discussion. Harsh and abusive tactics are still pretty common when it comes to horse training. If we continue to stand by silently we also condone harsh training tactics, at any level of training. Unhappy horses will be the end of riding as a recognized sport. Sport should be challenging but not induce suffering. Inside the horse world, we learn to accept abusive tactics as almost normal or at least as necessary sometimes. But harsh methods, even those I have regretfully used myself, never result in partnership or beautiful movement. Good people use bad methods when knowledge is lacking. As we learn more, we should all be able to do better by our horses. While some videos surface that make all of us cringe, the day to day practices of reaching for spurs, head setting devices or a bigger bit as a solution to training is the beginning of a way of thinking that directly leads good people to that cringe-worthy result. We have to think differently from the very earliest stages of training. Guest: Deb Romero, certified Alexander Technique Instructor www.optimalposture.org The workbook series mentioned is only available at: https://kirstennelsen.com/shop/ Host: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer Developer of Training for Optimal Balance https://kirstennelsen.com/

The Horse Geeks Podcast - Where we look at horses and riding from the inside out NEW: Wexford Training monthly newsletter! Get micro lessons with Thoughts to Ponder, Info on new content, learning offers and updates to my calendar delivered to your inbox monthly by signing up on the email list. Sign up is at the bottom of the home page at www.kirstennelsen.com   AND - For a FREE Power Hour consultation please visit: www.kirstennelsen.com Topic: Although Deb and I are not experts in this field, we share our experiences of how inflammation has become a training issue in different horses we have worked with. Diet related inflammation has shown up in many ways that have been hard to detect. But once detected and addressed, the horses that had been really struggling to progress in training all turned around. When training feels stuck or behavior is not improving, we both now look at underlying issues that may be affecting both behavior and movement. I am much faster these days, because of past experiences, to change horses to forage based diets, test for lymes, epm or cushings or even check for allergies. All of these underlying problems, causing inflammation in the body, can manifest very differently for different individuals. They symptoms can be subtle and easy to write off as a behavior issue or bad conformation. I now think it is always worth trying a diet change or getting some inexpensive diagnostics done. Guest: Deb Romero, certified Alexander Technique Instructor www.optimalposture.org The workbook series mentioned is only available at: https://kirstennelsen.com/shop/ Host: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer Developer of Training for Optimal Balance https://kirstennelsen.com/

The Horse Geeks Podcast - Where we look at horses and riding from the inside out NEW: Wexford Training monthly newsletter! Get micro lessons with Thoughts to Ponder, Info on new content, learning offers and updates to my calendar delivered to your inbox monthly by signing up on the email list. Sign up is at the bottom of the home page at www.kirstennelsen.com   AND - For a FREE Power Hour consultation please visit: www.kirstennelsen.com Topic: How we manage ourselves can make us part of a solution or part of a problem we are having with our horse. Learning how to redirect our own thoughts can help us learn to calm our emotional state when our horse pushes our last button. Learning techniques, like HeartMath or Alexander Technique, away from our horse can give us the tools for developing a calm, unflappable response, allowing us to look at things from multiple perspectives - no matter what our horse throws at us! Remaining calm when a horse is losing it, is the one quality that all masterful horsemen and horse women have in common. HeartMath courses and training with Sam MacLean sam@rdrequine.com Guest: Deb Romero, certified Alexander Technique Instructor www.optimalposture.org The workbook series mentioned is only available at: https://kirstennelsen.com/shop/ Host: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer Developer of Training for Optimal Balance https://kirstennelsen.com/

The Horse Geeks Podcast - Where we look at horses and riding from the inside out NEW: Wexford Training monthly newsletter! Get micro lessons with Thoughts to Ponder, Info on new content, learning offers and updates to my calendar delivered to your inbox monthly by signing up on the email list. Sign up is at the bottom of the home page at www.kirstennelsen.com   AND - For a FREE Power Hour consultation please visit: www.kirstennelsen.com Topic: Stress responses are trigged in different individuals by very different things. What causes a stress response can be related to thoughts, emotions, physical coordination or instincts, but the effect of a stress response is always the same in us and our horse. Stress responses deplete health. When severe or chronic, stress can result in many different kinds of health issues. When we take the time to look past behavior or past words, we can tune into energy and body language in order to see if what is motivating any action or words is essentially stress or relaxation. We can do this for ourselves, and begin seeking small ways to reduce stress and regain the relaxation response, and we can help our horse do the same. We may have to slow down a bit in order to figure out how for each individual, but just shifting from a stress response into a relaxation response is one of the easiest ways we can support health. Guest: Deb Romero, certified Alexander Technique Instructor www.optimalposture.org The workbook series mentioned is only available at: https://kirstennelsen.com/shop/ Host: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer Developer of Training for Optimal Balance https://kirstennelsen.com/

The Horse Geeks Podcast - Where we look at horses and riding from the inside out NEW: Wexford Training monthly newsletter! Get micro lessons with Thoughts to Ponder, Info on new content, learning offers and updates to my calendar delivered to your inbox monthly by signing up on the email list. Sign up is at the bottom of the home page at www.kirstennelsen.com   AND - For a FREE Power Hour consultation please visit: www.kirstennelsen.com Topic: Learning to pay attention to our horse's breathing is the main way we know if our horse is getting too stressed physically - whether it is from hard work or because it's just so dang hot! Reminder that our horse's temp should be between 99-102˚ F when normal. A fever is when the temp reaches 102.5˚ F or higher and our horse needs to immediately cool down while we also call the vet. Managing high temps, how to slowly cool down our horse after hard work and how we can adjust our training during hot days are all covered. Guest: Deb Romero, certified Alexander Technique Instructor www.optimalposture.org The workbook series mentioned is only available at: https://kirstennelsen.com/shop/ Host: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer Developer of Training for Optimal Balance https://kirstennelsen.com/

The Horse Geeks Podcast - Where we look at horses and riding from the inside out NEW: Wexford Training monthly newsletter! Get micro lessons with Thoughts to Ponder, Info on new content, learning offers and updates to my calendar delivered to your inbox monthly by signing up on the email list. Sign up is at the bottom of the home page at www.kirstennelsen.com   AND - For a FREE Power Hour consultation please visit: www.kirstennelsen.com Topic: Muscles support movement of the skeleton. When the skeleton is in poor coordination then the muscles that support poor movement are worked during a warm up session - not the same muscle use or even the same muscles required for balance or collection. Speed and gaits will warm up the cardiovascular system but how the skeleton coordinates movement dictates which muscles are actually increasing circulation and which are either not working or over working and reducing circulation. Going faster does not necessarily warm the body up as a preparation for more complex work because it depends entirely on how the body is coordinating during slow warm up work. Guest: Deb Romero, certified Alexander Technique Instructor www.optimalposture.org The workbook series mentioned is only available at: https://kirstennelsen.com/shop/ Host: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer Developer of Training for Optimal Balance https://kirstennelsen.com/

The Horse Geeks Podcast - Where we look at horses and riding from the inside out NEW: Wexford Training monthly newsletter! Get micro lessons with Thoughts to Ponder, Info on new content, learning offers and updates to my calendar delivered to your inbox monthly by signing up on the email list. Sign up is at the bottom of the home page at www.kirstennelsen.com   AND - For a FREE Power Hour consultation please visit: www.kirstennelsen.com Topic: The point of balance is near the center of mass, but is also different. While the center of mass or center of gravity is a static location in a three dimensional body, the point of balance moves and acts as an instant center of rotation. The body organizes around this central axis, so when the point of balance is not centered and stable, then the body organizes dysfunctional use but can still maintain enough stability to do tasks and get the job done. Understanding the differences between people and horse's point of balance is also another piece of helping us ride better, develop our horse into healthy ideal balance and feel our way through various challenges. Guest: Deb Romero, certified Alexander Technique Instructor www.optimalposture.org The workbook series mentioned is only available at: https://kirstennelsen.com/shop/ Host: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer Developer of Training for Optimal Balance https://kirstennelsen.com/

The Horse Geeks Podcast - Where we look at horses and riding from the inside out NEW: Wexford Training monthly newsletter! Get micro lessons with Thoughts to Ponder, Info on new content, learning offers and updates to my calendar delivered to your inbox monthly by signing up on the email list. Sign up is at the bottom of the home page at www.kirstennelsen.com   AND - For a FREE Power Hour consultation please visit: www.kirstennelsen.com Topic: The long reins, as a very traditional ground work technique, can be done many different ways. This discussion is about how to use long reins a little differently for the specific purpose of balance and rehabbing horses. Guest: Deb Romero, certified Alexander Technique Instructor www.optimalposture.org The workbook series mentioned is only available at: https://kirstennelsen.com/shop/ Host: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer Developer of Training for Optimal Balance https://kirstennelsen.com/