Horse education

The 3 Big Factors and how Charlotte Cannon's 5 Part Program addresses and 'fixes' them.

 Horses and people have a Hierarchy of Needs, specific needs that must be satisfied in a specific order. Understanding these needs, and reading where our horses are in each moment, really benefits in our training process. 

1. Safety - SNS, 2. Comfort, 3. Food - SNS/PSNS, 4. Relaxation - PSNS, 5. Play - PSNS

What your horse's behavior can tell us,  and the science behind his behavior.  Learn about the Sympathetic and Parasympathetic Nervous Systems and how they are the key to relaxation, joy and health.

The Vagus Nerve is the key to the Autonomic Nervous System. Stimulating the Vagus Nerve will trigger PSNS. Find 20 ways to stimulate the Vagus Nerve in 20 Hacks To Relax.

We have 4 main positive Hormones/Neurotransmitters in our bodies and our horse's bodies. 

Learn how to understand and trigger them!

 Perfect balance is the goal for every living thing. Perfect balance insinuates that the body and mind can be relaxed, and the horse will remain balanced, upright and with athletic potential. 

Dr Gerd Hershmann is one of the greatest thinkers and teachers of our time. He has written two books, "The Tug of War" and "The Balancing Act", that have enlightened horseman all over the world about equine anatomy. Gerd's concepts of the Upper and Lower Muscle Chains, and their releases, fascinate me. 

After studying these ideas, I also noticed a  relationship between these and the horse's brain, left side and right side. Plus I noticed the relationship between these and thoughts and emotions held physically within the body.

We all know the sticky white stuff on the outside of a piece of chicken is the connective tissue called fascia. Until recently (like the past 5 years) not much was known about fascia. There were no big studies, no big focus. Now scientists and doctors have figured out fascia is so much more that the white stuff that fills in the space between the important stuff, like organs, bones, muscles, etc. The Fascial System might actually be the most important system in the body.

 The mind and body are interconnected. Everything in the mind will manifest in the body, and everything in the body will manifest in the mind. By learning to ‘read’ the body, one can read the mind. Different postures signal different things, both positive and negative, happening in the mind. Every emotion has an embodiment. Every degree out of balance the horse is in body or mind, will bring it out of balance that same amount in the other, creating degrees of fear and anxiety.

Is your horse an introvert or an extrovert? How understanding this help you both understand and connect better!

See what's coming!

This may be the most powerful, yet underrated, exercise I've ever found and used!

Dancing Pete Rhodda creation.

Charlotte Cannon’s Equine Tapping is an effective way to relax your horse, rewire your horse’s response to stress, release physical and mental/emotional braces or blocks so that your horse can achieve maximum balance and maximum athletic ability.

Fear -> Curiosity -> Dominance -> Confidence  -> Indifference

Track It -> Touch It -> Step On It -> Wear It

Coming Soon

Does your horse wiggle or freeze when you start to tack him or her up to ride? 

Does your horse 'pull back', or blow up and buck once the girth has been tightened?

Here is a simple answer to use the Tapping concept to rewire your horse's brain to feeling confidence instead of fear when you bring out the saddle.

  After studying the 26 Brain Gym movements created by Drs Paul and Gail Dennison, I was able to apply these to the horse, and figured out how to read which part of the brain he was using, which part needed to be ‘lit up’ to perform the task I desired, and how to integrate his whole brain to get the best performance  

Coming Soon

  The horse is horse hardwired to mirror its herd for safety. When you are riding, holding the rope or connected at liberty, you and your horse are a herd of two. Do in your body what you want the horse to do in his body. If you are braced, your horse will be braced. If you are relaxed, your horse will be relaxed. By using the PSNS/dancer muscles in our body, we trigger PSNS in ourselves and the horse.

Muscle Chains

Ultimate Relaxation Posture

Tension Posture

Posture and Leadership

HH Calm Connection Exercises

Dancing Pete Block Exercises