Sifting through the layers

Jenny had struggled for months with her horse Jim falling in through his left shoulder in their ridden work. Her instructor had come up with plenty of suggestions, but she felt as though she's hit a brick wall.

It's rare that a schooling problem has a simple fix. Usually it's a mix of what I call 'brain, pain and training' issues. Brain issues are ones that are resolved by improving the rider's understanding, training issues are ones that are resolved by improving the horse's understanding. Pain issues are resolved by finding the right help from an appropriate, qualified, knowledgable, experienced equine professional. 

Jenny and Jim are fictional characters based on something I am regularly asked to help with as a Chartered Veterinary Physiotherapist (find your local physio at www.acpat.co.uk) with a behavioural background (find your local Intelligent Horsemanship Recommended Associate at www.intelligenthorsemanship.co.uk). Peeling off the layers is something I specialise in, and often I find that falling in through the shoulder can be massively reduced through a combination of physio for the horse (and sometimes the rider), an improved understanding of how the rider is trying to achieve this goal, the instructor getting on the horse so that the horse's understanding is improved, and sometimes addressing saddlery, dentistry, farriery or even veterinary issues.

If you'd like to learn more about how you can interpret what your horse is trying to tell you, join me on my new course 'Understanding Horse Performance: Brain, Pain or Training? Finding the Fix' on Sunday 15th Nov - find out more at www.thehorsephysio.co.uk