Thresholds. It’s a word that we hear a lot applied to both horses and humans. How do you define threshold? And what markers are you

Dear Head, For the longest time we had a complicated relationship. I won’t be so arrogant to assume that I completely have you sorted. To

I was listening to my lovely and rather fabulous friend Kate Sandel the other day in a conversation that she was having about separation anxiety.

The other day in my JoyRide group, we started talking about the difference between conscious, subconscious and unconscious, and I thought it would be an

Spooking! We had an interesting discussion on spooking last week in Stable Hours (the weekly Live Q&A in my membership group) that brought a few

Having a sense of progress is important, but it’s easy to miss the small, everyday markers of progress if you are attached to what progress

Your current nervous system state expresses through your motor patterns. It expresses in movement. This is an easy sentence to read and gloss over but

Look up! Many of us consider posture and position from the viewpoint of the outer tube of the body. For instance, we see or sense

An article popped up the other day in my newsfeed and the title was something like “5 Tips to help you become a more successful

What you are looking at in this image is a drawing of the pelvic floor, looking from the top down. You can see how complex

One of the things we often do is “rate” the appropriateness of our responses according to how we “think” we should be behaving or reacting.

A little while back, I read a post on another page from someone who felt like they’d done the wrong thing by their horse in

Movement. From the perspective of the brain, movement is only ever performed with a functional reason in mind. We are designed to move with a

We’ve spoken a little bit about the dome of the diaphragm this week, and this particular part of the body is a great launch pad

The last couple of weeks in JoyRide, we’ve been focusing on the dome of the diaphragm in our movement work. You can gather information about

A week or so back, I wrote a post about what I consider to be the “goal” of working with the nervous system. Here’s a

One of the things I’m interested in learning about (and consequently teaching others) is how to read the structure of your body, and understand, based

Part of my ongoing “work” as a horseperson involves increasing my knowledge base on really understanding more about my horse’s body and how it is

One of the beliefs I have around movement and “training” generally is that “good training” and “good movement” should be a form of therapy. It

Overthinking can be a real scourge for those of us interested in pursuing a peaceful mind. It’s certainly been something that I have wrestled with

Here’s one for the long gamers. Dee is my big bay horse that you see in many of my photos. I’ve had him since he

Frustration is something that you might find yourself experiencing a little or a lot in your riding adventures. In and of itself, frustration is part

I always love the beginning stages of forming a new partnership. It’s such a dance of discovery. I love asking the questions of ‘how do

In the various photos I’ve posted of late, my horse has been wearing a neck rope (or lariat) and I’ve had several questions asking why

A week or so back, I shared a collection of photos on my own social media page of my horses, and a few “between the

This week in JoyRide we’ve been working with the kneecaps and looking at the different movement patterns generally that exist between the parasympathetic and survival

Understanding more about my nervous system has fundamentally affected how I approach movement, and beyond that, exercise generally. We have developed a world view that

I’ve talked a lot about failure before, and the more I do so, the more convinced I become that failure doesn’t actually exist. It’s just

Trail riding, to my mind, is such an art form. I always laugh to myself when I read comments from riders who flippantly throw comments

Whenever we ride in public or are involved in group situations with our horse, there are always so many different dynamics that we need to

If you’ve ever found yourself being able to tell the future in advance, what you are essentially highlighting are your own sympathetic or survival nervous

My horse Dee is a pretty big unit. I’ve had him since he was 2 years old who just never seemed to stop growing and

The scapula, or shoulder blade, is something that most of us are pretty familiar with, as far as parts of the body go. The position

Let’s talk gadgets. The kind of gadgets that I’m interested in discussing are the ones that so many of us human people love to use

The way that I approach physical health, especially in a rehabilitative sense, has changed dramatically over the last couple of years. In the same breath,

In our movement classes this week, we’ve been focusing on the trigeminal nerve, the largest sensory nerve in the body. Activating and re-habituating the sensory

My life has never really run the conventional path. For the most part, I’ve always worked for myself. So much so that I joke now

Change is an interesting thing. When we are stuck in a place that we don’t want to be- physically, mentally, or emotionally- it’s the thing

A frequent conversation that I am having with riders I work with revolves around letting go of the idea that the goal is to reach

We had lots of interesting discussion and thoughts around my post about the jaw-pelvis relationship yesterday, and I wanted to expand on that conversation further

Often, when it comes to making corrections in the body- adjusting our position, correcting our posture, attempting to develop our seat- we focus on specific

Yesterday, we talked briefly about the different learning styles and mode of response that are expressions of the various stages the survival nervous system travels

Your learning style- how you process information, respond to feedback or criticism, the conditions you “require” in order to be able to take things in-

“Comfort zone” is an interesting phrase, and it’s not one that we typically think of with positive connotations. Usually, the discussions about it centre around

In all the work I do, I’m trying to strike a balance between understanding what’s happening at a nervous system level, and then recognizing how

Yesterday, I got my lovely horse Dee out and the paddock and we played together in the round pen for the first time in quite

I teach a lot of movement-based work with a specific focus on the nervous system, and periodically the question comes up, how do I know

I remember getting asked in an interview once, “Do you feel like what you are teaching now is different from what you taught five years

It’s interesting, given that a horse and their movement is so dynamic, that we could become attached to “aesthetic ideals” when we are riding. I’m

Emotional control is a phrase that you see thrown around a lot, and it’s both a lot simpler and a lot more complex than we

When most people think of the nervous system and what working with it might address, the most common response is mental and emotional. Very few

Here’s a piece of writing that I’m going to muddle my way through. It’s a muddle because the thoughts and understandings are in part still

There was a man who set out to make the perfect chair. He got sick of sitting all day at his office in chairs that

8:30 pm, I flop down on the couch, pick up the remote and press the green button. I don’t very often feel like watching TV

One of the common “complaints” that I hear about focusing on the body and the mind from the level of the nervous system is that

Over the last couple of days, we’ve talked about the subjective nature of emotions and how our labeling of emotions can limit the capacity of

Yesterday, we talked about the subjective nature of emotions and how, in fact, the labels that we attach to our experience do not exist as

Part of being self-responsible for how we show up for ourselves, for others, and for our horses involves accepting and embracing just how subjective our

Last week, I added a practice to my membership program called The Story Of Your Body. The purpose of it was two-fold. Firstly, I wanted

If you find yourself in a situation that you would really rather not be in, it’s easy to fall into the trap of being desperate

These days, my teaching, work and practice focus as much on movement and the body as it does on how it is we think. As

So many of our challenges come from using the conscious brain for purposes it wasn’t designed for. For the most part, it’s not our fault.

So, there’s self-awareness (the ability to stay in connection with yourself whilst engaging with the world) and there’s self-centering (the tendency to centre all situations

In my family, we have a little tradition. It’s not a food that we share on a particular day. It’s not a place that we

If I have the belief that there is a right way to do something, I’ve eliminated all possibilities for learning. My quest for “right-ness” can

Last week I wrote about the times and situations where our horsing life is not a source of solace but a source of stress and

Continuing on with our “Showing Up” Conversation! We started yesterday by talking about two different situations that can share the same outward manifestations, and how

Yesterday, I talked about showing up and how showing up for yourself is a very different conversation from showing up in spite of yourself. We

Showing up is something that’s talked about a lot. Personally, I’m a fan of it. After all, nothing happens, changes, or gets discovered if you

I was musing yesterday about a couple of memes circulating the internet (I know they are often not meant for deep contemplation but there you

Most of us are masterful at dissociating from our experience; from being anywhere other than truly where we are right now. And what’s more, the

Depression is a really big conversation, and I know it’s something that many people struggle with, as either an intermittent or regular feature of their

If I was ever to get a phrase or motto tattooed onto my body, this one would be it: Don’t make the story more important

This face right here is the face of a four-legged pup wot needs a lot of exercise. And if she doesn’t get it, she can

These days, breathwork is pretty standard practice. If you are looking for solutions for dealing with fear and anxiety, I would put large swathes of

Boundaries- your ability to recognize a need for them, to create them, and to hold them- is always an interesting discussion. As with everything, there

This morning I was tagged in a post on another page that was asking for help and advice on how to deal with “I’m not

In many ways, the world has cracked open with the discussion of trauma. It’s facilitated a greater degree of empathy and understanding; it’s allowed many

In our movement work in JoyRide over the last couple of weeks, we’ve been working with the centreline of the body. When I refer to

Many moons ago, I was watching a dressage test on YouTube and at the end of it, I started scrolling through the comments. “Wow”, one

The thing is, I don’t have time. Yes, another chimed in. We are time-poor. We would love to do this but it’s so hard to

A common situation for you. Your horse spooks and you find yourself completely discombobulated. In fact, you are so out of sorts, that the only

Let’s talk about “aiming for calm” as the end goal. But first, let’s talk about sensory input (so your nervous system taking information from your

I get asked from time to time how I deal with being online so much (as far as navigating the different conversations goes), and how

A quote that struck a chord with me today… “I need to listen well so I hear what is not said” ~ Thuli Madonsela  

The structure of our body, the way that we move, how we relate to our environment and each other all change in relationship to our

Let’s say we’ve been thinking about something we’re finding quite hard or working through a sticky spot in training. We need a plan, we tell

Perspective. It’s kind of everything and yet at the same time, how much of our perspective is informed by reality? The answer to that is,

My horses are on holidays until the end of the month- I’m devoting so much time to putting my new program together that an equine

My eldest little boy is obsessed with skiing. He reads books about it, studies YouTube clips online, is thrilled at the onset of winter and

We humans have a funny relationship with failure, and perhaps the most curious aspect about it is that the whole thing is completely made up.

Lupin is 12 weeks old today. I picked her up just over 3 weeks ago and began the puppy tending duties that are not dissimilar

There’s a meme or a quote that I’ve seen floating around recently that speaks to the idea that “extreme independence” is a trauma response. I

Yesterday, we jumped into a conversation around learning that centered around the fear of ruining your horse. If you missed that and want to have

Afraid to take action for fear of ruining your horse? You are in good company! It’s something that I hear about a lot, and it

I’ve taken some time off social media this last little while to have more time to devote to things behind the scenes, and one of

At the start of the week, I had a little gigglesnort to myself that the most motivational mantra that I could come up with when

Last week, I sat down and I made a list of all the things that I had to do that had been sitting on the

This week I participated in/ watched a human dissection of the central nervous system. It’s the first time that I’ve been a part of anything

It’s often interesting to observe what you have taught and then to observe what you think you have taught… but then realized that you really haven’t. Let’s

So, two facts about me that I don’t think are known outside my immediate family. I love rock climbing. Like, I love watching people do

Intuition is a subject of particular fascination for me, and the more that I study and understand the nervous system, the more I realise that

While we are hot on the topic of motor responses this week, let’s talk about the term “muscle memory”; it’s one that we hear a

When it comes to biomechanics and alignment, the conversations centre around structure and functional optimization, but very rarely does that same conversation include references to

Yesterday, we talked about mental models and maps, and I briefly mentioned how they were a function of our sympathetic nervous system. I thought we

The ol’ “too much of a good thing” comes into effect in so many ways, and often well outside the parameters that we expect. Take

How will you know if you’ve succeeded if you don’t know what it feels like to fail? The very definition of learning for the brain

On the final day of the clinic, Dee and I were merrily trotting around on a circle to the right. A little obstacle course had

I remember at one point walking around the indoor arena with Dee last week and realizing that I needed to bring the focus back to

The last couple of days of the clinic went by in a blur, so I thought I would give you a smooshed together breakdown of

So, some updates from Day Two for you! I’ll break it down horse by horse… Dee 🦄 It’s been really interesting to manage my expectations

It’s Day One of this week’s Clinic Diaries (I’m running a day behind as I couldn’t keep my eyes open last night)! So, the initial

Along with Nadia, Dee has also come back into full-time work, and it’s so exciting to be able to observe your progression in ways that

It’s always interesting to listen to discussions around whether or not the different environments that we ride in are supportive or not. I’m thinking competitive

Overthinking is the product of a system functioning from sympathetic mode. When we are in a place of sympathetic dominance, the parts of our brain

Last week, I shared some thoughts on empathy and how my understanding of survival patterns have made me more aware of my responses and how

Prior to this moment, I had just been tinkering away, doing my thing. Compared to my previous competition life (when even the slightest hint of

Well, true to the plan, Nadia and I ventured out for our first Working Equitation Competition and much giggle snorting ensued! For those of you

Most of us humans have a pretty skewed relationship with bodily sensation. Depending on our experiences, labels, and stories, we categorise certain feelings in the