We welcomed Cheshire Equine Therapy, Symbiosis Wellbeing and Performance and Heath Equine Vets to our latest Network event to tell us all about effective horse and rider wellbeing management and approaches.
We were thrilled to have Merete Hass from Heath Equine Vets who covered horse lameness and the diagnostics process. The process of evaluating lameness including how to recognise lameness, causes, testing for specific issues, prognisis and treatment was really insightful with top tips and two case studies to test our knowledge!. Merete is fiercely proud of the independent status of Heath Equine Vets, and as a result of not having the overheads of their own clinic including the associated running costs, the vets offer a range of services including referrals. With a wealth of experience her team can support your horses wellbeing in every respect. For further information and to contact Heath Equine vets please click here. We look forward to welcoming Heath Equine vets back for a live demonstration at our next event.
Reanne Benson joined us from Symbiosis Wellbeing and Performance. No stranger to our Network and a keen supporter of our activities, Reanne gave up her time to help organise this event along with provided a really insightful talk that became interactive!!.. Yes!! we all stretched our toes, stood up and got in tune with our core muscles ....Psssssst anyone?! :) ...Reanne gave us some fab top tips that i doubt we will not forget haha!. Of course the key here is to take what we learn and use it in the saddle! Reanne talked through our positions, seat, legs and back including straightness and balance. Reanne dispelled some myths and coaching approaches that effectively put us in the wrong position and places, that in turn impact on our horses. All super useful to anyone handling and riding horses and looking to improve on all of these aspects. Often we can be guilty of spending money on our horses and neglecting ourselves!! The funny thing is though we might be chucking loads of money at possible cures to our horse ailments, when actually what we do may actually be part of the problem! so we need to look after ourselves! For more information contact Reanne here.
Our fabulous final guest to present at the Network event was Michelle Woolrich from Cheshire Equine Therapy. Michelle has many qualifications as an animal and equine therapist and can offer a range of services designed to prevent, rehabilitate guide and enhance performance that addresses pain poor performance and behavioural issues. Michelle introdcued the Five Freedoms for Equines, a recent development that really focuses our attention on the particular environmental and wellbeing principles that should govern horse management. In turn Michelle examined some of the common problems associated with 'problem' horses in expelling myths, establishing a protocol for care that addresses both how we keep horses, handle them and ride them. Some really interesting discussions regarding the recognition of pain, removal of shoes, and again some of audience members had specific questions to ask all of our guests regarding their own horses particular challenges too. Thanks to Michelle for her input and we look forward to welcoming her back at future events!
Finally our guests! we what can i say about our audience?! our audience and participants range from teachers to financial advisors, people who work in the industry within stable management, coaches, professional riders, horse owners who own horses for others to compete to the happy hacker. We had service owners including http://www.listeningroomcounsellingservice.com/ along with Rarity Equestrian https://www.facebook.com/rarityequestrianeventing/ in attendance too. The really interesting outcome of our introductions is that we are involved in the equestrian world for many reasons. However one thing we all have in common is that ultimately horses provide us with an outlet from the stresses and strains of everyday life. They are effectively our therapy!. This is a great basis to strike a conversation up with a stranger and leave at the end of the event with a new friend!
Thanks for the cakes, tea and coffee and to the super help provided by our home ReaseHeath Equestrian Centre
Hope to see you at our next event! Info to come so keep your eyes peeled :)