In the first part of this series of blogs about the paces we will look at the biomechanical effects and benefits of walk and also share tips on how to assess different qualities in the walk and how to improve them. You can learn so much more about this topic in the horse movement video course Anatomy in Action. Walk is a regular four-beat gait and compared to trot and canter, walk uses the most thoracolumbar rotation and lateral flexion - this is why it's great for mobilisin

Transitions, transitions, transitions. Yes, your trainer is right – you can never ride too many transitions and they form the basis of all training. However, nailing perfect transitions isn’t easy and takes time, patience, repetition and careful preparation to master. Transition means change. Whether upward, downward, direct, progressive, between or within the pace. An ideal smooth transition requires balance, suppleness and a willing response to your aids and this needs to h

Head Anatomy, has to be one of my favourite webinars from Gillian so far. They are all fantastic but I loved this one's practical aspects.

This weekend I was really excited to attend the Horses Inside Out online seminar ‘Digestive Anatomy, Feeding & Nutrition’ There were 4 prese

Myofascial lines – sometimes referred to as the therapist’s map are chains of interconnected anatomical structures that direct the basic motion pattern in your horse. In this blog we’re going to look beyond your horse’s conformation and movement and delve beneath the skin and discover all about myofascial kinetic lines in your horse’s body. Myofascial kinetic lines provide an anatomical framework that provides you with an improved understanding of movement. It allows you to s

Hello and welcome to the penultimate part of my blog series on the Horses Inside Out Annual Conference 2020 – Anatomy In Action. Today I would like to briefly share with you the Scientific Poster Presentation Area that was on display at the conference. The posters were on display in the same room as the anatomy exhibition and there was plenty of time to browse the posters during the weekend of the conference in the breaks between presenters and at the beginning and end of t

Hello and welcome to my blog series on the Horses Inside Out Conference 2020 - Anatomy In Action. This is the final blog about the presentations of the weekend, with the last speaker being PhD candidate Celeste Wilkins. Celeste is from Canada but is currently studying for a PhD in rider biomechanics and performance at Hartpury University in Gloucestershire. Her PHD involves using a Racewood Eventing Simulator and 3D motion capture to study rider biomechanics. Her studies ai

Hello and welcome back to my Horses Inside Out Conference 2020 - Anatomy In Action blog series. We have reached Part 11b now. This is the second installment sharing with you the presentation by vet Richard Hepburn, who presented on day 2 of the conference in the afternoon. Please see my previous blog for the first installment, to find out more about Richard and his presentation on how to prevent respiratory disorders in order to prevent poor performance from your horses. Tod

Hello and welcome to part 11 of my blog about the Horses Inside Out Conference 2020 - Anatomy In Action. Today I would like to share with you the presentation from Richard Hepburn which was on the second day of the conference and called ‘Tuning the Equine Engine to Prevent Poor Performance’ Richard is a vet with a specific interest in gastroenterology, neurology and intensive care. He has worked in equine hospitals in the UK and NZ and is a Diplomate of the American College

Hello and welcome back to my blog about the Horses Inside Out conference 2020 - Anatomy In Action. Today I would like to share with you the presentation by vet Sue Dyson on the second day of the conference. Sue called this presentation ‘What’s is new in lameness diagnosis’ Sue is a world renowned vet and speaker you can find out more about Sue in my previous blog , as we were fortunate enough to have 2 presentations from her over the weekend. In this presentation Sue discuss

Hello and welcome back to my blog about the Horses Inside Out Conference 2020 - Anatomy In Action. Today I would like to share with you some more of the amazing research by Dr Vibeke Elbrond. You can learn more about Vibeke in my previous blog. Vibeke’s second presentation of the weekend delved deeper into the Myofascial Connections and some of the Myofascial lines. This is a very exciting topic for me that I just can’t get enough of! I am hoping to share with you in this b

Hello and welcome back to my blog series based on the Horses Inside Out Conference 2020 - Anatomy In Action. Today I would like to share with you the first presentation we were treated to on day 2 of the conference which was by farrier Mark Johnson. Mark is a qualified farrier with an interest in horsemanship. Following his apprenticeship and having seen many recurring problems within the farriery industry, Mark set out to find the best and innovative ways to manage horse’s

Hello and welcome back to my blog series on the Horses Inside Out Conference - Anatomy In Action. Today I am very excited to share with you the research vet Sue Dyson presented to us on day one of the conference (we were lucky enough to have presentations from Sue on both days). Sue is a world renowned expert in equine orthopaedics, with a particular interest in poor performance and subtle and complex lameness in sport horses. Sue an expert in diagnostic imaging, radiograph

Hello and welcome to part 6 of my blog series on the Horses Inside Out Conference 2020 - Anatomy In Action. Today I would like to share with you a little about speaker Dr Andrew Hemmings and his presentation on Training the Brain. Andrew is a Principal Lecturer in Equine Science and the head of the Equine Management and Science department at the Royal Agricultural Universit y in Cirencester. Andrew’s main expertise and interest is in brain function in relation to behaviour. H

Hello and welcome to part 5 of my blog series on the Horses Inside Out Conference 2020 - Anatomy In Action. Today I would like to share with you some of the points raised and discussed in the presentation by Seth O’Neil around Tendons and Tendinopathy Management and his work on how this translates from human athletes to equine athletes. Seth’s clinical and research interests focus around tendon disorders and in particular lower limb tendinopathy and rupture. Seth works with O

Hello and welcome back to my blog series about the Horses Inside Out Conference 2020 - Anatomy In Action. Today I would like to discuss the second presentation from the weekend. This was given by saddler David Kempsell. David is Managing Director of First Thought Equine Ltd which bases it’s products on scientific research and has revolutionised the saddle industry. Namely with his brand WOW saddles . David shared with us at the conference his research into asymmetry of the h

Hello and welcome back to part 3 of my Horses Inside Out Conference 2020 - Anatomy In Action blog. Today I would like to talk about the first speaker of the conference. The wonderful Vibeke Elbrond, and her presentation on understanding the profound visceral myofascial connections in the horse. During this blog I hope to share some of Vibeke’s key facts and findings in a way that most of us can understand without taking anything away from the fascinating and detailed researc

Welcome to part 2 of my blog series about the Horses Inside Out Anatomy In Action Conference 2020.Today I would like to talk a little bit about Gillian Higgins, founder of Horses Inside Out and her Anatomy Exhibition that was a room at the conference available throughout the whole event to investigate and explore. Gillian is an equine functional anatomist, biomechanist, therapy consultant, international lecturer, author and anatomical artist. Gillian had created and hand pain

Hello and welcome to the first part in my blog series on the Horses Inside Out Conference 2020 - Anatomy In Action. I was very fortunate to have been given the opportunity to attend the conference last weekend and the only words I can think of to describe the entire experience are amazing, inspiring and fabulous! The conference was held at Holywell Conference Centre near Leicester. It was easy to find with plenty of parking. The venue was well sign posted with a huge Horses

Thank you to everyone who came and made this conference such a special one. I think this conference was the best one yet! Fabulous speakers, great atmosphere, friendly questioning delegates, a warm welcome, so much inspiration and learning opportunities! Enjoy the pictures. We hope you will join us next year. Photos by Joe Hallam Photography