Articles

The biomechanics and benefits of trot and top tips for assessing, training and improving your horse's trot. Including slow motion video

The benefits of polework are often underrated! Incorporating this type of work into your horse's training schedule is an excellent way to maintain and improve posture, as well as contributing to a healthy, mobile, fully functioning musculoskeletal system. Gillian Higgins explains in this short article just how powerful working your horse over poles can be and how to do it effectively. The Benefits of Pole Work Appropriate pole exercises encourage your horse to move his body without the need...

When it comes to dressage the scales of training are the stepping stones that many riders live by when training horses. They form the basis of what judges look for in horses during a dressage test. But what about biomechanics. How does anatomy and biomechanics link in with the scales of training? This is a question explored in this blog and one which we will study in greater detail in the Dressage Dissected online lecture demonstration The team at Horses Inside Out is excited about this...

One of the things I find so good about Horses Inside Out is how Gillian Higgins (The Founder) has been able to create a concept and content that is both accessible and applicable to everyday horse owners and equine professionals alike. As a professional equine therapist myself I know I can reach for any of the Horses Inside Out books or videos and learn something new or more in depth from the products that are accessible to anyone. So you can imagine how excited I was to be attending a live...

This week I was excited to be back at Horses Inside Out HQ for the final filming day for Gillian Higgins’ upcoming Live Lecture Demonstration Webinars . The day’s focus was ‘Dressage Dissected’ and this is part 3 of the new series. As I arrived at Wavendon Grange (Gillian’s home and base for Horses Inside Out) the painting of the horses was well underway. I was unfortunately running late due to a car malfunction. Inside Gillian’s amazing new classroom environment were her 17hh ISH Arty and a...

As soon as we sit on our horse's backs we compromise his posture and ability to move, affect his balance and increase the strain on his joints, tendons and ligaments. How depressing! It's vital that we recognise this and how it happens before we can study how the horse supports his posture and musculoskeletal system. From there we can look at ways to strengthen his body in preparation for a rider and performance whatever the discipline. Improving our equine partner's fitness, posture,...

This blog looks at the biomechanical effects and benefits of walk as well as top tips for training and how to analyse your horse's walk.

Whether horses are your hobby or your living it’s a fact that you never stop learning about these amazing and sophisticated creatures. We also have other things in common – that we want our horses to be happy, healthy and reach their full athletic potential - whatever level or discipline that is. Gillian Higgins and the team at Horses Inside Out believe that to do this effectively having a knowledge of equine anatomy and biomechanics is just one of the key fundamentals. We also love learning...

This series of four online lecture demonstrations will take you on a fascinating journey exploring how equine anatomy and biomechanics can be applied to movement, riding, training and management. If you're interested in improving the comfort and performance of horses, understanding more about how horses move and to reduce the risk of injury this series is for you. And you can access all of this from the comfort of your own home from anywhere in the world! We begin our journey with Episode 1:...

A good warm up and cool down are crucial parts of your horse’s work and will help to reduce the risk of injury. Gillian Higgins explains the importance of these two phases to your schooling session and suggests how to structure the warm up and cool down to avoid injury. The aim of the warm up is to: Increase blood flow to the muscles and vital organs. Improve pulse and respiration rate. Awaken the core. Stretch the muscles, ligaments and tendons. Take the joints through a full range of...