You can have the best breeding and conformation but without a good temperament and trainability you may struggle to train and bring out the best performance in the horse. To understand a horse's temperament and how he learns you need to have an understanding of the equine brain and how the two link together. However, there has been very little research done on the equine brain. Dr Andrew Hemmings is keen to change this, for the good of the horse. Dr Andrew Hemmings is a worl

We all know that how we feed and manage our horse's diet can help to gain or lose weight... but what about muscle development? Can what we feed a horse impact his ability to build strong and healthy muscle? The aim of feeding is to supply a balanced diet - get this right and you'll have a happy, healthy horse. Forage should make up the bulk of the horse's diet and then your bucket feed makes up for any shortfalls in the forage essentially balances what's missing in the forage

2022 seems to be zooming by, and there's so much is happening at Horses Inside Out I thought it was time I told you all about it! On the Road... Lecture Demonstrations It is lovely to be travelling out and about to do lecture demonstrations across the UK again. We aren't travelling abroad for events yet, but plan to do so from 2023. On the 4th July, we performed a lecture demonstration at Parklands Equestrian Centre at Aston near Sheffield. As soon as we walked onto the yard

A comfortable and happy horse is something all owners and trainers are aiming for. We know that feeding, management and training all play a big part together with correctly fitting tack. Saddle fit has long been a focus of attention and now thankfully bridle fit and bitting is seen as being just as important and can have a huge impact of your horse’s well-being and performance. As horse owners and professionals learn more about equine biomechanics and anatomy it’s becoming cl

The biomechanical effects of jumping, Tips for training and assessing your horse's jump. 'Skeleton' horses jumping in slow motion.

Having been through The Pony Club and BHS training as well as owning horses for over 30 years I feel I have a grasp of fitting a bridle – or do I? In this blog, horse owner Allison Lowther reviews Gillian's latest book Illustrated Head Anatomy. Reading Illustrated Head Anatomy has been a real eye-opener and made me look beyond what you can see in front of you when you’re assessing the fit of a bridle. Having an understanding and being able to visualise all the delicate and

On the bit, outline, frame whatever phrase you use, it's always a hot topic between riders, trainers, and dressage judges - in fact almost everyone in the horse world has an opinion on this subject. First and foremost, the horse's welfare is essential. He must be able to move freely with regular gaits, and allowed to carry his head in a relaxed, comfortable position without restriction. Where the horse positions his head and neck influences so many things including his balanc

I don’t think I’ve known the ground to be so hard so early in the year. I’m trying not to complain as the weather has been very kind (so far) but the price we have to pay for a dry spring and warmer days, is that the ground is rock hard already and worries surrounding concussion is happening months earlier than normal. So in this blog we will take a closer look at how horses absorb concussion and what we can do to minimise it. Of course with the longer days and sunshine, it r

With everyone looking forward to the Jubilee celebrations this weekend we thought it would be most apt to look back, remember and celebrate the day we painted a horse for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at Hyde Park Barracks. It was such an honour to meet the queen and talk about horses. What a wonderful day it was! On Tuesday October 24th Gillian Higgins, equine anatomist and founder of Horses Inside Out, was invited to Hyde Park Barracks, London as part of a visit from Her M

My horse isn’t quite right. He's not lame, but he's just not quite right. How many times have you heard this as a conversation amongst rider and owners? When your horse isn’t quite performing as you would like, it can often leave you questioning your training, your tack, feeding and your day-to-day management routine to try and find the reason for his drop in performance. In this situation, it can be all too easy to overlook mild, multi-limb lameness and mild pain-related is

As a horse owner I’m always looking for ways to ensure both my horses are happy and comfortable in their bodies. Gillian and I thought it would be great to set a fun and interactive challenge for the Horses Inside Out followers. Each challenge is a simple exercise or technique you can do with your horse to help improve his comfort, health and performance. Not one to miss out on a good challenge and to join in the fun I gave them a go on one my own horses. Here’s how I got on

A well-fitting and balanced saddle is comfortable for you and your horse. Your saddle fitter is an integral part of the team of professionals that are there to ensure the best for the both of you. Here at Horses Inside Out we would always recommend that if you’re in any doubt about the fit of your saddle you need to enlist the help of a qualified saddle fitter. In this blog, Gillian Higgins offers her advice looking at saddle fit related to the anatomy of the horse and three

Last Wednesday we travelled north, with the car filled to bursting, to Netherton Equestrian Centre, Perth. Our journey to Scotland was to perform the first public live painted horse lecture demonstration since 2019. It was fabulous to be back out there again, to meet and chat to horse owners, trainers and other equestrian professionals in person. In this blog we share some of the top tips related to maintaining mobility from the night, what's involved on the day and a bit a

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.

The recorded webinar Understanding and Improving Engagement and Collection focuses on the anatomy of the hindlimb. The main driving forces of your horse is provided by the muscles of the hindquarters and the upper hind limb. Impulsion is pushing power – the thrust that’s produced when energy created in the hindlimb is converted to forward movement. Impulsion and collection are needed in varying degrees in all disciplines not just dressage. For example, when your horse jumps

Tired and achy muscles make you feel miserable let alone feeling stiff, uncomfortable and generally lacking energy. Your horse will feel the same if his muscles are sore, but he doesn’t always have the option to take it easy for a few days. He’ll have to put up with it or communicate his discomfort to you in other ways as it impacts his ability to do the work you ask of him. Massage therapy has been used for thousands of years to help promote good muscle health in humans and

I was lucky enough to have a taster of what this seminar would be like when I attended the Horses Inside Out Conference in 2020.

Good horsemanship and correct training are two key parts of the puzzle when it comes to your horse being able to perform at his best.

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