Always a topic that can lead to a heated conversation at this time of year is what rug to put on your horse. This is a difficult question to answer as all horses should be treated as individuals and it can be all too easy to be influenced by what other owners on the yard are doing or following the latest trends on rugs in the horse world. In this blog Gillian Higgins explains just how clever your horse is at dealing with the cold and how this should influence how you rug him this winter, or...

Earlier this year I was fortunate enough to be part of the team for the filming of part 3 of Gillian Higgins, Horses Inside Out Autumn Webinar series. This part was to be called ‘Dressage Dissected’ and you can find out more about the filming day in my previous blog post. I have been waiting patiently for the webinar to be presented live and finally it’s here and it’s even better than I ever could have expected. During the filming of this day I was busy taking care of Gillian’s horse Arty,...

Earlier on this year I was lucky to be invited by Gillian Higgins to be part of the team involved in filming this Autumn’s Webinar Wednesday Series of Live Lecture Demonstrations. You can find out more about the filming days in my previous blog . I have been waiting patiently ever since to be able to watch the final demos on screen. And finally Episode 2 – Riding from an Anatomical Perspective is here and available to watch in the Horses Inside Out Online Academy. Having been there in person...

Earlier this year I was lucky enough to be asked to help out for the day with the preparation and filming of Gillian’s first ever online lecture demonstration, The Principles of Movement. (That’s me helping with painting of Gillian’s horse Arty’s leg) It seems like an age ago now as this was in April of this year, and I feel like it has been a long wait to finally get to see the completed film of the demo. I have been really excited to see how it would all come together and to be able to...

Biomechanical effects and benefits of canter. Top tips for assessing, training and improving your horse's canter. Includes slow motion video

Even if you don’t jump your horse studying the biomechanics of how the horse creates a jump is useful for every single rider because of the biomechanical and mofascial connections illustrated more obviously. The horse needs physical strength, focus and a balanced rider to jump successfully. He also needs a good technique, willingness, coordination and the ability to convert forward momentum to upward thrust. Horses aren't natural jumpers, although in the wild they will jump obstacles that get...

In the last few years in the equine world, particularly since the release of the research papers from Vibeke Elbrond and Rikke Shultz - Myofascia - the unexplored tissue: Myofascial kinetic lines in horses, released in 2015. Myofascial connections have been a hot topic. Following on from my previous blog where I spoke about day 1 of the Horses Inside out CPD course and Myofascial Release Techniques, I was super excited to attend day 2 where we would be learning more about Myofascial Chains....

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...