"Physical Training that is Physical Therapy"

Training is on the front line of defense against lameness in horses right alongside nutrition, hoof care, tack fit and emotional health. Are you sure the way you are asking your horse to move is encouraging soundness?

Methodology

HorsePT’s rider coaching program is focused on guiding horses toward efficient body coordination. A crucial part of this is the interaction between the rider’s and horse’s bodies. A rider can easily impede the healthy movement of their horse and likewise a horse with inefficient coordination can create distortion in the rider. This is just one of many paradoxes HorsePT guides riders through in the process of establishing healthy efficient movement in horses. Efficiency equals Soundness. When the rider’s body is influencing the horse's body to move efficiently, the horse becomes physically comfortable and emotionally available for relationship and connection with the rider.

No two horse and rider pairs are the same, so it does not make sense to offer a one-size-fits-all program. The methodology of HorsePT is to teach each rider to formulate strategies based in a framework of healthy locomotion. Coaching is offered in a one-on-one setting, either in person or through video coaching.

 

William was chronically lame from a young age, was retired and changed hands many times. By changing the way he uses his body, he became sound even with the pathology he accumulated over the years, and progressed in his athletic training without recurrence of his lameness.  

See William's story on the Rehablog page

Details
Category: Horse PT LLC

My area of interest is teaching riders to maintain and restore soundness, improve gaits, solve jumping problems, and unlock athletic potential of their horses. Building on my foundation as a serious hunter, jumper, and equitation competitor, and as a mechanical engineer, I continued my education in dressage, biomechanics and athletic rehabilitation. I enjoy working with students who are eager to learn a riding style that does not use force or punishment but rather encourages horses to explore healthy strong body coordination.   

My dressage mentor, Jean Luc Cornille, who taught me lightness, straightness, and how to sit and think in the saddle, was formally trained in classical dressage at Cadre Noire in the 1960’s. He was a protégé of Colonel George Margot, who was notorious for his elegance in the saddle and ability to create top level movement in ordinary horses and for his disdain for those who exploit the horse’s talent, and consequently sacrifice the soundness of horses, to win in competition.

The training of all horses should be taken as seriously as it is for elite athletes (but not in the abusive manners that have been used by some throughout the ages!). Through analysis of gaits and/or jumping style, we can build strategies to solve problems using classical dressage gymnastics. With focus on optimizing body coordination, HorsePT teaches riders to refine their attention and develop useful strategies for guiding their horses to efficient and healthy locomotion while leaving unnecessary methods behind. My work is grounded in both the evolving knowledge of horse and rider biomechanics, animal behavior, and experiential evidence.

 

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