Horse Geeks

Kirsten Nelsen
  • 5.0 (4)
  • HOW TO
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Bringing out the best in horse and rider kirstennelsen.substack.com

  1. 223: Instability as A Root Cause of Problems

    APR 18

    223: Instability as A Root Cause of Problems

    Whether we or horses are mentally and emotionally unstable or physically unstable really makes no difference. Unstable thoughts, emotions and coordination all intertwine and affect each other. We don't often look to something as instability as the root cause of our problems, but it affects all horses and people at an instinctual level. We simple can't feel safe and unstable at the same time without a lot of conscious effort. Deb and I look at stability and instability in different ways, how it manifests in our experience frequently but fails to get a lot of attention. Knowing how to focus thoughts, calm emotional states and find stability in the right areas of the physical body is how we work through a huge variety of problems and turn things around during rehab. Guest: Deb Romero, Certified Alexander Technique Instructorwww.optimalposture.orgHost: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainerdeveloper of Training for Optimal Balancewww.wexfordfarm.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kirstennelsen.substack.com

    55 min
  2. 222: Rider Balance, or Imbalance, Is an Aid

    APR 11

    222: Rider Balance, or Imbalance, Is an Aid

    Our bodies are mass with weight. How we distribute our body weight internally and how we use muscular contractions generate invisible forces that always have an impact on a horse's movement. When we ride or drive, our balance or imbalance in the saddle or cart has a direct impact on a horse's ability to balance coordination or resort into dysfunctional coordination because of us. We are never neutral to a horse. How we use our bodies can guide a horse's coordination into a better, balanced, healthy use becoming a primary aid before, during and after using our leg and rein aids. How we use our bodies can also contribute to a dysfunctional coordination already adopted by a horse and can even cause dysfunctional coordination in horses. If we are riding to please a judge or adopting postures that look the part for our sport, then we may not be aware of how we are influencing our horse's movement as soon as we get in the saddle or cart. When our horse has problems, looking at our own balance as a contributing factor is just not on our radar - but perhaps it should be. Guest: Deb Romero, Certified Alexander Technique Insturctor www.optimalposture.orgHost: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer developer of Training for Optimal Balancekirstenwexfordtraining.mvsite.app This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kirstennelsen.substack.com

    50 min
  3. 221: Strengthening the Female Rider

    APR 4

    221: Strengthening the Female Rider

    The skeletal design of the female body is different than the skeleton of a male body, mostly through the shape of the pelvis and lumbar portion of the spine. Can't reference where I learned it, but I remember reading that the female body also has roughly 20% more connective tissue than males. Our traditional riding instruction works well for male riders but the same instructions actually have the opposite effect on female riders. In order to stabilize our seat as female riders we can begin with heels flat, not down, and shoulders down, not back. In order to learn the muscle use needed to coordinate stability through the lumbar and pelvis, the seat, slumping is a girl's best friend! Guest: Deb Romero, Certified Alexander Technique Instructorwww.optimalposture.orgHost: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer developer of Training for Optimal Balance kirstenwexfordtraining.mvsite.app This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kirstennelsen.substack.com

    58 min
  4. 220: Improving Riding Skills

    MAR 28

    220: Improving Riding Skills

    As riders we have to improve our riding skills in order to improve our horse's balance. Our weight and mass has a constant, dynamic influence on a horse's movement whether we are aware of it or not. We tend to focus on our aids with no thought to how we are distributing our body weight while riding. But our weight has a greater impact than any aid can, even with leverage. Improving our riding skills is often the last thing we consider, if at all, as a solution to health issues or chronic discomfort. But how we coordinate the conformation we have can have a huge impact, positive or negative. Improving riding skills means balancing our body over gravity, which is something we all have to learn and practice. Changing habits of coordination is a big ass deal - for us and for horses. The process is disorienting and disconcerting because we are literally altering our relationship to space and gravity. This can be a challenging process if we are attached to all of our traditional instruction, but if we have problems, then improving our own riding skills can often become the solution. Guest: Deb Romero, Certified Alexander Technique Instructorwww.optimalposture.orgHost: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainerdeveloper of Training for Optimal Balance www.kirstennelsen.com check out my offers at kirstenwexfordtraining.mvsite.app This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kirstennelsen.substack.com

    1h 8m
  5. 219: What is a Swinging Back in Horses?

    MAR 21

    219: What is a Swinging Back in Horses?

    The term swinging back is used a lot to describe ideal use of horse's backs, but what does that really mean? Does the back swing, back and forth or side to side like a swing set? If we look at the spine itself, the vertebral joints and soft tissues that support the bones of the back and pelvis, then the body itself shows us how little mobility it is meant to have there. The back should not literally swing or move like a swing set. The sensation of swinging as a movement adds excessive force and strains a horse's back and hindquarters. The term through-ness might be a preferable description because it does not imply movement, just energy. Swinging movement might also be a safer way to describe good balance in horses, but it is not the back that is swinging when horses move in balance, instead the back feels incredibly still. Guest: Deb Romero, Certified Alexander Technique Instructorwww.optimalposture.orgHost: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainerdeveloper of Training for Optimal Balancewww.kirstennelsen.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kirstennelsen.substack.com

    49 min

  6. MAR 14

    218: Why Put Tape On Your Horse's Butt?

    Not physical therapy type tape - just plain old masking tape, painters tape or maybe even duct tape if not pressed too hard. When we place tape on our horse's hindquarters, straight across or point to point on the pelvis, the tape helps us see what is already happening that we might not be aware of yet. Pelvic movement in horses is subtle, the tape helps the habitual use of the pelvis be more obvious. The lesson link below is an example of using a single strip of tape across the top of the horse's hindquarters in order to develop a better eye for how the horse coordinates movement, while loose and while doing a groundwork exercise. Laurie's lesson on youtube: Guest: Deb Romero, Certified Alexander Technique Instructorwww.optimalposture.orgHost: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer developer of Training for Optimal Balance www.kirstennelsen.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kirstennelsen.substack.com

    42 min
  7. 217: The Rub Between Image & Reality

    MAR 7

    217: The Rub Between Image & Reality

    We all hold visions in our heads, the image of what we think things should be like, look like or feel like. Then the gravitational force of reality suddenly invades our image. This is the rub. The rub is that uncomfortable feeling when things are not going as planned, when our horse is not performing or acting the way we want or even when life throws us an unexpected change that we did not see coming. That moment in the rub is really uncomfortable, it is a stress trigger for our fight or flight nervous to kick in gear. If we can pause and just sit with the discomfort for a minute or two, allowing the emotions to quiet down a little, then that reality that suddenly disrupted images in our heads might hold a very personal and important lesson for us. We have all felt the rub, many times. We all tend to respond to it by trying to gain more control, distract ourselves or push away anything that challenges our inner image. What we are all capable of doing is using our conscious awareness of the rub and pausing instead of acting or reacting. Pausing long enough to feel authentically curious about what a sudden dose of reality might be trying to show us. Guest: Deb Romero, Certified Alexander Technique Instructor www.optimalposture.orgHost: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer developer of Training for Optimal Balance www.kirstennelsen.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kirstennelsen.substack.com

    49 min
  8. 216: Does the 'Approach & Retreat' Strategy Really Work for Horses?

    FEB 28

    216: Does the 'Approach & Retreat' Strategy Really Work for Horses?

    Once again... it depends I guess. Deb and I discuss what this horse training strategy entails and the drawbacks we have seen from experience. At the end of the day this strategy comes from observation of horses, but fails to explain that horses approach and retreat from triggers as long as their safety is questioned. When we use the approach and retreat strategy we are mimicking a stress response in horses. Is that really what we want to do? The strategy Deb and I have found far more useful is "Pause & Wait" rather than taking any action at all. We discuss what is happening in the nervous system during the pause and wait, which is what makes it more useful to gaining a relaxation response instead of feeding the stress response. Guest: Deb Romero, Certified Alexander Technique Instructor www.optimalposture.orgHost: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainerdeveloper of Training for Optimal Balance www.wexfordfarm.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kirstennelsen.substack.com

    49 min
See All (223)

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
4 Ratings

About

Bringing out the best in horse and rider kirstennelsen.substack.com

Information

  • Creator
    Kirsten Nelsen
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    223
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Kirsten Nelsen
  • Show Website
    Horse Geeks

You Might Also Like