Horse Geeks

Kirsten Nelsen
  • 5.0 (4)
  • How To
  • Updated Weekly

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

  1. 230: Ways To Work on Balance

    4d ago

    230: Ways To Work on Balance

    How do we work on balance in simple ways everyday? Deb gives us lots of hints from her work as an Alexander Technique Instructor. Often we have poor internal maps about where major joints are in our body, which can throw off the use of our head, arms and legs as a result. Deb goes over in detail where 3 major joints are located and how we can bring our awareness to them, gently moving them, in order to improve our balance while we are out and about doing normal daily stuff. Guest: Deb Romero, Certified Alexander Technique Instructorwww.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

    59 min
  2. 229: Working on Balance

    Jun 6

    229: Working on Balance

    Balance in mind and body brings a sense of ease, efficiency, focus and clarity. Finding balance is a self-rewarding process because every time we improve emotional, mental or physical balance we just feel better - thanks to pleasure hormones and reduced muscular tension during motion. Working on balance is something we can do all the time internally even during challenging situations that the external world throws at us. The very first step of working on balance is awareness. Becoming aware of our thoughts, emotions and ease or lack of ease in physical movement is the very first step. Without awareness we rely on habits and instincts. With awareness we have the choice to change our habits. Small pauses with a shift to internal awareness can be done anytime, anywhere and in any situation. Giving ourselves permission to pause and create a little space internally in order to develop more awareness is not hard to do but does require practice. Our habits and instincts will kick in unconsciously all the time. Once we feel bad, muddled, stressed or have physical discomfort, those are the moments we can build awareness and start exercising choice about our internal world. Guest: Deb Romero, Certified Alexander Technique Instructorwww.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

    53 min
  3. 228: Influencing Horse Health Through Training

    May 30

    228: Influencing Horse Health Through Training

    When it comes to the health of our horse typically the last thing to be considered is how our horse is moving and how we balance as riders - how habits of coordination may be affecting our horse's well being. The veterinary term for dysfunctional coordination is mechanical lameness, meaning discomfort before any limping or pain manifests. While research on equine biomechanics has advanced, the information from that research is not yet part of our regular riding and training work. We have traditions in training that actually cause dysfunctional coordination in horses but they are so prevalent and common that they are never questioned. We contribute to our horse's healthy, balanced coordination or dysfunction every single time we ride and train horses. Because coordination, movement, are just habits stored in the nervous system the person who rides or trains a horse the most frequently has the single biggest impact on that horse's coordination and health over the long term. Guest: Deb Romero, Certified Alexander Technique Instructorwww.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

    51 min
  4. 227: Trail Riding in Balance

    May 23

    227: Trail Riding in Balance

    Being "just a trail rider" still means that how we balance on the back of a horse has a positive or negative impact on how horses feel, mentally, emotionally and physically. We are not neutral when we interact with horses. We are either helping horses thrive or we are making life harder. Learning how to adapt to different situations, sometimes rapidly, in order to help our horses feel safe, stable and comfortable during trail rides is the challenge of trail riding. Just because we don't compete with our horse does not mean that we don't have the same impact on our horse's well being. As riders we need to know how to help horses feel safe once they don't, and how to feel physically stable and comfortable when they don't. If we don't know how to do this then we may be more of a burden to our horse than a friend. Guest: Deb Romero, Certified Alexander Technique Instructorwww.optimalposture.orgHost: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainerdeveloper of Training for Optimal Balance www.wexfordtraining.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
  5. 226: Focused on What is Wrong or Right

    May 16

    226: Focused on What is Wrong or Right

    What we put our attention or awareness on has a direct affect on our perceptions. Our perceptions are what trigger general nervous system use, for short or long term survival. Dominance of the sympathetic (fight or flight) or dominance of the parasympathetic (rest or digest) affect the body globally - influencing health, brain function, decision making, behavior and responses, further strengthening or altering the original perception. Focusing our attention on what is wrong is a good way to stimulate a stress response, dominance of the sympathetic portion. Focusing on what is right, gratitude or appreciation for what is going well, is a good way to stimulate dominance of the parasympathetic portion. We actually have a choice about how we feel and how we help our horses feel. How we feel directly alters our perceptions of all situations which influences our behavior and future choices. We can stop a negative spiral into anxiety, tension or depression by consciously altering what we put our awareness and attention on. Guest: Deb Romero, Certified Alexander Technique Instructorwww.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

    43 min
  6. 225: Using The Reins with Horses

    May 9

    225: Using The Reins with Horses

    When human hands connect to horses heads and necks through the reins the situation becomes very tricky. It does not matter what bit is used or if the reins connect to a bit-less bridle or halter. The reins are the part that connect the person and horse. How we use the reins always has a dynamic effect on a horse's balance in both mind and body. The inherent challenge of using the reins in ways that benefit horses is that humans love to grip with the hands. We cannot stop gripping with our hands as long as our torso is unstable in the saddle. The most mobile, adjustable part of the horse's entire body is the neck and head. Horses need to make adjustments in neck use when weight distribution becomes unbalanced in the barrel and hindquarters. When we restrict the use of the horse's head and neck through the reins, we can often cause horses to adopt unbalanced patterns of compensation that become habits of dysfunctional coordination. Learning how to use reins effectively - for the benefit of a horse's balance - is a learned skill for all people and takes a bit of practice to override our instincts to grip. Rein contact and even rein aids can be last on the list of things to do when it comes to developing a balanced coordination in horses. A dynamic rein contact only becomes necessary as the horse moves closer to three dimensional balance overall. Guest: Deb Romero, Certified Alexander Technique Instructorwww.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

    1h 1m
  7. 224: Tasks Are NOT Horse Training

    May 2

    224: Tasks Are NOT Horse Training

    It is a major shift of perspective in horse training to turn the tables on tasks. Most training programs outline a series of tasks to be accomplished in a particular order. This is how most horse training programs are structured. The unspoken promise is that a calm, focused, well moving horse - or balance - will the side effect of doing all those tasks in that order. But we have waaaay too many examples of that methodology just not working for people or horses. When there is a problem either the rider or the horse is blamed for a lack of results. But what if the program is the real problem? When a program cannot adapt to the individual needs of people and horses, then what? Turning the tables on tasks means we learn first how to recognize balance and imbalance, in mind and body, in people and horses. Then we utilize any task in any order to help develop or improve balance. There really never needs to be an order to tasks. Instead we learn how to find the path of least resistance to balance by trying out different tasks and mixing up the order of things. That idea, of turning tasks into tools for balance, is a big one! Guest: Deb Romero, Certified Alexander Technique Instructor www.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

    41 min
  8. 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
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5
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About

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

Information

  • Creator
    Kirsten Nelsen
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    230
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Kirsten Nelsen
  • Show Website
    Horse Geeks

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