Synergy and Freedom

Synergy and Freedom Facilitating equine well-being and performance. I've ridden and produced horses to the elite levels, being named on squads, placing at Adelaide 5*****.

Horses are not simply a collection of moving parts, they are living beings with individual traits and minds of their own. It is for this reason that addressing each horse holistically - physically, mentally and emotionally is often necessary for true healing to occur or for them to reach their true potential, whatever that may be! This doesn't always mean endless bodywork sessions, nor does it nec

essarily mean a complete overhaul of your lifestyle and training. Sometimes (often!) it is the small, targeted changes that lead to transformational results; improved performance, a more balanced mindset, improved training, improved quality of life, more joy... whatever the desired result may be. Offerings:

Done-For-You equine rehabilitation, prehabilitation and conditioning

Done-With-You equine rehabilitation, prehabilitation and conditioning

Private sessions including equine bodywork, human-horse relationship work (on the ground or under saddle), equine or human biomechanics, equine or human mindset/emotional regulation.

3 and 6 month tailored rider mentorship programmes

Online courses for riders


About Me:

My journey with horses has been a varied and exciting one. To get there, I learned as much as I could by working in top yards ; performance, racing, polo, etc. I wanted to learn how to look after my own horses' injuries, rather than being reliant on someone else, so became a human chiropractor with the goal of becoming an equine chiropractor. I have also learned a range of other equine modalities including evidence based equine rehabilitation, CST, equine acupuncture and acupressure, massage, hoof rehabilitation and others. My aim is to prove that competition/racing and equine wellbeing can and do complement each other and to change the way we approach equine health and performance.

20/04/2026

Reasons why your horse might have recurring pelvis or sacroiliac issues that are aren’t even in the back end!

I’ll confess I have a lot of people who think I’m crazy when they call me out for an issue in one end of the body, only to have me start working on the “wrong” end, or wrong side.

Well, between being blessed with a fabulous mentor early on and then studying a bachelors and masters in chiropractic.. it is fair to say that I had it drilled into me that the problem is rarely where the symptoms show up.

Aside from some sort of acute injury (and really, even then!!) a lot of the time the actual cause is somewhere different.

That right tendon goes because it’s compensating for the hoof angles on the left.

Tha back is sore because it’s being pulled into rotation by the abdominal wall.

The list goes on… but my favourite (is it weird that I have a favourite?!) is this one:

Whatever happens in the jaw will be mirrored in the pelvis and vice the versa.

Sometimes it doesn’t matter how much you treat the back end, because your issue was actually in the front.

So if you have a horse with recurrent issues in the pelvis or SIJ, it’s time to check out what the jaw and teeth are doing!

Sometimes that simple check is life changing 🥰

I’ll confess, this is one of my aims in (what has often not been an easy) life.I actually now love that I am not a natur...
19/04/2026

I’ll confess, this is one of my aims in (what has often not been an easy) life.

I actually now love that I am not a naturally brave person, because having to overcome my own incredibly fearful nature has given me so many tools to bring to others, but also true empathy when fear comes up.

I used to say that I was the biggest wimp I have ever met, and to a certain extent it is still true, but I also know that I am incredibly courageous.

A friend once told me - and I wish I knew where they had heard it - that bravery is the absence of fear, while courage is feeling the fear and doing it anyway, so while you are either brave or not, everyone has the capacity to be courageous.

Which means that, like a muscle, courage can be built, and honed, not by luck but by a bit of work.

So that’s what I have accumulated: 30+ years worth of “tools for courage”. The things I have learned to be fearful, and yet still do those things that even others may think are scary:

Top level eventing, training “difficult” horses, public speaking, multiple degrees, putting myself “out there” and being willing to fail publicly… and then a whole lot of other things that most people probably don’t find scary, but were terrifying to me!

So, “tools for courage” are going to be some of the more in-depth topics in this shiny new subscription.. see first comment ☺️

19/04/2026

The day after those new roundbales arrive always involves some good snoozing 🥰 😴

18/04/2026

Zoomies really enjoys his own baths, but also loves to “help” when anyone else is having one too 🛁 😂🥰

Due to the amazing influx of followers over the last couple of months (thanks by the way 🥰), fb has started making sugge...
18/04/2026

Due to the amazing influx of followers over the last couple of months (thanks by the way 🥰), fb has started making suggestions that I run a subscription on here… now I already have the Holistic Horse membership for trainings, live calls etc, but for a couple of $ a month, would anyone be interested in some extra resources if I film them? Bodywork techniques, training, rider mindset stuff etc? (For this in HHM, don’t worry, it’s coming your way too!) plus taking requests on what you’d like the videos to cover?

Just some additional content that’s a bit more specific and in depth than what I share here.

So, is that if any interest here? Or save my time? 🥰

18/04/2026

My inner kid still gets so excited to see horses out and about 😍 it’s something I hope I never grow out of ❤️

17/04/2026

I do this really simple test on every horse I treat. It’s simple, but it gives me a fair bit of information, and has so often been the “missing piece” for horses having issues with saddling, riding and shoulder mobility that seems to have no explanation.

I actually had someone in NSW say that nobody else had ever pointed that out before… and it made me realise that the work I do in that area does not come from a particular modality, but rather my time spent learning from a wonderful practitioner many years ago - the one who was my inspiration for choosing this particular path in life, actually. This, and a few other skills are the ones that seem to often be missing in a lot of (this one maybe more common than the others) equine bodywork and biomechanical assessments and treatments.

So here is why this one matters. Having a pain response here from minimal pressure would understandably influence the horse’s experience of having a girth placed here and subsequently tightened.

For “girthy” horses we often look at the back, or the sternum, and maybe even the pecs… but what about the ribs?

I can never remember the numbers, but the majority of foals have birth trauma in this area, and a vast number actually have small fractures in the ribs. Over time you see this reflected in the fascia and so end up with a chronic restriction, plus sensitivity, in these ribs.

The good news is that while this pattern may be old, the treatment does not necessarily take a long time. The vast majority are alleviated in a single session, with some maybe taking a couple. If it recurs, then we know that there is a current cause still activating this pattern.

So, have a try. Make sure you do it a few times to ensure it is not simply a tickle, or response to an unexpected sensation… and remember to test both sides!

If you want to hear about the other “nobody tests that” areas… let me know!

16/04/2026

PSA: If you missed the Teach Your Horse to Self-Regulate programme… I’ve just made the first call public, enjoy!

16/04/2026

Vet school life… parasites til Saturday, then next week to learn all the grasses and weeds 🌱 😂

15/04/2026

So happy to see well-known horsey influencer, Katie Van Slyke buying an 18 year old horse for herself!

I am constantly having the “too old” conversation with people, and it does my head in.

Here’s the thing; we have ZERO idea how long our horse may live, or be sound enough to do their job.

I see just as many unsound 3, 5, 8, 12, 15 year olds as any older age. To be honest, I have the view that if they’ve been competing and stayed sound into their mid teens.. they’re likely to keep on being sound. Those younger horses may well be a gamble.

I’ve seen horses 💀 at any age, from days old to nearly 40, and from totally unforeseen reasons.

Now I’m not saying don’t buy a young horse, or something around that desired 8-12 year mark.

I AM saying that “old” depends entirely on the horse. And that unless it’s your ambition to be picked for a national team, or to resell the horse horse… maybe let it be a lower priority and choose the horse you fall in love with, that makes you feel safe, that is fun, that is sound and let age just be a number. And hey, it may even save you some money on that sale price for bucking the trend 🤷‍♀️

Video of my “too old” horse, doing his first Grand Prix at the ripe old age of 20, having finished racing at 8, doing his last CCI5* at 19 and his last CIC4**** at 21 and being sound the entire time. Cause luckily nobody ever told him he was too old for such things!

So happy to see well-known horsey influencer, Katie Van Slyke buying an 18 year old horse for herself!I am constantly ha...
15/04/2026

So happy to see well-known horsey influencer, Katie Van Slyke buying an 18 year old horse for herself!

I am constantly having the “too old” conversation with people, and it does my head in.

Here’s the thing; we have ZERO idea how long our horse may live, or be sound enough to do their job.

I see just as many unsound 3, 5, 8, 12, 15 year olds as any older age. To be honest, I have the view that if they’ve been competing and stayed sound into their mid teens.. they’re likely to keep on being sound. Those younger horses may well be a gamble.

I’ve seen horses 💀 at any age, from days old to nearly 40, and from totally unforeseen reasons.

Now I’m not saying don’t buy a young horse, or something around that desired 8-12 year mark.

I AM saying that “old” depends entirely on the horse. And that unless it’s your ambition to be picked for a national team, or to resell the horse horse… maybe let it be a lower priority and choose the horse you fall in love with, that makes you feel safe, that is fun, that is sound and let age just be a number. And hey, it may even save you some money on that sale price for bucking the trend 🤷‍♀️

Picture of my “too old” horse, doing his first Grand Prix at the ripe old age of 20, having finished racing at 8, doing his last CCI5* at 19 and his last CIC4**** at 21 and being sound the entire time. Cause luckily nobody ever told him he was too old for such things!

14/04/2026

It would be really easy to view this behaviour through the lens of “disrespect”.

The mare not only runs past me, she even turns left and essentially towards me.

In the past I would have reprimanded her by chasing her back, or yanking the lead.

(And sometimes the old muscle memory will kick in and I’ll still find myself doing that for a second before my brain catches up and I stop… old habits and all that).

But I can appreciate a bit better these days that not everything is about me. This horse had a very clear reason for her response (can you pick it?), and she is here to go through a process to work through exactly this; her sometimes explosive behaviour.

But the funny thing is, when you stop responding to fear behaviours by instilling greater fear… you can build a horse that is confident enough to let go of those behaviours entirely. No pushing through it, arguing, fighting, no having to be brave enough to escalate the situation. Just training, in a species-appropriate way… and like magic, it works.

Every. Single. Time.

Cool, huh?!

(I think so anyway)

PS stay tuned for more updates of her progress, along with her herd mate as they stay with me for a little while 🥰

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Our Story

Synergy and Freedom was born out of a love of inspiring connection to bring together a whole which is capable of continuous expansion, reflection and growth. This whole, by nature is greater than the sum of its parts and is therefore more resilient in the face of stress, more courageous in new discovery and able to experience more bliss. Synergy and Freedom is thus a holistic approach to life. It is mentoring and coaching that improves the cohesiveness of body, mind and spirit, for humans, horses, and human-horse relationships. Pulling from a range of modalities and life experiences, all sessions are tailored to individual needs and goals on any given day. This is not a fixed formula, but a fluid approach to creating a more synergistic and free experience of life. If you want to know more about me, or what I do, I would invite you to text me on 0421313863, drop me an email at keira.byrnes88@gmail.com, or take a look at my website www.synergyandfreedom.net . I would love to find out what I can do for you!

“Tell me your story, show me your wounds I’ll show you what Love sees when Love looks at you. Hand me your pieces, broken and bruised I’ll show you what Love sees when Love sees you.”