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 necessarily 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.

New Podcast Ep!With part 1 last week, and the follow up coming tomorrow, we are exploring how horse people (people in ge...
03/02/2026

New Podcast Ep!

With part 1 last week, and the follow up coming tomorrow, we are exploring how horse people (people in general!) would rather say something “doesn’t work”, in the light of clear evidence, than admit that their circumstances may be the cause… and will argue that physiology is different rather than accepting that they may be the difference.

Oh and they’re also about training horses to feel safe and secure too 😅 not just a monologue on the notion of how “evidence based“ works 😂

03/02/2026

This gorgeous guy is so rewarding to work with, and today reminded me of the old “horses are like onions” statement.

This is one of those lucky horses who has regular bodywork sessions every month. By doing so, we have worked not only on the acute things but into the deeper, older layers.

Not only is this because we are not playing “catch up” each session, but also because every session where he feels better means he lets me in a bit more the next time.

For a horse that started out very wary of what was going on, today he was a proper yawn addict!

It’s always rewarding working to make horses feel their best, but even more so making continual progress 🥰

Is breakfast ready yet??
31/01/2026

Is breakfast ready yet??

Because I do actually occasionally work with humans (weird, right?!), and not even just with “body stuff”, I was pretty ...
30/01/2026

Because I do actually occasionally work with humans (weird, right?!), and not even just with “body stuff”, I was pretty excited to read today about a meta analysis showing that EFT (emotional freedom technique, aka “tapping”) showed effectiveness in the treatment of PTSD.

I knew for myself that was the case, but I do love when there is actually a scientific basis for things too… and here it is!

EFT is something I got so much benefit out of that I then did the practitioner programme, mainly so I could use it for myself, but also because I wanted to be able to share it with clients if that would benefit them.

It’s not just for PTSD though, I’ve used it to improve confidence, self-esteem, moving past a particular “block” and many other things.

It’s just one of those modalities that seems too easy to possibly be as effective as it is 😁 and I also REALLY want to find a way to apply it to horses… is anyone doing this?!

I’ll put the actual paper in the comments if you like to read these things for yourself ☺️

29/01/2026

For those who haven’t met me…

My name is Keira Byrnes, and I am the founder of the Holistic Horse Membership.

I started out in a riding school, then pony club, then found my love of eventing.

I found my heart horse/unicorn when I was 17, a gangly OTTB, Fox Hill. Together we progressed through the levels all the way to placing at the Australian International 3DE in the 4**** (what is now 5*****, just to be confusing!). We also show jumped to Grand Prix and had a dabble up to advanced level dressage.

I worked as a groom in all kinds of yards for over a decade; eventing, polo, racing, showing, jumping, dressage, studs etc.

I’ve also coached riders from beginners to FEI for the last 20+ years.

Being a self-professed wimp, I spent a looottt of time (and money!) working on my own mindset, and picked up some modalities along the way including EFT, life coaching, NLP, meditation and more.

I have a total love of learning, so when I found that equine wellbeing and performance were my passion, I went and became qualified as a (human) chiropractor with a bachelors and masters degree, published a couple of scientific papers, then completed my masters of research in rider biomechanics.

Since then I’ve picked up a few other modalities; equine and canine therapeutic acupuncture, craniosacral therapy, DNS, ttouch, reiki, bush flower essences and even became a bit fitter and barefoot trimmer.

I’m currently studying veterinary science, and this is part of the reason for the Holistic Horse Membership… I simply can’t keep up with all these things whilst studying such a demanding degree… so rather than coaching riders individually I am pouring all that knowledge into an online format. Offering monthly live trainings in all areas of horse training, care, rider mindset and movement, and anything else I’ve picked up along the way.

Not only that, but over the years I’ve had the privilege to meet some amazing people from all areas of the horse world, and so we also have monthly guest speakers sharing their own wisdom into the group.

I’ll also admit, the reason for making it a membership rather than an online course as I’ve done in the past is the community aspect. There is so much divisiveness and judgment in the horse world, and I want to create a space where there are truly no stupid questions, where people commit to supporting others, and where all points of view are respected.

Horses do not have a one-size-fits-all, and neither do people… so this isn’t a methodology, a cult, or a belief system. It is an opportunity to be supported as you learn and grow on your horse journey.

Plus, by doing it this way I can make it far more affordable than any clinic or 1:1 session could ever be. It’s literally $20/month and for that you have access to every live call, plus every past call, course or training I’ve ever done.

My hope is that this community is a way to share what I’ve learnt over the years to far more people than I could ever reach in person, and to build a community that is inclusive, safe and supportive. Because I truly believe that we cannot improve the welfare and wellbeing of horses without improving the welfare and wellbeing of the humans who care for them.

You know where to find the link if I sound like a mentor, and this sounds like a community you want in your corner.

I hope to see you in there ❤️

PS. If you’ve read all the way to the end of this and decide to join, I want to offer you a free 30 minute coaching session in any area of your choice. You have until the end of February (when classes start and I no longer have time 😅).

25/01/2026

A few years ago, I attended a symposium for equitation science, and learned what I now call the 13 second rule.

This “rule” completely changed the relationship I have with Junior.

Prior to learning this, the moment you see here where he has just spotted sheep would’ve ended up with me on the ground. Junior used to very much have a “spin now, think later”, and despite my pretty good stickability, those spins were just impossible to sit.  That spin was the reason I fell off this horse more times in the first year that I earned him that I have off pretty much all my other horses put together!

But then I attended the symposium and learned something huge. That horses only need 13 seconds of binocular vision (ie, looking at something with both eyes) to determine if that something is a threat.

So I tried it. Rather than trying to get him to stop looking at things, to “give him a job”, to keep him focused on me… instead of any of the things I had tried in the past to keep a handle on his spooking… I let him stop and look.

I won’t lie, it infuriated me at first. We were stopping what felt like every 3rd stride to just stare off into the distance. I told him through gritted teeth that he had precisely 13 seconds and then we were all moving on with our lives whether he was done or not…

But it never took the whole 13 seconds. Not once.

And the more rides where we repeated it, the shorter those stops became and the less frequently he needed to stop.

So that now this is the first time he’s had to stop and look for a good year. And he hasn’t done one of his spins in years.

He is no longer a “spooky” horse, he is actually a very reliable horse now.

And it’s worked with every other horse I’ve done it with, plus every student I have who has stuck to it.

If I was to anthropomorphise it, I would say that when I allowed him to look, the less he felt he needed to. And the less violent he had to be in order to have the opportunity to look. 

It actually wasn’t a long process, it took a few weeks at most  to go from near constant spooking to virtually none.

This is just one of the ways where learning something new, and being (even grudgingly) willing to try it, has fundamentally changed my riding life for the better.

“We do the best we can with what we have, and when we know better, we do better” - Maya Angelou

It’s lessons like this that are the basis for our teaching sessions, and guest speaker sessions in the HHM… where you find those little nuggets that just work. All with one aim, to improve your, and your horse’s, life.

.au

Sunset proprioception sessions 🥰
19/01/2026

Sunset proprioception sessions 🥰

It was 10 years ago pretty much to the day, that I attended my first equine reiki training.Not believing it was any more...
14/01/2026

It was 10 years ago pretty much to the day, that I attended my first equine reiki training.

Not believing it was any more than downright quackery 😂

Not for any good reason other than thinking it was massage and skipping over any inclination to read more.

Not for any reason except that clearly a part of me knew I needed to attend that training and that I needed the change it would create in my life and the horses’ lives.

Reiki has become not only the foundation for my work, but the foundation of my life. And the part I possibly love most is that I can say that in a way that’s not “woo woo”. Because the way I learned Reiki is that it is simply unconditional love.

How can I live as though I love others, life, and even myself unconditionally? What would that look like? And while I am FAR from perfect at it, Reiki has become my bridge to that sense. When I’m feeling judgemental or fearful or frustrated.

And I believe it is that which the horses pick up on and respond to as much as anything else; meeting them where they are at, unconditionally.

Through reiki I have found a sense of safety and peace I had never known, but I also found my closest friends (fungi 😉 🍄). I always say that it was life changing, and while that sounds like a cliche, I don’t know how to say it differently.

So, it seems fitting that after a decade of reiki changing my life, I am finally ready to facilitate my first master level training!

I feel so lucky and excited to finally be offering this and so looking forward to those 4.5 days in July 🥰

The master training is open to anyone who has done level 1 and 2 with *any* equine reiki teacher 😊

How To Buy Your Ideal Horse! *LIVE CALL TONIGHT*The first of our live calls is kicking off in just over 3.5 hours, and t...
12/01/2026

How To Buy Your Ideal Horse! *LIVE CALL TONIGHT*

The first of our live calls is kicking off in just over 3.5 hours, and today we are tackling the topic of horse shopping! How to find and buy your ideal horse!

We've all heard the saying that it costs just as much to keep a good horse as a bad horse (although I would modify that to say "ideal horse" and "unsuitable horse")... in fact I think it often costs FAR more to keep an unsuitable horse.

Whether that added cost is in training, lessons, eventual cost to on-sell the horse, cost of all the remedies and solutions you try to resolve the issues... and that's before we even get started on the emotional and mental cost!

I don't think it would be unfair to say that if you yourself have never bought an unsuitable horse, you would know somebody who has!

And the truth is, there are some simple things that can really help you avoid the common pitfalls, and prevent the dream from becoming a nightmare.

I've bought and sold a lot of horses over the years, for myself and others, and I can honestly say that I find horse-shopping (or horse matching if it's not for me!) FUN!

To join the call you can either become a member of the Holistic Horse Membership for $20, or join this call as a once-off for $50... but either way, unless you're already a member you need to get onto that right quick!

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Ropeley, QLD
4341

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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.”