Wharfedale Equine Therapy

17/11/2025

Your horse’s skeleton is built for impact — not confinement.

Three decades of equine bone research makes one thing painfully clear: Horses kept in box stalls lose bone density.

Not metaphorically. Literally.

Confinement triggers the same biological process humans call osteoporosis — and it starts fast.

Key findings from the research:

- Horses moved from pasture into stalls and worked only at slow speeds began losing bone mineral content within weeks.
- A single short sprint per week (50–80 m) dramatically strengthened bone.
- Corticosteroids mask pain and increase risk of further injury
- Good nutrition cannot override a lack of mechanical loading.
- A skeleton that doesn’t experience impact simply cannot stay strong.

All of this is drawn from:
Nielsen, B.D. (2023). A Review of Three Decades of Research Dedicated to Making Equine Bones Stronger. Animals, 13(5), 789.

So what does this mean for our modern domesticated horses?

It means bone weakness is not inevitable.

It’s a management problem.

It means many “mysterious” pathologies — stress fractures, suspensory injuries, joint degeneration, chronic compensation, recurrent lameness — are downstream consequences of bone that never had the chance to adapt to the forces nature designed it for.

Box stalls create osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis creates a whole lot of other pathology.

Your horse doesn’t need to be an athlete. But their bones require impact. Free movement. The ability to respond to their own nervous system’s cues to trot, canter, play, stretch, and even sprint.

Turnout is not enrichment.

Movement is biology.

Bone health is built — or lost — every single day.

A question I encourage every owner to sit with:

If you knew your horse’s bones were weakening in silence every day they stood still, would you keep managing them the same way?

Because in the end, it’s not confinement that keeps a horse safe.

It’s a resilient skeleton.

And only you can give them the environment their biology requires.

Change begins with us.

05/11/2025

So true and so important to be kind to ourselves

- Embracing softness in our growth process -

Working on ourselves to improve the connection with our horses is one of the most confronting and difficult things we can do.

It asks a lot of courage to face our "shadow sides".

Therefore, don't put any pressure on yourself during this process. You are making an internal shift that needs softness and time to transform.

13/10/2025

💫 Rehabilitation – My Take

When we talk about rehabilitation, we often think of exercises, treatments, and plans.
But none of that matters if the horse doesn’t feel safe enough to change.

I meet many horses with complex issues — multiple diagnoses, long histories, years of compensations layered on top of each other.
And the truth is… you can never approach rehabilitation with a fixed plan.

Even if you’ve dealt with a similar case before, every horse’s situation is unique — because there are so many factors that influence whether a body can truly function or not.
And that goes far beyond the body itself.

🧠 The nervous system plays a huge role.
If a horse’s nervous system is in a constant state of defence — ready to run, fight, or shut down — then the body simply can’t reorganise.
It doesn’t matter how much physio you do, how many injections or treatments you give… if the mind is still in protection mode, the body won’t let go.

To truly influence the body, you first have to influence the state of mind.
You have to help the horse feel safe, connected, and open to communication.
Only then can you begin to change the way the body moves.

When you’re watching a horse in rehab, notice how that nervous system shows up:
🐎 Are they just going through the motions?
💥 Are they explosive or defensive?
🧱 Are they locking up and slamming the brakes on?
😔 Or do they seem disconnected, just not “there”?

These responses tell you where to start — because until the nervous system settles, the body won’t follow.

And then there’s management.
Because the horse’s environment has a bigger influence than any session you’ll ever do.
If your horse spends 23 hours a day in a state of restriction — stabled, limited turnout, minimal movement, no social contact, or unable to forage naturally — the nervous system will stay stuck.

You can do every exercise, but if the horse’s daily life keeps the body in a state of stress, progress will always be limited.

Rehabilitation isn’t about a set of exercises.
It’s about understanding how the body, mind, and environment interact — and creating the right conditions for all to heal together.

That’s real rehabilitation.
That’s how we help horses find comfort, balance, and genuine soundness again.

24/09/2025

In my work I can never be sure about what’s going on for a horse, but what I can often do is recognise patterns that might lead you to make an educated guess.

The more I get used to noticing patterns the more I notice them in everything. Horses and people often display patterns in their behaviour too. Often a behavioural pattern can be due to a combination of so many things both physical and emotional that have happened in people’s and horses past. Certainly from a horses point of view, whilst trying to have an understanding of factors that might have lead to patterns it is often better not to get too embroiled in the why and just help the horse with the now.

Horse live in the moment so it is definitely the now that is most important to them no matter what has gone on on the past. I know it is a lot easier said than done but perhaps this is a lesson we can learn from them too. These days I am so much more interested in what horses can teach me and less worried about what I can teach them.

24/09/2025

What if positive reinforcement was an inside job?

Last night, over in the membership group, someone asked about using positive reinforcement to help a horse with some issues. And I realised that what we mean when we use the term ‘positive reinforcement’ is a click and a treat. And it CAN be. That is one option.

We may also talk about giving a horse a scratch, or giving them a break, or some other palpable, demonstrable means of rewarding what we want. These are all ways to positively reinforce behaviour we are trying to train.

But what if we could positively reinforce things between us and a horse by offering them something good from our inside to their inside? What if the way we take action, and relate to them (or don’t take action and remove ourselves from them) could elicit good enough feelings that a horse just likes to be with you? And tries to work things out with you because you have shown them that you’re a cool human to hang out with. That we ourselves are the positive reinforcement.

Now the problem with this concept is it’s a bit like candy floss; you can’t really get a handle on it. It is hard to teach and a lifelong commitment to learn. And it usually takes a human who is prepared to take a long hard, look at themselves and sort their own sh*t out. It is not for everyone.

-You may have to go to counselling or get yourself some other kind of therapy (such fun!)
-You may have to take up some form of meditation even though you are really convinced you’re way too busy
- It may be a body based calling and a somatic practice is necessary
-You may be required to practice an entirely different way of being with horses, which goes against everything you find easy and ‘want’ to do
- Who knows, you may have to turn your whole life upside down in order to be a human a horse would like to hang out with

Because the thing about horses really, is most of us would like to be more like them. Living in our own skins with no desire to be anyone other than who we are. Understanding how to have relationships where boundaries are clear and compassionate. Loving to move and loving to rest, without guilt about either of those things. And these are all coming from the inside of a horse, and are felt by the inside of a human.

More and more I say to students that learning riding is not enough, that a horse wants more than technique and theory and you most likely need to get support from someone other than a riding instructor. And the beautiful thing is, in doing this for your horse, you are doing it for yourself.

Thank you to all the horses who positively reinforce us.

12/09/2025

I couldn’t agree more! 🥰

Sometimes,
and with increasing frequency
I don’t know how I make it through the day
Without a constant flow of tears of love
Everytime I’m with my horses.

The voiceless communication that happens
When currying my horse
Not to get him clean
But to do something that feels good to him.
Every movement asks: Do you like that?
Every small gesture answers
and it becomes a dance of feels.

I realize tears are rolling down my cheeks.
This particular horse has survived beyond expectation
I’m so happy he’s here.
I’m happy they all are here.
I’m happy I am here.
It feels good to make him feel good

Then I have this thought: How unprofessional I am.
Then I have another thought: Yes.
And another thought: How sad.
How sad that ‘professional’ might mean holding back some love.
I know what that feels like.
To harden my heart when training other people’s horses.
(They could leave at any time).
They’re not my decisions to make.
I cared so much I had to teach myself to not.
In order to be a professional.

That’s why I created a life and a business
Where I can love full out.
I can cry when I brush my horses
If the love overflows.
And it oh so often does.

I wanted you to know
Because I do make a living from what I do with horses
I’m in a position to be emulated.
I wanted you to know
That the ‘unprofessional’ things I do
Are perhaps the most important parts.
Let’s not pretend they’re not.

It’s OK to cry when brushing your horse
It’s OK to cry when he blows his breath in your face
(The breath that smells like sunshine and grass).
It’s OK to cry when you feel so very sorry for something you did.
It’s OK to cry when you feel the magic.

It’s OK to let love overflow so much
That it runs down your cheeks.
Let it flow
And you’ll notice that you’re smiling.
Never be afraid to feel too much.

29/08/2025

It’s lovely when you see a horse you haven’t seen for a while and find them so much more open to a session.

This little girls owner has obviously done a lovely job with her, that and finding her a home where she is obviously very happy.

I travel around a lot and I always find that nice calm well managed yards with nice people always have a positive effect on horses even though they can be very different from each other in set up.

10/08/2025

The Art of Producing the High-Level Horse

In today’s world, where goals are king, results are worshipped, and egos often take the reins, we’ve lost touch with something essential: the art of the journey. The quiet, thoughtful process of developing a horse, not just for performance, but for partnership.

Too often, the pursuit of high-level training becomes a checklist of movements, an external badge of status. Grand Prix as the pinnacle. Piaffe, passage, pirouette all proof of success. But we rarely stop to ask: Success by whose measure? And at what cost?

Because if a horse’s well-being were truly at the centre of our goals and not just a footnote in our mission statements our training would look radically different. It would move slower. It would feel softer. It would sound quieter. And it would be far more beautiful.

Producing a high-level horse is not about simply teaching them the movements required on a score sheet. It’s about cultivating a horse who is sound in body, stable in mind, and joyful in spirit. It’s about shaping one who offers those movements willingly, expressively, even playfully. Not as a result of pressure, punishment, or the clever placement of aids that corner them into compliance but from a place of physical readiness and emotional trust.

And this……….this is where the art comes in!

Imagine dressage as a painting. Each training session is a brushstroke, delicate, deliberate, layered. The impatient artist might throw out the canvas at the first mistake. But the true artist? They work with the paint, blend it, adjust it, stay curious. They know that beauty often lives in the imperfection, in the subtle corrections, in the layers of time and care.

The same is to be said in riding: the art lies not in domination, but in dialogue. Every stride, every transition, every still moment is part of an evolving composition. The rider’s aids are not commands but questions; the horse’s responses are not obedience but answers. Together, you create something greater than the sum of its parts.

The highest levels of dressage are not the goal. They are the byproduct of a thousand conversations, a thousand small moments where the rider listens, adjusts, supports, and receives. When done well, Grand Prix is not a performance. It is the horse’s voice, amplified through movement.

To produce a horse to that level is to understand that their body is not a tool, but a home. Their mind, not a machine, but a mirror. Their spirit, not a resource, but a companion.

This is not just training a horse
It is stewardship.
It is art
And it begins not with ambition,
but with reverence.

07/08/2025

Nice to see an old friend today and it got me thinking, is a horse easier to work with because I know them or are they easier because I am getting better than I used to be.

The truth is I think it’s always a bit of both. I wouldn’t be doing my job right if I didn’t do courses and study to improve myself, but the truth is nobody has ever taught me more than the horses do themselves. One of the reasons I think they get easier for me with time is that I always take the time to listen to them and allow them a voice in how things are done. I can’t emphasise how important it is to listen to your horse but a conversation always has two participants so by this I don’t mean that I am passive in this.

One of the things this big ginger boy has taught me is a release might take quite a while and involve a lot of fidgeting before hand as he is demonstrating here. My part of the conversation at this point is just to wait. 😊

22/07/2025

Everybody wants a good horse.
But not everybody wants to become the kind of person that makes a horse good.

In today’s world, people expect fast results.

Instant gratification.
Swipe, click, scroll, done.

People expect success to be delivered like an Amazon Prime Order:
fast, easy, and with a smile.

They want to turn their feral horse into a “finished horse” without ever putting in the hours it takes to truly understand one in the first place.

Here’s the thing…
Mastery isn’t downloadable.
A reciprocal relationship can’t be rushed. It is build over time and it comes with highs and lows.

What took others years of learning, failing, watching, refining, people now want handed to them in a weekend clinic, a 10-minute video, a one time exercise, a one-sentence answer or because they bought a course.

The shortcuts people chase are often detours that lead them right back to where they started, just more frustrated this time.

They want the feel, but not the feedback.
They want the bond, but not the humility.
They want the horse to change, but they don’t want to change themselves.

No one can hand you the timing, the feel, the quiet, calm and consistent leadership it takes.

It can’t be downloaded or bought.

You earn that, you develop it, with every consistent rep and step. With patience. With clarity. Through being a lifetime student of the horse.

By showing up on the days it’s hard, boring, frustrating or humbling.

Put in the work.
Put in the hours.
Because Your horse
deserves that version of You.