OUR WORKSHOPS
Private Workshops £60pp for one or two participants. Larger groups poa.
We listen to your needs and those of your horse
Our horses are great equine therapists and guide us all through our journey of life
You will find these workshops inspirational and therpeutic, and very often quite emotional and self-empowering!
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'Gentle Horse and Rider'
In-hand Training Workshop -
Join up, Close-contact, Liberty & Loose, Horse Agility, Desensitisation & Socio-Cognitive Learning
'Your horse is a mirror of yourself!'
In this workshop you will discover the amazing connection and relaxation you can gain with your horse, and how he will mirror your feelings and emotional stress. You can experiment with our various training techniques with our horses and learn how so similar they are to ourselves!
We will show you how to meet and greet your horse on a daily basis, talk about day to day management and handling with strong boundaries and routines, how to relax your horse and yourself so that you can work together. We will show you how to read your horse, and to lead 'on a rope with a smile', to take 'one step at a time', to ask for a 'little and reward the try', and work with your horse in-hand in a safe place and safe manner.
We will give you techniques to help you with your own horses with their problems, show you how to lunge, and how important 'angles' are; how to watch the ears, eyes, mouth and body at all times and encourage the forward movement and change direction through thought, action and emotional feeling.. Demystifying lungeing, like herding ducks, is all to do with angles and energy between you and the horse - you don't have to be an expert to give it a go.
You will free lunge, or free school, your horse with us, and ask him to 'join up' with you, in a quiet and gentle way.
You will then work with your horse at 'liberty' around obstacles, at walk, trot, stand, ground-tie, back, with a bend, a leg yield and forward movement. We will work in-hand with you to desensitise your horse against scary objects, and allow you both to experience the concept of socio-cognitive learning with kindness and without force.
Your will find your own self confidence will improve while working with your horse, and show you how to encourage your horse to work with you. How to quietly and gently stand up for yourself, and discover who you are. We will give you tips and tools on how to ask for very small steps, and reward big, to encourage your horse to work with you and in your way.
'Connect through Your Energy'
"Listen to Your Horse - Move Like a Horse"
In-hand and ridden
We often work with our horses both ridden and in-hand through breath energy, and our natural body energies, without realising the 'connection'. We all give off a different energy field, and some of us can make a horse go, but it will bolt off and 'mis-behave', and some of us find that motivating our horse is really hard and we call it 'lazy' (and it could be the same horse!)
if you are a tense rider, or suffer from stress when with your horses, or just wish to understand a gentler approach to working with and riding horses, then this is for you! We will explore pilates exercises you can do with your horse, and how to strengthen your own flexibility and body awareness.
On this workshop we will develop some relaxation exercises on the ground and ridden for both you and your horse, to relax you from head to toe, especially around the neck, shoulders, wrists and hands. We will encourage you to work at free-schooling your horse, and directing him through your energy, how to create a ball of energy to encourage him to move; to lead your horse using your body language and your breath energy to ask for a 'stand', 'walk on' and 'trot', without saying a word! Then you can progress to ridden work and offer some relaxing gentle riding techniques to practice at home.
Wild Foraging, Herbal Self Selection and
The Principles of 'Applied Equine Zoopharmacognosy'
"The Power of Oils!"
Our countryside hedgerows are essential for wildlife in so many ways - they provide safe hiding places and homes for small creatures, small mammals, 1500 species of insect and countless hedgerow birds. They are full of food rich in proteins, carbohydrates, fibre, fat, minerals and vitamins to nourish and support growing families, such as seeds, berries, roots, flowers and invertebrates..... they serve as the wildlife motorways so that creatures and birds can travel from one wildlife rich area, such as a woodland, to another; and for winter protection from the harshest of weathers. Many of our hedgerows are hundreds of years old, and may contain numerous different plants along their corridors.......
They are also full of essential chemical compounds necessary for our own and our animals' health, repair and wellbeing. Many of these wild flowers and trees that grow along our hedgerows are beneficial to us, our dogs and other pets, and of course our horses!
We can take you on a Foraging Foray with your horse through the Spring, Summer and Autumn looking for the wild plants that could be useful for our animal companions and ourselves, and discuss how we can utilise them as anti-inflammatories, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-viral remedies!
We will also give your horse an 'equus-smorgasbord' to see which freshly picked or dried herbs (wild flowers and plants) they wish to experiment with today, and discuss the issues and problems the horse may have which these herbs could be addressing.
Finally, we will show you different ways in which you can incorporate herbs into your own diet and your pets, through essential oils, tinctures, infusions (teas), diffusions, and cooking, and some of the most powerful and healing herbs that we can all keep in our kitchen cupboard. One of my favourites has to be Oregano and of course Honey!! (is honey a herb I hear you ask!? - maybe not, but SO beneficial!) We will demonstrate "The Power of Oils" with treating one of our horses whilst you are here.
Shiatsu for Horses and Humans with AG's Shiatsu!
From the Equine Shiatsu Organisation:
Shiatsu is a form of Japanese physiotherapy which can be used to treat a wide variety of issues. The majority of the work covers soft tissue injuries and movement dysfunction, such as tight muscles and stiff joints. It is safe and suitable for most horses, both to deal with specific physical concerns, and to manage stress, mental and emotional health problems.
Equine Shiatsu is purely a manual therapy and uses finger and thumb pressure on acupuncture points along the meridians in order to free restrictions in the body which allow and maintain good health – the same points as used in Veterinary Acupuncture. This pressure along the meridians, together with assisted stretching, joint mobilisation and massage, allows the body to release pain and tension gently adjusting both posture and attitude.
Based in the principles of Oriental Medicine, a particular strength of Shiatsu is that it looks to find and treat the underlying causes of dysfunction and not just the symptoms. Oriental theory, in-depth knowledge of anatomy, physiology and pathology, together with a well developed sensitivity of touch makes Equine Shiatsu an effective therapeutic aid to good horse health........ more
Our Horses all receive regular Shiatsu Treatments from our local professional Shiatsu practitioner. Alison Redgrove is able to talk to you and show you the main energy meridians you can use with your horse and which organs they influence - our horses are particularly sensitive to emotional and stress response, helping them to be the calm, gentle horses that our clients like to ride. When Alison arrives they often lean out of their stables licking and chewing, letting her know that 'they would like to see her'! Each time a particular horse receives a treatment it is obvious that those in next door stables have also benefitted from her energy!
If you would like to engage in a Shiatsu session with Alison as a demonstration, participation and a short treatment for yourselves (head, neck and shoulders), then please ask at the time of booking your horse riding holiday with us and I will see if she is available.