Life In a Snapshot

As the seasons shift, so too does the energy of our equine-humanistic journey.

Maree is soaking up the summer vibes in Colorado, sharing her passion for equine-humanistics and enriching lives through her insightful teachings.

Meanwhile, in New Zealand, it feels as if spring is in full bloom, bringing fresh inspiration for another transformative tour of clinics.

With fresh energy, we're gearing up for another inspiring tour of clinics, ready to share insights, spark growth, and celebrate the incredible bond between horse and human.

Wherever we are, the changing seasons remind us of the beauty of growth, learning, and connection and how it is made even more special when we share it with others.

No Clinic Near You?

Consider hosting one. We are planning both Colorado and NZ clinics so  please email if you want to host a clinic and lessons.

What is a suitable venue?

The best place is peaceful. A 20x40m arena is sufficient or a fenced paddock works too. Temporary fencing counts! There are usually 4-8 participants so consider parking for floats and trucks.

Contact [email protected]

What People Are Saying

“… how amazing it was to watch you with your brilliant skills helping horses and riders. Thank you for your generosity and support. I am thrilled and looking forward to working with my horse tomorrow…”

 - Cyndy,  Auditor, New Zealand

 

“… Thank you Maree and Beverley for making Invercargill your destination. It is always such a gift to see you transform horses and their riders to different ways of being/going. We are so blessed to have you both here in Southland.”

 - Eppi, New Zealand

Maree's Musings

Grounding

If I ground the person I change the horse.

Building a relationship is about trust. 

We all like being around thoughtful predictable people and horses.

There is so much going on in the world around us that prevents being in the moment. Our time with our horses is the place we can re-establish a grounded feeling.

What is grounding?

The feeling of being connected to the world through my feet and standing up. It is being in the moment and starting action with a thought then a feeling through my body, small at first then building upon that action while staying very present.

Click here to log in to the chat and read more about grounding.

Enhance Your Feel

Warmbloods often present a trickier set of circumstances when we are working on improving posture.

For one they are taller with longer necks and now in the modern breeds they are hyper-mobile in their bodies.

The instability that all this creates predisposes them to injury and strain.

It is no mean feat to successfully educate these horses and know when to train and when you are rehabbing.

Sophie has made some nice improvement in Alfie’s chosen stance as you can see by the improved lines.

The Glue-On-Shoes Journey

As we spend conscious time with our horses offering them ideas of connection and movement, what influences their choice of responses?

Since being back in Colorado I have set myself the goal to learn more about therapeutic hoof trimming and the use of glue-on shoes.

Giselle, my rehabilitating racehorse, has typical TB feet so she is the guinea pig as well as being the cause of my opening question.

I am 5 weeks into this process.  Not only do I want to help her, but I want to understand the how and why of it all so I can build a knowledge base to help other horses and people.

First, hours of mapping all joints and feet, taking photographs and videos, trimming until we have flat landing. (Slo-mo video is a cool tool).

Three weeks to see what changes as the feet relax and what are the radiating changes in the body and movement. Booting and padding to see what offers more comfort and support. 

More trimming away of the false support the feet had built for themselves because of the imbalance which when we give support from the shoe would be too much.

Already her standing posture is better, her responses to moving center of balance back and bending showing improvement.

Shoeing day.  More videos and photos to see how far we must go to have ideal ratios and angles.

More trimming to create ideal now we will have shoes to support.

Choosing the ideal shoe package for this stage of building a new hoof and supporting circulation and balance. 

To glue them on and set them just right seemed easy after all the meticulous lead up.

Two weeks into the shoes and the change is nothing short of amazing. 

Calmer, less reactive, moving with more swing, body softening and filling out, better acceptance of the bit, bending through body easier, more uphill and willing to rock back. 

Unfortunately, I think the shoes cannot take all the credit for this change, as she had 2 Spinal Flow bodywork treatments last week.  She has not had this before so I have no reference as to what change to expect. 

I get a fail as a training scientist for not separating out all the influences LOL. 

In my travels in New Zealand, I have witnessed horses in the glue-on package with attention to balanced trim be more receptive to change when offered the Equine-Humanistics idea of choice.

I also see horses that are barefoot not having good enough feet to be comfortable traveling and loading. A few months of attention to building a better hoof capsule might  change that.

I am seeing that we may now have the knowledge and support for people who trim their own horses to be able to achieve this.

Click here to go to our Facebook page where you can follow the glue-on-shoe journey.