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Freedom Equine Education

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25.01.2022 Look what arrived today!!! Let me know if you would like to purchase one!

24.01.2022 A friend posted this picture of her gelding when she first got him. It’s a haunting photo bc it tells a dark story that everyone missed. The year that followed... was filled with highs and lows. It’s ended in heartbreak. If we could all step out of ourselves and become more aware, more connected, more intuitive, our animals (heck our family and those around us too) are telling us so many things that we miss. Before you label someone difficult, aggressive, combative, crazy, stupid, angry .... look at the big picture. You may find they are doing their absolute best to cope and/or heal. My bubbly, positive, smart friend wanted a young project horse. She went shopping and found a beautiful, young (4yrs) gelding available from a respected eventer. He had run a few races, retired ‘sound with no injuries’, and the eventer had given him several months off, turned out to let down and relax. She had restarted him lightly. He was labeled as ‘quiet, dopey, lazy’, but also talented, beautiful, full of potential as a Hunter bc he was a good mover, showed great style over fences and was definitely a push ride. My friend was just getting back into it after the loss of a dear horse, so the fact he was super calm and quiet was a real bonus. The fact he took some pushing to canter was fine with her. She did a prepurchase exam. Everything flexed well, so her vet saw no need to do X-rays, so she bought him and their journey began. I won’t give you the play by play. But she gave him a safe place and just did little things with him at first. He had lots of turnout, good feed, supplements, and when he ‘woke up’ one day , she was shocked. He went from basically not home, to stallion-like behavior directed towards her. She contacted me and we scheduled an appointment. Before we met he managed to crack a hind splint bone, and had to be put on stall rest. The horse that stepped off the trailer at my house after a couple weeks of stall rest had a chain wrapped around his face to hold him. He was all over the map, but his mom was bubbly and committed to helping him achieve his potential. We made progress, but every time he started making bigger progress and she started really riding him, either big behavior issues, or physical issues would come to the surface. Ulcers, an injured suspensory, all were addressed and pronounced‘healed’, yet they still failed to move past the most basic riding. He didn’t want to turn right. He didn’t want to go forward. He was either tight, or explosive when pushed. Injuries just kept happening. She was feeling frustrated and defeated. She has now gotten the diagnosis of severe kissing spine, arthritis in his back in multiple places that’s quite advanced. She is heartbroken. This is a picture from when she first got him. This was the lazy, dopey, quiet, comatose horse she bought. With her permission, I wanted to help you understand what may have been happening. Here what I see...... Understanding the Survival/Sympathetic Nervous System, this horse looks like a horse in Freeze, Dorsal Vagal Response. It read to them as relaxed, but look at the wide, staring eye. He isn’t relaxed. The head is below the withers, which may look ‘relaxed’, I believe his body is tired of surging adrenaline to kill pain, and he is lowering his head to source any endorphins as pain killers (they have more pain killing power than morphine). He looked ‘balanced’ bc his feet were square, but I see a horse so unilaterally in pain that he is doing his best to distribute it throughout his body. He was ‘fat’ or at least ‘fatter’ than many OTTBS, but I see cortisol, stress hormone blowing him up. I see emotion blowing him up. That tightness over his ribs doesn’t go with a fat, relaxed horse. I see tight, drawn, immobilized fascia that’s doing all it can to cut off the pain and limit movement that causes more pain. The body should look soft, fluid filled, not drawn, dehydrated and tight. I see nostrils extended doing their best to blow out to get a shot of relaxation chemical, Vagastuff, onto his brain to self soothe. I see a horse in Dorsal Vagal Response, that has resigned himself to whatever is to come. Mammals have this space they go to when they fear death is coming. They freeze, it takes them away, it lessens the pain response, it makes death less painful. Is pain only physical? Can mammals like humans have emotional pain that causes this same response? Of course. How many times have you met or heard of (or been) a battered child or spouse, and they just shut down, they stopped fighting, they get quiet and peaceful to avoid any more pain? I think in some small way we can all identify with this emotional space. Maybe it’s not us, maybe it’s our spouse, friend, sibling, parent, child. Finding some empathy and understanding is key here. If you see grumpiness, ‘aggression’, acting out, weird behavior, please consider that pain may be the source, not a bad mind or craziness. Taking the time to really figure out what’s happening is vital to helping horses (and humans) truly find peace and happiness. If you love, you must listen. My friend has done her best, and is continuing to research ways to help this horse find comfort and peace. Be her.

23.01.2022 When you see this picture what do you think?

21.01.2022 Sometimes the horse journey can be a hard one! We need to be kind to our fellow riders.

19.01.2022 How talented are my students!!! This course was designed by one of my beginner students!

19.01.2022 Hey guys, you are all invited to attend our January clinic! This one is held in Shelbourne. Normally I only open up day 2 to more experienced riders but this time I'm going to open it up to everyone and just modify activities where needed. However, parents/carers of beginner kids, you may be required to help out. You are also welcome to just do day 1 if you like! Places are limited and as always if you are wanting to use a school horse, get in quickly! Thanks Cassie

19.01.2022 Did you know.... Horses can hear a humans heartbeat from 4 feet away. When in a heard, they synchronise their heartbeats and when one heartbeat goes up they know there is danger. This is where the saying a horse can sense fear comes from! They truely are an amazing animal!!

18.01.2022 2 things to remember when working with a horse 1. Work with the horse you have today 2. It takes the time it takes!2 things to remember when working with a horse 1. Work with the horse you have today 2. It takes the time it takes!

16.01.2022 I’m going to loudly clap my hands and make a few points, I don’t mean to offend but I feel very strongly about a few issues that have arisen as late and for the... sake of children and ponies everywhere - please please please can we start as adults LISTENING to them... children are little people in their own right, with their own ideas and minds and likes and dislikes... listen, watch, talk (quietly, or animatedly, or passionately, but with interludes in between and space for them to think and respond), put yourself in their shoes, understand what makes them sparkle, what makes them uncomfortable, what drives them forward and what stops them dead in their tracks... we’ve got to stop all this adult noise in THEIR worlds with its loudness and opinions and neurosis and at times downright rudeness... my girls are very very much their own people, two entirely different characters, both have a voice and know what they like and whatever happens I will always try to listen to them - THEIR voices though, that’s the key point here, not mine, not what I think they ought to think or say or do or like or want, and certainly not what anyone else does either. And as an example of this here lies a problem I see time and time again and I want people to just be aware of, subconsciously, as so many people want their children to learn to ride, they want them to fall in love with ponies and for them to be in their blood, run through their veins like fizzy candy, a thrill of excitement exploding every time they merely think of them, but to do this it really helps to WATCH and LISTEN... Kizzy (as our example) LOVES her feisty mares, they are her best friends, her soulmates, within them she sees herself reflected and as such they are an extension of her, and as such they are here, as hers, for as long as she needs them, and as they are both older mares who wouldn’t settle well in other homes that means they are here for life. They may not be for everyone, or they may well be the pony I always dreamed of when I was small or the one that’s going to make me so proud by winning her everything, they may not be the ones everyone else feels more connection to or comfortable with for whatever reason, because the key words in those statements are I and me and everyone else. They may not be the prettiest/bestest/easiest or the ones that are going to win her lots of pretty rosettes or any of the things that don’t matter a jot to Kizzy - but they are her everything. She loves all animals, she loves riding, but I feel that has partly been ignited within her because she was given the space to find her true partners to inspire that passion - she is a true rider who can happily sit on most things and get a tune from them, but that doesn’t mean she has to or wants to keep every single pony she can ride or that she enjoys. And so onto the ponies - in our example we have Benjamin, whom I have ridden and hunted and hacked and jumped and enjoyed and loved, I know what he goes like in all these situations, I know the things he enjoys, the things that make him sparkle, and therefore where he would shine and for whom. I also know he comes down the field every single time we go out there hoping and hoping it’s his turn - why should he sit here third best, waiting and hoping, just because he goes nicely for her or looks cute under her, when I know he’s not her perfect partner? Ponies need to be in work and busy and fit and healthy and happy, not stuck in a field waiting, he’s young, he’s capable, he’s a lovely ride, he’ll make someone a fantastic best friend, he deserves that chance to go and get that education and be the best that he can be, and give some other child an awful lot of joy - again, know your ponies, listen to your ponies, they are all different and all situations are different but don’t just hang onto them purely to satisfy an urge within you which has nothing to do with them. Finally, yes we will need bigger ponies in years to come, and I may be wrong however my feeling is that I won’t struggle to find ponies that my daughters can ride... because instead of pushing them or putting them on what a normal mother may consider suitable (for adult reasons of vanity, expectations, fears etc) I’ve given both girls the space to grow and learn in their own ways on what THEY’RE happy on, whether that be steady Rosie (whose now taught Ettie to fly), oinky Cinders (who’s taught Kizzy nothing comes easy) or whooshie Flossie (where gentleness, calmness and lightness will always win the day) and all the others in between, and these points yet again prove that just watching and listening and understanding gets you a long way and can teach you a lot and that given freedom and space we can all learn to fly and we don’t need to be shackled to conventions or the ought tos or the should haves... Edited to add do it for your children, PLEASE, but also do it for yourselves!!! Listen to your own heart, what makes you happy?!? If you want a chunky cob instead of a flashy warm blood, buy the cob!!! If you want to gallop with your arms out laughing to the sky instead of forcing yourself into a show jacket, kick the heck on and get on with it!!! Dreams of eventing but scared you’ll be pants?!? Dare to dream and dare to try!!!! LISTEN, WATCH, LEARN, DARE!!!

16.01.2022 Last night, I broke down. I've been in the horse rescue world for most of my life... I've seen a lot. I've learned to compartmentalize my emotions so they don't... overwhelm and inhibit the work that needs to be done. And there's always more work to be done. But last night as I drove off with a new rescued Mustang in my trailer, I had to pull over as these emotions that I've trained myself to suppress overcame me. I have seen skinnier horses.. horses with worse feet.. horses who were so scared and shutdown from mental trauma.. I've seen many bleaker cases. But for some reason, this horse I loaded up hit me hard. This old boy with mangled feet, full blown infection and blood coming out of his nose, skinny and extremely dehydrated... all these physical issues are fixable. What hit me was the way this big, gentle giant didn't see me. He wasn't scared of me... he wasn't angry or nervous... he just didn't see me. I walked up to him, gave him a pet, and haltered him so I could get him out and home as quickly as possible. He stood there, quiet, unmoving. As I led him to the trailer, he politely obliged and picked up his big neglected feet carefully into this strange trailer with this strange person and accepted everything I asked with no protest... But he didn't see me... His eyes were so devoid of emotion that his story became clear. He didn't know who I was, and it was clear that he had been passed around enough times that it didn't matter who I was... things probably weren't going to get better. Horses develop what's called, learned helplessness, as they experience an inability to do anything to affect their outcome... so they give up. They quit trying to fight, or to flee, or to open up and play. They just quit trying...because no matter what they do, their actions don't produce a better result. This horse didn't know who I was and he didn't care. He was beyond trying to voice his opinion. So when I felt this complete shell of a horse, who still managed to be as gentle and polite as can be, it hit me hard. I pulled over and let myself feel every single one of those emotions. Grief. Anger. Hopelessness. Defeat... But today, I'm grateful. There's no more time for those debilitating emotions. Today, I'm grateful, and hopeful, and joyful. I'm joyful that this big, beautiful soul will learn what it's like to be loved and he will not hurt anymore. I'm hopeful that he will come out of his shell and find peace and play and happiness in his life. I'm grateful for every person who has been a part of saving his life, and so many others. I'm grateful for the big players who stepped up, paid their bail, and had the courage to reach out and ask if we had capacity to help... knowing all too well how overwhelmed we all already are. I'm grateful for every single person who is inspired by these horses and finds a way to help, even if it's just to spread the word or donate a few dollars. I'm grateful to be a part of a community of allies, all fighting for the horses who we love. And most of all, I'm grateful for the horses... who endure so very much at the hands of humans and still find space in their heart to forgive and share their pure soul with us. I know that this fight is not over... that this boy has a long road to recovery (mentally, physically, and emotionally)... but I'm grateful that Andre now has an opportunity and a voice. Stay tuned to watch this beautiful boy, who we named Andre the Giant, blossom.

16.01.2022 Check out our students with their new shirts on!!! Each of them has our logo and their name on it!

14.01.2022 "The barn hose adorns the same place every day. When it's moved a few inches, no one notices except the horses. Some of them only cock an ear toward the change;... others go goggle-eyed and giraffe-necked as they scoot past with their bellies arched sideways like bows. Annoying, isn't it? They walk past that hose every day. But there's a very good reason that horses notice tiny differences that we miss, and it's called categorical perception. Human brains operate on the basis of categorical perception-the natural tendency to organize sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and touches meaningful groups. We hear the same word spoken by a hundred different people-male or female, horse or smooth, high or low, children or adult, foreign or local. Every version sends a different acoustic form to the ears, but the brain's categorical perception tells us they're all the same word. We taste cheddar, jack, brie, limberger, chevre, and mozzarella, but bind all of them into the category of cheese. We see doors from different angles all the time, yet we group all of them together as doors. In fact, we are so accustomed to the brain's automatic grouping of different instances that we rarely notice it. Equine brains don't have much categorical perception. And that's why horses notice minor discrepancies among items within what we would a the same group. To a horse, a different view of a familiar object is the equivalent of a new object. When we see a barn hose, our neural networks are firing simply for "hose." We take a glance, and yup, it's a hose. There's no need for human brains to specify further. But our horses' neural networks are firing "new hose," "faded hose," "muddy hose," "green hose," "black hose," "hose wound in 24-inch loops," "hose wound in 14-inch loops, "stretched-out hose," "hose stored by sloppy human," or "hose stored by OCD human." Because they look different, to a horse they *are* different." Horse Brain, Human Brain #tweQuote #csFinn @averynicolephoto See more

14.01.2022 DRINK BOTTLES! These pretties have now available to buy from Cassie at Freedom Equine Education. Designed to keep your drink cold on the long summer days while... you ride! Vinyl cut out and drink bottles supplied by us. . . . . . . . . . #drinkbottles #learntoride #horseriding #echucabusiness #logodesign #branding #brandeddrinkbottle #freedomequineeducation #supportlocals #localbusiness #shoplocal #womeninbusiness #ladyboss #girlsinbusiness #echuca #moama #bendigo #shepparton #horses #lovetohorseride #supportsmallbusiness #pink #blue See more

13.01.2022 Some pics from today’s clinic

13.01.2022 #tbt to 2016 when the lovely Cassie asked me to design her a logo for her new business Freedom Equine Education featuring her two babies! Clobber (left) and Bud...dy (right) are beautiful horses now teaching kids and adults to ride! "I decided I wanted Clobber and Buddy included on my logo. Clobber because he was my first horse. A horse that was once terrified of people and unsure of the world, who now teaches kids and adults of all ages and abilities. Buddy because he is a very special horse who had a very harsh introduction to the world of humans and had to learn to be able to trust humans again." . . . . . . #logo #logodesign #localbusiness #newbusiness #echuca #moama #echucamoama #bendigo #shepparton #graphicdesign #familybusiness #shoplocal #local #shopping #onlineshopping #branding #brandingdesign #newlogo #smallbuisnesses #shopsmallbusiness #supportthelittleguys #lovelocal #buyfromthebush #bushbusiness #loveyourlocal #horses #horselogo #horseriding #learntoride See more

11.01.2022 Or those bloody grass seeds at the moment!

08.01.2022 Hey guys, really big week here! If you can’t get on to me, please be patient and I will get back to you between lessons and working horses. Thanks Cassie

07.01.2022 Ewan having a lesson on Clobber today!

05.01.2022 Hey everyone, December 21st Clinic is now full! Keep and eye out for an announcement of January clinic shortly!

05.01.2022 Ewan and Duet Barrel Racing!

03.01.2022 Nature can be so incredibly healing. We've covered it in-depth on our blog. On this podcast, we take it one step further by exploring specific therapies that yo...u may not know so much about and also involve nature: surfing and horseback riding (or hippo-therapy). Who better to guide us than Dr. Jillian of Surf and Turf Therapy, a California-based organization whose mission is in bettering lives through non-traditional therapeutic activities? Dr. Jillian has been an equestrian for over 25 years and a surfer for over a decade. She received her doctorate in physical therapy in 2014 and her Hippo-therapy Clinical Specialty in 2017. In her role, she doesn’t teach children how to surf and ride. It’s a clinical setting, rather, in which she and her team focus on improving daily life skills like walking, talking, postural alignment, and more. Her goal is to help to improve the lives of exceptional children and to make non-traditional treatments like these accessible and known. Our conversation with her was enlightening! Enjoy this preview. #podcast #nature #surfing #horsebackriding #hippotherapy #nontraditional #treatments #health #wellbeing #healthpodcast #wellbeingpodcast

02.01.2022 There’s 2 ways of looking at everything. We had a little bit of rain last night and this is how the Mustang looks today. I could complain about how muddy she is but I prefer to look at her and think I’m glad she’s laying down at night .

01.01.2022 Ewan and Duet - Teamwork!