There is truly nothing better than a day full of learning, laughter, and being surrounded by people who care so deeply about the wellbeing of their horses.

Ida Hammer first convinced me I could learn to trim my own horses feet back in 2019 and yesterday I was finally able to attend her Intermediate Trim class.

If any of you have thought for even a moment about learning to trim - I cannot recommend Ida highly enough. She will teach you everything you need to know, in a way that you can understand, and perhaps most importantly - in a supportive and compassionate way.

hoof health, RehabBarbara ParksSeptember 30, 2024Comment

September is Animal Pain Awareness Month

September is Animal Pain Awareness Month

Do you know how to recognize the more subtle signs of discomfort in your horse?

Sure, you can see it if they're 3-legged lame - but horses can be so stoic! As prey animals, they have adapted to hide their discomfort as much as possible in order to survive.

Rehab, horse healthBarbara ParksSeptember 3, 2024Comment

If you're anything like me....

If you’re anything like me….

You have a list a mile long of unstarted or half-finished online courses.

It was the next thing guaranteed to change your life, but now its just sitting there…

As both a seller and avid consumer of online education I’ve thought about this a lot.

Clicker Training, biomechanics, Rehab, horse healthBarbara ParksAugust 6, 2024Comment

Training Body Targets with R+: Part 2

Let’s talk timing for a moment -

Do I click when she touches my hand?
or do I click for the step?

The answer is BOTH because it really depends on what you’re trying to achieve.

This, my friends, is the beauty and the art side of R+ training.

Rehab, Clicker Training, biomechanicsBarbara ParksAugust 5, 2024Comment

Restarting a Rescue with R+

Luna is here with me for training after being recently adopted from a rescue.

She has been ridden before, but we’re treating her like she hasn’t for a variety of reasons…

she was super unconfident with me on her back
she braced against pressure/traditional cues and would quickly get tense and inverted
she felt extremely weak and unbalanced which was a safety concern for both of us

Clicker Training, RehabBarbara ParksJuly 31, 2024Comment

Training Body Targets with R+

One of my all-time favorite skills to teach to horses is body targets.

Body targets are an extension of the nose targeting that we usually start with when teaching our horses to target a target stick. Instead of the nose touching something, we’re now going to ask different body parts to touch the target. I usually use a raised hand with a flat palm as my “target” here, but you can use anything...

Clicker Training, RehabBarbara ParksJuly 30, 2024Comment

Introducing Sound Horse Academy

I’ve been sitting on something BIG for a while….

And the time has finally come to say it out loud.

I’ve spent a lot of time asking myself - how can I help people at a distance while facilitating *real change* in my clients?

When I talk to you guys some big things come up over and over again…

You want to feel confident that you can pick up on subtle lamenesses, soreness, or unbalanced movement EARLY...

Clicker Training, biomechanics, horse health, Rehab, Train Your EyeBarbara ParksJuly 29, 2024Comment

Learning to trim my own horses' feet...

Learning to trim my own horses has been a real adventure. It’s simple and endlessly complex all at the same time.

Even in my PT program, we glossed over the feet because that was “farrier territory” - but I knew it was something I needed to understand more deeply in order to really help the horses in my care.

hoof health, RehabBarbara ParksJune 20, 2024Comment

Stiff Low Back - Movement Analysis

It’s been the month of stiff low backs so I figured it’s time for a little movement analysis before and after to help train your eyes!

This little mare is a really great example because of her dorsal stripe! It makes it really easy to see what’s going on.

horse health, biomechanics, Rehab, Train Your EyeBarbara ParksJune 15, 2024Comment

Pause for a moment...

Pause or a moment and try something with me...

I want you to close your eyes, focus your mind on what you love about your horse, and take 10 deep breaths, then come back here.

What do you see?

horse health, rider health, Rehab, Clicker TrainingBarbara ParksJune 4, 2024Comment