Equine Biomechanics Workshop
Understand how your horse moves to improve your riding
Enroll in this 4-session course to help you understand how your horse moves at the walk, trot, canter, gallop, jump, and lateral work. This course will help you improve the timing of your aids and communication with your horse.
Do you ever watch riders and think, “How did they know to use that aid right at that moment?” There is a feel top riders have developed, but that feel often starts with learning how a horse moves. Developing feel doesn’t require talent; it requires study and practice. Start by learning how your horse’s body works.
The Equine Biomechanics Workshop for Riders will help you understand movement at the walk, trot, canter, gallop and jump. When you understand how your horse moves, you can start to think about the best way to stay balanced and communicate with the horse. This knowledge is fundamental to improving your riding.
About the Presenter
Hi, I'm Shelley Thomas. I'm excited to work with you! Let me introduce myself.
I'm a physical therapist and rider. I own a company called Intrepid Wellness where I help horses and riders be better athletes. I’m passionate about helping riders learn about injury prevention, rehabilitation, and ways to help their horse reach peak performance.
I graduated from the Mayo Clinic in 1999 with a Master’s in Physical Therapy and have worked for over 20 years with people who have orthopedic and neurological injuries. I also received additional training to work with horses and am a Certified Equine Rehabilitation Practitioner from the University of Tennessee and a Permitted Equine Therapist for FEI events.
One common thing I see in my practice with both horses and humans is that many injuries are caused by lack of proper understanding about movement and fitness. All horses need to be prepared to do their job. I think we could help our horses feel better, perform at their peak, and last longer by creating thoughtful training programs.
I've ridden horses all my life, in eventing, show jumping and dressage. I did a bit of Western as a kid and my memory of riding "Lucky," a highly trained cutting horse, still makes me smile! My current horse is named Pangloss, an 8-year old Thoroughbred. We're working on moving up the levels in eventing, COVID permitting and all!
I have a super power.
I can make complicated information easy to understand and fun to learn.
This is something many of my clients have told me: I make difficult topics easy and fun to understand. I've had a lot of experience teaching riders about how their horse's body works. I appreciate that biomechanics is definitely a challenging topic. You have to listen and feel at the same time, plus figure out how to use the information when you ride. In the Equine Biomechanics Workshop, I'll help you break the information down into manageable pieces and give you tools to remember how it all works. Join the workshop today and let's have some fun!
Equine Biomechanics Workshop
The Syllabus
Session 1: The Walk
Learn the biomechanics of the walk, including sequence of footfalls, muscles involved, and how a rider impacts this gait.
Learn how a rider moves on the horse at the walk.
16
NOV
2020
23
NOV
2020
Session 2: The Trot
Learn the biomechanics of the trot and how the horse changes this gait with demands of speed and collection.
Learn how a rider moves on the horse at the trot.
Learn the best exercises to develop the trot and why they work.
Session 3: The Canter
Learn the biomechanics of the canter including the sequence of footfalls and how a horse develops power.
Learn how a rider moves on the horse at the canter.
Learn the best exercises to develop the canter and why they work.
30
NOV
2020
7
DEC
2020
Session 4: The Jump & Gallop
Learn the biomechanics of galloping and jumping.
Learn how a horse jumps different types of fences.
Learn how a rider moves when galloping and jumping a horse, and how aids influence the horse's movement.
WANT THE VERY BEST DEAL?
JOIN THE INNER CIRCLE
When you join the Equine Performance Inner Circle, you also get this workshop. The Inner Circle has monthly trainings related to equine performance, fitness, and riding for soundness. Plus you get 2-3 workshops each year. Click the link below to check it out!
Frequently Asked Questions
What do you get with this workshop?
There will be four sessions (about 60 minutes long), held once a week. You’ll have access to the recordings for life, along with handouts, videos, and flashcards. You can join the sessions live or listen to the recording later if you can’t make it.
Who is the course for?
This course is geared toward beginner and intermediate level dressage and jumping riders. It’s got great information for riders of all disciplines, but will specifically discuss how the horse jumps and performs dressage movements. If you participate in another sport, this information can easily be translated to other venues.
Why should you take this course?
You should take this course if you’d like to learn how your horse moves. We’ll also discuss rider biomechanics so you understand what’s happening to your body at the walk, trot, and canter. Then we’ll put it together and talk about aids. You will learn why you give certain aids, when you give the aid, and why it helps change the horse's movement.
When is the course? How do you join the course?
The course is held on Zoom on Monday's at 6:00 pm MDT, starting October 12th. The Zoom link will be sent to you once you enroll.
I'd love to see you on the Zoom call! You can get your questions answered in real time. However, I know how hard it is to juggle busy schedules. There will be a recording you can listen to anytime. You get the course material for life, so you can listen again anytime you need to refresh your memory.
WHAT PEOPLE SAY ABOUT
Working with Shelley
FANTASTIC equine core strength webinar tonight in Inner Circle! It made SO many things make sense to me- I can’t wait to apply it to our therapy horses, to help them do their job and stay injury-free! Thank you!
L. Roscoe
Therapeutic Riding Program Manager
When I rode Soleil after your treatment, her walk was amazingly open, free, and forward. Really different!
L. Leatherbury
Rider
B. Mcsparin
Rider
Z got his first visit from Shelley today and it was awesome! Was nice to be educated on what's going on and the reasons why throughout. Now it's up to me to stick with the exercises so he can get stronger!
R. McCallister
Rider
I understand the horse's topline so much better. Thank you for making this topic easy to understand!
7
day money back guarantee
If you start the workshop and don't like it, you can request a refund.
Sometimes we start a class and it just doesn't work out. No problem. You have 7 days to request a refund, no questions asked.