Master the Nervous System of Horses | Enhance Your Horse's Well-Being

Taking into account the nervous system (both yours and the horse's) is meant to prepare you for good and safe contact with horses. Regardless of whether you own horses, ride competitively or recreationally, this course forms the foundation for your relationship with horses.

In the course, I discuss the three fundamental states of the nervous system and how they affect tension in horses, their tuning to humans, and the construction of a strengthening bond with humans. This course is for anyone who interacts with horses. It is intended for horsemen, horse owners, riders, trainers, and horse enthusiasts.

In the final module, I present the possibilities of therapeutic influence on horses.

I also share the story of two horses whose lives were changed by the knowledge from this course.

Horses have been and continue to be my life's purpose and calling. I have done many things related to them: I was a horse riding instructor and equine therapist, I completed horse breeding and equestrian training, ran my own stable, bred three foals, worked as a groom for three years for the world champion Christoph Sandmann four-in-hand carriage driving, and took care of his horses. I met my closest friends through horses.

In 2005, I discovered the possibility of human development through contactwith horses at Gerhard and Karin Krebs' Horse Dream and, fascinated by this approach, introduced Horse Assisted Education to Poland (more about this on my website: www.horsesense.pl). A significant milestone was a two-year training course (online and in person) with the one-of-a-kind Klaus Ferdinand Hempfling. Since 2006, I have been helping people build conscious lives - with access to their strength and joy. I conduct developmental programs based on contact with horses, without whose supportive presence I wouldn't be where I am today. In 2018, I opened my own development center, HorseSense (more about this on my website: www.horsesense.pl). I constantly delve into the mysteries of horses, as I believe that we, as humans, still know little about them.Currently accompanying me in this endeavor are Fregata, Szaman, Empatia, Django, and Anyż, with whom I live and whom I see from my window. There is not a month that goes by without them surprising me in some way....

Essential Themes for Daily Equine Interactions
How does my own state of agitation impact the horse? Do horses appreciate being stroked while they are fed? How does the rhythmic structure of the stable environment influence a horse's nervoussystem?
What could be the underlying causes for a horse's physical discomfort, irregular gait or manifestation of pain?
What measures can I undertake to enhance my horse's relaxation and intensify the feeling of safety when I'm present? (and so much more...)
Understanding the Polyvagal Theory, Neuroception, and Co-regulation: how theirapplication can significantly improve a plethora of equine-related scenarios.
Practical strategies for alleviating tension in both humans and horses.

Exploring the everyday scenarios we encounter and how to utilize our knowledge of different states of the nervous system.
A balanced horse, a horse that bucks or spooks, a withdrawn horse, a depressed horse, a horse reluctant to move.
The freeze response in the human nervous system and its implications in training situations.
Movement from tension versus movement from balance - the differences in the nervous system.
A tense, agitated human and its impact on safety.
Regulating a horse through personal balance.
Strengthening co-regulation which leads the horse to seek your company.

I am a person with very little riding experience, and about a year ago, I had to face a horse that was the terror of the stable. When I bought Athena, no one told me that it was a horse that everyone was afraid of, and that she had already sent several people to the hospital...

About a month ago, we moved to a different stable. In the previous stable, I have already startedusing many of the exercises that were available in the training called Horses. When I bought the training, I had just had my second serious accident with Athena, and I was at acrossroads. I was considering selling Athena...Many trainers came to us, but they left just as quickly. The circle of veterinarians and farriers became narrower.

With nothing to lose, I began to listen to both of us, step by step, completing all the tasks. This listening allowed me to see why Athena sometimes behaves this way. It allowed me to know how to help her at those times. I began to notice that there are also people who treat her violently in the stable, and she did many things out of fear. I started to notice when she was stressing and that she was becoming dangerous when there was no way out. On the other hand, I allowed myself to confront my fear and give myself the right to let go when I don't feel strong enough to support her. Thanks to your exercises, even in the previous stable, despite many challenging factors, we made progress.

After we moved, I can proudly say that we are there for each other. The immense amount of time we spend together, not rushing anywhere and listening to each other, has allowed Athena to become a non-dangerous horse today. She is a horse that expresses her opinion, but she does it in a calm way. I have the impression that she just knows that I see and hear what she means, and she doesn't have to "shout" at me to express herself. Our ideas for shared conversations never seem to end, and I implement as many as I have.

Thanks to listening, I now know where Athena likes to be touched and where she doesn't. Based on that, I developed a session in which I massage and scratch her the way she likes, whether it's in a situation when something annoys her, after training when she's tired, or simply when we're sitting in the stall together. Some time ago I’ve came up with the idea, that since she lets me touch her everywhere and it's relaxing for her, I should let her touch me too. I just stood still, waiting to see what she would do incomplete relaxation without tense. Athena first put her muzzle on my shoulder and started to rub. Then she began to sort of bite the fleas off my neck (like with a horse in a meadow). It really felt like she was saying: I like you too.