It took me 5 months to work up to being able to complete a 6 mile run. I started 49 weeks ago with 20 minutes of walk run intervals. If I don’t run at least 3 days a week then I am extremely sore. When I am sore, I don’t use my body correctly and I create damage. This is true in our horses. I often have individuals complain about their horse’s behavior at an event. The first thing I ask them is “how often are you riding your horse?”. A good majority of the time it’s not at l

Running has been slow since I fell on the ice. I went to the body worker Friday and she definitely helped. I am having to really pay attention to how I’m using my joints so I don’t start compensating for my tight pelvis and sacrum.

From Lessons in Lightness by Mark Russell

From Lessons in Lightness by Mark Russell

From Lessons in Lightness by Mark Russel

From Lessons in Lightness by Mark Russell

From Lessons in Lightness by Mark Russell

I still dislike running. I do appreciate the effects of running. I feel better afterwards. No one can run for me. It’s hard. I have to do it even when I don’t feel like it. I started thinking about the horses. Everyone wants the been there, done that, old soul that is 10- 14yrs old and will tolerate a novice rider. There is only one way that old soul is developed. Someone rode the young soul that had no life experience or wisdom. They put in the hard work. They rode the days

I did not want to run. My back has really been bothering me and I woke up near tears several times during the night. I felt good in the middle of the run but really struggled to finish. I have run through several injuries in the last 36 weeks. Right now I’m running with three injuries flaring up. But I’m trying to keep up with my 10 week don’t quit, keep moving run goal. I’m trying to maintain 16 miles and 3 runs per week. This is week 4.

From Lessons in Lightness by Mark Russell

When I relax my shoulders, my hips relax and my stride opens up. Same for your horse.

From Lessons in Lightness by Mark Russell

I have to really pay attention to my foot strike pattern to support my joints. I have many old injuries that are easily aggravated and I have not been kind to my joints over the years. If I am not careful, I start compensating and aggravate areas of my body that haunt me for days. I need to focus on engaging the correct muscles, articulating the joints and how I land on my feet.

I hugged a horse yesterday.

From Lessons in Lightness by Mark Russell

I am truly loving the biomechanics webinar I have been allowed to attend. It is taught by Jillian Kreinbring. I can’t stress how important it is to understand your horse from the inside out. So much of what we do affects their entire body. We can either help strengthen it through our work or weaken it to the point of causing irreversible damage. Nothing we ask our horses to do is natural. So it’s up to us to teach them how to support us. It requires a lot of time, a lot of pa

I had a fabulous time teaching at Jim-a-Dee Ranch for LRRETA! The weather was beautiful and the riders were so encouraging of one another. A true pleasure to be around! Thank you, Margaret, for organizing. Thank you, Jennifer, for the use of the beautiful facility and yummy lunch. Thank you Dawn for the lodging. Thank you to my husband and kids who take care of things so I can chase my passion. Without their help I could not afford to leave my house. So, when you see them, th

I’m very thankful to be taking this course from Jillian Kreinbring. She is an amazing teacher that helps with my visualization of the horse’s movement from the inside out. My goal is to always expand my knowledge and become a better advocate of the horse and a better educator for my students.

It takes YEARS to make amazing horses. Not days. Not weeks. Not months. YEARS. Pushing the horse too fast doesn’t create an amazing...

I had a fabulous time teaching in South Texas over the weekend! Thank you to everyone who came and Sherry for organizing. Beautiful weather! Fabulous horses and humans! Bonus of no cell service!