
The Whole Horse Podcast | Episode 111 | Restoring the care, beauty and grace of dressage with Karen Rohlf
Welcome to season 7 everyone! I celebrated my 20th anniversary with my mare Diva earlier this month, and it fills me with gratitude to be continuously walking this journey of learning for the betterment of the horse, and to have all of you along for the ride.
In this episode, I sat down with Karen Rohlf of Dressage Naturally to hear her perspective on the sport and discipline of dressage, which has attracted much scrutiny in recent times for its harsh and controlling treatment of horses. Karen walked me through some of her guiding principles, such as her Happy Athlete training scale, as well as her philosophy of making training choices based on conversations with the horse versus what she thinks the horse must or should do. This attitude was also reflected in her approach to training for correct biomechanics: good biomechanics feel good for the horse! It was refreshing to imagine what’s possible for this discipline if more people learn to value building a foundation of welfare, trust and communication over simply achieving something that makes the horse “look” good.
Learning from Karen is like having your own personal cheerleader. Her sense of responsibility to the horse, as well as her open, nonjudgmental, and fair-minded nature allows you to go beyond the rigid rules of specific disciplines and get to the heart of your mental, emotional, and physical partnership with your horse.
Through her never-ending quest for personal self-improvement and her practice of authentic communication, she has become a powerful voice that helps guide riders to better partnership and results in harmony.
Even after all the decades of being a professional trainer, instructor, and competitor at the Grand Prix level, she still wakes up everyday feeling like a little girl in love with horses… And you can too.
Discover more of Karen’s work at https://dressagenaturally.net

Episode 135 | What flowers have taught me about horses and healing with Sabina Pettitt of Pacific Essences
The Whole Horse Podcast | Episode 135 | What flowers have taught me about horses and healing with Sabina Pettitt of Pacific Essences Welcome to the first of my mentorship series. where I have conversations with some of my most important mentors, allowing...

Episode 134 | A whole horse perspective on veterinary care with Dr. Tomas Teskey
The Whole Horse Podcast | Episode 134 | A whole horse perspective on veterinary care with Dr. Tomas Teskey This conversation with Dr. Tomas Teskey blew my mind in the best possible way, as he shared about what veterinary care looks like for him (and truly,...

Episode 133 | Sacred contracts with horses and how to recognize them with Brittany Ashworth
The Whole Horse Podcast | Episode 133 | Sacred contracts with horses and how to recognize them with Brittany Ashworth Season 8 of the Whole Horse podcast is here! To start us off right, I chatted with my friend and colleague Brittany Ashworth of Sacred...

Episode 132 | Understanding equine postural mechanisms with Dr. Karen Gellman
The Whole Horse Podcast | Episode 132 | Understanding equine postural mechanisms with Dr. Karen Gellman In this episode, marking the end of season seven of the podcast, I spoke with Dr. Karen Gellman. What an incredible journey she has been on, culminating...

Episode 131 | Shifting how we think about breathing with Holly Barnett
The Whole Horse Podcast | Episode 131 | Shifting how we think about breathing with Holly Barnett In this episode with Holly Barnett, I learned all about the new style of breathwork she created called InteroBreath, which is a way of working with the breath...

Episode 130 | Horses as muses, teachers, and guides with artist Kim McElroy
The Whole Horse Podcast | Episode 130 | Horses as muses, teachers, and guides with artist Kim McElroy As we wrap up season 7, I was honoured to sit down for a conversation with the artist Kim McElroy. As you'll hear in this episode, I met Kim in 2007...

Episode 129 | Unmasking sensitivity to be better (horse) people with Lori Halliday
The Whole Horse Podcast | Episode 129 | Unmasking sensitivity to be better (horse) people with Lori Halliday This conversation with the wise and wonderful Lori Halliday certainly touched into some tender places! Lori offered her perspective on the fall...

Episode 128 | Becoming nervous system navigators with Wired 4 Connection author Lucie Klaassen
The Whole Horse Podcast | Episode 128 | Becoming nervous system navigators with Wired 4 Connection author Lucie Klaassen Today on the podcast, I had Lucie Klaassen back on for the first time since Season 1 (!) and we had a chance to catch up on all the...

Episode 127 | Speaking the language of horses with Belinda Bolsenbroek
The Whole Horse Podcast | Episode 127 | Speaking the language of horses with Belinda Bolsenbroek In this episode I was joined by classical horse trainer Belinda Bolsenbroek for an amazing conversation about the way she merges scientific study with...

Episode 126 | What horses can teach us about healthy boundaries with Kim Hallin
The Whole Horse Podcast | Episode 126 | What horses can teach us about healthy boundaries with Kim Hallin What a deep and necessary conversation I had the pleasure of sharing with Kim Hallin, owner of Unbridled LLC. Kim’s tagline is “Stay true to yourself...