Savvy in the Sun
“My introduction to Healthy Stride was last Feb. (08) during a course at the Parelli centre in Ocala FL. Brandon gave a short talk about their approach to shoeing horses and invited us to a workshop, That short talk was so interesting that I bought a dvd and hoped to have the opportunity to learn more in the future.
My reality is that I live on a tiny isolated Island in the caribbean called Grand Cayman which is one of the three islands that make up Cayman Islands. I have lived here for 16 years and since horses are my passion I couldn't have survived without having any, so I currently have two Cayman horses. This means they are a hardy Arabian mix born on the Island so well adapted to the topical conditions. Owning horses on an Island is very difficult with constant challenges including very limited resources in all aspects of horse care.
My Cayman horses are amazing little horses and I have always believed in providing the best I can regardless of the situation and circumstances. This means that I searched for the best way to progress our relationship and foundation training and found Parelli Natural Horsemanship. Currently the three of us (two horses and me) are Level 3/4 students. I have also made it my priority to only use the best horse friendly equipment and tack and invested in a Parelli fluidity saddle. Then started hosting and attending Parelli clinics and courses on and off Island to learn more.
My problem despite all my efforts to progress with my horses was with my mare named Giselle. No matter what I did she continued to give me negative feedback when I put pressure on her when I rode her especially in canter. Although she improved every time I improved her tack and etc but it was still there. I also noticed that she never gained any weight on her hind end no matter how round her middle got.
I contacted Brandon regarding a possible educational opportunity on behalf on my blacksmith in Grand Cayman. We decided that it would be best if we continue exploring this in person and so Healthy Stride made their first international visit in August 09.
Since I was more occupied with being a good host I really hadn't had time to think about what this visit could mean for me personally. My horses were due for shoeing so as my blacksmith prepared to shoe Giselle, Brandon walked through an assessment with him and immediately pointed out that she was very unbalanced laterally and her left side front and back were lower than her right so he showed my blacksmith how to even her out and the change in her was immediate. I was in a state of shock and embarrassment and kept asking myself how I could have missed it? I always felt uneven when I rode her like my stirrups were uneven and I have even been told that I look like I am leaning so I believed it was all me but it never improved. Once Brandon showed us how to see how uneven she was it was very obvious and it all made perfect sense.
My future with this mare now looks very promising. I am looking forward to more opportunities to learn from Brandon and also have started spreading the word that Healthy Stride has information that all horse enthusiasts should learn to help their horses. Now I will never look at another horse the same way again and when horse owners tell me about the problems they are having with their horses, I direct them to the Healthy Stride web site so they can educate themselves to better diagnose what is going on and help their horses.”
-- Tricia Sybersma, Cayman Islands
Brandon & Jim Crew | info@healthy-stride.com | www.healthy-stride.com
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