The Whole Horse Podcast with Alexa Linton

WH150 | Building confidence and competence in equine emergencies with Dr. Lizzie McCready

Celebrating our 150th episode with this awesome chat with Dr. Lizzie of Empowered Equine! I happened upon her work recenty and was so grateful to find someone laying out emergency preparedness for horses in the online space. Ever since moving further out of town I have felt the need to upgrade my "tool-kit" and make sure I am up to date with my knowledge and skills and I think many horse owners are feeling the same way. In this episode we get into how the vet shortage is affecting horse communities worldwide and how to be prepared despite it, some of the important skills and equipment to have to track your horses baseline and detect issues before they become a big deal, what to look for with reading a digital pulse (this one was for Reykur!) and much much more. This conversation with Lizzie is full of nuggets of wisdom and skill-building gems and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Dr. Lizzie McCready, BVetMed (Hon) CVA is an equine veterinarian and founder of Empowering Equine Education. After treating hundreds of emergencies, she noticed a pattern: most horse owners struggle to recognize health issues early or respond confidently in a crisis. This gap inspired her to create The Equine Emergency Training (EET). The growing EET community now includes over 1,100 students worldwide and is empowering owners with the skills, knowledge and confidence to deliver the best care to their horses. Here's the link to the Free Masterclass mentioned at the end of the podcast, where you can learn more: Free Emergencies + First Aid Masterclass: https://www.empoweringequineeducation.com/gwmc Empowering Equine Education Website: https://www.empoweringequineeducation.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/empoweringequineeducation

WH149 | Demystifying insulin + shifting our lens on recovery with Elisha Edwards

In this illuminating episode we're back with Elisha Edwards to shine more light on the often confusing topic of metabolic disorder, laminitis and hyperinsulinemia. As I share, I'm usually a pretty quick study but this stuff gets my brain all twisted in knots - and am I ever grateful to have someone like Elisha to break it down for me. As many of you know, the topic of insulin as it relates to disease has been top of mind for me since my gelding Reykur's recent laminitic episode where his levels of insulin were off the charts despite trying to do all the right things. I've been doing my best to sift through all the information out there and it felt like the perfect time to have a deep dive conversation about this with someone who really gets it and is looking at this topic from many angles.  In this chat we discuss why insulin goes up, why it stays up, and how we can help it to come down and stay down, the very real impact of hormones, stress and cortisol, the pros and cons of medicating, the real struggles of watching our horses deal with pain and how the emotional states of our horses can influence this disease. I know this conversation helped me greatly on my horse-keeping journey, and I hope it helps you too!  Elisha Edwards is a long-time horse lover who holds both a Bachelor of Science in organic chemistry and an MBA from the University of Alberta. Elisha is the Director of Education at Riva's Remedies and she is also the developer and instructor of the online course Healing Horses Their Way. She teaches horse owners all over the world how to use holistic health care to promote good health for their horses and how to restore good health in unwell horses. She believes that through education and awareness of natural horse health we can drastically improve their quality of life and longevity. Elisha also regularly facilitates workshops and seminars on natural horse health care across the country. Learn more about Elisha at https://elishaedwards.com/ Online course: Resolving Equine Metabolic Syndrome Naturally New free Masterclass mentioned at end of episode Hair tissue mineral analysis (Riva's Remedies)

WH148 | Walking the rocky road of recovery with Shannon Beahen

Season 9 just wouldn't be complete without an epic conversation with Shannon Beahen of Humminghorse, this time about the rollercoaster ride that is recovery from a significant health event in our horses. Both Shannon and I come to this conversation with very real and personal experience of this rocky road in our own bodies, and with members of our herds. As you'll hear, I've been in the stressful beginnings of this walk with my new gelding Reykur, and Shannon at the (hopefully) end stages with her gelding Ivan, and this chat felt like an important one to share our experiences and support others that might be going through something similar. We get right into the big stuff as we unpack the very real issue of caregiver fatigue, the guilt/shame/isolation that so often accompanies caring for an unwell horse, how to be with wanting it to be different, and what to do when you don't know what to do. Shannon also outlines her process of observing nuances in condition, vitality and movement as a way to track progress and change, how she knew that Ivan wanted to stick around even when he was struggling and how she went from questioning her life decisions to feeling a sense of deep privilege to care for and learn from her herd. I share some of my main take-aways from my journey with Reykur and how his health event is actually changing our connection for the better, as challenging as it's been. This is one of those conversations packed with goodness and wisdom and hard truths and I truly hope you take the opportunity to listen.  If you haven't listened to my previous conversations with Shannon, check out episodes 121, 92 and 81 of the Whole Horse Podcast, or dive right in to today's episode.  Shannon Beahen is an alternative horse trainer, online educator, academic and writer. She specializes in teaching her own "high vibration" approach to natural dressage and liberty as well as the creation of species-appropriate habitats that promote dynamic movement and sovereign equine lifestyles. She is passionate about exploring and articulating the ethics of embodied horse-human relationships. Her hope is that through teaching a deeper awareness of human-animal and human-environment relations, equestrian education ceases to be a privileged pastime; and instead may just provide some of the seeds to birth a new earth. Learn more about Shannon and her work at www.humminghorse.com

WH147 | Bringing creativity to the paddock with Nica Quinn

This episode with artist Nica Quinn was a long while in the making, as you'll hear in this chat when we both share our stories of synchronisities and, quite frankly, miraculous happenings and path crossings. We've never met in person, but it always fascinates me when one path impacts another profoundly, and creates a new reality altogether. Isn't that so often the way with horses, especially, as we talk about in this episode, our more challenging horses? In this inspiring conversation, Nica shares about her creative journey, how horses brought her art to life, how trust in the process has changed everything and why she thinks being creative and making time for art might just be the key to moving through our current world in a good way.  I share a harrowing tale that drove home the power of community, support and reaching across divides, and we both unpack why we love collaboration and why the "collective" experience feels so critical right now in the horse world and beyond. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did!  Nica Quinn is an intuitive artist and designer based in Scotland, whose mission is to inspire creativity and deeper connections with ourselves, nature and horses.  FInd out more about Nica and her creations at www.nicadrawsnature.com

WH146 | The beauty of the mundane, boring, still and settled with with Elsa Sinclair

Is there a better way to start a brand new season then a chat with the amazing Elsa Sinclair? I think not! We start season 9 with this rich conversation, broaching the big hot topic of pressure - what is it, how do we apply it (consiously or not) with our horses, how can we do "pressure" well, and where does not wanting to use it actually ironically mean more of it - how getting older and wiser is a very good thing (and doesn't mean we've lost our skill or courage), and exploring the concept of the beautiful in the mundane, every day moments with our horses. As always with Elsa, this chat had me pausing mid-sentence to chew on powerful new ideas and process aha's. Her way of thinking about horses and training has this way of helping us see something in a totally different way. Would love to hear about any aha's you had while listening!  What is Freedom Based Training? Perhaps the best way to explain it is to break it down: Training is the art of developing toward an end goal. Freedom is the ability to make the right choices for you in any given situation. Freedom Based Training embraces the paradox of these two ideas – freedom and training. To do this we develop depth of relationship and width of skill in a balance, using passive leadership instead of dominant leadership. Elsa Sinclair is a professional horse trainer and instructor who brings to the horse world a unique and powerful perspective. Gathering together awareness from a variety of equine disciplines, Elsa has an enthusiasm for developing human ~ equine partnerships to fully enjoy the process of learning and growing in the direction of their goals. Elsa draws on a long and diverse history with horses as she travels now through her latest adventure of Taming Wild. What if horses were given a choice? Would they let us ride them? Without force or tools to control and without bribes to lure them? Elsa asked the questions, embarked on a project to find out and ultimately filmed a movie about the process. What started as simple questions, birthed the movie Taming Wild, an online course for those interested in learning Freedom Based Training, and a following of people who seek their own answers in what it takes to work more collaboratively with horses. Find out more about Elsa and her work at www.tamingwild.com. Elsa's Book: Taming Wild