Canter Therapy

Dr Shelley Appleton & Kathryn Christieson•podcasters.spotify.com

A podcast hosted by Dr. Shelley Appleton of Calm Willing Confident Horses and Kathryn Christieson of Firenza Park Equine Services on all things horse and learning

Last refreshed: July 3rd, 2025 at 4:05 PM ⓘ

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Episodes

29: Reducing Liability

When Shelley went to renew her insurance policy she found some of the paperwork to not only be entertaining but quite concerning and a reflection on the current beliefs in the equine community.

Feb 25, 2022•33 min

28: Influencing a Horses' Thought with Ross Jacobs

Ross Jacobs is an Australian Horseman who has a way of working with a horse that benefits both the horse and rider. He focuses on what a horses thoughts are, primary and secondary, and the ways in which we can influence and change them. Due to horses submissive nature it is easy to get horses to do things but more focus needs to be put into the way that they feel when doing these things. You can find Ross on Facebook at: Good Horsemanship - Ross Jacobs

Feb 18, 2022•44 min

27: Life Lessons and Horses with Brendan O'Reilly

Brendan O'Reilly has many talents both with horses and completely separate. He fought professionally as a mixed martial art fighter and now spends his time as a saddle maker and starting colts. This episode discusses the similarities that horses have with other parts of our lives and the things that they can teach us. Instagram: oreilly_coltandsaddle Website: oreillysaddlery.com

Feb 04, 2022•58 min

26: Horsemanship Journeys with Lindsay Finan

Lindsay is a super interesting and incredible woman from New Zealand. She is such a supportive, knowledgeable and thoughtful horsewoman and it was such a pleasure to listen to her stories. Keep an ear out to hear the story about the pig!

Jan 07, 2022•34 min

25: Questions Answered -Part One

Recently, Shelley and I have been asking our guests questions from a list that we put together. We thought it was time that we started answering some of the questions ourselves. This will be the first of a few podcasts of Shelley and my answers and we may.... get a little off topic. This episode covers a bit more background on us and the things that frustrate us most about the industry, as well as the things people can start now to improve themselves!

Dec 16, 2021•56 min

24: Horsemanship Journeys with Karen Rohlf

We got brave and asked Karen Rohlf to come on our podcast! Karen has been mentioned by many of our guests as being pivotal in influencing their journeys into horsemanship from dressage. She is a leader in combining the art of dressage and horsemanship and bringing together these two worlds that can appear as different cultural landscapes. You can find Karen on Facebook at: Dressage Naturally with Karen Rohlf-Training, Clinics, Educational Material on Instagram: @dressagenaturally...

Dec 02, 2021•40 min

23: Horsemanship Journeys with Pauly Daniel

When you listen to Pauly Daniel speak you can't help but notice his connection and affinity with horses. He has an incredible dedication to self improvement and an unwavering commitment to true horsemanship. You can find Pauly on Facebook at: Daniel-Tessari Horse Reflections on Instagram @dthr_horsetraining

Nov 18, 2021•57 min

22: Horsemanship Journeys with Lisa King

In this weeks podcast, Shelley and Kathryn had the pleasure of speaking with Lisa King. Lisa has found a way to apply horsemanship to dressage in her own way. She has an fantastic understanding of emotions and the way they impact both the horse and rider. In her day to day life, Lisa specialises in building relationships, developing young horses and working with horses with behavioural problems. You can find Lisa on Facebook at: Lisa King Equine on Instagram @lisa.king_equine...

Nov 15, 2021•41 min

21: Confidence and Trust

When it comes to horses, there is a big group of people that struggle with their confidence in the everyday tasks with their horses. You are not alone. Shelley offered a short one week course in her private Facebook group. In this podcast we discuss some of the results which might surprise you! And also give you some ideas on things to do to help improve your confidence with your horse. If you haven't yet read Shelley's book 'Confidence & Trust' it is a fantastic ebook that puts together all...

Nov 04, 2021•36 min

20: Horsemanship Journeys with Amalia Dempsey

Shelley, Kathryn and Amalia all discovered there was more to horses by first discovering horsemanship. Amalia focuses on helping riders achieve connection and communication with their horses so that they can be happy, willing and relaxed partners. You can find Amalia on Facebook at: Amalia Dempsey Horsemanship and on Instagram at: amalia_horses

Oct 29, 2021•31 min

19: The Balance of Competing

Can you choose the horse first and the sport second? Competition has a fantastic role in giving our training purpose and direction but it can be a hard balance to find where to push our horses versus when to back off.

Oct 16, 2021•29 min

18: Pleasure and Relief

Understanding reinforcement and punishment in horse training. We talk about the 4 quadrants of behaviour and how each is applicable to the work we do with horses.

Oct 07, 2021•40 min

17: Defining Groundwork

What is ‘groundwork’? When does it start? What does it look like and how do we do it?

Sep 30, 2021•31 min

16: Spring is Here

Now that Spring is upon us it's a really important time to be hypervigilant about laminitis. Laminitis comes in many forms but feed-induced laminitis is preventable and it is our job as horse owners to educate ourselves so that we can make the best choices for our horses. It is incredibly painful and not something that anyone wants to go through so it's time to have a look at your management practices.

Sep 16, 2021•32 min

15: The Truth of Partnership

We all have a preconceived idea in our heads about this magical relationship we are going to have with our horses. Sometimes the reality of what actually happens can break our hearts and leave us feeling defeated. It is nice to know that these relationships are meant to go through rough patches that test us in order to create better relationships or to take the partnership to the next level.

Sep 09, 2021•35 min

14: Creating and Maintaining Riding Habits

It can be really challenging to find the motivation to ride your horse each week. There are always 101 things to do before you ride or another excuse not to get on your horse... breaking these habits is hard but we can do it! Books: Atomic Habits by James Clear The 5 Second Rule by Mel Robbins

Sep 02, 2021•31 min

13: Watching from the Wilderness

Let's take a step back. Let us have a look at some of the ideas of the horse world, highlighted by the recent Olympics, and see where they come from. What are these ideas based on? Which bits do we need to focus on? What can we be empathetic about? Nothing is ever black and white. There is always so much grey.

Aug 26, 2021•33 min

Bonus Ep: With Katrin Kuenstler

This episode was recorded in early 2020 when Shelley was in Western Australia just after the horrific bush fires. Due to some technical difficulties, we had some issues publishing it, but here it is! A great chat with Katrin about the differences between growing up riding in Germany compared to Australia. Katrin is an instructor and pilates coach with a passion for rider position. You can find Katrin on Facebook at: Katrin Kuenstler - Building the Core for a Better Ride

Aug 20, 2021•39 min

12: Chestnut Mares and Magic Horses

A discussion that was meant to be about the predisposition of chestnut horses and more specifically mares, to be a little spicy, ended up being a chat about the wonderful and magical beings that horses are and all that they teach us and bring into our lives.

Aug 19, 2021•29 min

11: Part 2- Learning to Read Horses

‘The more you understand a horse, you an interpret it better, make better decisions and you can set that horse up to be calm and confident’ -Dr. Shelley Appleton This episode is a continuation of our discussion on breed traits which leads into talking about different disciplines and a whole heap of training practices that give us horses with different behaviours.

Aug 13, 2021•36 min

10: Part 1- Learning to Read Horses

We often want horse training to be linear. Unfortunately, it is not. Every horse that we have the opportunity to work with is an individual and we have to treat them as such. The more we learn, the more understanding we have to help them be the best versions of themselves. This episode started as a discussion of breed traits but it turned into so much more.

Aug 06, 2021•35 min

9: Behind the Separation Anxiety

Talking about the symptoms of separation anxiety and then delving deeper. What is your horse feeling and why do they feel like they have the need to behave like this. Herds have an important role in our horses lives and their innate behaviour. When we take them out of these natural environments we have to learn to take the place of the herd in our horses lives.

Jul 29, 2021•46 min

8: Part 2- Buying the RIGHT Horse

Part 2 This is a two part series where Shelley and Kat share their wisdom about buying a new horse! In this episode they will look at how to approach going to see the horse, what to ask to see, what are red flags and what to do next if you like the horse?! Then finally, what happens when you bring your new horse home!

Jul 22, 2021•39 min

7: Part 1- Buying the RIGHT Horse

Part 1 This is a two part series where Shelley and Kat share their wisdom about buying a new horse! In this episode they discuss what is an appropriate horse for YOU. The mistakes people make in their horse selection. How buying a fancy 2 year old warm blood to be your next dressage superstar can make you miserable. Or how a 15 year old pony club veteran can set you up for fun and success! Also, what are red flags when you watch sale videos? What should you ask to see? What are red flags in hors...

Jul 15, 2021•33 min

6: Feet, Farriers and Happy Horses

Following on from the podcast last week on pain, this podcast talks about all things feet! We touch on a range of topics that relate to our horses feet; including discomfort, working with your farrier as part of the team, the dreaded word ‘balance’, and reasons to shoe your horses.

Jul 08, 2021•43 min

5: Working Through Pain Issues with our Horses

Talking about signs of pain in our horses, what to look for and some things to think about.

Jul 01, 2021•31 min

4: Tips for Building Riding Confidence

Talking about the differences between ‘brave’ riders and those who struggle with confidence. The reasons people often struggle with confidence and their core beliefs that hold them back. Plus Shelley’s tips for how to work through your confidence issues.

Jun 10, 2021•41 min

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