Thoughts on "The Traveling Horse Witch?"

[anon68314200]

Rupert Isaacson was once vilified on COTH. Now he’s doing very well. COTH was pretty off the mark there as well. As I recall, he agreed to talk with all his COTH detractors on the phone. I was the ONLY PERSON who showed up for the call.

This jives with my experiences discussing Mary Wanless’ work. And finding the same 1-2 people showing up reliably to complain about their clinic experiences.

I remain skeptical of the criticism of THW. She seems about as credible as any other self made horse pro in the podcast world. And I see she has been on several of them.

[fizzyfuzzybuzzy]

I’m honestly not being pedantic! If you’re telling me that she is teaching people who have no or limited access to information about the biomechanics and anatomy of a horse, teaching them that their horse’s COG is at the poll is doing them no favors. I never said you were teaching the information, just responding to what you put out there. In fact, if you read my post, I asked if SHE was really teaching that. You could have said no, that’s my interpretation of the information.

But if she is using that as a true biomechanical function, she is absolutely putting incorrect information out under the title of a professional. Offering certifications even! It one thing to offer visualizations, but that one is probably not helpful. Just my opinion, as a non-professional.

[Ghazzu]

@ProfAmEq

The point is, she wants you to teach your horse to shift their weight back, lift through the sternum using their pecs and all the other muscles I can’t remember right now, instead of bracing and using the under neck muscles for balance, and being able to abduct without losing balance and bracing.

Which any trainer/rider wants. That’s self-carriage 101.

[Warmblood1]

How is self carriage becoming this mystified?

[sportyspicepony]

I think the point is not the goal of self carriage but the exercises to help you reach that point lol

[Ghazzu]

Which I would be uninclined to follow from anyone believing that a horse’s COG would be at the poll.

Edit: damn you autocorrect!

[smoofox]

@anon68314200

I remain skeptical of the criticism of THW. She seems about as credible as any other self made horse pro in the podcast world. And I see she has been on several of them.

Many of us in her area are not fans of the woo and the preaching and tears and disciples and broken nuchal ligaments and what not. Based on… what is that called again? … oh yeah - first hand experience. Add in the venom unleashed when she is called out for some bit of horse-eff-ery she has pushed as the be all and end all… and vets having to deal with the results.

[NerdyHorseLady]

Is it just me, or did the conversation suddenly turn salty and mean right around the 1044 mark?

[NerdyHorseLady]

@smoofox

Many of us in her area are not fans of the woo and the preaching and tears and disciples and broken nuchal ligaments and what not. Based on… what is that called again? … oh yeah - first hand experience. Add in the venom unleashed when she is called out for some bit of horse-eff-ery she has pushed as the be all and end all… and vets having to deal with the results.

This! Thank you for not biting the never ending distractions meant to undermine valid first hand experience, and bringing it back to the main and very glaring problem at hand.

[ProfAmEq]

Look, you are taking me wayyyy too literally. Many horses hold too much tension in the neck, bracing in the poll, using their necks as levers to balance up because they are just too weak or painful to lift their front ends otherwise. Combine that with driving from behind and the use of training gadgets, you get broken horses. She is educating people to recognize the dysfunction, and offers a few exercises that any amateur can practice in addition to whatever professional training they are doing elsewhere. She wants people to slow down and avoid short cuts and frankly that itself is advice worth its weight in gold.

[K_VanOlst]

@ProfAmEq

She wants people to slow down and avoid short cuts and frankly that itself is advice worth its weight in gold.

But you can get that from people who don’t charge obscene prices for made up credentials

[ProfAmEq]

Well I’ve spent thousand paying crappy trainers who took short cuts so who cares?

[K_VanOlst]

@ProfAmEq

Well I’ve spent thousand paying crappy trainers who took short cuts so who cares?

That’s definitely your prerogative. But threads like this are useful to expose charlatans in the horse world so that people can be aware.

[ProfAmEq]

Sure, but I joined this thread after seeing the collective dump a few of you decided to take on amateurs who are just trying to learn. Shame on you too. Are some people too gullible? Yes. Do they want desperately for their horse to be happy? Yes.

I’d rather crap all over pros who ride their horses into the ground and then sell them off to amateurs when the damage is done. Anyway, the horse industry has a lot of reckoning coming its way. I hardly think TTHW is doing a ton of damage. The nerve release stuff does seem sketchy to me. I would want to know damn well what the hell it is before letting her touch my horse. The masterclass info though was harmless.

[fizzyfuzzybuzzy]

I, for one, would NEVER dump on adult amateurs who are trying to learn. I am one! For another, Hilary Clayton wrote a book in 2008 that offers what you’re saying THW offers, without the sketch. And you can buy it for $50 for a well-written book and a DVD off Amazon. Just saying.

[anon68314200]

https://youtu.be/9J9f8eOSAzc I am finding loads of good stuff on YouTube that could easily fall in the same wheel house as THW.

[ProfAmEq]

Awesome. You know, the first place I’d ever heard of her work was… in the TTHW group.

[fizzyfuzzybuzzy]

Unfortunately, you had to pay the equivalent of three of the actual source material to find out about it. So why be defensive about it? I’d be pissed that I could have gone straight to the source, had better materials, and spent less than a lesson costs to get it!

[K_VanOlst]

@ProfAmEq

Sure, but I joined this thread after seeing the collective dump a few of you decided to take on amateurs who are just trying to learn. Shame on you too.

That’s a gross mischaracterization of my posts, but okay. You do you boo.

[anon68314200]

https://www.facebook.com/1023434539/posts/pfbid08FMmF3zxTZgGNBKvNtjya8MwAXKE3nL6kg67wEXiNumHyxq2zbqmgHGSh9RdkRnrl/ Looks like THW is featured in a Saddle Fit for Life Partners in Soundness September 22-23 Ontario