From a very young age I had a passion for horses. I worked at a local competition / Racing yard in return for riding and this continued until I finished college. For many years my focus changed from horses to the corporate world and then latterly self-employment. I came back to horses in 2014 when I was gifted a thoroughbred mare by the trainer I’d worked for in my youth, he'd bred her, but he was too unwell to train her.
DARE TO DREAM, MIRACLES CAN HAPPEN
Equine Pilates™ was created in 2021 by me - Amanda Griffiths (Minnie) after a ‘light bulb’ moment whilst driving home from my first Equine Massage Training weekend.
As a full-time Pilates Instructor of 15 years, I know the unbelievable results Pilates can achieve. As a specialist in rehabilitation, I’ve seen first-hand that with commitment and hard work, even the most unlikely client can regain their mobility and independence. (Examples of this included many stroke victims and my 92-year-old Mum who had been bedbound.)
In 2016, my horse Molly, had surgery for Kissing Spine. In 2021, this was re-diagnosed, only this time, the severity was deemed untreatable and at that point, all hope was lost for her. I was devastated.
In light of her recent diagnosis, I joined an equine massage course in a quest to make Molly more comfortable.
My ‘light bulb’ moment came when I realised that this qualification would equip me with the knowledge and expertise to adopt the principles of Pilates to my horse. I spent hours researching mobilisations, exercises and stretches from all over the world, all of which mirrored exactly what I already did with humans.
Armed with all of this knowledge, my focus from that point, was to develop a series of tailored Equine Pilates™ programmes which I practiced on Molly daily.
It wasn’t until her annual vaccination that autumn I realised it was working. Working beyond belief. The vet was shocked at how well she was given her prognosis just a few months earlier. He even suggested I start riding her again, albeit walking on the flat, no bends and no hills. This was incredible to hear, and it drove me to focus harder on improving the programme further.
In 2022 I began sharing the programme through workshops with other horse owners, using Molly and her stablemate, Victor, for demonstrations and practice. The horse owners are provided with the tools to deliver Pilates at least weekly, but ideally three times per week to their own horses. I continually receive fabulous feedback about their progress.
Roll forward to today, Molly is fit, strong, pain free and is ridden five days a week. The vet confirmed last year that she is now fit to trot, canter and even school. She is my miracle.
It’s extremely exciting to be able to share my expertise and make Pilates accessible to ALL horses. The stretch, mobilisation and core muscle exercises programme I have developed has proven to transform your horse’s core strength, flexibility and overall comfort.
Every horse can benefit. Our athlete show jumpers, eventers, dressage and racehorses will see improved performance and reduction of injuries. Happy hackers will benefit just the same (but their priority may be more focussed towards daily comfort.) Lastly, of course are those hero horses rehabilitating from injuries with the sole aim of facilitating a speedy recovery. I wish a programme like this had existed when Molly had her first kissing spine. It is an invaluable tool, and one which, I am proud to say, is now accessible to all horse owners.
Come and join me on a workshop, I would love to show you how you can introduce Equine Pilates™ into your horse’s daily life, it really can be life changing with extraordinarily little effort.
My Qualifications:
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Level 4 qualified Pilates Instructor – Since 2009
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Level 3 Equine Massage Therapist – Since 2021
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Level 3 Massage Therapist - Too many years to mention
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Fully Insured for both humans and Horses (Incl Public Liability)
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Registered member of N.A.R.E.M.T (National Association of Registered Equine Massage Therapists)
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All Workshops are accredited by UK Rural Skills, a provider of quality and safety assured training
Meet Molly..
