In today’s episode, I’m speaking with Julia Inglis, a very good friend of mine who I met virtually through a mutual friend. Julia lives over in Western Australia, the other side of the country from me, and we’re actually yet to meet in real life. Julia and I are messaging one another and sometimes talking, almost daily about horse training and management. While we had so much we talked about discussing on this episode, we decided that actually the best place to start, was with Julia’s story – or at least some of. It’s a story that there is a lot to learn from - both in the way of managing horses (particularly those with Equine Metabolic Syndrome (EMS) and ulcers) and in the way of training approaches.
So now, let me introduce you to my good friend, Julia:
Julia Inglis:
Julia grew up in the UK and was animal mad from a young age, catching her first pet when a rabbit wandered into her garden. She learned to ride at school but stopped for many years when she went to university in Glasgow before moving to London for further studies. Julia completed her PhD in neuropharmacology in 2004 and went on to establish a research career in the area of pain mechanisms in arthritis.
After completing her studies Julia started riding again at a local riding school, and around this time she met her now husband at a conference. He lived in Perth, Australia and in a bid to persuade her to move there started sending adverts for horse properties and horses. Within months Julia moved to Australia and they bought their first horse, which soon became 2 then 3, and is now a small farm full of animals.
Julia rode traditionally for close to a decade, bush riding and dressage but when her horse refused to move under saddle ended up learning about alternative ways to train and positive reinforcement. This has now become her passion and obsession as it combines science and training geekery with animals - her two great loves.
In this episode we discuss:
5:00 - Julia's formative years with horses
8:30 - coming to Australia (from the UK), starting with horses here & the steep learning curve when you realise how much you don’t know
12:41 - the current set-up & animal collective
16:01 - Julia’s learning journey with horses & evolution since becoming a horse-owner. Recognising there was more to learn about riding
19:40 - the start of the challenges with Maddy’s health & training
22:39 - Maddy’s health problems become more evident
24:34 - needing to look beyond what you know
26:12 - the impact of Maddy’s ulcers & laminitis on transitioning to training using positive reinforcement
27:08 - full introduction to Maddy
32:02 - managing Maddy with ulcers, laminitis & EMS - the juggle and progression of management
41:07 - Julia’s training journey & shift in training approach to positive reinforcement (R+), also known as ‘clicker training’
47:26 - the influence of health on behaviour
49:17 - introducing Neo & his journey
53:03 - where Julia’s at with training with R+ now
55:04 - training with Ori (the dog) and other animals with R+ as well as the horses & the availability of learning with R+ with a dog
1:00:04 - the virtual/online training experience & the benefits
1:05:14 - top tips for you: understanding your horse, if your horses behaviour changes - get a vet, don’t keep doing the same thing that’s not going well & expecting different results - get expert help, don’t withhold food
1:09:36 - important end-of-series announcements
Link from Julia:
While not mentioned in the podcast, Julia has requested we share the link for the Western Australia (WA) Equine Clicker Trainer group so that those in WA who are interested can join and share.
Our links mentioned this episode:
Sign-up to our email list
Start Your Engines course+workshop
Abbey's Run Equestrian website
Abbey's Run Equestrian on Facebook
Thank you to Matthew Bliss for podcast production & consultation. You can find out more about podcast support on offer via: Blissery.FM or email info@blissery.fm
