About Lara
 

I found Equine Touch when Jock and Ivana introduced the modality to the UK in 2001. I had been looking to learn some form of bodywork in order to help horses. Having no previous experience in any form of bodywork meant that I found the range of courses and range of modalities on offer was very bewildering.

In addition majority of those I had researched had required me to become qualified in the human form of the work before getting my hands on horses – and to be honest I was in this for the horses not the humans! I then found details on the Equine Touch™ and, from a pragmatic view, Equine Touch enabled me to attend a three day course, learn something usable after those three days and, importantly, see if this was a career that I wanted to pursue.

In those three days I found that even my novice attempts at bodywork bought about positive changes in the horses, not to mention how great the human bodywork practice made me feel. As a result I continued studying and qualified as an Equine Touch practitioner in 2002, and a VHT practitioner in 2004. (VHT is the human version of the Equine Touch – after all an unbalanced rider will have an unbalancing effect on a horse, so I did end up studying human bodywork after all). In 2005 I was as appointed as an Equine Touch Instructor currently teaching one to two courses a month in various venues across the UK.

I am currently the Chair of the UK’s branch of International Equine Touch Association (IETA). We offer membership to Equine Touch Students and Practitioners: organising revision days and further information days on subjects such as equine dentistry, bitting, saddles, foot trimming, as well as producing a quarterly magazine. In addition to Equine Touch, I’ve also taken courses in equine behaviour (completing Intelligent Horsemanship courses with Kelly Marks), hoof trimming, saddle fitting and, most recently a Cranio-Sacral Therapy course with Janek Vluggen.

I have also been involved with equine welfare charity work and have previously worked at an animal sanctuary and have completed two fund raising rides with the British Horse Society (one in Peru and one in Jordan). Through my Equine Touch courses I also raise funds for the Brooke Hospital for Animals.