Connected Bodywork

08/26/2026

I am constantly impressed at the overall thorough basis and approach to horse training in the Linda Tellington Jones Method / Tellington TTouch World -
Gentle circular touch is their basis of bodywork approach and it continues to be shown to be a very appropriate and effective tactile interaction!

08/25/2026

LYMESCI: Borrelia burgdorferi disrupts gut barrier functions and microbiota–antibody interactions

The study tests the hypothesis that infection-driven gut barrier dysfunction, dysbiosis, and endotoxemia drive prolonged immune impairment, potentially affecting control of Bb itself and overall immune health. This positions gut barrier integrity as a possible therapeutic target in Lyme disease pathogenesis.

Key Takeaways:

✅ Bb infection induces “leaky gut” (increased intestinal permeability), endotoxemia (translocation of bacterial products such as LPS into the bloodstream), alterations in the gut microbiome, and changes in f***l short-chain fatty acids.

✅ These changes contribute to broader immune dysregulation, including hypergammaglobulinemia with elevated autoreactive IgG antibodies and impaired T-dependent antibody responses.

✅ Bb establishes persistent, non-resolving infections in mice, consistent with prior observations of immune suppression that prevent full bacterial clearance.

Link to study in comments ⬇️⬇️⬇️

08/24/2026

Very excited to bring my personal horses to this event!

PLEASE COME JOIN US ON LABOR DAY WEEKEND! AUDITORS WELCOME

Labor Day Weekend Educational Symposium Sponsored by The Association for the Protection of the Art of Horsemanship in America (APAHA)

APAHA is sponsoring an educational event over the Labor Day weekend as part of its mission to promote horsemanship as an art form. The event, which will also honor APAHA’s founder, Bettina Drummond, will involve demonstrations and discussions on methods and techniques that promote self-carriage, balance and lightness in horses – the foundations that help make riding an art. The symposium explores the teachings of Bettina and the French system of riding and training that was so much a part of Bettina’s approach. Olivier Puls, a former member of France’s prestigious Cadre Noir and an expert in long-lining and the French system, will join APAHA as a featured guest to share his knowledge in the art of long-lining and the French system and to share the lessons he learned in his work with Bettina.

Auditing cost is a $25 tax deductible donation to APAHA and includes lunch for those who RSVP ahead of the event by sending an email to [email protected].

The symposium begins at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, September 4 and runs until 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 8. Aside from Friday, the start time is 9:00 a.m. and runs until around 6:00 p.m., except for Tuesday.

Friday afternoon, Saturday and Sunday at Bon Accord Lusitanos:
423 Schauber Road in Ballston Lake, NY

Monday and Tuesday morning at Harken Hollow Farm:
21 Harken Hollow Road in Hoosick Falls, NY

08/20/2026

HOW DOES LYME PERSIST? PARTLY BY CHANGING FORM. 🦠

Research shows that Borrelia burgdorferi—the bacterium that causes Lyme disease—can adapt to stressful conditions. In laboratory studies, it can form round bodies and biofilm communities, which may be more tolerant to certain antibiotics than actively growing spirochetes. Round bodies can also return to their spiral form when conditions improve.

These findings don’t answer every question about persistent Lyme disease, but they offer important clues about how Borrelia may survive—and why persistence remains an active area of research.

Understanding these different forms could help researchers develop better diagnostics for detecting active infection and explore more effective treatments for patients.

💚 Learn more about how Lyme persists on our website: https://projectlyme.org/lyme-persists/

07/17/2026

This data is part of why I urge owners of horses with sudden behavioral changes to get thorough tick disease testing! Horses cannot tell us they feel anxious but we can see them be scared, spooky for no apparent reason, tense and resistant to activity they used to do calmly and freely. Behavior does not lie, but testing can be wrong or poorly interpreted!

Lyme Disease , a hidden infection behind depression.
👉 For full details, check out: https://lymewarrior.us/lyme-disease-blog/lyme-disease-and-depression

07/14/2026

A dominance-focused, "alpha wolf" model has influenced dog training for a long time. But evidence shows that the most effective and healthy way to change a dog's behavior looks more like gentle parenting for pets, Kelly Conaboy wrote in 2023: https://theatln.tc/2l1jgEDK

07/14/2026

Words Matter: How the Language We Use Shapes Horse Welfare

This study investigated the prevalence and potential consequences of negative emotive language used to describe unwanted equine behaviour.

An online survey of 355 UK-based participants with at least five years’ horse experience asked respondents to report negative emotive language they had heard and used, and to respond to paired video-vignette scenarios in which the same equine behaviour was described using either neutral language or negative emotive language.

All participants reported hearing negative emotive language used to describe horses, and 97% reported using such language themselves, suggesting that this language is widespread within the equine industry.

The use of negative emotive language in vignettes significantly influenced participants’ proposed responses to unwanted behaviour. Participants exposed to negative emotive language were more likely to suggest sedation and, in some scenarios, positive punishment, while being less likely to consider possible physical discomfort.

Participants who self-reported using negative emotive language more frequently were also more likely to suggest positive punishment and less likely to propose giving the horse time, considering the horse’s emotional state or physical discomfort, or using desensitisation.

These findings suggest that language may shape how people interpret and respond to equine behaviour, potentially encouraging aversive or restrictive approaches rather than consideration of fear, frustration, pain, or learning history.

Overall, the study concludes that negative emotive language is common in equestrian contexts and may negatively affect horse-human interactions and equine welfare.

The authors highlight the importance of more careful, neutral language when describing horse behaviour, particularly within veterinary and training contexts, to support more welfare-conscious decision-making.

This study relied on a self-selected online sample from the United Kingdom and vignette-based responses, which may not fully reflect wider equestrian populations or participants’ real-life behavioural responses to challenging equine situations.

You can read this paper here: https://beva.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/eve.70097

07/08/2026

04/13/2026

Our planned partner for this month’s event in the Plymouth area (April 24-26) had to change plans and now we are looking for a new donor horse. If you know of a horse that might be ready to cross the bridge and help over 20 equine proessionals learn and deepen their understanding, please reach out! 508-658-0078 or [email protected]. Thank you🦄