As Head of Welfare and Behaviour at Redwings, Nic leads a team that has specialised in the rescue, rehabilitation and long-term care of feral, unhandled or mistreated horses for more than a decade and this extensive experience has fundamentally informed the charity’s approach not only to equine health and welfare but equine behaviour and training too.

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In particular, Nic’s extensive experience working in the field of equine welfare led to his appointment as the Chairman of the National Equine Welfare Council in 2009, an umbrella organisation for equine rescue centres and sanctuaries across the UK. Nic has been involved in consultations on many areas of animal welfare policy; most notably in this context he worked with the Welsh Government between 2012 and 2014 to assist them in drafting the Control of Horses (Wales) Act, which became law in Wales in 2014 and helped energise the commitment to an English equivalent that came into force the following year.

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Nic has authored several published journal articles in the fields of welfare assessment and strangles. Most recently, in 2021, he was a participating member of a Roundtable discussion of experts in the disease which has led to the most recent consensus on the diagnosis, treatment and management of the disease.

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At this conference Nic will present:

Whose problem is it anyway? Leadership in ensuring a Good Life for horses

and

How did we get here? Horse breeding in the modern age – risks and rewards for people and horses

Simon Curtis is a farrier, author, lecturer and horse hoof-care expert with a PhD in Equine Physiology and Biomechanics (2017). He is a 4th generation farrier; his family have been farriers and blacksmiths in the Newmarket area for at least 150 years. In over 45 years working as a farrier, he has lectured and demonstrated in more than 30 countries including the USA, Australia, India, Russia, and Brazil. Simon is internationally renowned in the hoof-care world for his remedial farriery textbooks and lectures. He has authored several books on farriery and has been published in numerous journals. Among other roles, Simon is a Past Master of the Worshipful Company of Farriers, was made a member of the International Horseshoeing Hall of Fame in 2005, and is the only farrier to have been awarded an Honorary Associateship of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (2002). He was awarded the Sir Colin Spedding Award in 2018, presented by HRH Princess Anne to an exceptional hero of the equestrian world. Other honours include entry to the International Horseshoeing Hall of Fame at the Kentucky Derby Museum (2005).

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At this conference Simon will present:

Angular Limb Deformities and Common Developmental Issues

How and when to intervene?

As well as competing in the 2012 London Olympic Games Richard also finished his four-year term as the British World Class Performance Manager and former British Dressage Team Captain. He is credited for ‘masterminding the strategic plan behind Britain’s most successful period of international successes’ resulting in their historic Olympic and European team gold medals and World Championship medals. Richard combined this role whilst himself competing at the highest levels including the World Cup Finals and the Olympics, a feat believed to be unequalled.

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Aside from his own competition program Richard’s advice and coaching skills continue to be sought by some of the world’s most successful dressage and show jumping riders, including World and Olympic medalists. He has been a coach to UK Sports World Class Development Show Jumping Program for almost a decade.

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He has been on the organizing teams of countless high- level competitions including World Cup qualifiers, European Championships and currently provides guidance and advice to many other event promoters.

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We are honoured that Richard is joining us for the conference and will be on the stage at the end of the day to share his personal thoughts on what riders can learn from the presentations and how he is going to apply the information he has learnt from the conference to his own training, riding and management.

Sue ran a clinical referral service for lameness and poor performance, attracting clients from all over the United Kingdom, Ireland and continental Europe for 37 years.

Sue is a former President of the British Equine Veterinary Association and is currently scientific advisor to the Saddle Research Trust and Moorcroft Rehabilitation Centre. Sue is also a rider, and has produced horses to top national level in both eventing and show jumping. Sue holds the Instructors and Stable Managers Certificates of the British Horse Society (BHSI).

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Sue currently works as an independent consultant advising on non-veterinary aspects of equestrianism, drawing on her observations of many years as a hands-on horse person.

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At this conference Sue will present:

Can performance and longevity be predicted by assessment of conformation?

and

Do developmental abnormalities of the cervical vertebra predispose to neck pain, neck stiffness, forelimb lameness or ataxia?

Having competed up to advanced level eventing and achieved her BHS Senior Coach and completed multiple therapy qualifications. Gillian is in a great place to apply anatomy to riding, training and therapy.

Over the years Gillian has created anatomical models and sculptures as well as a vast video and photo collection of anatomically painted horses moving and performing which she will be using in her presentations.

As well as introducing and hosting this conference, Gillian will be kick start each day with vivid visual illustrations of equine anatomy and biomechanics.

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At this conference Gillian will present:

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Performance Preparation: Skeletal Maturity and Strengthening Exercises for Young Horses

Tony Hobden is the founder and partner with his wife, Kelly Jewell of the very popular freestyle dressage company, Equidance and film/broadcast provider, Equestrian Media.

His popularity grew as an online presenter during the 2020/21 lockdown periods in the UK where his show, 'Equidance LIVE' was viewed by thousands around the world.

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He is a well known character within Equine circles and will be your online host this year at the Horses Inside Out conference.

Mark began working on horses feet at the age of 14, starting a formal apprenticeship at 16 and qualifying as a farrier in the U.K. 4 years later. Now, at the wrong side of 21 and being faced with too many questions and not enough answers,  Mark was driven to continually challenge thinking and beliefs in the hoofcare industry 

Changing direction multiple times and trying different approaches Mark and his long suffering clients has “settled”  upon 3 key elements in his hoofcare business 

First barefoot, second barefoot and boots and lastly composite shoes where necessary 

Captivated by the function of anatomy Mark is passionate about the whole horse, where everything effects everything and everything connects to everything.

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Mark Johnson wants to help create healthy and sound horses using his experience of: trimming, hoof boots, and composite shoes, combined with the essentials of nutrition, condition and environmental influence. His referral service is used by many in the equine world who want to improve the wellbeing of the horses in their care. 

Kelly's career includes championships in BSJA showjumping, race riding (flat and

hurdles) and she’s a former winner of the Pro/Am TREC at Royal Windsor Horse Show.  A patron of 3 charities, over the last 30 years, she has spent time lecturing at West Oxfordshire College, Witney, travelling the UK and worldwide giving practical demonstrations and lectures at universities including Cambridge Veterinary School either on her own or alongside Monty Roberts. She spent a year touring for the British Horse Society for their Continued Professional Development. For the last 25 years Kelly and her team have run the very popular Intelligent Horsemanship courses at Hartsop Farm in Witney, West Oxfordshire producing excellent trainers in their own right.

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We are really pleased that, at the Horses Inside Out Conference 2024, Kelly will be presenting:

Training for the Future: Can horsemanship improve us as well as horses?

Russell is based at Centaur Biomechanics, a company which he founded in 2006. He has extensively researched the effect that tack (saddle, bridle and girth) and the rider has on equine health and performance. Russell holds a post at Hartpury University as a Reader in Equine Biomechanics. Russell’s current area of research is horse-saddle-rider interaction, spinal kinematics in horses when ridden over ground, the effect that rider asymmetry has on equine back movement, and from a rehabilitation perspective, the effect that training aids and pole work exercise has on back movement. In addition, Russell collaborates with researchers on various research projects associated with equine health, rehabilitation and performance.

Russell is a consultant for the British Equestrian Federations World Class, Team GBR programme and is a member of Team GBR’s Scientific Advisory Group. Russell also sits on the Society of Master Saddlers Scientific Advisory Group, and is part of the executive committee for the International Task force on Laterality in Sports Horses. Russell is also a Pilates instructor, Intrinsic (Human) Biomechanics Trainer, a BHSI equestrian coach, and a keen competitor in dressage and show jumping.

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At this conference Russell will present:

Understanding Laterality - improving our training by understanding the science 

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The Science behind Training Aids - pole work and other conditioning exercises. 

After completing a degree in Zoology at the University of Liverpool (UK) and a PhD in abnormal equine behavior at the University of Edinburgh (UK), Dr Sebastian McBride continued his research at Aberystwyth University looking specifically at the neurophysiological mechanisms underpinning repetitive behavioural disorders. This line of investigation extended towards attributes of learning behaviour and computational models of brain systems as a way of better understanding some of the underlying mechanisms involved. 

He later worked at the University of Cambridge developing cognitive tests as markers for normal and abnormal brain function in large animal species as part of a Huntington’s disease project. Sebastian has recently returned to Aberystwyth University to establish a research group on the effects of stress and ageing on ovine and equine cognition. He has presented several papers at international conferences and written a number of articles for both the scientific and popular press on the neuroscience of equine behaviour.

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At this conference Seb will present:

Recognising Clinically Depressed Horses

Meriel’s research focus includes fundamental digestive physiology, forage quality and feeding systems for promoting health and welfare for stabled horses. She is a registered Animal Scientist with the Royal Society of Biology and chair of the European Workshop for Equine Nutrition Association.

Meriel is passionate about knowledge exchange and disseminating research to the horse industry. Her enthusiasm and engaging presentations are supported by genuine practical knowledge (she has competed British Dressage - Small Tour and is a BHSII), and this experience helps her to relate to veterinarians, industry professionals and horse owners alike. She regularly gives talks at international conferences and industry CPD days across the Globe. She continues to work with numerous UK and International feed companies underpinning new innovations with science to improve the health and welfare of performance horses.

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At this conference Meriel will present:

Feeding for the Future

He is past chairman of the BEVA/BVDA examining committee for EDT exams, past BEVA Council representative for equine dentistry, chairman of the BEVA Dental Working Party for political aspects relating to dentistry – and winner of the Pet Plan Vet of the Year Award for 2011, an achievement that the judges awarded in recognition of Chris’s work in equine dentistry and the beneficial effect on equine welfare.

Chris is the current President of the European Veterinary Dental College, the authority that trains and regulates veterinary dental specialists across Europe. Chris is dedicated to advancing the science of equine dentistry and is particularly interested in novel restorative and preservative treatments. This has placed Chris at the forefront of equine dentistry worldwide.  

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At this conference Chris will present:

Dental problems in young horses, and the relation to starting ridden work’

Laura Tomlinson is an international dressage rider who has competed at the World Equestrian Games, the European Championships, 2 Olympics and a number of other high profile shows throughout her career.

She was a part of the gold medal-winning team at the London 2012 Olympics and also took home an individual bronze medal with her Danish Warmblood Mistral HØjris (Alf) 

In 2019 she and her husband Mark, who plays Polo, moved to a new home in Gloucestershire where they have facilities for the horses and raise their four young children.

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At this conference Laura is presenting a pre-recorded presentation:

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'Progressing Young Horses for Longevity and Performance'