Please see below our directory of Instructors and Coaches UK & Ireland
Instructors: Licensed to teach all levels of the named modality Coaches: Liscensed to teach Foundation Level Equine Touch courses
Instructors
All named have completed the ETF (Equine Touch Foundation) training and are currently fully licensed to teach in the named modality:
ET – Equine Touch
VHT - Vibromuscular Harmonisation Technique
CT – Canine Touch
See our full network of UK & Ireland Instructors at a glance
ENGLAND
Lyn Palmer
Based in Somerset, South West England
National & International Instructor ET VHT CT
"I was first introduced to the Equine Touch in 2000 when I hosted the very first Equine Touch clinic in the UK on the recommendation of the Natural Horse Magazine. Jock and Ivana had arrived at Heathrow from South Africa only three hours earlier, they just rushed in with a quick apology and started. Being a traditional horse person I was more than slightly unnerved at the way he behaved around the horse, but as he explained all his safety rules came from the ring and Aikido. Whatever it was, the horses seemed unpreturbed and I was amazed how they relaxed and did everything he asked of them without any pressure at all, pain vanishing before my eyes. This, was something I just had to learn. I became Jock and Ivana’s shadows, putting on classes for them in the UK, training through all levels, becoming a practitioner then a tutor, and traveled across America with them several times, teaching at the Parelli headquarters in Colorado and then becoming appointed the first UK Instructor back in 2003. I have been dedicated to ET for the past 10 years, teaching in Norway, Sweden and France and never once has my faith been shaken in ET as the greatest gift we can ever give to the horse. I have also qualified in VHT both as a practitioner and Instructor, and under Ivana qualified in 2008 as a Canine Touch Instructor. It is not only wonderful to practice these amazing modlities but also to teach them to others so that they may go out into this world and help not only their own horses, family and friends, but to horses everywhere. I have my own ET, VHT and CT teaching center outside Glastonbury where I live with my husband Jack, my never to be without horses, dogs and several cats. I am often told by my students that Equine Touch has changed their lives, I know it certainly has mine.
Lyn Palmer (Instructor) ET VHT CT Glastonbury, Somerset 01458 780109 homewayfarm@aol.com
Jo Fernandes
Based in London and South East England
National & International Instructor VHT Head VHT Instructor UK and Europe, Jo has been the one responsible for keeping VHT alive and nourishing it in the UK when Jock, sick of the infighting and politics in the human CH world, turned his back on it and focused his life on horses. A Doctor of Cymatics and Bioenergetic Medicine and a qualified Radionics Practitioner, Jo has been with Jock since 1998 and is personally responsible for dragging him back into the human side of things, making him commit to teaching and developing VHT even farther. Over the past 10 years Jo has been at the forefront of regulation of modalities in the UK and as VHT director there has been highly instrumental in setting up the modules which are now the foundation of the VHT teaching for the world.
Jo Fernandes (Instructor) VHT London & the South East 07818 552744 Jo@vhtworld.co.uk
KATE PROWSE
Norfolk, Essex, East of England
“I have always been interested in what makes horses tick but I began my journey of discovery in earnest in around 2002 when I committed to being a student of the horse. I have been fortunate to learn from many wonderful horsemen, from the great names of Natural Horsemanship as well as Classica. The greatest teacher of all is the horse himself and I have been learning how to balance the mental, the emotional and the physical aspects in all that we do together. If I am honest, when I first heard about ET in 2004, I thought it sounded a bit too good to be true. There was a long list of benefits for the horse which I was supposed to be able to achieve, and in a short period of time? I was not entirely convinced, especially as I had little formal training in anatomy or bodywork. However, I had two horses who were very special to me; my oldie at 29 was getting rather rickety and my younger riding horse, was not proving to be the athletic performance horse I was hoping for. In January 2005 I signed up for ET Level 1, and the rest, is history. For me, Equine Touch really filled part of the hole relating to the physical aspects of the horse – removing pain and stiffness. I was already working as a qualified Freelance Horsemanship Instructor when I started teaching Equine Touch in 2007, and besides the physical benefits that can be gained by the horse, I have found it a fantastic way for my horsemanship students to learn to feel of the horse. A relationship between a horse and a human can gel so tight when you are able to offer that unconditional gift of help, build a trust and maintain well-being. I am always amazed at how a group of people can gather and after a couple of days (at times filled with feelings of incompetence and self-doubt!) learn to make such a difference to the horses they put their hands on.”
Kate Prowse (Instructor) ET VHT near Attleborough, Norfolk 07779 938735 kate@kateprowse.co.uk
Visit Kate’s website
HELEN CHOMA
Based in Lincolnshire, East Midlands
"I have been a human Homeopathic Practitioner for many years but had worked with horses from my teens and was often asked to help when a pony or horse had become a problem. I loved being able to help these tense, fraught animals to calm down, feel safe and trust people again. I recognized that some of the behaviour I saw was due to pain but felt unable to help much with that. I first discovered Equine Touch while looking for a gentle form of bodywork to help my young rescued mare. However, after completing the Level 1 course I was amazed by the profound effect even my first ET session had on all my horses. It was exactly what I’d been looking for and I went on to become a Practitioner in ET and VHT as well as training in CT more recently. I have been working as an ET and a VHT practitioner for a few years now and I still feel as inspired by the fantastic results that can be achieved as I was after my first class. I love to be with a group of people as they first discover this wonderful tool that enables them to start to remove pain and tension and to bond in a new way with their horses; to listen to their horses in a way they could not before, while giving them this unique gift."
Helen Choma (Instructor) ET Lincolnshire 07745 587548 tomhelenchoma@btinternet.com
BABETTE LITTLEMORE (TEGLDAL)
Based in Oxfordshire, South East England
"My interest in Equine Touch first began when I realised how much it helped my dressage horse Sunny with a sacro-illiac sprain which had been struggling to improve. I had considered retiring Sunny at that point, but with the help of Equine Touch not only did he return to work, but now at the age of 28 he is more supple than he was as a teenager and he point blank refuses to retire as he loves his work. He has always been my biggest Equine Touch addict and he was the reason I did my Level one course. However, I soon realised how powerful the modality is and continued through the levels to gain my practitioner status. Helping both friends’ horses, my own expanding herd and later clients’ horses, I was repeatedly struck by how horses hide discomfort as a prey species, yet also how wonderful it is to see them become truly pain-free and in total harmony with their body. There is a huge change in how they move, their mental outlook and their connection with their owner/rider. It truly is a gift to horses, and through teaching people how to help their own horses, I hope there will be more and more horses who will benefit from this powerful form of bodywork. As a dressage enthusiast I enjoy seeing improvements in a horse’s posture, greater ease in their movements and how Equine Touch can help with both preventing injuries and also with recovery. As a horse lover, I get a huge buzz every time a horse discovers deep relaxation and a happy horse usually also means a happy human! I am also a VHT practitioner so I can assist humans to be more balanced as riders. I teach from my base at Starlight Cottage in Oxfordshire and I look forward to introducing you to my herd of Equine Touch addicts who love it when a course is scheduled.
Babette Littlemore (Instructor) ET Oxfordshire 07876 381605 babette@starlightcottage.co.uk
Visit Babette‘s website
Nicola Studd
Course Venue: Faversham, Kent
I only started horse riding at the age of 27 and instantly became obsessed with horses, I think I was making up for the horsey childhood I didn’t have! Three years later I made the leap of faith and bought my horse, Clive, quickly realising how much I didn’t know and how ill equipped I was for this massive responsibility. Clive taught me so much from the first day, I started following a more holistic approach with him and it was this journey where I came across Equine Touch. From the first course, I felt completely and utterly at ‘home’ with the gentle approach, the unequivocal realisation that this works and with the interesting and passionate people I connected with from day one. Equine Touch not only has the most wonderful technique and gift to your horse but also an incredible community that welcomes you in with arms wide open and supports you, something I feel is very valuable in today’s world.
I also feel very passionate that horse owners should be able to understand how their horse’s body feels on a day to day basis to help them recognise when things may not be quite right before they go too far. Equine Touch can help to educate you in this, proving to be a very helpful skill, helping owners to make better educated decisions for their horse’s health. Clive is ultimately my reason for the path I have chosen, qualifying as an Equine Touch Practitioner, then Foundation Coach and now an Instructor. I hope to continue to expand and learn, as we know, learning never stops and I am excited to now be able to help other equestrians learn too!
Nicola Studd (Instructor) ET Kent 07590 231572 n.studd@gmail.com
Ireland
HEATHER McREYNOLDS
Based in Northern Ireland, also covers Southern Ireland.
Heather was a competitive horsewoman and riding instructor for several years before she began studying Equine Touch with Jock in 2001 in Ireland. Intrigued and committed she then traveled to England regularly to study further, qualifying as a practitioner in 2003. In 2004 she was appointed an official ET Tutor and spent a year flying back and forward across the Irish sea assisting Jock and Ivana as well as other instructors on ET courses in the UK. In November 2005 her dedication saw her being appointed the first ET Instructor for Ireland where she has been teaching ET courses regularly in both the North and the South ever since. Heather works with horses full time using Equine Touch, as well as VHT on riders who fall off horses that have not been ET’d.
Heather McReynolds (Instructor) ET Whole of Ireland 07734 104566 heather@theequinetouchireland.com
Visit Heather’s website
Northern Ireland
Deirdre Bruce
Based in Co Down, N Ireland
"I have been around horses most of my life but taking on my horse, Jay, changed it. I was persuaded to learn Equine Touch to help him and then became an ET and VHT Practitioner Having practised for 16 years, I am now starting to teach Equine Touch. My main aim is to provide opportunities for others to learn as owners to help their own horses, as I did, and to recognise the benefits of this amazing Modality."
Deirdre Bruce (Instructor) ET Co Down 07711 394213 deirdre.bruce@btinternet.com
Coaches
In 2022, ETF in the UK & Ireland introduced a new level of teaching to be known as ‘ETF Foundation Coaches’, who are fully licensed to teach Equine Touch Foundation Part One and Foundation Part Two, in order to increase the availability of courses up and down the country. Coaches focus on enabling horse owners everywhere to learn the foundations of ET.
Our first team of Coaches completed the ETF training in 2022 with the second team qualifying in May 2023.
ENGLAND
Sue Falber
Based in: Asheridge, Chesham, Buckinghamshire I first discovered Equine Touch in 2009 as a horse owner looking for something that I could do to help my then 19-year-old mare, Tinta. She had played high goal polo since an early age both in Spain where she was born and, in the UK, up until a tendon injury had left her previous owner wondering about her future. In 2007 we set out on our journey together, simply to hack around the Buckinghamshire countryside and learn from each other. Having enlisted the services of a recommended Chiropractor, I was informed that Tin’s pelvis was misaligned – this was due to the compensation from her tendon injury. She also had restricted movement in her neck from years spent playing polo and wearing a standing martingale – one of the tools of the trade.
Whilst there was no turning back the clock on her past, I wanted to be able to do more to help her. I had seen Equine Touch demonstrated at an Alternative Horse event at Shuttleworth College and was amazed at the responses that were gained by performing a few simple moves. This was by no means ‘just a massage!’. I signed up for my Level 1 course in May 2009, my intention to purely help my own horse. However, the power of the modality and the results I was getting with friends’ horses had me hooked and in January 2010 I had signed up on the Equine Touch Practitioner Route.
I qualified as an Equine Touch Practitioner four years later in August 2013 and it was from working with my Equine clients that I started to see a mirroring of similar issues in their owners / riders and so qualifying as a VHT Practitioner in 2016 was the next logical step for me and I then went on to qualify as a Canine Touch Practitioner in May 2020.
I have spent the last 12 years working with horses and ponies of all ages, heights and breeds from Eventers, Polo Ponies, Dressage horses and Show-jumpers to children’s' ponies, happy hackers and the much-loved retired family pet. Ex-Racehorses and nervous, rescue or abused horses now appear to be a speciality for me, probably due not only to the gentle nature of the modality but the fact that it also works on an emotional level and is extremely effective. All the horses and ponies that I have worked on have given me different responses and a great sense of fulfilment, no two sessions or horses are ever the same.
Having recently taken early retirement from being a Police Specialist Technical Researcher for the last 36 years, I wanted to combine my passion for horses and Equine Touch along with my enjoyment of delivering training programmes in my previous role to focus on bringing the Equine Touch modality to horse owners.
As an Equine Touch Foundation Coach, I hope to bring the simple yet powerful effects of the Foundation level of this wonderful modality to horse owners in Herts, Beds, Bucks and Northants in order that they too can help their horses be happier and healthier Whilst I have also studied a number of other modalities such as Reiki, Acupressure, Masterson Method, Herbal Selections, Kinesiology, Positional Release Techniques. Equine Touch has always been at the forefront and remains my main modality and as my mare Tinta is now 36 she is a true testament as to how beneficial it can be.
Sue Falber (Coach) Buckinghamshire 07717 357565 4countiesholistics@gmail.com Visit Sue’s website
Amanda Cunliffe
Based in: Grittenham, Wiltshire I have been lucky enough to be around horses most of my life and a horse owner for over forty years.
I was fortunate to have very good teachers who believed in putting the horse first and the importance of basic training.
When children came along I was able to start them on my old pony and help at Pony Club where I ran the boys’ triathlon teams.
I used to be sent "difficult" horses to sort out, re-train. The horses were fine, just no-one had listened to them until all communication had broken down.
I have studied with many people but it was only finding Equine Touch that I knew this was what I had been looking for. I believe passionately that all horse owners have it within them to learn Equine Touch and improve their relationship with their horse. It is only by looking and listening to our horses that through the unique systematic hands-on bodywork that is Equine Touch that we are able to give them the help and support they need. The bond between horse and human is deepened and physical and emotional healing occurs.
Amanda Cunliffe (Coach) Wiltshire 07774 165949 acequinetouch@gmail.com
Suz Crichton-Stuart
Based in: Clyro, Herefordshire
Equine Touch has been the foundation of my career as an Equine Bodyworker. I first discovered it back in 2007, aged 22 whilst on an Intelligent Horsemanship course at Hartsop Farm. I was training to become a behaviourist, but once I’d felt the powerful difference even a short ET session made to my own sore back, I was hooked. I hosted my own Level 1 and had the privilege of training many times with both Jock and Ivana.
The more Equine Touch I learned the more I was able to help my Teacher Horse, the horse that comes into your life to change your path. A peach fuzz ball of an Icelandic named Ori who opened my eyes to the physical and emotional issues horse face with so little empathy or understanding from much of the equestrian community. My time with him has led me to be a strong advocate for the horse with a passion for educating people to help their horses. The opportunity to teach the Equine Touch Foundation course is thrilling as I know so many horses will benefit from this gift their humans can regularly give them at home. Even now as I also train to be an Equine Osteopath, E.T. is the cornerstone of every session I do with a horse. Its profundity and gentleness opening doors to deep levels of restoration and improved health.
Suz Crichton-Stuart (Coach) Herefordshire 07817 885489 suz@aholisticsolution.co.uk
Sandy Nichols
Based in: Suffolk / Essex I have been in love with horses from as long as I can remember. My earliest memory was gazing into the eyes of a pony giving rides at a village fete. I was hooked!
My long career with horses began when I left school to work in a yard as a ‘working pupil’, then going on to work in different stables to further my education and encountering many horses and a vast amount of experience along the way, including competing in various disciplines, (particularly showjumping as my wonderful horse at the time had a talent for it) and being coached by some well-known and well-respected coaches.
I made the decision to become a riding instructor, teaching in riding schools, variouslocal Pony Clubs (Assistant Chief Instructor in one) and have taught many, many individuals, some of childhood to adulthood and who I still teach years later. It is so worthwhile and rewarding when you guide and help riders to understand their horses, particularly those with behavioural problems, and then witness that wonderful moment when horse and rider are together in harmony.
When teaching I would all too often see horses who were struggling with lameness, stiffness, and one-sidedness. I wanted to help these horses so that they could more easily achieve what was being asked of them, so I trawled books and internet to find a bodywork that ‘spoke’ to me.
That’s when I came across Equine Touch. It ticked all the boxes, so I signed up for the Level 1 course to ‘try it out’. I wasn’t disappointed. I was amazed at the horses reactions to this gentle, yet obviously powerful and effective bodywork. I couldn’t sign up for Level 2 quick enough. In 2010 I qualified as an Equine Touch Practitioner and had the privilege of being trained by Jock and Ivana, the founders, during this time.
I have seen this wonderful bodywork make so much difference to many horses lives, including my own horse who has a deformed fore foot. This affects her weight transfer and loading and therefore she constantly struggles with body imbalances, which I am able to help her with through regular Equine Touch sessions.
I decided I would become a VHT Practitioner (VHT is the human version of Equine Touch) as I found that I was correcting and balancing horses, however in some cases the rider also needed to be adjusted and addressed to give their horses the best chance of being able to perform to the best of their ability.
I’m so happy to be one of the Equine Touch Foundation Coaches, which means I can teach other horse owners the privilege giving the gift of Equine Touch to their own horses.
Sandy Nichols (Coach) Suffolk/ Essex 07810473442 sandy.nicholson@gmail.com
Northern Ireland
Christine Casey
Based in: Newtownards I first encountered Equine Touch In 2007, at a demonstration hosted by the British Horse Society. I had never really thought of how we influence our horses' health and well being, by the systems that we use to house, feed, work and manage all their other needs. Equine Touch was presented first and foremost as an holistic approach to maintain and improve function by influencing soft tissue, in a systematic and non invasive manner. But the more that I learned as I worked through both practical and theory based modules, the more I became aware of how all these pieces of the jigsaw came together to create positive changes.
I qualified as a practitioner in 2018, and as a foundation level coach in 2022.
I am also an equine coach, holding a Horse Sport Ireland level 2 coaching qualification. I find that the knowledge that I have gained about equine biomechanics through Equine Touch has been a significant help when working with horse and rider combinations. It helps me to better pin point issues, and to look at ways to improve these. This may be exercises under saddle and/or ground work, and it may also indicate that another professional input is needed, eg vet, saddle, farrier or dentist. And there is rarely one solution to any issue!
Having now qualified as an ET foundation coach, I look forward to opportunities to pass some of this knowledge on, through delivery of the ET foundation course, to those interested in looking for more ways to look after their own and friends' horses, and to those thinking about the practitioner route, and who just want to test the waters before formally committing.
Please feel free to contact me for more information.
Christine Casey (Coach) Co Down
07968 342928 c4seychris@aol.com
Scotland
Audrey Anderson
Based in: Perth
Being brought up on a Dairy farm in Fife, my early years were with livestock it started as soon as I could stand on an upside down milk crate, to help my Gran in the parlour while milking the cows, various tasks followed, feeding calves, rearing pigs, driving tractors, working collie dogs certainly an education was definitely to be had, working from dawn till dusk but loving every moment of it...... as a child being gifted a pony from the family was where it all began, wee Bobby was my first pony, definitely a teacher as everything I learnt was from those early years spending hours together on our land and hills, jumping ditches, fallen logs, timing, balance, respect, those times I will never forget. As they say "you can take the girl out of the farm but you'll never take the farm out of the girl...... I've always had horses in my life, if I wasn't working with my own I was helping out friends with problem horses ........ it was one day in November snow was falling on the hill on our way home to Perth (Scotland) after picking up an 18 month old friesian colt, heading back home fom Inverness, which was 14 years ago....... willam rotated upside down in the trailer, nothing obvious was showing to begin with then his OSH (Off Side Hind) seemed to slowly start to contract then become fixed over his sacrum, still to this day ive no idea now he did it, probably we will never know. Two months on, not really knowing which way to turn, certainly I was given options but nothing that I bought into..... an article in the Sunday Post which my husband had read it spoke about The Equine Touch in essence myofacial releasing bodywork ...... we had never heard of it and that was when everything changed for us all. After becoming an Equine Touch practitioner in 2013, your never through learning, so now adding Equine Touch coaching qualification in 2023, I can now offer The Equine Touch Foundation course for equine owners, equally this is the Practitioners foundation level...... then you can progress to the next level if you so wish.
Audrey Anderson (Coach) Perthshire 07795 074975 audreyequinetouch@gmail.com