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| BrSC BIRGITTA BERGSTEN based in France |
Contact details: 07769 691708
Email: info@aquila-balance.eu
I first met Carol Brett in 1993 when the BALANCE organisation had only recently been formed.
At the time, I kept my horse in an event rider’s yard, and was politely asked to turn up to listen to Carol who was coming into the yard to show what she and Lesley had found out about saddles and their impact on the horses. Obediently, but reluctantly, I did attend as I had recently invested in two new saddles! I was convinced that they must be OK for my horse because I had professional help get them fitted. However, I decided that one has to be open-minded, and then one might learn a thing or two.
For me this meeting with Carol was a turning point in my life, and it has not been the same since. What she and my horse showed me, that day was so fundamental and went hand-in-hand with the teachings of my Swedish mentor, Mr Petrus Kastenman.
I had certainly been having some problems with my sensitive mare. She did not want to collect and engage her hindquarters at all.
Despite help from several very good trainers, I had not achieved what Petrus had taught me was true collection. This is for me so basic, and it does not matter what you do with your horse, event, hack, dressage or show jumping, all movements should be based on some degree of collection. Without it, the horse is simply not in balance. Of course, I blamed my self for lacking the ability, but what Carol showed me was a real eye opener. The simple truth was that the conventionally designed and fitted saddles that I had, so carefully, acquired were making it too hard for her to lift her back, and therefore, practically impossible for her to engage her hindquarters.
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Once I understood what was going on with the mechanics between my saddles and my horse, I recognised that my mare, and my other horse, Sir Henry, had both tried to tell me that there was a problem for a long time! One of them more dramatically, than the other!
I became a BALANCE client and also took occasional lessons with Carol because I found her teaching methods helpful. One day she asked me if I would be interested in training to become a Saddle Consultant. My answer was ‘YES’, because I am interested in anything that can help the horse to move in a bio-mechanically correct way, because I know that this is how one maintains (or regains) their health and soundness. The idea that I could use my own experiences to help others was very appealing.
As BALANCE is promoting all aspects that are important for a healthy life, I am very happy to be associated with them. Healthy life style is one of my main interests, for all living beings. I work both in the UK and in Scandinavia. In the UK, I am happy to do individual and/or group consultations. When I visit Scandinavian countries I prefer to present the information in the form of Saddle Clinics, which allows me to share this important information with a wider audience. Participants seem to find these very educational.
You can find my contact details on the Contact Us page of this web-site.
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I have been working in many places in Europe for a long time now, and as a part of my vision, and mission, I have been planning to re-locate to somewhere outside of the UK in order to make it easier for me to reach out even further.
I am pleased to report that I have now achieved this aim and have moved myself and my horses to a lovely area of South West France. The horses are doing well and have made the transition from the UK to France even better than I had hoped for. My oldest horse...Sir Henry, has taken a bit longer to recover fully from the long journey and the change of environment, but he is an 'elderly gentleman' and is entitled to take things a little more slowly.
Despite the upheaval of my move, I continue to travel. I visit Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, the Scandinavian countries and of course....France. If you are in a country not mentioned, but believe you can arrange a clinic, please contact me for details.
2010
I have a variety of trips planned in Europe and Switzerland in 2010. Please go to the Dates page of the BALANCE Website for details and remember I now have my own website so please have a look www.aquila-balance.eu I will post my dates for trips abroad on there too, so please check it out.
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