Description
REGISTRATION OPTIONS
RIDERS & TRAINERS
Paul Belasik Four-Part Lecture Series
Price: $99.99
Riders, trainers, and horse owners can participate in Paul Belasik’s four-part lecture series as a standalone educational experience.
Paul will explore equitation science, biomechanics, movement, rider influence, and how training practices can affect the horse’s physical development.
This is an opportunity to examine commonly held theories and exercises through a deeper understanding of biomechanics, weight bearing, movement, and the actual responses of the horse’s body.
Paul’s four-part lecture series is ideal for riders, trainers, horse owners, bodyworkers, and anyone wanting a deeper understanding of movement and training influence.
Three Ways to Attend Paul’s Lectures
Option 1: Join Us In Person
Come to Diamond Valley Equestrian and watch Paul’s lectures together with fellow equestrians on the big screen. Bring a chair, bring your friends, participate in the discussions, and become part of the learning community.
Option 2: Join Live From Home
Watch Paul’s lectures from the comfort of your own home through your personal Zoom link. Participate in the live presentation and have the opportunity to ask questions during the live Q&A at the end of his talk.
Option 3: Watch the Recording
Can’t make the scheduled lecture time? No problem. Recordings of all four lectures will be available so you can watch them at your convenience.
EQUINE PROFESSIONALS
Full Professional Course
Price: $859.99
This comprehensive four-day professional course includes instruction from:
Dr. Chad Hewlett, DVM
Sports Medicine Veterinarian, Energy Equine
Tina Watkins
EST, EEBW2, SEEBW, FEIpt
Neuro-Myofascial Release
Paul Belasik
Pennsylvania Riding Academy
Classical Trainer, Educator & Author
Participants will develop a deeper understanding of posture, movement, fascia, nervous system influence, tissue response, and the biomechanics that shape long-term soundness and performance.
The professional course combines veterinary science, neuro-myofascial release, practical hands-on learning, equitation science, and biomechanics.
Paul Belasik’s four-part lecture series is included for all professional course participants.
WHAT WILL YOU LEARN?
Whole Horse, Full Circle of Wellness has been designed to help participants connect the dots between what they see, what the horse is experiencing, how the horse compensates, and what can be done to support better function.
Throughout the course, participants will explore:
• How pain and dysfunction can originate in different regions of the body
• How horses compensate for restrictions and discomfort
• How compensation presents through movement
• How the nervous system influences tissue response and movement
• How biomechanics affect soundness and performance
• How fascia and neurofascial communication influence the horse
• How training and exercises can affect the horse’s body
• How to recognize patterns that may be limiting performance
• Practical treatment, management, conditioning, and training considerations
• How veterinary, bodywork, and training perspectives can work together as part of an integrated approach
The goal is to create a cohesive learning experience where the veterinary, neuro-myofascial, and training perspectives complement one another.
COURSE SYLLABUS
DR. CHAD HEWLETT
Sports Medicine Veterinarian, Energy Equine
Professional Course Participants
Dr. Chad Hewlett brings a sports medicine perspective to the course, exploring the medical and biomechanical foundations that influence how the horse moves, adapts, and compensates.
Across the four days, Chad will work through different regions of the horse’s body and provide participants with a framework for understanding where pain may originate, how the horse compensates, how those compensations appear in movement, and what treatment and management options may be considered.
Day 1: Head, Neck & Neurologic Interface
The first day focuses on how restrictions in the poll, TMJ, and cervical spine can influence the entire system.
Participants will explore how nerve pathways and cervical discomfort may present as resistance, contact issues, and downstream compensation into the shoulder and thoracic limb.
Treatment discussion will include:
• Cervical joint work
• Acupuncture
• Soft tissue approaches
Day 2: Thoracic Limb & Sling System
This day explores the “floating limb” and the role of the thoracic sling in load-bearing and shock absorption.
Participants will connect shoulder freedom to performance, identify common compensation patterns, and review treatment options including:
• Distal limb joint therapy
• Soft tissue work
• Supportive modalities
Day 3: Trunk, Back & Core System
This day centers on the thoracolumbar spine as the bridge of movement.
Chad will explore how back pain can affect impulsion, collection, and overall performance, as well as how horses compensate through bracing and hollowing.
Treatment approaches will include:
• Spinal therapies
• Core rehabilitation concepts
• Adjunct support
Day 4: Hind Limb & SI Joint
The final day focuses on the propulsion system, including the pelvis, SI joint, and hind limb mechanics.
Participants will explore how dysfunction in these areas can present as “lack of engagement” or other performance limitations, and how stress may subsequently be redistributed forward through the body.
Treatment discussion will include:
• SI treatments
• Hind limb treatments
• Integrated management strategies
Chad’s Whole-Horse Framework
Across all four days, Chad will maintain a consistent framework:
Identifying where pain originates
Understanding how the horse compensates
Connecting those compensations to what we see in movement
Outlining practical treatment and management options
Chad’s material will also intentionally align with the principles taught around neurofascial communication and Paul Belasik’s work on movement and balance, creating a cohesive experience across the different areas of the course.
TINA WATKINS
EST, EEBW2, SEEBW, FEIpt
Neuro-Myofascial Release
Professional Course Participants
Tina’s section explores fascia, tension patterns, tissue response, and nervous system interaction within the body.
Participants will learn to:
• Recognize densification within tissue
• Understand layered fascial communication
• Identify tension patterns and follow them to their source
• Work with nervous system responses within tissue
• Facilitate safe release processes the body can accept
Hands-On Practical Sessions Include:
• Holds and hand placement
• Practitioner body mechanics
• Listening for tissue release
• Tissue assessment and evaluation
• Working beneath the brace response in a flight animal
• Practical release strategies
The course will also introduce Neuroactivation Techniques, providing participants with another way to approach tissue and consider how the nervous system responds.
This creates an opportunity to explore how tissue can be approached differently and how understanding nervous system feedback may influence the practitioner’s approach.
PAUL BELASIK
Pennsylvania Riding Academy
Classical Trainer, Educator & Author
Included for Professional Course Participants or available as a standalone lecture series for Riders & Trainers
Paul Belasik will be joining the course live via Zoom for a comprehensive four-part lecture series.
Participants can attend Paul’s lectures in person at Diamond Valley Equestrian, participate live from home through Zoom, or watch the recordings at their convenience.
Paul’s lectures explore equitation science, biomechanics, movement, training practices, rider influence, and the physical consequences of how we ask the horse to move.
His material provides an opportunity to question commonly held assumptions and examine exercises and training concepts through biomechanics and evidence-based analysis.
LECTURE 1: NECK, JAW & HEAD
Paul will explore the history of the bit and the cultural shifts that determined its use, including the transformation of riding from work and war to art, and from art to competition.
Topics include:
• The birth of collection
• The backlash against collection
• References to Paul’s current book, Long and Low: A Revolution in Modern Dressage
• Positioning of the neck
• Biomechanics of neck manipulation
• Unintended consequences of different approaches to the neck and head
LECTURE 2: THE SHOULDERS, THORACIC SLING & STERNUM
This lecture examines popular exercises and the possibility of harmful results when intentions and actual outcomes do not align.
Paul will explore the importance of examining exercises through:
• Intentions
• Hypotheses
• Proofs
• The importance of checking the actual effects of exercises
Paul will also discuss his extensive history of learning about shoulder movement, including references to his work with Vladimir Littauer, Dr. George Pratt from MIT, Dr. Hilary Clayton, and the McPhail Center at Michigan State University.
His work with Michigan State University included research in which forces on the shoulder and hindquarters during levade were measured using force plates and high-speed computer analysis.
Paul will provide practical advice on relieving an already overburdened forehand and strengthening the hindquarters.
LECTURE 3: THE BACK & BARREL
Paul will outline the evolution of his thinking from his book Dressage for the 21st Century to his more current work, Long and Low: A Revolution in Modern Dressage.
This lecture will examine:
• The famous theory of the ring of muscles in relation to collection
• Where that theory was lacking
• More current theories surrounding strain and stretching
• How our understanding of the back and barrel continues to evolve
LECTURE 4: HIP & STIFLE
Paul will explore his most current work extensively, including analysis of the two fulcrums of the horse’s topline.
The lecture will specifically examine how the:
• Hip
• Stifle
• Lumbosacral joint
function together in classical engagement and collection.
Paul will also explain where some current theories surrounding long and low originated and how those theories evolved into practices that have contributed to current criticism of equine sport.
The lecture will conclude by exploring the question:
What are more sensible training techniques?
MEET YOUR INSTRUCTORS
DR. CHAD HEWLETT
Sports Medicine Veterinarian
Energy Equine
Dr. Chad Hewlett brings his experience in sports medicine and equine performance to Whole Horse, Full Circle of Wellness, helping participants understand the relationship between pain, compensation, biomechanics, movement, treatment, and long-term management.
TINA WATKINS
EST, EEBW2, SEEBW, FEIpt
Equine Therapist, Educator & Mentor
Tina Watkins brings her extensive experience in equine therapy, neuro-myofascial release, education, and mentorship to the course, providing participants with both theoretical and hands-on learning.
PAUL BELASIK
Pennsylvania Riding Academy
Classical Trainer, Educator & Author
Paul Belasik brings decades of experience in classical training, equitation science, biomechanics, research, writing, and education to this four-part lecture series.
WHY THIS COURSE IS DIFFERENT
Whole Horse, Full Circle of Wellness brings together three perspectives that are rarely presented as one cohesive educational experience:
VETERINARY SCIENCE
Understanding pain, pathology, tissue health, biomechanics, compensation, and treatment.
NEURO-MYOFASCIAL BODYWORK
Understanding fascia, tissue response, tension patterns, nervous system communication, and practical release techniques.
CLASSICAL TRAINING & EQUITATION SCIENCE
Understanding movement, biomechanics, rider influence, training practices, weight bearing, and how exercises affect the horse.
Together, these perspectives encourage participants to look beyond isolated symptoms and develop a more complete understanding of the horse.
This is an opportunity to learn, question, connect the dots, and expand the way you understand the horse.
ATTENDANCE AT A GLANCE
RIDERS & TRAINERS
$99.99
Paul Belasik’s four-part lecture series.
Attend in person, join live via Zoom from home, or watch the recordings.
EQUINE PROFESSIONALS
$859.99
Full four-day professional course including:
Dr. Chad Hewlett
Tina Watkins
Paul Belasik
Paul’s four-part lecture series is included.
LOCATION & DATE
Whole Horse, Full Circle of Wellness
November 12–15, 2026
📍 Diamond Valley Equestrian
370241 128 St W
Foothills County, Alberta
4 Days | In-Person Professional Course
Paul Belasik’s lecture series will be delivered via Zoom, with options to participate in person at Diamond Valley Equestrian, live from home, or through the recordings.