Liz, Author at Positive Riding

About Liz

Liz Morrison MSc, LLB co-authored the best-selling book ‘The Veterinary Care of the Horse’ with Sue Devereux MRCVS. Following this she was awarded a Winston Churchill Travelling Fellowship in Veterinary Education, reviewing the horse world in Australia. Two more highly successful books followed: Simple Steps to Riding Success and Ride with Confidence. She led a 3rd year module on the BSc Equine Science course at Writtle College focusing on sports psychology and learning approaches.

Learning is a core value for her and she gained the BHSI-Stable Manager and Intermediate Instructor qualifications, as well as becoming a listed Dressage judge. She took a School of Business MSc at the University of Bath on change management and group learning approaches.

Entries by Liz

Coaching through Disabilities – BHS CPD workshop

10th April 2024/in Coaching & Teaching, Horses helping Humans, RDA & Para Equestrian, Sports Psychology/by Liz

One day, unmounted facilitated workshop, discussing coaching approaches for a range of disabilitie, and highlighting
practical resources about and safe, practices.

Code of Practice for Horse Welfare

5th July 2023/in Horse Welfare, Veterinary Care/by Liz

A new Code of Practice for the Welfare of Horses, Ponies, Donkeys and their Hybrids has been published. It was collated in partnership between Defra and the British Horse Council and sets out minimum standards that should be met by anyone caring for an equine in England. The Code of Practice can be viewed and […]

Para-Equestrian Dressage Insights

14th June 2023/in Dressage, RDA & Para Equestrian/by Liz

Writing for the List One judge at a para-equestrian Championship, we were discussing perceptions of disability dressage. She commented that it would be a stretch for many higher level dressage horses with able bodied riders to complete a 5-6 minute test just in walk showing the complexity of movements that are required! The tests need […]

Inspiration for the Happiness Horsebox

10th April 2023/in Horses helping Humans, RDA & Para Equestrian/by Liz

The RDA philosophy is to focus on removing the barriers to riding, driving and being with horses, as much as possible, so enabling people with disabilities to achieve their goals. The story of Brenda and the team at Deeside RDA captures this spirit and has inspired us to focus on enabling adults to hack in […]

How NLP works for riders

22nd March 2022/in Sports Psychology/by Liz

Becoming mobile..

23rd September 2018/in Horses helping Humans, RDA & Para Equestrian/by Liz

When you have a crazy dream it’s a bit scary when it begins to come to life! Our dream in setting up Positive RDA has been about enabling people to enjoy the healing power of horses and the countryside when they are faced with life-changing injuries and illnesses. Riding out in the countryside is a […]

Teach your horse to relax

10th June 2018/in Coaching & Teaching, Sports Psychology, Training Horses/by Liz

It frustrates me when people ask for a horse to be a ‘confidence giver’. When we ride we broadly expect to be able to direct the horse’s energy. A basic knowledge of psychology tells us that our mind affects our body and our unconscious reactions. When we are with horses, especially riding, any body tension […]

Inspired by Hannah Francis

1st August 2017/in Horses helping Humans/by Liz

Most people in the UK horse world know about Willberry Wonder Pony and 18-year-old Hannah Francis. BBC Radio Bristol produced a video of her inspiring story. When she rode a horse she said it ‘made her feel normal again’. Hannah was first diagnosed with lung, hip, and pelvic cancer on May 1, 2015. She did not […]

Visualisation is more than a just pretty picture

10th May 2017/in Exam Preparation, Professional Riders, Sports Psychology/by Liz

Jo had previously failed her Stage 3 Riding exam, despite having been told she was well above standard. She was therefore very anxious about retaking the exam, to the extent that, as the day got closer, she just spent her time worrying about what might happen. In her mind she was imagining making all sorts […]

Horses connect us to ourselves…

14th February 2017/in Horses helping Humans, Sports Psychology/by Liz

Sometimes, with the complexity of modern life, simply taking time out in the natural world is the perfect way to get a new perspective on a problem. And with a horse to help there is a very special, highly memorable dynamic. This is because horses absorb our senses – their size and power is implicit and […]