By Jackie Bellamy-Zions

Top-selling author, coach and athlete, Jec Ballou is living the dream at her training facility on the California coast. She works hard and knows there are no short cuts when it comes to fitness, training, and proper biomechanical movement. The most rewarding part of her job is when a horse starts moving well as a result of her training methods, which are free from force and rooted in an evidence-based approach. Equine Guelph’s Exercise Physiology online course was part of her journey.

Jec explained that during the Equine Guelph course she learned to ramp up exercise intensity over certain time periods, “I increased my learning on equine muscle development,” said Jec. “It’s just like I grabbed a football and have been running with it ever since.”

Jec recounts, “I was actively seeking an immersive program that was not just geared towards vets.” Upon finding the Equine Guelph course, Jec saw one of her childhood riding idols on the advisory board and felt a bit more at ease venturing into the world of online learning. Once she began receiving instructor feedback on submissions; any remaining trepidations dissolved about being an unknown student in internet land!

As an author and popular clinician, and a regular columnist for Canadian Horse Journal, Jec is familiar with the massive amounts of information on the internet, and how it is amazing, but can be confusing at the same time. Her exercises focus on picking the right exercise for each horse so they can move comfortably and improve athleticism. Her background and education have enabled her to be well equipped for the challenges she sees and formulate fitness plans to help each client.

Jec has recommended Equine Guelph’s Physiology course to several of her students including equine massage therapists. The University of Guelph course helps students synthesise the massive amounts of information out there on equine exercise physiology and come up with ways to apply that knowledge in a step by step plan.

For the date of Equine Guelph’s next Exercise Physiology Online Course, click here.

Read Jec A. Ballou's Blog and excellent training articles on our website...

• Jec A. Ballou's Blog on HORSEJournals.com
• Jec A. Ballou's Training Articles on HORSEJournals.com

Reprinted with the kind permission of Equine Guelph.

Photo: Jec Ballou, California-based trainer, author and equine educator, demonstrates Spanish Walk. Credit: Mary Dobbs