Riding & Writing...: Kerry Thomas, Equestrian

Welcome Kerry!

Kerry is the founder of THT - Thomas Herding Technique. He excels as an equestrian, author and much more....

Where are you in the world?

My home is in southeastern Pennsylvania; but at THT we have representation in Lexington Kentucky and Bucharest Romania to handle Europe with developments evolving in other locations like Australia.

What is your profession....
As the founder of Thomas Herding Technique, I specialize in Herd Dynamics of Communication & Equine Athletic Psychology. I am the developer of Emotional Conformation Profiling and Behavioral Genetic Breeding Program Research. We do a motely of various works for the sport industry with a heavy amount of our work being done in Thoroughbred Racing. I provide performance profiles and patterns of motion evaluations, using another venue we are pioneering here at THT in Micro-Facial Expression Analysis where I use film and photos from around the globe to analyze how the athletes are interpreting and reacting to stimuli in motion as this greatly affects their performance. In a short version, my job as a researcher as well as service provider is to identify the unique pieces of the puzzle that make up who the horse is, and find innovative ways to create environments and training that will allow them the best opportunity to become the best at who they are. I fully believe the mental capacity of the equine controls the physical output of the athlete, making it vital to create a program around the unique needs of the individual. Essentially, every case regardless of the sport, is its own unique research project which affords us the opportunity to help turn about many horses who were just misunderstood.

What is the secret to motivating equine athletes?
The true secret is within the horse as an individual; identifying their unique Emotional Conformation will show you their strengths and weaknesses and provide you with the tools you need like an esoteric road map. It is vital to train the mind ahead of the body; to develop the athlete while you nurture the horse.

What impact does micro-facial expression analysis have on race horses?
As mentioned above it is for me and our company one of the most powerful tools I have in my tool box for doing very detailed profiling. Being able to do frame by frame analysis of a horse in motion you begin to truly see the ingredients that make up the psychology of that motion and you can begin to see the individual pieces of the puzzle as they work, or not, together. It also allows us to profile horses performing and training from around the world without the extra expense of traveling. Alone this reality makes it a very attractive service and coupled with real time profiling and exercise patterns of motion, it works to profile as well as to monitor progress and areas of concern. One resounding truth I have encountered is how patterns of behavior translate to patterns of motion.

Royal Highness Princess Alia & Kerry

Tell about your adventures in Jordan ...

It’s been a wonderful experience working with the Royal Family in Jordan, my dear friend Her Royal Highness Princess Alia Al Hussein is the founder of Princess Alia Foundation and truly the guiding light of the Royal Jordanian Stud, and she is one of the kindest people I have ever met, as are the people of Jordan as a whole. I had the honor of profiling horses at The Royal Stud and also to oversee children’s programs; my focus being on emotional wellness and communication/relationship building via the human/horse connection with the children of need. I am delighted to say that this relationship as well as the work ahead, is something I’m proud to be a part of with HRH Princess Alia and her foundation. I want to continue to advance our research into horse based Emotional Wellness and pioneering new innovation in this area is dear to my heart.

Why do you like to work with horses?
I love the sense of discovery, and my works with horses in the areas I focus on are very much like opening a window into the invisible. I often say that even though it may not be magic, it certainly can be magical. Horses are based in emotional communication dynamics, and this bridges the gap between species and cultures alike.

What is your favorite breed? Why?
This is a question I get asked quite often and the most sincere answer is that I am a fan and lover of the horse, so I truly do have affection for all breeds and all personalities. But if I am placed into a corner, I will say I have a very deep appreciation for the willing spirit of both the Thoroughbred and Arabian Breeds as athletes and as a high level communicators.

You worked with Lester Buckley's horses in Hawaii?

Yes. Here's a photo taken from my time working with my friend Lester Buckley of Buckley Sport Horses. Lester's wife, Mary, is a phenomenal photographer...

Tell me about your book release...
After quite a process over the last few years of quantifying my notes and research an idea emerged; that I should put together a book to introduce Thomas Herding Technique. In late April of 2012, “Horse Profiling, The Secret To Motivating Equine Athletes” was released by Trafalgar Square Books and it is available internationally. It was quite an undertaking with my schedule and would never have come to fruition without the help of writer and editor Calvin Carter of Classic Champion Thoroughbreds and so many others, like the man I called the closer, Pete Denk who is our Director of Equine Services. Many others were tireless assets like Larry Knepper and Gillian Vallis. I was happy it was done let me tell you. But I am most honored to say that recently the book and my work have been approved academically and in fact this year the book was used as text for mid-terms at William Woods University in Missouri where I went not long ago to teach and lecture for a week on THT. It is such an honor to see my work now being used in such an arena as academics.

As an author, do you have plans for a future book release?
I said no at the end of the first book but now I realize that I love to teach and lecture and have created a whole series of lectures and presentation topics, and as this and the furthering of my research continues to evolve I know now that I will tackle another book or two.

Follow Kerry....

http://thomasherdingtechnique.com/

Biography

Kerry M Thomas, founder of Thomas Herding Technique and author of the international released book in 2012; Horse Profiling; The Secret To Motivating Equine Athletes, is recognized by many around the world as a pioneering researcher and service provider in the field of Equine Athletic Psychology. Having made his first trip to Wyoming and Montana in the late 1980’s after High School, he started his independent research of wild horse herds to initially learn more about their social structures for the purpose of developing therapy horses for children. Kerry’s work has carried over into equine athletics and namely into the sport he dearly loves, racing. Kerry’s mantra for race horses: The mental capacity of the equine controls the physical output of the athlete.

Early on in his research Kerry realized that it was Emotional Conformation and not Physical Conformation that governed the herd dynamics. With an understanding that this was the basis for everything horse, no matter the career choices we as people make for them, it would be their Emotional Conformation Profile that would dictate in large part, the success or failure of the horse in the human environment. One of Kerry’s many key discoveries was how Patterns Of Behavior translate to Patterns Of Motion, a study he uses to develop his infamous Emotional Conformation Scouting Reports that reached worldwide audiences over the last two KY Derby Seasons.

With a growing focus on what Kerry calls Mother Nature’s Breeding Program, he and his team have embarked on researching the behavioral genetic markers intrinsically important in breeding programs. He has started in 2011 cataloguing the Emotional Conformations of Sires for a database to assist his clients in making breeding selections. At Thomas Herding Technique Kerry and his team provide many unique services in profiling from sales to breeding to developing programs for young athletes based on “identifying who they are and building a program around the individual” as Kerry often says of his work.

Though Kerry works with all sport disciplines and training programs, it has been Thoroughbred Racing, because of his intensive study of herd motion, which has made the most use of THT efforts and continues to do so. Kerry’s unique work has brought THT a global audience and he performs patterns of motion profiles for horses from around world and works closely with Princess Alia Al Hussein Foundation in Jordan to further work and research the mental and herd dynamic aspects of equine athletics and horse based human wellness programs internationally.

Kerry gives seminars and lectures to colleges, private groups and businesses on Herd Dynamics and The Dynamics of Communication and is developing an Education & Wellness research platform, and a THT Entertainment Division with a TV Show currently being created.

“The greatest discoveries in the world were not taught, they were learned.”

Kerry M Thomas