Equine Bodywork-
Don’t underestimate the importance of maintaining your horses muscular system to prevent injuries and maintain flexibility and mobility as your horse trains or competes.
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It was a little sad for me to see the Filly leave. I have grown attached to her while she was staying with me.
She no longer has the discomfort and restrictions that were causing her to kick and be out of balance so it was time for her to go and start her fitness training.
I would really like to thank the owner of the Filly to put the trust in me and the Masterson Method to get her body back on track.
I would also like to thank Sydney Horse Transport for all the transport requirements for her.
The video shows just how uncomfortable she was and how great the Masterson Method is at releasing this tension.
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www.handsforhorses.com.au
The Filly- 3rd Masterson Method Session
I have treated this Filly 3 times now and we can already see a huge improvement.
She has progressed from plaiting in the front end and kicking out at farriers in the hind end.
My sessions revealed a lot of tension in her thoracic sling, pelvis, stifle and sacrum.
The Masterson Method technique has enabled her to regain balance, flexibility and alleviate the discomfort that was preventing her to relax with farriers.
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So the aim for today was to determine if she is kicking out at farriers habitually or if she is feeling discomfort in her body.
As you can see, Princess (my nickname for her) is not nasty, she doesn’t want to kick me while I’m around her hind. Horses don’t want to be “bad” or hurt anybody. It isn’t their natural way. If they kick or bite it is most likely because something uncomfortable is happening or they expect it to happen.
By letting her know that if she feels uncomfortable I will not expect her to stay that way, immediately builds trust and confidence between us.
I don’t want to “desensitize” her. I want her to be aware of everything I’m doing and to tell me when something is uncomfortable.
Horses are like humans, we like our feelings to be validated and not ignored.
My job is to be aware of her discomfort and to soften when she is first telling me “ this is not feeling good”, not when it is too late and she kicks out.
If I can stay between “stimulus and response” I can ask her to pick up her feet in a relaxed way because she knows I am listening!
You can see in the video, she doesn’t pin her ears back expecting something uncomfortable to happen because she knows I will allow her to say no if she wants to. She hasn’t got a halter so she can move out of it if she likes but she remains comfortable with what I am doing.
So today she has shown me that she is definitely feeling discomfort in her hind end.
By softening more up top I should be able to get some more relaxed movement down lower and release some of this tension she is holding.
Looking forward to see how she responds after a full body session.
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This filly was very interesting to give a bodywork session to.
Let’s see where this journey takes her!!
#handsforhorses
#mastersonmethod
www.handsforhorses.com.au
This young filly was reluctant to step through from behind and resisted to bend in one direction. Most issues within the body usually end up creating tension in the poll. This was definitely the case and was very reactive in this area. After releasing tension in her poll she was able to relax which allowed me to find and treat the main issues causing this tension. I find that the poll is the key to freedom of movement in the horse. So if there is any tightness in the poll it may compromise the use of its back or other key areas which affect performance. #mastersonmethod #performancehorses #handsforhorses #equinetherapy
Why is a release so important?
Horses are flight animals and as such they hide their pain and tension as part of their survival instinct.
The great thing about treating horses with Masterson Method is that it is really subtle. If we can stay light enough in the techniques and pay attention to the entire horse and their response, we can stay under their brace. This gives the horse the opportunity to let go of the tension and discomfort that we are bringing their awareness to.
The different releases we get during equine bodywork are a good sign that their nervous system has gone from a sympathetic nervous state (hiding the tension)to a parasympathetic nervous state (releasing the tension).
Some releases can be small like breathing changes, lowering of the head, lip quivers, a sigh or they can be very obvious like licking and chewing, head shaking or yawning.
Some horses like to hide these big releases from us and sometimes let it all out when they are back in the paddock away from preying eyes.
Thankfully horses like Jimmy are happy to show their releases for me to share with you.
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Masterson Method Ceritified Practitioner
