Free to Be Equine Services

08/26/2024

This is the part of equine therapy that I absolutely love - just standing back and watching the horse innately process and internally adjust. Keena's right hind has been her weakest point for a long time, and she really benefitted from some time spent on the stability pads - working within her autonomy and consent, should she choose to step off. Follow along in the video to watch all the ways she processes the sensations - her facial expressions, her gentle swaying, and releases.

08/23/2024

Learning the subtleties of equine facial expressions is a huge advantage for daily handling and training of your horses. It also allows you to notice changes in their comfort level, and potentially catch an illness or injury early! I have caught early colics before just by noticing a change in the normal expression on a particular horse when I arrived at the barn in the morning to feed.

Reading facial expressions on the horses that I'm doing bodywork with is also hugely important, not only for gauging pain reactions, but also for monitoring consent (not saying that bodywork is always painless, but I need to know when a horse is experiencing pain so that I can adjust what I'm doing to make sure the horse always has autonomy). Remember we do bodywork WITH horses, not TO them - anyone who says differently has no business doing bodywork.

08/23/2024

You may still see some posts on here periodically, but I am on holidays until September 03 and will be in and out of cell/internet service. Thank you for understanding!

08/22/2024

Just a few days left to submit an application for a scholarship. I highly recommend joining Alexa Linton 's Whole Horse Apprenticeship this year, while it is still in its current form! Read through the post below to find out everything it includes. I've joined multiple years in a row for a reason! If you aren't eligible for a scholarship, the regular price is still a deal for everything that is included.

Thank you for applying! If you would like more details on this program and what it includes please visit http://alexalinton.ca/whole-horse-apprenticeship. I will be in touch by Wednesday August 28th with news about the recipient of the two full scholarships and two half scholarships. If you have any...

08/22/2024

Holding space, and the beauty in the pause.

Una, this beautiful Icelandic mare, is demonstrating what it looks like when we allow time for the horse to process and to integrate - both within the equine therapy session and after. She chose to stand on this slope, providing gentle traction on her spine and iliopsoas muscle group. Beyond those structures, you can see by looking at the photo just how many structures and tissues connect, giving this posture far-reaching benefits to joints, muscles, fascia, etc.

I've learned how much it enhances my bodywork when horses are 1. allowed the time and space needed to pause and integrate, and 2. have the self-regulation skills needed to be present in their bodies and process changes within their nervous system. The former requires patient, understanding humans (therapist and client) who can hold space for the horse without any expectation. Not waiting to start the next thing, not waiting for a release, just being present and connected with them through our heart coherence. The latter is complex, and goes well beyond bodywork. Horses need to feel safe, seen, and understood in order to be vulnerable this way. Their needs as highly sensitive, active, and social beings need to be met, both in their interactions with people as well as within their environment.

Nervous system regulation has become my first priority in equine therapy. Simply put, the nervous system governs all other systems within the body, and connects all of the tissues and structures. The nervous system stores pain, trauma, and motor patterns. It's deeply connected to emotional well-being. It is the key to working in a way that honours the physical, the emotional, and the spiritual being of the horse.

08/18/2024

Absolutely this.
From the OG poster's caption - "So many times bodywork practitioners post images of horses “before” and don’t realize or care that most of the heavy lifting and the hard stuff was done by the accomplished teams before them. Often these horses have already come so far, and that work and those practitioners should not be discounted and disrespected.
Be kind: To one another. To the horses. And to the horse owner who only seeks what’s best for the horse."

I meet a lot of horses who have previously seen other bodyworkers. Owners have many reasons to have to switch to another practitioner - practitioners move away, owners move their horses, practitioners retire, schedules don't mesh anymore, etc etc. I never judge or comment on anything I think the previous practitioner "missed". I know from a decade of experience that many things, even root causes of dysfunction, are buried beneath many layers of compensation and often are not revealed for a long time, after much therapy and assessment. Sometimes even a new environment (in the case of a horse moving to a new place and then acquiring a new practitioner) is enough to peel back layers never before seen.

A wise farrier once told me “I won’t comment on what the other guy did or didn’t do before me, because I don’t know what it looked like when he started.”

These are words that have always stuck with me. They are truly wise.

So many times bodywork practitioners post images of horses “before” and don’t realize or care that most of the heavy lifting and the hard stuff was done by the accomplished teams before them. Often these horses have already come so far, and that work and those practitioners should not be discounted and disrespected.

Be kind: To one another. To the horses. And to the horse owner who only seeks what’s best for the horse.

08/14/2024

Somewhere I read the phrase "one is a treat, more is a treatment" and it really stuck with me.

There isn't anything wrong with booking a single bodywork session for your horse, as long as you understand the difference between a single appointment and ongoing care with an equine wellness professional.

The real benefits come when an equine therapist can see your horse regularly, or at least for several sessions in a row. The length between appointments can vary quite a bit, based on the therapist and the individual case. Having an open conversation with the therapist about goals, expectations, and budgets is the best way to determine what fits you and your horses' needs.

My first session with a horse can be quite lengthy, often two hours, because I spend a lot of time observing, palpating, connecting with the horse and their human, and asking questions about their histories. Bodywork is included in these sessions (if deemed appropriate for the horse), but we need to build slowly upon what we start in these first-time sessions - especially when working with modalities like craniosacral, myofascial therapy, and nerve release work. These are very deep, profound techniques for the nervous system. Doing too much, too fast, is absolutely possible.

While I want to see every horse that is brought to me (because even a single session can be beneficial) I am hesitant when someone says they want to book one appointment as a treat for their horse. It is definitely possible to have a relaxing, feel-good massage session with a horse, without all of the observations and palpations and deeper work. Unfortunately for me, that idea of "you can't unsee it" definitely applies here. Once I feel it, I can't unfeel it, and I can't turn off my inner therapist to give a one-off, simply feel-good session anymore.

It's the same reason why an athlete wouldn't book a hot stone massage before a big game - sports massage exists for a reason! A therapeutic massage likely isn't the vibe you're going for on a spa day, and you wouldn't call the spa to help you with a muscle injury. Many, many kinds of therapies exist to meet all of our needs.

By the way, I LOVE hot stone massages. 😉

Thank you Julia for the photo of me and Willow!

08/08/2024

Parasympathic activation. Receiving energy. Consent. These terms may be unfamiliar to some, but they are hugely important in my work as an equine therapist.

Despite the fact that many - including some of the teachers and mentors who have taught me over the years - have been working in respect of those states for a very long time, sadly the information is still missing from a lot of professional development. It has been uplifting to see more and more people recognizing and talking about it recently, all the way from big names online to fellow professionals and horse people in my local area.

What does it mean? Simply put, it means that our priority during bodywork is to gain consent from the horse. This requires a lot of listening, nuance, and sometimes, a lot of patience. It means holding space for the being that we're working with to allow them to find safety and vulnerability with us. It means facilitating a parasympathic response to allow the nervous system to let us into the body.

While much of this responsibility lies in the therapist who is putting their hands on the horse, the other human(s) present play a crucial role as well. I can be picky about the environment in which I'm working with a horse and how the horse is being handled during the session. This is because the horse's feedback is necessary information for me to be able to do my work. If they are distracted by external stressors, hunger, boredom, or pain, then I need to find a way around that. But I also can't receive that feedback if the information is blocked, so the horse must be free to express their emotions. I always appreciate it when handlers are trying to keep me safe or keep their horse still, but there are many other ways we can achieve that beyond punishing the horse for expressing pain, or distraction, or boredom, etc.

Communication is key - both between horse and human, and human to human! I'm always open for a conversation about the best way to facilitate a space for your horse in which they can reach a state of receiving energy and autonomy in their bodywork sessions. It is how we must work for lasting positive change to come about.

08/07/2024

Part 2 of a 3 part video series on what structures you want to avoid on your horse's head when fitting your bridle, based on anatomy.

08/06/2024

I'm feeling pretty blessed to have now photographed four of my equine therapy colleagues for their branding photos. Combining my two skills and passions - photography & equine bodywork - is so fundamentally rewarding for me, and has resulted in some of my best work. I look forward to sharing some of these new shots soon, but for now, one of my favourites from last fall when I photographed Julia of Equine Link - Connect your Horse for her new website, equinelink.ca

Julia practices in Campbell River and surrounding area - be sure to look her up!

08/01/2024

It can be ROUGH out there for the equine therapists and bodyworkers. Some days, you feel like you have the best job in the world, and other days, it feels like a hopeless slog. Keeping your schedule full, staying on top of continuing education, imposter syndrome, compassion fatigue ... it takes a toll. The reason I began to offer online mentorship to fellow equine therapists was for this very reason. After ten years working as an equine bodyworker, I have *been there*. The highs, the lows. So few bookings I can barely keep the doors open, and so many bookings that I've had to give clients away. Incredibly rewarding days spent helping horses in profound ways, and absolutely defeating days when I almost quit the business entirely. And everything in between.

My goal is to be someone in your industry who understands your unique challenges, and has your back through it all. I want to lift up the equine therapists and bodyworkers, so we stop losing so many when the going gets tough, and keep this industry growing and thriving.

I'm not a business coach who is going to give you formulas to success; that's not my jam. I'm here to listen to you, help you lean into what you're good at, and guide in ways you can improve the areas where you're struggling. I want to show you that you aren't alone and that what you offer to horses and their people is so incredibly worthy. You belong here!

Schedule a session whenever you need it, or we can create a package together for regular sessions - whatever suits you best.

Reach out via DM for more information, or leave a comment below 😊

07/30/2024

"The cure of the part should not be attempted without treatment of the whole. No attempt should be made to cure the body without the soul. Let no one persuade you to cure the head until he has first given you his soul to be cured, for this is the great error of our day, that physicians first separate the soul from the body."
Plato

So, so pleased with how well nerve release fits with my myofascial and craniosacral work. It goes beyond modality and technique; it's an understanding of how the mind and the body of the horse interact both with each other, and with our own minds and bodies when we work with them in these spaces. What an exceptional awareness to have - and how fascinating it is to realize how much we have not yet discovered.

07/28/2024

Equine Professionals: If we want to see change, we have to be better to each other.

First, a disclaimer. This isn't directed to any particular group, person, or situation. I wrote this post based on my own experiences in many different situations, with many different people, over many years - as well as the experiences of others who have shared their stories with me.

For most equine professionals, there will always be times when you are chasing payments from overdue invoices, scrambling to accommodate last minute schedule changes, struggling to book clients in advance who ignore you until the day before they want your services, not thanked or appreciated for going above and beyond or giving help and advice when you're off the clock, receiving messages at all hours of the day and night, hearing complaints about your prices, being compared to other service providers - the list goes on. Many of these things can be mitigated with very firmly established boundaries and policies, but how many times do you lack the time and resources to put those into place? We all let things slide now and then for good clients, when we don't have enough time or energy to manage our policies, and when we genuinely just want to help someone. These innocent "cracks in the armor" can lead to more and more of our boundaries being crossed, which usually leads to stress, fatigue, and burn-out.

If all of us as equine professionals have experienced these unpleasant situations with our clients, why do we so often treat each other with the same disrespect? If we can't respect each others' time, skill, and boundaries, how can we expect horse owners to do the same?

I've outlined several ways that I personally believe can make a massive difference in the way we interact with other equine professionals. If you have anything to add, I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

Once again, I'll share a favourite quote - "A rising tide lifts all boats".

🐎 Don't think of everyone as your competition. Collaborative efforts, both with people in your trade as well as those working adjacent, are not only best for your clients but uplift every professional involved.
🐎 Don't undermine or bad mouth the work of others to your clients. This one should be common sense. If you are concerned about the work or behaviour of a professional, go to them directly and privately to clarify.
🐎 Respect the boundaries and policies of other professionals you are working with or alongside. Pay their invoices on time. Answer their messages. Stick to agreed appointment times, and don't leave them hanging. Basically, treat them the way you want your clients to treat you!
🐎 Respect the time and knowledge of those you are working with. Don't assume you are the most knowledgeable one in the room. Make time for discussion and really listen to what the other professionals have to say, and ask them how they got to those conclusions.
🐎 Be a positive professional to collaborate with. A lot of people are hesitant to refer their cases to others because of negative experiences. Usually this looks like clients being told that the referring professional is no longer needed or that they haven't been helpful, or being pushed out of collaborations by another professional. You can add your own skill and knowledge without undermining others, and taking their clients from them.
🐎 Staying in your lane and standing up for the horse's well being can be contradictory. Striking a balance is exceptionally challenging. There are ways to ask questions, share resources, and challenge others, without being combative or offensive.
🐎 Share your suggestions and experiences in the comments!

📸 by Free to Be Photo

07/28/2024

07/26/2024

This 👇👇

07/22/2024

A good teacher is worth their weight in gold. Something I've learned over the years is that the teaching skills of the person instructing you are just as important as the content of the clinic or course. Without a good teacher, you're often lost in a sea of information, with no knowledge of how to apply it.

I'm grateful that I've had several fantastic teachers over the years. I'm in the BTMM Nerve Release course at the moment, and although it is in a self-study format, I find it extremely engaging thanks to Celeste's teaching skills in the videos and presentations.

Mentorship is another area of being an equine professional that I am truly grateful for. I've had several different mentors over the years as well, sometimes a few at once. The knowledge and wisdom they've imparted is priceless, not to mention the camaraderie and sense of community. Some mentors are for life, and some come and go, but having mentors - and mentoring others - is such a valuable piece of being an equine professional that cannot be skipped over.

This is the first year I've "officially" provided mentorship services to other equine therapists and bodyworkers, and it's been an incredibly rewarding pursuit. If you're looking for a low-pressure way to talk shop, get some advice, and find avenues to expand your business and equine therapy skills - I'm currently offering video chat sessions, with no long term commitment required. Send me a message if you're interested, I'd love to hear about what is on your mind! 🙂

07/15/2024

Cancellation Policy Updated July 15 2024

Appointments cancelled or rescheduled with less than 48 hours notice may be subject to a 50% cancellation fee. This is a change from the previous policy which was 24 hours notice.

Please note - if the cancellation or rescheduling is agreed upon by myself and the client, for example in cases of extreme weather (snow/cold/heat/rain/wind), horse injury or illness, or emergency situations where we can't make the appointment work, there is no penalty/fee. There is, of course, also no fee if I have to reschedule the appointment for any reason.

Communication is key, so please reach out to me as soon as you can if something comes up to prevent the appointment from going forward.

I had to adjust this policy because of the distances that I travel to accommodate appointments in various areas on the island. Cancellations with less than 48 hours notice are very difficult to fill with another horse, and can be quite costly for me since I drive so far to accommodate appointments in specific areas - and unfair for other clients if I have to adjust the schedule due to a last minute cancellation.

Thank you for understanding! 💜

07/13/2024

Bodywork techniques: it is not always about how you apply them, but it IS knowing when to apply them, why to apply them, and how to integrate the positive changes.

There are lots of great bodywork techniques that feel super great to horses and that owners can do easily with their own animals without knowing all of the why's and when's. Gentle, consensual touch is very powerful even when you don't really know what you're doing! The nervous system often takes what it needs from touch, and we don't always know why or how.

From a professional standpoint, though, I have certainly learned that the why's and the when's are just as important as the how's. And - spoiler alert - the "how's" can be infinite. There are so, so many ways of accomplishing the same thing. Every therapist you meet might do things differently. What makes a good therapist's work stand out is knowing when and why certain techniques are indicated - and when they are not - and knowing what it is that they're looking to achieve by applying those techniques. A sharp eye for observing how the horse and its tissues are receiving the techniques is of equal importance.

Science is ever evolving, and we may not always be correct in our theories about why certain techniques work the way we think they do. However, knowing what's going beneath my hands - being able to visualize sinking through all of the various levels of tissues and fluids and structures - is what allows me to do my best work. This is why I put such emphasis on facets of my education that involve learning what lies underneath my touch. Very likely, not at all of that information is relevant (again, the nervous system takes what it needs), but it allows me to feel what's going on to the best of my ability - which sometimes means knowing when to do nothing at all.

So if you hear me explaining the why's and the when's to you when I'm giving you "homework" to work with your own horse, please know it's because I know how much more effective these things can be when we understand those parts of the techniques. And if you don't think I seem interested in trying a technique that you saw someone else do or that you watched online, please know it's because of what I just expressed - there are many ways to accomplish the same things, and what is most important to me is those why's and when's!

Thank you to Alisha for the photo 📸

07/04/2024

So well said. To be honest, there was a period between 2022-2023 - maybe even a little into 2024 - that I often gave serious thought to a career change, and even getting out of the horse industry entirely. In my worst moments, the only thing stopping me was guilt. Guilt over "giving up", both on my clients and their horses, and on my own education and the blood, sweat, and tears I've put into it and into my business. Working for the sake of guilt is a horrible feeling! I'm happy to say that I'm in a much better place about it now, after a lot of deep thought about what I need as a practitioner and as a person, and how to implement those things in my job and my life. But I know that everyone goes through this at some point or another, especially in the horse industry. And especially the people who seemingly have it all together and are enjoying great success.

Human moment 😊

I stopped being surprised a long time ago by immense struggles and challenges faced by some of the most successful people I know. People wading through the problems you would never ever want to deal with and you would never know it.
This is hands down every single person I have ever met - often the strength of their light is in direct comparison to the depth of their struggles .
Don’t be held back by your perception that others have it ‘easier’. The only way to easy, is through, authenticity and that’s just being yourself 😊❤️

07/04/2024

I often speak about congruence in relation to horsemanship, and how important it is that what we feel on the inside and what we display on the outside is in harmony with the other. This creates a sense of safety and trust for our horses, who are so attuned to our energies that there is no point in trying to hide what we truly feel. That only creates unease and confusion for them.

I think it is equally as important to be congruent in our interactions with other humans. Speaking specifically to my clients, I want you to feel like you're not just paying a service provider for their time - I want you to get to know me, too. I don't mean that we need to share personal details about our lives, but I do wear my heart on my sleeve and my hope is that you come away from our interactions with a sense of who I am, what I stand for, and how I share space with horses.

Respect and ethics are very important to me in my business. This goes both ways - I respect and value my clients' time, opinions, and values, and my clients do the same for me. Ethical horsemanship and welfare, having an open mind, and adjusting my methods as I learn more and know better, comes before all else for me. I have been fortunate to gain a community of like-minded clients and other professionals that surround me. We are not afraid to learn, to be wrong, and we aren't afraid of changing things to do better by our horses.

If you want to grow a community like that for yourself, my best advice is to not just talk the talk, but walk the walk! Remember that you can learn something from everyone, and if you don't know the answer, don't be afraid to say that. When I worked for a vet clinic, I used to get a lot of feedback from clients about their experiences with the vets. What I heard most was not "I love that they always have the answer". It was "I love that they are not afraid to admit it when they don't have the answer".

In the end, we are all just people, doing our best. We are all a collection of our own personal experiences. No one gets to where they are by taking an identical path to someone else. So above all else, be true to yourself. Be congruent.

I originally wrote and posted this in 2022, but I thought the message was worth sharing again!

Thank you to Sheila for the photo 🥰

07/02/2024

A little extra support for this sweet gelding after pelvic work. Old pelvic injuries can be complex and require maintenance, but horses can still be comfortable and functional in many circumstances. A team approach, as always, is key!

06/30/2024

I have had a lot of past success supporting horses with weepy or congested eyes with the lymph tape from Hestaband, so I was eager to try it again for Sage last week. The horses find it quite tolerable even when the eye is sensitive.

Eye issues can go south quickly if not properly diagnosed and treated, so while the tape is never a replacement for veterinary treatment and advice, it is a helpful way to support the horse and even speed up the time it takes for the eye issues to resolve, in my experience.

06/22/2024

This is a follow up to my last post, in which I provided some neat and tidy reasons for why some horses improve significantly over few bodywork sessions, and others improve slowly over many sessions.

In that post, I acknowledged that sometimes we have to accept a bit of mystery - it doesn't matter how much assessment you do, or how many diagnostics are run, you will still occasionally work with horses who defy any logic or reason. I also acknowledged that it's important to recognize just how many - countless! - factors affect the wellness of our horses, both physically and emotionally. This was the point of the last post, so be sure to read it to get a broad picture of all of the factors involved in a horse's response to equine therapy. In this follow up post, I want to dive a little more into the mysterious.

Everyone wants an answer for why their horse looks, feels, or behaves a certain way, and that is one of the greatest challenges for an equine professional to navigate. The answers are almost always complex and multifactorial. They are often an educated guess based on the information available at the time. It may be outside of the scope of practice for the professional involved, making it impossible for them to give you an answer. Answering one question may do nothing but raise another. And sometimes there is simply no answer at all. We have improved leaps and bounds in equine science and understanding horse behaviour, but they are still endlessly complex living beings, and there is so much that we don't know about their minds and bodies. Consider how much we still don't understand about human bodies and minds - and we can speak to each other!

We need to accept that the answers are not always available for someone to nicely package up and give to us, because I believe that the relentless pursuit of answers limits our horses from achieving balance and wellness in their lives. But that is never an excuse to ignore signs of a potential problem. "Ruling out pain" in horses is an impossible task because there is no measure for their pain. We can't exactly ask them to rate it from 1 to 10! Measuring stress is even more elusive, but any human who has experienced stress understands to what degree it can negatively impact our lives and our health.

I consider equine therapy and bodywork to be just as much an art as it is a science. I strive to be as knowledgeable as I can be and to always apply critical thinking and logic to my equine clients. But I also recognize that the mystery will always be present, and the only way to work with that is to lean into the artistry; the intuitive, the enigmatic, the magic of it all. Sometimes it feels to me like the horses are laughing at us when we try to explain away and put a neat little bow on every problem.

📸 thanks to Alisha & Olivia!

06/18/2024

There are two kinds of situations I experience in my equine therapy practice; horses who improve drastically over a short period of time, and those who improve incrementally over a long period of time. Why does this happen?

This is a complex topic that I'm going to break down as simply as possible, but I can't possibly cover all of the infinite reasons why every horse responds differently - they are all individuals with unique situations.

I do encounter horses who improve drastically over a short period of time after I have worked with them, and maintain those positive changes long term. However, I never expect this to be the norm, and I carefully manage client expectations to be sure that no one is coming into a first session expecting a quick fix. But yes, it does happen, and it's a huge win for everyone when it does!

However, there are also many horses who improve only incrementally with each session, and require time and patience to unwind their bodies. The improvements are also not always linear - this can be the nature of healing in general.

I will admit that sometimes we have to accept a bit of mystery here - it doesn't matter how much assessment you do, or how many diagnostics are run, you will still occasionally work with horses who defy any logic or reason. But it's also important to recognize just how many - countless! - factors affect the wellness of our horses, both physically and emotionally.

If I am able to bring about drastic changes in a short period of time, and those changes remain long term, my training tells me that I was able to identify and address a root cause of the issue that the horse was facing. It also tells me that the other aspects of that horse's wellness - environment, lifestyle, hoof health, digestive health, human interactions, training, etc - are generally supportive of the individual horse's needs at that time. This is a simplified, generalized explanation.

Horses that require more time and work may be battling some or all of these factors that are preventing the body from freely unwinding or healing:

🐴 Undiagnosed/untreated dysfunction or disease. This could be digestive or nutrition issues, ulcers, arthritis, skeletal malformations, hoof balance, hoof health (such as thrush), inflammatory diseases, neurological diseases, dental issues, soft tissue injuries, the list goes on.
🐴 Management practices that are not appropriate for the horse's needs. Feed types/methods/schedules, turn out, social time, footing, etc. all come into play.
🐴 Environmental factors. Often a set up that is convenient for us as people, or doesn't seem like a stressful environment to us, is not the same for the horses.
🐴 Riding, training, or handling practices that don't support the physiology of the horse or their nervous system.
🐴 Equipment that does not fit or is poorly adjusted (everything from blankets, to halters, bits, bridles, saddles, boots, etc).
🐴 Past injuries and traumatic experiences (not all of which we will even be aware of).
🐴 Too many more things to list!

It can be extremely challenging - and it is often impossible - to rule out all of these factors with certainty. Even getting those immediate positive changes with bodywork does not rule them out. It definitely cannot be done by one person alone - you as your horse's steward, or a single professional. Surrounding yourself with a team of collaborative people is absolutely key. We must think critically, and creatively, to explore and address how we are helping - or hindering - horses to achieve their optimal wellness.

Thank you Sandra for the wonderful photo!