Touch-n-Go Equine Performance Bodywork, LLC

11/06/2024

NSC, NFC, ESC, WSC – it all really comes down to hydrolyzable carbohydrates for metabolically challenged horses. High insulin is the cause, not the result, of excess weight The only carbohydr…

10/30/2024

Jim being Jim!😂😂

10/20/2024

The more we become aware of this issue and how it can be affecting our geldings ability to move, the more I appreciate The Masterson Method. MM can help relax the tension that builds in the hind end (and then elsewhere) as a result of the geld scar.

ABOUT GELDING SCARS:
When a stallion is castrated, his entire functioning body system is turned upside down. (The same applies to dogs, cats and other animals!) The flow of energy is interrupted.
Castration therefore represents a trauma for every gelding, both physically and psychologically, no matter how uncomplicated it is.
Castration changes a lot psychologically, especially in terms of gender-typical behavior. Removing the testicles reduces testosterone production. Testosterone is responsible for sexually motivated behavior, aggression and activity. This is why most geldings become calmer after castration. But castration also has an impact on the physical level - and this is often not even considered. Castration results in a scar. The inflammatory substances that are formed during the surgical procedure cause adhesions between the skin layers, muscle layers and the fascia tissue. This can lead to pain and tension.

The influence of castration on the pelvic diaphragm:

Horses have a very long lasting pain memory. During castration, the horse mentally separates itself from its hindquarters. As a result of castration, for example, it walks with its legs wide apart, very narrow, or it pulls upwards like a cat's hunchback. A gelding can have problems using his hindquarters correctly. Castration therefore negatively affects the function of the craniosacral system and the mobility of the pelvic diaphragm in the long term.
The pelvic diaphragm runs from the p***c bone to the sacrum and is connected to the organs of the urogenital tract. The front part of the pelvic diaphragm is the boundary to the abdominal cavity. This area is disturbed in its own movement by castration. The pelvic diaphragm also has a major influence on the mobility of the sacrum and caudal vertebrae.
If the mobility of the pelvic diaphragm is negatively affected, this can lead to a blockage of the sacrum and the lumbar spine and thus to imbalances in the movement sequence. A possible consequence would be inactive hindquarters. The blockages in the spine are the symptom. The actual cause is the restriction of movement of the pelvic diaphragm.

Always look at the body as a whole!

The sacroiliac joint is located directly under the highest point of the croup and connects the bones of the pelvic girdle to the trunk and transmits the forces and movement impulses of the hindquarters forward to the spine and trunk. The individual body parts are connected to each other, which is why they can never be treated separately from one another.
If the hindquarters are inactive due to a blockage in the sacroiliac joint or a tight pelvic diaphragm, the forehand is put under greater strain, which causes further blockages in the atlas, cervical spine, thoracic spine and sternum. This leads to pressure on the head and thus headaches.
It can also be the other way around and a blockage in the cervical area can lead to an inactive hindquarters.
If a bodyworker only looks at the hindquarters, the visible symptom will be remedied in the short term, but in the long term the problem will keep reoccurring until the actual cause, i.e. the blockage in the cervical vertebra area, is found and corrected. Cause and effect (visible symptom) are not always directly related.
Adjusting joints, as is often practiced by chiropractors, does not help if the castration scar is disturbed: When adjusting, an impulse is sent out that the body cannot implement. This is a shock for the body and it cannot sustain this change, which for example is caused by muscles being pulled apart. The muscle retracts again and the problem persists. Only when the actual cause is found can the problem be solved

Connection between the spine and organs:

Not only movement restrictions are caused by unresolved castration trauma, but also organic problems. If the body's natural flow, which consists of blood, lymph and spinal fluid, is hindered by restricted mobility, then the tissue is less supplied with blood. Metabolism is disrupted, which in turn has negative effects on organs and other structures in the body.
If the hindquarters are blocked, the movement of the internal organs is also disrupted. This leads to many metabolic diseases such as water in f***s, diarrhea, cough, etc.
Conversely, organ problems show up as spinal problems. Both areas should therefore never be viewed separately from each other.
The diaphragm is a large plate made up of muscles and tendons. It separates the thorax from the abdominal cavity. The diaphragm is the most important breathing muscle.

Changes after treatment:

After treatment of a gelding scar adhesion the posture often changes, the top line appears more even, and a potential cat hump disappears.
Also, many horses scratch themselves on different parts of their body because the energy flow, which was previously disturbed, is working again and all parts of the body are sufficiently supplied with blood.
After treatment riders notice that the hindquarters are more active, the tail swings more loosely and the horse appears more balanced.

(Stock image of a female cat to draw general attention to the topic of surgical scars, something more visible as most people don't recognise a gelding scar as such)

10/18/2024

Jim talks about keeping a dressage horse loose. Contact me if you would like to schedule a Masterson Method session with your horse.

10/10/2024

My goof ball Tucker wouldn’t take no for an answer while his buddy Josie was working on his waterer so she shared a couple drops of her Coke with him. She captured the moment perfectly!!😂😂.
I can help keep your bestie at their goofiest and happiest with Masterson Method bodywork. Contact me to get on the schedule.

09/26/2024

Jim Masterson talks about The Masterson Method.

09/18/2024

A very nice session with sweet Banjo yesterday. Thank you Robyn for allowing me to work with your boy. I didn’t get pictures from the session but Banjo is an older gelding and we work to keep him feeling good so his appointments with his farrier are easier on him (and the farrier 😀).
While performance horses really benefit from this work I also love working with older horses using The Masterson Method. They are always so appreciative of releasing accumulated tension. If you have an older horse that you would like to experience this, contact me to get on the calendar. Autumn is a great time for bodywork after a summer of riding, competing or just stomping at flies all summer. 🐴 Treasure Valley and surrounds.

09/10/2024

Ep. 53 of "Adult Onset Horsemanship" is Live! My guests are Christine and Mike Stokley of Big Creek Livestock. They have a working ranch near Lexington, Ky, where they stand the stallion Pepto Shine, raise beef, and give lessons and clinics. They're also a model of a married couple as they regularly work cattle and horses together and nobody's been stabbed. In all honesty, I had the privilege to watch them work together at a mini-clinic/demo a couple of years ago and was struck by how knowledgeable they were and also how respectful they were of each other while co-hosting the clinic. That's a tough thing to pull off. This one's also pretty funny and Christine reveals something unexpected when I ask about good and evil essential oils. Check it out.
As always, you can simply search for "Adult Onset Horsemanship" in google, or in any podcast directory like Apple Podcasts, Youtube, Spotify, Amazon Music, etc. or follow the link in the comments to the webpage for the episode and you can stream it directly from there.

09/09/2024

A pull back always needs investigation, it can have whole body ramifications and set your horse up for lifelong problems.
Starting at the poll, the kgs of pressure exerted over the top of a complex area of muscles, ligaments, tendons and nerves, is Enormous! Several tons of pressure, even if your horse is tied to the inevitable baling twine, immense pressure is still exerted before that twine breaks.
The neck and thoracic sling are stretched and twisted into unnatural positions.
The ribs are pulled out of position by the tortion of the supra spinous ligament, and the thoracic spine.
The fascia and muscles of the back and core are strained.
The lumbar sacral and sacroiliac joints are forced into damaging positions, the stifles, hocks and feltocks can be twisted and compressed. Muscles and connective tissues beneath the scapula can be torn, the pectorals are also at risk. The shoulder and elbow joints can be strained.
Moving back to the poll, the connections from there to the jaw, tmj and hyoid can be strained causing pain and dental imbalance.
Often, after a pull back, the horse will become one-sided, reluctant to bend to one side, tense in the poll and jaw, and unable to engage from behind as well as they could before.
Avoid pull backs as much as is humanly possible but if it happens, get your horse thoroughly checked over as soon as you can. This will help prevent scar tissue and neural patterning from changing your horse forever.

08/29/2024

Ah, that's what Mini Vans are for!

08/26/2024

Had a wonderful time in Michigan last week. Assisted Fran Cilella at a weekend seminar in Zeeland which was a blast! Lovely farm and the change in the horses was a joy to see. The students learned a ton and had fun!
Also got to spend time with family and hang out in Manistee on the lake which I miss so much! All in all a great week! It was awesome to be home.

08/26/2024

Ways to improve balance.

Hills do not need to be steep or long to be valuable. Balance shifts and adjustments on a gentle slope are a fun way to add fitness. Try 10 minutes of a "Hillside Freestyle" where you ride (or hand-walk) your horse in a variety of loops and figures on a mild slope. Be sure to tread ACROSS the slope as well and up/down. Travel diagonally, make circles, etc. Be creative with the stimulus.

If you are conditioning your horse for a summer of trail riding, check out my downloadable Trail Conditioning Schedule: https://www.jecballou.com/store/p/trailconditioningschedule

08/23/2024

08/09/2024

This makes a lot of sense.

Ground Tying

Many disciplines in the horse world have ground tying as a component. At least they have some aspect where a horse is expected to stay “right here”. Let’s talk a little about the unique way the horse understands that concept and how we humans tend to make it a lot harder for the horse to be successful.

In Maddy Butcher’s book, “Horse Head: Brain Science and Other Insights”, she references American neuroscientist Dr. John O’Keefe who, 50+ years ago started our understanding that the horse has pretty cool ways of understanding locations. Their perception of where they are is more precise than our own. O’Keefe discovered place cells in the hippocampus. To quote “Horse Head”, place cells are “individual neurons that fire when an animal is in a specific location. The rate at which certain neurons fire depends on the animal’s location.” Place cells are like that blinking dot on your map app that tells you that you are “here”. That could be a particular cell firing when a wild stallion is at the northwestern most manure pile marking his territory’s corner. That cell will fire again only when the horse is at that particular spot.

It’s noteworthy that these cells seem to be mostly, but not exclusively, tied to visual cues than other senses like smell. So, they are engaging that specific place cell when they see the same tree, or mountain top, or ditch in the same orientation. Meaning, “this spot” may be familiar if the horse is traveling north looking at the river ahead, but unfamiliar if the horse is traveling south, looking at a field with a mountain range ahead, as the picture they have associated with “this spot” has changed.

Butcher also references Norwegian neuroscientists and couple, Drs. Edvard and May-Britt Moser. In 2005 they “discovered another component of the brain’s positioning system: grid cells. These cells exist downstream from the hippocampus in the entorhinal cortex of the temporal lobe. There, individual cells fire consistently in an equilateral triangular pattern of place, not just in one singular location. When other grid cells fire in different location but with that same triangular pattern, a virtual, overlapping grid map develops.” That mechanism would be how they’ve mapped the 800 acre ranch comprised of separate pastures, the arena and paddock, that national park you often trail ride in, or all of the above.

These grid cells seem to be more tied to movement and travel, so when engaging the grid cells, a horse would be more likely to exactly follow a path that they have traveled before to maintain their understanding of where they are, regardless of visual cues. This is also why changes along a trail that a horse is familiar with may upset them. The map they are relying on has been changed.

Put all of this together and you realize that they really do have a map in their head of familiar places, paths, and specific way points of exact spots on that map. They also have dedicated parts of their brain specialized in updating and using these maps and way points in real time.

Why am I talking about all of this in regards to ground tying? When you ask a horse to stop, or to ground tie, or stand still in the barn aisle while being saddled, you need to know that you begin by setting him in a far more specific spot than you are probably aware. If we don’t understand how precisely they are mapping “HERE”, then we can drastically overcorrect mistakes, confusing the horse.

It’s incredibly common for me to see a rider or person doing groundwork whose horse took 2 steps beyond “the place” to over correct that horse by backing them up 15 steps. They could also mess up by circling the horse around and vaguely taking them to a spot that’s 8 feet from the original spot. You need to know that “the spot” is very precise to the horse. 20 feet back of where you originally asked them to stay is not “the spot”. 5 feet from that spot is not “The spot”. In both cases, as far as the horse is concerned, you’ve placed them in a new spot.

In the dog world, there's an old saying, "Labs are born half trained and spaniels die half trained." As someone who's been called Daniel the Spaniel most of his childhood, I identify with that statement. Place boards are regularly used to train spaniels and other animals that aren't as bright as they might be.

Place boards are also common in the trick training side of the horse world, like for Clydesdales selling beer in a commercial. A "place board" can be accomplished using multiple things besides an actual board on the ground, but all of them ultimately accomplish visually marking exactly “here”. On top of this object, is “the spot”. I’ve found that using something like a cone in the arena can be just as helpful to give the trainer a visual marker of exactly where “the spot” is. I say the trainer because the horse has a far better understanding of “The spot” than you do and you’re really the one who needs it defined so you don’t inadvertently identify 5 different spots in 2 minutes.

So, if your horse moves from a ground tie, or when you’re trying to saddle them outside the tack room, or when they move a little while being trimmed by the farrier, make sure that you put them exactly back where they were, pointing in the same direction that they were. If you handle it in some other manner, you’re not being clear to the horse about what you’re expecting and they’ll predictably be confused and frustrated by you changing the rules around.

This also ties into groundwork and the misunderstanding of many that disengaging of the hindquarters leads to a meaningful “whoa”. In order for a horse to understand that you want them to stop right here and stay right here, they must "whoa" and remain pointing in the same direction they were traveling. Remember the dominant stimulus for place cells being the specific visual picture. To stop and turn 90 degrees is to misdirect their understanding of where “The spot” is. If they were traveling north, they need to stop pointing north, and stay pointing north. Maintain that, and they will come to understand that I want you to stop and stay right “here”. They’ll quickly recognize the set up and begin looking for where “here” is as you’ve designated it.

You can have a partner working with you in understanding of a goal, if you understand how your partner perceives what you’ve asked. That’s horsemanship. Backing a horse 20 feet because they took 2 steps too far is a display of not understanding the horse.

What you are really trying to accomplish when you say “whoa” or ask a horse to ground tie is to let them know that this is “a spot” and you want them to stay on “this spot”. If you can keep that sentence in mind when working on this aspect of training, you’re going to be a lot more successful in a lot less time.

08/04/2024

Had a fun morning at Horse & Halo in Nampa, ID introducing some of the amazing volunteers to The Masterson Method, Integrated Equine Performance Bodywork and how some simple light touch techniques can be so meaningful to the horses in helping them release tension. Thank you to Mandie and the sweet horses for the opportunity!

08/02/2024

The magic of the method!