Category Archives: horses

A Healing Journey is an Historic Journey

alternative therapies, animal communication, bodywork, energy work, Equine Body Balance, equines, exercise, healing, herd behavior, horsemanship, horses, Ortho-Bionomy, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , , ,

A healing journey is specific, non-specific, historic, full of layers and wondrous avenues of enlightenment. The layers that developed first – en utero, at birth – will be deepest in the body, and the last ones to heal. Perhaps we can go farther back than that – generations that will heal last, if at all in this lifetime. The healing journey is one of seeking to unravel those layers in the body’s time, as it has a time of its own. Seeking self-correction.

With minor injuries  the person or animal may not need veterinary or therapeutic care at all, it will deal with it on its own. If one needs to see a bodyworker, then one or two sessions will suffice at getting the body back on track.

When I talk about injury, that injury could be internal or external, it could be musculoskeletal, visceral, neurological, circulatory, emotional, psychological, psychic…

Rehab is a process. Perhaps the person doesn’t want to get started because he or she has developed a system of compensation that holds together pretty well. This new wrinkle in health is an annoyance, something to be flicked away like a fly.

The body is constantly making adaptations. Every time the body gets injured or diseased it launches a response to compensate so that it can keep on trucking.

When the injury is repetitive, and comes from a major event or series of major events, then the symptoms are going to remain or morph. The horse whose hind end keeps dropping out from under him in work, for example, will require regular maintenance. The person who has had a traumatic shoulder injury may need support after physical therapy has ended. Bodies with a number of compensations and lacking vitality are of course going to have more trouble and possibly be more prone to re-injury, so the added support will be paramount in their healing.

Unfortunately for all concerned, the longer the injury exists and the larger in magnitude it is, including repetitive injury, it will create a linked compensation pattern throughout the entire body.

Horses demonstrate to us repetitive stress in so many ways. They are subjected to repetitive activities – training, carrying people with unaddressed repetitive stress and compensatory patterns, saddles, bridles, other tack, trailering, abuse, repetitive behaviors.

Fascia is a huge component to the musculo-skeletal system as it adapts and compensates for injury.  Ortho-Bionomy can address fascial challenges, not just what is called “myofascial” work. Fascia envelops every bodily structure, not just skeleton and muscles. Soft tissue – fascia, muscle, tendons and ligaments will change quickly when injured but can take much longer to recover. The bones, the organs protected by bones and other tissues are also connected and need help.

Untouched, repetitive stress patterns deepen in the tissues and muscles will reduce in size as well as increase in size. You can see this in horses very clearly in the gluteal muscles – where one part of the gluteal structure will be flaccid and another will be rock hard. Or, in the hamstrings, where the hamstrings are rigid and restricting the hocks and stifles while the gluteals will be flaccid, almost unresponsive. At this point the joints, ligaments and tendons are being pulled unevenly by muscles. All this can cause pain in hocks, stifles, ligaments, and create spinal and hoof problems.

Without care, the bones will begin to compensate for the pulls and slacks in the whole system. It is a tensegrity system, where tension in one area creates slack in another, and everything is off balance. The bones may develop arthritic changes as a result – all the way through the horse – jaw, poll, neck, spine, hocks – though the original insult may have begun somewhere in the hindquarter. Once degeneration occurs in the bone then the opportunity to rehabilitate is lessened.

This gives us an idea of rehabilitation – it isn’t an overnight process in these cases. It needs to take place slowly, addressing each layer as an individual, peeling them back as the body is able to address them.

Supporting exercises can be huge for the body that has been stuck in one posture for what seems like forever.  The exercise will be gentle, appropriate to the body’s ability to respond and use the movement to its advantage. Most likely the recipe will not include belly lifts, tail pulls or for humans, crunches or push-ups. Ground poles, conscious walking exercise, straight lines in some cases, a little hill work maybe, also looking at what’s available in the horse’s environment to help him or her recover. For humans, light stretching and body awareness.

My primary vision is to “meet the body where it is,” where that is in space and time, and address what it is willing and able  to show at any given time. This way, the body is able to take the new stimulus and create wondrous avenues of enlightenment – from the place we’re working to include somewhere else in the body.

We move away from the looking at what’s wrong – it’s this or it’s that, because while surely it is those things, the compensation is coming from a lot of places and the body wants to be addressed as a whole. Not only will it show its compensation, it will show its strengths – where it can move and where it is light and receptive.

For me, this is where I begin – the most receptive, enlightened part of the being.

 

Horses Take the World Stage

endurance, energy work, Equine Body Balance, healing, herd behavior, herd dynamics, horse training, horsemanship, horses, Horses at Liberty Foundation Training, riding, sacred spaces, telepathy, trail riding, , , , , , ,

The Tokyo Olympics 2021 pentathlon event, which involves participants who are proficient in fencing, freestyle swimming, equestrian show jumping, pistol shooting and cross-country running, resulted in mishaps and angry, abusive people at the equestrian segment. Why is that?

Getty image

The course, up to 1.20 m, flooded the equine and other media, and some Olympic medalists say that the reason the horses balked at jumps, reared, and dumped their riders in the competition was because they only had 20 minutes to “get to know” their riders before performing. These are horses that are well schooled, provided especially for this event and riders select horses from a random draw. The people riding are also not necessarily good riders – one article said that some don’t even know how to do a rising trot! They may be excellent at swimming, fencing, pistol shooting, but not at the riding part, which would then indicate that they can’t manage a horse well under normal circumstances but particularly when it goes into stress mode.

The whole event is stressful, let’s face it. That horses can and do perform under such conditions is quite phenomenal.

Horses don’t think as humans do. The coach who punched a horse and instructed her rider to whip the horse was obviously completely out of line, pulled along by anger and frustration. While the horse napped, the rider was seen hitting and kicking the horse. As he neared the fence, the coach leaned over and struck him with her fist. The horse wasn’t doing well physically to begin with or he wouldn’t have been trying to sleep.

Many complained about horses’ performance overall. Other horses resisted the jumps too. But the horse is always right. So whatever was going on here started with the humans and their lack of understanding and concern for the horses’ needs.

Basically the absence of a relationship built with the horse over a longer period of time, plus disregard for the horse and rider’s mental well being, contributed to the breakdown in the first place. Physical violence added to that created chaos, and that chaos rippled through the horsie-verse like a bolt of lightning. Shared consciousness. We’re outta here. The horses bonded in a universally panicked response. Some held their ground and did okay. But too many horses who weren’t smacked around responded with resistance and fear.

Once that chaos and fear zoomed through the other horses, they reverted to their herd instinct. I have a mental image of them all running from the arena together. That didn’t happen of course because there is a cast of thousands in that arena managing the horses.

These are horses who have no relationship with their riders. They are ridden by many different riders in preparation for this event and considered “schoolmasters.” But to go through an event at this high level of stress, they need the relationship. When things get scary it’s not enough to simply know how to ride, you need to know the way that animal thinks, moves, it’s preferences, what frightens it, know it deep down so that you can set up the best possible outcome. If introducing a horse to new things, it’s best if he has a familiar, much loved person to help him or her through it all.

Horses don’t think like humans, they don’t have a pre-frontal cortex like we do, so we can figure out how to pay bills and how to write articles about horses, etc. But what they do have is a motor cortex, and the motor cortex allows them to learn patterns and behaviors. They learn good ones just as easily as bad ones. They have the ability to form deep relationships. But they are going to operate instinctively if frightened, and in some cases forget everything they know in an instant.

They will be able to recover from upset much easier if they and their person are bonded, fused in a way that may not be visible to the outside casual observer. When I watched some of the really bonded Olympic pairs, such as Charlotte DeJardin and her new horse, I feel that they enjoy each other. Some others are operating on automatic.

This is not to say that all horses need their special person all the time. There are some people who can come into the presence of a horse they don’t know and the horse is immediately comforted and there is no question. The horse wants an immediate bond, without the preparation of years. Some trainers have this ability to infuse confidence in a horse right away. Even in these cases, the riding relationship is different than the on-the-ground relationship. The horse may not want the person he has just met to climb on his back, in spite of feeling happy in their presence.

I have ridden horses on endurance rides whom I didn’t know, but was fortunate enough to ride them the night before, brush and play with them a little bit, and everything turned out alright. I was also riding alongside the owner so she could advise me as to how to manage her, her preferences, how much contact, etc. I was acutely aware of how the horse moved differently from my own, and but relied on my general knowledge for that part of the journey. By the end of the ride, I always wanted to buy the horse (not for sale!), because we had had such a great time together.

Keep in mind this is over 50 or so miles, about 6-10 hours in the saddle, not a short stint in an Olympic arena that involves maybe 5-10 minutes of connection! Plus the stress level is way down on the meter. We were riding to win a t-shirt, not an Olympic gold medal.

I’m so glad to hear that the German Olympic federation has called for a rule change to address the excessive demands on the horse-rider teams.

The fact that so many horses lost their cookies at this event affirms their strength in numbers, their wonderful herd instinct that can sometimes  get them into trouble. They also exposed some human cruelty and ego. In this case, horses took the world stage, if not the medals. Well done, horses!

 

Finding Gratitude

bodywork, energy work, healing, horsemanship, horses, riding, Thanksgiving, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , ,

Nearly everyone I speak to is looking forward to 2020 being over with. Whatever our belief systems are, this has been a tough year for everyone. Many know people ill with Covid or who have passed on. Many have lost jobs and income as a result of it. The continual shuttering and re-opening of an economy is taking its toll.

With each new onslaught, it becomes more difficult to rally. Overall, while most of us take great care with our families, friends and co-workers, we stand by and watch carelessness run rampant on a global scale on a daily basis. To me, it means we become more careful, and more conscientious, and provide excellence wherever we can, continuing on what we started. Health care workers and those providing food are tirelessly putting their lives on the line for the rest of us, so we can stay home and remain safe. It makes sense to support them in every way we can.

This year, as a result of all this, Thanksgiving has shifted its tone. It is the tone of watchfulness and fear, coupled with the deep disappointment of not being able to hold our traditional family gatherings the way we always have done. How can we still enjoy ourselves?

Several grocery stores have shut down just before Thanksgiving here, so that puts additional strain on the ones that can remain open. While I might have cooked certain things for Thanksgiving dinner, now I will improvise. And other than the Zoom and FaceTime calls, Thanksgiving will pass like any other day for us, as we just stay home, hunkered down with whatever food we have purchased for those who live in the household only. Maybe watch “Planes, Trains and Automobiles.” No running out to buy last minute whipped cream or nuts.

I think about what we are going through this year as an opportunity to express gratitude. America is not my native country, but I have lived here most of my life.  I love it here, I love wide open spaces and the ability, particularly here in New Mexico, to have places to go where there aren’t people if you need to get away from it all. Now getting away from it all takes on a new meaning.

The current situation, while separating us, can also serve to bring us together, recognizing the plight of others, recognizing how much community means to us.

If I see someone I know while riding my horse, it’s exciting. We are muffled behind masks and yet there is that sense of community that prevails, of sharing, getting to see each other even from afar.

I have put together a list – sort of like the song “My Favorite Things” – a “raindrops on roses” list of things I’m grateful for. If I do this every day, gratitude becomes more attainable, not so deeply buried under other concerns.

  1. The sharing of thoughts and feelings over the phone, movies and recipes! The phone has become more important!
  2. New or renewed interests: art, vegetable gardening
  3. The availability of new knowledge and great students (via Zoom!)
  4. Family and friends
  5. Working outdoors – even when it’s cold!
  6. Meditation
  7. Animals of all kinds
  8. Natural beauty
  9. Sense of calm
  10. Riding

Can we still have adventures? Yes, we can. When we can return to normal activities, will we remember?

Stanley George and Violet Hunt, my grandparents

My family grew up in wartime London. My mother never forgot rationing, being without food, needing warm clothes and shoes. Experience like that shapes you, makes you careful about what you spend your money on, makes you take care of things and people more than perhaps you did before. When I would puzzle over why she would save things, use up scraps, she would tell me what it was like for her as a teenager. She didn’t have the freedom to be wasteful or careless.

This is nothing in comparison, and there were those far less fortunate then as now. Our current situation is a lesson in caring, gratitude for what we have, and conservation. For those who are impatient or tired of it all, it won’t last forever. Nothing ever does. Can we have adventures? Of course we can. Each morning, we awaken to a new adventure. And gratitude for what we have helps us grow our resilience, which we sorely need right now.

I would love to hear others’ gratitude lists. In the meantime, have a Happy Thanksgiving, whatever that turns out to be.

Science Proves Gratitude is Key to Well Being

While I haven’t limited my grateful list to topics of six words, this New York Times article asks readers to:

Tell Us What You’re Grateful For, in Six Words

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reach Out and Don’t Touch Someone

alternative therapies, animal communication, chakras, dogs, energy work, Equine Body Balance, equines, exercise, healing, herd behavior, herd dynamics, horse training, horsemanship, horses, Ortho-Bionomy, , , , , , ,

We are all in this together, and yet we are to remain apart. There is stress about social distancing, our new norm, worldwide. Why is that? We can reach out and call people, thankfully we also have social media, but I still hear from friends, colleagues and clients that they feel isolated.

As a bodyworker for people and horses and the occasional dog, I feel it intensely. Ortho-Bionomy is a form of bodywork that is not just a spa treatment that you receive when you get a gift certificate and you feel better for a couple of days and forget about it. Ortho-Bionomy is transformative, it deepens your own body’s understanding of itself, it reaches inward and brings health and balance to all your systems. Each level of the body – bone, muscle, sinew – each system – circulatory, lymph, visceral – is affected by an Ortho-Bionomy session. It invites the body to come meet itself and have a conversation. And that conversation can continue on long after the session is over, well into the next week or months, depending upon your body’s ability to correct itself and stay corrected.

The possibility of a “conversation with a body” was the hook for me when I was first finding out about bodywork modalities. What is that like? Is that possible? I wondered. Years later, I realize my body seeks that. If I cannot afford the time or money to get a session, then I feel the need. I gravitate towards self-care, and other exercises of course. They are immensely helpful.

I will talk about the importance of touch. What I learned recently is that the skin and brain are developed from the exact same primitive cells. So you could say the skin is the outer surface of the brain, or view the brain as the deepest layer of the skin. When you think of it this way, it is no wonder that we are troubled by the lack of human physical contact. There is much more about this but this is food for thought. With animals we have the fur factor – fur closely attached to skin.

According to the anatomy book, Job’s Body, by Deane Juhan, studies done by Johns Hopkins Hospital in 1915 in orphanages revealed the infant mortality rate within one year of admission was 99%. This led to further studies of all orphanages, finding that they were severely understaffed and consequently the infants lacked human cuddling. There was only enough time, to clean, feed and take care of their basic needs. Once more staff were added in a major overhaul of the system, the children received much needed cuddling, and they thrived in all ways. Great increases in energy, height, weight and mental well-being were seen – and the death rate decreased exponentially.

So when we must deprive ourselves, even as adults, of this very primal need for touch communication, where do we go next? When we’re advised to curtail all “non-essential” activities, I and my clients don’t consider Ortho-Bionomy non-essential. But since it is not an essential such as going to the grocery store (far more dangerous!), we comply with the rules that are intended to save our lives.

As a bodyworker, working on any body is never a one-way conversation. I’m not just doing techniques to or on someone. I’m asking questions, the body or being is speaking back to me in numerous ways. It’s not always something I can verbalize.

Today we are dealing with a deadly virus that is shaping the social structure of our lives. We must not touch, except those in your own household, period. Stay a safe distance away.

Fortunately, Ortho-Bionomy has a number of “phases,” unlike some modalities where the only option is touch. I can take the conversation off the body and have that conversation a little farther away, over the phone maybe, or in space, because the conversation has an energetic quality. I know some people are scared off by the mention of “energy,” but we are all energy, everything possesses energy. So it really isn’t frightening. It might seem frightening to imagine someone tinkering around with your energy.

But that’s not what I’m talking about. It’s the energy of the conversation that can remain alive without the physical touch, without any force or intrusion into the person or animal’s consciousness. I can work with the body without the body being anywhere nearby. It’s a part of Ortho-Bionomy and it is only done with consent of the individual.

There is a collective consciousness right now that has everyone on edge, trying to find balance but getting knocked off balance daily, in some cases hourly, by some new grisly news report. Is that collective consciousness something you can see or is it something you feel? Think about it. It’s all energetic, rippling through the global community.

Horses have a herd mentality. Part of that is communicating without touching – flattening their ears or moving toward another horse  across the pasture to get them to move, just twitching an ear in some cases. I only wish I had ears that talented. They also communicate with other species like birds. They can keep each other healthy and safe by moving the least among them. Their finely tuned energetic sense of what they need to have happen means everything.

Before the pandemic took such a tight hold of us, (just a couple of weeks ago, perhaps?) I did an Energetic Healing Communication session with a dog who was limping. She had been expecting the session. The owner asked that I take her own injured finger into consideration too if I had time. I worked with the areas the owner had said she felt the dog needed work. I felt the session was very concrete, meaning very mechanical for her, but that was what she was asking for. She even became impatient with me at times.

Then she said: “guarding causes you to lock out, then fear, then lose the ability to take in good things.”

This was very huge, not only for the dog but for the owner, and for me. We are all guarded right now. We have to be but we will be wise to remember what that does to our nervous system. It makes us less able to notice or receive good things.

And then, the dog wove her owner’s physical injury into her own healing. I worked with the area between the nails of the paws. The owner reported her finger feeling 75% better. The dog ended her session on her own, satisfied, and went to lie down and rest.

That will probably never happen again in exactly that way or even close to it. That is the beauty of Ortho-Bionomy bodywork. It is special, it is for you personally, or for you and your dog or horse or cat and it is tailored to your needs. It is not a panacea, a pill or a blanket solution.

So, while this may sound farfetched to some and right at home to others, I will leave you with this: we need communication. We need the conversation, and if it isn’t physical, then energetic. We communicate in some different ways than horses or dogs. We have the higher intellect, or so I’m told.

Yet, we aren’t as good at taking care of ourselves energetically as animals are. We have to be conscious of making sure to keep ourselves open to good things, like the wise dog said, while we are in these oppressive times.

So reach out and don’t touch someone, but do  – energetically – across time and hold space for them and their healing. In that small way, I hope we can make a significant difference.

P.S. You may touch your horse, dog or cat!

 

Winter Walking with Sabio

animal communication, bodywork, equines, healing, herd behavior, herd dynamics, horse training, horsemanship, horses, Horses at Liberty Foundation Training, liberty rein, Liberty training, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

We walk down the road, vehicle tracks as rigid deep veins in the frozen mud, sheets of ice glistening in the pale winter sun. It’s treacherous footing but we have to get out.

Our usual stop is to visit two young mares in a pasture, who are always excited to see another horse coming down the road. Today, Sabio stops and looks at them, but he doesn’t ask to go over and visit. Often he has gone over and sniffed noses and taken in their muzzles exploring his face and neck as though it was a special treat. But today, he looked and he decided he wanted to continue walking with me and didn’t give them a backward glance.

This demonstrated to me that he had gotten accustomed to their presence and that he was perfectly happy walking with me. At that point he made that decision not to visit with them, I felt a deep connection come from him, him matching my stride, us walking together. I often feel this with him while in the saddle too, but when I am on the ground next to him, I’m then like another horse. Horses walk side by side, they walk one behind the other. There is a rhythm to this, different from the rhythm of us being on their backs. I want all those rhythms. I want to feel all of it.

The other part of the walk is observing together. If he takes an interest in the mares, so do I. If he takes interest in some far off call of a coyote, I turn my head in the same direction. I often can’t hear and see what he has going on in his world, but it doesn’t matter. I want to know. I want to be more horse than I am. I want the senses he was born with, the broader knowledge of his world. He is my entry into that world, whether I will ever hear or see what he can or not.

Winter can be bleak here in the Southwest, with snow blowing across frozen stalks of wild grasses, tree trunks gone rigid and cracking from the cold. Once when it was warmer, a dust devil lifted dried horse poop into a swirl and hit me full in the face. It is not a romantic setting, yet there is something wild and beautiful about it all. It is a time for hibernation and yet I’m out here in the muck and cold walking a horse before the sun disappears.

We share this with the crows cawing, lighting on clawlike branches and taking flight when we come near. We share it with the coyotes who are the same color as the land and sunlight, fleets of yellow-brown fur hunkering low to the ground at a trot in hopes of not being noticed, stealthy, cunning.

On the way back, I tossed the leadrope over his back to see what he would do. He grazed on what was available, finds something tasty hidden under the snow; sticks with me. At times I led the way, other times he moved ahead, just as though we were two horses exploring. The only difference is I’m a human. He has the ability to move away and come back but I don’t really feel him leave. He looks at me, wants to know which direction at times, or even suggest a direction. Occasionally, I point or lead the way.

I feel his connection without the leadrope, with only his attention moving between his curiosity and staying close, a leadrope tethered to my heart, not my hand.

 

 

Riding Through the Senses with Ortho-Bionomy

bodywork, endurance, energy work, Equine Body Balance, equines, exercise, healing, horsemanship, horses, Ortho-Bionomy, riding, trail riding, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , ,

I was sitting on my mare Jazzie the other day and thinking about how to present the vast amount of material there is for the Mounted Body Balance™ – In the Saddle classes. Many people ask, well why would I do that if I’m taking a riding lesson? I get a massage regularly, why would I do this?

Well, a riding lesson focuses on you in the saddle, in the most efficient posture to get your horse to do what you would like her to do. It may involve some horse management skills. A good lesson will also work on you psychologically – what you’re bringing to the relationship that may or may not be helpful. A massage is great, but it doesn’t ask you to engage with each part of your body and address how it relates to the animal’s body when you’re in the saddle. Further, it allows you to fall asleep, which is not advisable while in the saddle!

Mounted Body Balance™ is an integrated, wholistic, non-force approach of horse and rider that puts us in touch with our senses. When riding we are connecting spine to spine with the horse. Our spine meets the horse’s at one critical point, where our sit bones and tailbone meet the thoracics of the horse. In bodywork for both horse and rider, we are looking at what is available in each body, and working with enhancing that availability for greater comfort and ease. We can also use that strength that we find in one body to help the other body in that same or another area that may not be as available.

For example, when my neck is tight, perhaps instead of directly working with neck rotations on me,  I can look at my mare’s neck and see if she has any fill or hardness there. Then I can ask my mare to do side bends and release her neck while I’m on her back. As it turns out, this movement can release the tension in my own neck.

Jazzie has tension along her thoracics. While thinking about my upcoming class, I sat in the saddle with the awareness that I am sitting on her mid-thoracics, and I did an technique we call in Ortho-Bionomy©, “disc-fluffing.” (See illustrations in the article). Drop your head forward and pull shoulders forward and cross your arms across your chest. Then press down on and rock your shoulders in this position. This released my thoracic spine.  After we did this exercise on me, Jazzie moved forward more boldly. I noticed the flow of her spine underneath me and the rhythm of her ribcage was more forward as well.

In the saddle, I can reach for the parts of the horse that are accessible. I can work with her sacrum by reaching behind me and feel its preferred position. My touch is always gentle. I can touch my own sternum and reach down and touch hers as well, and ask the question, are our sternums balanced? With a bigger horse, you may have to dismount to access certain parts of the body effectively.

All of us – horse and human – hold tension in our bodies and we also have areas that just don’t speak. We have places that don’t work as well as others. My right leg can get funky in the hip socket, for example. I could sit up there and worry about what a terrible rider I am and I shouldn’t ride because I’m not always symmetrical and blah blah blah, but if I focus on all the dysfunction, then I am missing what my body can do, and how it can support the areas that aren’t working quite so well. My horse has stuff going on in her hips also. I focus on the healing available in her body. And guess what? Even though she has that stuff, she is a beautiful mover. I sit on her, and I feel each part of me and her, and focus on the parts that work really well while holding an awareness of what I’d like to have shift.

When I do that, she comes up to meet me, and she will travel beautifully to support my not-so-perfect-body in a way that works for both of us, without restrictive compensation. It helps my body feel better too.

When the horse knows he or she can influence your body for the greater good, he or she will seek that.

With Ortho-Bionomy© for both horse and rider, we can learn what is holding up the bus. Riding instructors have wonderful ways of encouraging the horse forward, ways for riders’ to hold their legs so that the legs are not being counterproductive for the horse, or to sit correctly so as not to impede the horse’s movement – all of that has to do with the anatomy and the relationship of the two bodies working in sync, or not.

We are often trying to solve certain problems: spooky horse, horse not moving forward, going too fast, short-strided, unbalanced, throwing its head, bucking, anxiety. These problems can be addressed through this form of bodywork.

Many riders hold tension in their upper thoracics while riding. In fact, more experienced riders often have more tension in that region. How does this translate to the horse?  If the horse is dealing with tension in the lumbar but has great strength in his own thoracics, we can work with the horse’s thoracics to help the rider’s. When he can loosen up in that region and flow better – ribs as well – so can his rider.

The horse with lumbar trouble often won’t move forward freely. If we open up the spine, and check the rider’s engagement with the spine, then the horse can move forward more easily. We may also need to check saddle fit with both thoracic and lumbar pain, for both horse and rider.

Certainly, work can be done on some of these issues independently of the horse/rider relationship, and I do that in many cases where a person may need individual table work ahead of a horse/rider session, or the horse needs to receive an entire session on his own. If someone has major back trouble, I’m going to work on that, and same with the horse. But once the bodies are free of great inhibition, we can bring them together and see where they can strengthen and enhance each other, and bring space into the relationship that may have been restricted before.

Simple and very regular preparatory techniques that people do to prepare to ride are great ways of beginning this work. While grooming your horse you can feel along the spine for any irregularities. If you don’t know anatomy, it’s helpful to get a simple equine anatomy book – and a human one while you’re at it! Learn where the bones are. Everything else is related to or attached to the bones in some way, so it’s a great place to start.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While this may seem elementary, walk your horse out to check his or her gait. Then check your tack when you tack up. While I was endurance riding, the care of the horse was a high priority. I would trot out my horse the morning of the ride before tacking up to make sure he was going well. I would check all my tack before leaving for the ride and the night before the ride. These are good habits to get into even if you’re just going out for a short ride.

After that I may do a little bit of bodywork on areas I see are not working so well on my horse, and stretch out myself.  You can apply your own exercises, such as qi gong, yoga, Feldenkrais, etc. and in Ortho-Bionomy© we have a lot of self-care exercises for people and ones you can do for your horse. Some of them I have adapted to use in the saddle as well.

This work evolves, so that after awhile you may find you no longer have that trouble with your right knee, for example, and the horse is no longer stiff while crossing over behind to the left, but some other issue has shown itself and so you’ll  need to adapt your program to those changes.

I teach this to people so that they can begin to sense the changes themselves. I can show you how to do many things, but then it’s up to you to figure out when to use them and when you may need to try something else. Figuring this out is a lifelong process, although sometimes we’re lucky enough to have some quick fixes. At the same time, you get better at recognizing areas of strength and how to palpate tissue. This approach can be integrated into your riding lessons, performance or trail riding activity and your more sedentary horse work.

Much thought has been given over centuries to how to ride efficiently and so as to bring out the best in the horse and rider.  With the Mounted Body Balance™ approach, an older horse can move better than he or she ever has and so can her rider.  Life isn’t static so we can’t guarantee that any of us are not going to have some physical challenges, but there is a lot we can solve and make more comfortable with this type of work. A horse may be able to help you with your body issues without impairing his/her own stride or balance. Of course, aging will limit what you can do but why not try to do what you love comfortably for as long as you can? As a physical therapist friend of mine says, “I’m here to help you be able to do what you love for longer.”

I take her words to heart. When we travel down the trail, I can feel Jazzie’s rhythmic strides, I can feel where my body may not be quite right and make the adjustments and I can feel her shift to accommodate or make that easier for me. Our senses are alive as our bodies connect, as we trot along a well-known path, with deepening knowledge of ourselves – together.

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Contact me for private sessions. info@susansmithsantafe.com or through the website.

 

 

Where does our love of horses come from?

abused horses, alternative therapies, bodywork, energy work, equines, fear, healing, herd behavior, herd dynamics, horse training, horsemanship, horses, telepathy, therapy horses, trail riding, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , ,

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Healing Herds, Movement and Community

animal communication, barefoot hooves, bodywork, chakras, energy work, Equine Body Balance, equines, exercise, fear, geriatric horses, healing, herd behavior, herd dynamics, horse training, horsemanship, horses, Horses at Liberty Foundation Training, liberty rein, Liberty training, Ortho-Bionomy, rescue horses, riding, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , ,

The two horses rub each other’s necks, ferreting out the itchy or sore spots in each other. How do they know to do this? Is their mutual grooming actually bodywork?

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Horse Loss and Love

alternative therapies, animal communication, endurance, energy work, Equine Body Balance, equines, healing, herd behavior, herd dynamics, horse training, horsemanship, horses, Horses at Liberty Foundation Training, Ortho-Bionomy, sacred spaces, telepathy, therapy horses, trail riding, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

It’s a rainy day as I write this. A rainy day in New Mexico is generally cause for celebration. The state squeaks out 13.85 inches average rainfall per year.

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What we want from the horse

abused horses, alternative therapies, energy work, equines, fear, healing, herd behavior, herd dynamics, horse training, horsemanship, horses, Horses at Liberty Foundation Training, liberty rein, Liberty training, trail riding, Uncategorized

In Buddhism there is the Tibetan word “Shenpa,” that can be translated “something that hooks us,” according to Buddhist teacher Pema Chodron. It is also “the urge.”

Shenpa is what drives habitual patterns, motives and addictions. It comes in two parts: the reaction to pain and the escaping of pain. And the reaction to an insult, or something you don’t like that someone has said or done.

While it can be easily seen in overeating, binge drinking and attachment to anger, it can also be seen in overdoing and attachment to good things, like meditation or doing good for the world.

As people, we want things to remain the same. We live in a changing world that fills us with insecurity. If we experience one wonderful experience, we want all experiences with that one person or animal to continue to be that wonderful.

This is where horses come in. Horses don’t come to us seeking for us to do trot circles or train them to become Grand Prix competitors. They would be perfectly happy with space, grass, shelter, water and friends. As long as they have these things, their needs are met. They don’t generally think the way we do in this way.

So, when we come in with an agenda, we override their natural flow. But what if we drop that agenda and just hang out for a while, as though we are visiting herd members, and see what happens?

We worked with this concept in the Florida workshop this past weekend. A wide variety of equines made it possible to see how they interacted with people.

Cocoa the pony has been to the workshops before, and generally, he is a self-confident, proud pony who does his job pulling a cart very well. He doesn’t interact much with the people because he likes things the way they are. I noticed he was very good at doing what I asked, but that there wasn’t any engagement between us. Over the years of working with Cocoa, he has become more personable with his owner.

So, I stopped doing anything and I turned away from him. Within minutes he came over to me to visit and breathe with me.

Another time I was just walking behind him and I felt him moving far ahead of me, and sensed that he thought I was chasing him, even though I did not feel I was at all. It was his perception. I stopped again. Other people also had that experience with him. (The pony mare Amber demonstrated how to move Cocoa very effectively).

In Liberty Foundations, we want to be accepted by the herd but change our position in the herd organically. But sometimes our Shenpa gets in the way and we keep on asking, seeking a particular outcome.

Another gelding, Jack, didn’t want to be separated from his mares who were in heat in the next pasture. There were other visiting geldings so he needed to ensure his herd was safe. So we worked around that, and actually he began to enjoy dancing and running with his owner Anne, even taking her cue to go into the beginnings of a Spanish walk, which he’d never done before. She was naturally very excited by this.

The next day Jack simply wouldn’t leave the fence, and got frustrated with anyone trying to engage with him. He had a few brief moments of going over cavaletti and engaging, but it was clear that he didn’t want to be with people. So we let him back in with his mares.

He was a different horse the second day. It was a big lesson for all of us – we had our hopes high, we had seen Jack’s performance the day before and wondered what he could achieve the second day. He was full of such animation and joy that day, and the next, nada. We were hooked.

It was as Pema Chodron said, we want all experiences with that one person or animal to continue to be that wonderful.

We are attached. At that point it was important to check our personal energy and drop it. I noticed when I worked with Jack that when I dropped my energy and with it, my desire to move him, have him begin elevating his feet in that dancy step, he could give more attention to me. If I offered him something, companionship at the gate, a tuft of hay, he had more interest. His attention was divided at best, because of the mares, but there was a glimpse of attention to me.

While the work is simple, we also encountered the edge of the horse’s tolerance. I like to stop working before we come to that, but sometimes the horse gets there first. Prince was excellent at working with numerous people and softening in his demeanor, coming away from food and into relationship. He wanted private time in the form of frequent pauses, and he feared being crowded. We could see that when our own urge to have him do more got in the way, he didn’t want to participate further. Shenpa.

Cherokee is an older mare I have always felt was angry. She had a hard life before Anne took her in, and has also suffered a lot in her body. With a horse with this kind of anger, you want to stay clear of what she is carrying. Drop your energy into your feet, keep it light. She has her own Shenpa, a negative expectation. At the same time, she wants human attention.

We chose an exercise that would engage her and please her at the same time. She became light and curious in her being, and the anger she arrived with dissipated.

It has taken awhile for Penny to come around to separating from her herd, but last year she made some big strides. This year, she was in heat and wasn’t happy leaving her herd. She could work well with her owner Gabi, and did quiet down with others also. When she engages, she is very soft and willing, but when she gets anxious, sometimes she doesn’t know you’re there.

We worked with separating horses who spend all their days together and reuniting them. We worked in short segments, extending their attention span, and coming up against a wall of resistance in others.

Not only do we have a different horse on a different day, we are also different. On some days, the horses graze close to one another, on other days they are far apart. The heart of the horse beats with the rhythm of the herd, a group heartbeat. Our challenge is to get our hearts to beat with it, dropping expectations, reshaping what we want from the horse. If we become a valid herd member, then the horse will be able to separate out from the herd more easily, and attention to us will increase.

(c) Susan Smith, Horses at Liberty Foundation Training, Equine Body Balance (TM)

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Events for information on upcoming clinics and workshops. 2018 calendar is developing! Workshops scheduled for Santa Fe,Wisconsin, Colorado, Oregon and Maryland!