Bodywork
Why do horse need bodywork?
“Max has been keeping our Eventing ponies and horses feeling fantastic for over 5 years. In particular, he helped my daughter Hattie to manage her nerves through hypnotherapy and ensured her pony was in the best physical shape. The end result was a team gold medal at the European Pony Eventing Championships.”
Hattie & Noble Superman
“Human athletes would not go through their competitive career without regular physio/chiro sessions. Horse are no different”
By the very nature of the horses confirmation they put their bodies under pressure and it doesn’t even have to be human related, by that I mean a horse has to use his head and neck as a counter balance.
If they are messing about in the field and they go to slip, they don’t have hands to put down to save themselves so they have to use their head and neck as a counter balance… this causes a low level whip lash. When I was taking horses in to back I always had them checked first as most of the issues that “problem” backers run into were caused in the field messing around as foals. These issues would never be an issue if we didn’t want to then produce them as riding/competition horses.
Understanding tension
Tension in ridden horses can be caused by a multitude of situations, being a competition horse is obvious because we are asking the horse to perform, land from big fences, stretch, etc etc.
Tension can also be pain related (secondary issue), for example, if I work with a horse that is very tense but after the session is relaxed and chilled but the tension returns in a few days, and the process is repeated with the same results then I would suggest to look for a cause of pain that is causing your horse to hold themselves to such a degree that they become so tense, this can be anything from ulcers, tendon, suspensory, sacroiliac. This is the hard part, finding the primary cause.
It’s not just about horses that compete
Horses that have a non competitive job still have to carry a rider and go out in the field, they may not need to see a Physio/Chiro as often but it is still important that they do. To have a long and healthy life its important that they build the right muscle in the right places.
With sport horses I like to see them regularly so that it becomes preventative, keeping on top of them physically means that they are always performing at their best. Don’t wait for them to tell you that they have a problem ( performance drops off, become heavy in the hand, not quite getting their shoulders out of the way etc) If you get to that stage you are a few weeks too late.
Pleasure horses would benefit from 3-4 times a year depending on how busy they are in their chosen job.
Information on my Bodywork Consultations can be found here >>>
About me and the bodywork
Throughout my career I have strived to learn, my first mentor was Andy Andrews, Andy was the first person that worked with me that made the link from pain/discomfort and performance/behaviour related issues.
That was 22 years ago. I was lucky that I was one of the few people to be coached by Andy before he sadly died. (He truly was one of the greats).
Then I met Jim Masterson, Jim was the first person that I had met that worked very similar to Andy, but he had taken it further, he had also set up an accredited program. I signed up and followed the program and I am now an accredited practitioner and trainer.
I do mix the two methods for excellent results.
I will be running Masterson Method 2 day courses in the coming years, these are booked through the Masterson office www.mastersonmethod.com I will only be teaching the MM on these courses.
There is no substitute for a vet. I do work closely with a number of vets and often have vet referrals if they have an unexplained lameness that isn’t coming up on X-ray and scan.
Prices
Unless I am passing your door it is difficult for me to get to individual horses, ideally the minimum is 3 horses and the maximum horses in a day is 12.
All prices include travel if you are within under a 4 hour travel distance of CB9 After that there is a surcharge.
Within under 4 hours from home:
2 horses – £85 per horse
1 to 5 horses – £70 per horse
6+ horses – £60 per horse
More than 4 hours from home:
2 horses – £95
1 to 5 horses – £80
6+ horses – £70
*If you are in Scotland there is a surcharge of £5 per horse towards travel time & expenses.
*If you are in Europe there is a surcharge of £10 per horse towards travel time & expenses.