News From Jim

I'm once again on my way South to Florida for the winter show season.  It's a great place for me to hone and develop skills - you never stop learning and growing - and to get immediate feedback on my bodywork from the trainers, riders and owners about the horses I work on really helps me.  It's a great feeling to start working on a horse that is tight and uncomfortable at the start of the season, or that might not have been jumping at its best, and to see the results of this bodywork over a period of time. I see many of these horses on a regular basis, so I really get to know them as individuals and am able to look for even better ways to make them comfortable and thus, better able to perform their jobs. I am mindful of the importance of showing, so it is "pedal to the medal" to help these horses do their very best. 

Being in one place for a length of time also has it's advantages.  The Winter Equestrian Festival runs from January to April so it becomes a laboratory for new ideas and developing new techniques. One trainer who had a jumper that was dragging his hind feet, I tested out "egg yolk" pressure on the stifle joint. I found that this particular technique helped the horse release the accumulated stress in that area. The feedback from the trainer for such a subtle, yet powerful technique was very gratifying. 

What is really great about this bodywork and the most fun for me, is that it always involves the horse. It's not just me working on a horse, making this stuff up.  It's clearly the horse's responses that are guiding me.  By watching closely, and throwing away the clock (which, frankly is hard to do in a show environment, but still very necessary) and being sensitive to the responses, I am able to have productive results.

I am still awed at the level of communication between the horse and me through the lightest touch. With keen observation of the subtle responses from the horse that is created through this bodywork, I allow the horse to guide my work.  It really always is about the horse.

So, my "lab work" begins now until the end of March.  The good news to my students is that I always come back from this time ready to teach new, proven techniques I have used on these show horses.  Thus, we all benefit. 

I encourage everyone to throw away the clock, take some time during this winter season to "investigate" with your own horse.  To wait - which I mean SLOW DOWN; watch, not only with your eyes; and tune-in. When in doubt, lighten your touch (which sometimes feels counter intuitive.)  If you know there is something there that is just not coming out, begin again, but lighter, and you will be surprised by the results!  If you are not getting any more responses in one area, remember, you can always move to another part of the horse and come back.  The horse is connected from his nose to his tail.  Doing something on his hind end will affect his front end, and visa-versa.

Enjoy, and I hope to see you soon at a workshop.

Like me, enjoy your horses.

Jim