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News From Jim
Hi everyone,
We just had a great and very busy weekend at the Horse Expo in Pomona, California. We sold out of books and dvd's on the first day! I did three well received presentations over the course of three days and met a lot of nice and enthusiastic horse people.
Our booth was set up in the "Book Corral" which was reserved for authors selling books. Our table was flanked by Dr. Robert M. Miller, well known for his foal imprint training books. "Western Horseman" Magazine has named Dr. Miller the 2012 Western Horseman of the Year! At the table to the left of us was Kate Chenery Tweedy, daughter of Penny Chenery who owned the famous race horse, Secretariat. She has written a book on Secretariat titled, Secretariat's Meadow, including archive pictures from her mom's  scrapbook. Her presentations at the Expo were scattered with interesting anecdotes from an owner's perspective of this legendary horse. For example, did you know that Secretariat's heart weighed 22 pounds (the normal Thoroughbred heart weighs 8-10 pounds.) The heart was weighed during the autopsy and the increase was not due to any defect or abnormality. It was great to be in Pomona. When I was seven years old I lived not a mile from these fairgrounds, so as we drove around, Conley had to put up with me saying, "I remember that." We were fortunate to have incredible help from Stephanie Hoefener who took the Norco, CA weekend course a couple years ago and Janet Bailey (Certifed Practitioner) and my brother Ron who, in turns, helped at the booth and the presentations. Stephanie is hard at work creating a weekend and an advanced 5-day course in Southern California this Fall. Talking about courses, we still have openings at the Dade City, Florida course in February. This is one of only a few weekend courses that I will be teaching. Dade City is near Ocala, Florida. See the sidebar for more details. We are putting more foundational and advanced courses on the website as they come on-line. For those that have never attended a workshop, below we have a short clip on what goes on at a at one. I encourage everyone to attend for the value of working one-on-one with our instructors, and because it's fun! Lastly, I want to introduce you to our newest Certified Practitioner, Monica Gray from Mountain Home, Idaho. Read her bio below. Until next time, like me, enjoy your horses!
Jim
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The Masterson Minute
Jim explains what goes on at a Hand's-On Weekend Seminar-Workshop
 | | Beyond Horse Massage: The Masterson Method Minute with Jim Masterson |
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 New MM Practitioner:
Monica Gray,
Mountain Home, ID
I grew up in a small coastal town in Washington state with little exposure to horses, though that never stopped me from dreaming of owning a horse someday. After high school I acquired my Associates Degree in Veterinary Technology and pursued my dream working with animals. I married my husband who joined the US Air Force and our journey began. Our second move was to North Dakota for 7 years where my husband surprised me with my very own horse, a Connemara pony. Together, my husband and I and First Lass traveled the United States for the next 30 years. I continued to work in small animal and mixed practices for the first 10 years, though moving took it's toll and I eventually gave up my technician career and began working towards a retirement in government civil service.
The best advice I ever received was "life is a trade off" and though I couldn't work in my chosen career field, I was out the door at 4, and on my horse by 4:30 with weekend and holidays free, allowing First Lass and I time to do dressage and eventing from Kentucky to Washington state. Our travels took us to Alaska for 7 years where we were the Regional Dressage champions at training level and qualified for 1st level USDF Championships. My life as a military wife afforded me the opportunity to see the world and work in veterinary practices around the country. My specialty was surgery, pre and post op and equine racetrack work where I gained valuable experience. After settling in Idaho in 2001, I finally retired from civil service after 22 years and now with the support of my husband was able to start the next chapter of my life.
Looking for a new direction to take my veterinary knowledge and skills I obtained certification in Equine Sports Massage but I didn't feel the connection with the horse that I was looking for. After attending a Masterson Method (MM)weekend seminar I knew this was the direction I wanted to go and with my husbands encouragement, my now three Connemara horses , First Lass, Fox and Maggie and numerous 4-legged friends I have become a Masterson Method™ Certified Practitioner. To me there is no greater feeling than the communication between you and the horse as he guides you in your work to help him feel better.
The area I live in affords me the rare opportunity to work on horses that have a wide variety of jobs, from the working ranch horse and western gaming horses to the English disciplines of eventing, dressage and jumping. I get immediate feed back from riding and doing MM on my own competition horses. I plan to continue expanding my veterinary knowledge and working on my clients horses.
I can be reached at (208) 599-3447 or email at rmgray52@msn.com
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Ask Jim
Dear Jim,
I have a question about my horse Jet. He is a 18 year old quarter horse gelding. He is somewhat arthritic and achy in the winter and during damp weather. He is otherwise healthy. I don't ride much, he is more of a companion.
I enjoy spending time with him and brushing him. I have to be softer brushing him in certain areas, as he is achy. When I try some light massage, he will put his ears back (not pinned) and may raise a hind hoof a little, then put down. My vet confirmed he is arthritic, and has a
lower pain tolerance. He is on Smart Pak, MSM. Would your DVD benefit a horse like him safely?
Being that he is semi-retired, would your DVD still be appropriate for us, being that we don't do a lot? Thank you! Debbie
Hi Debbie,
The answer is yes it will help. The thing about this Method of bodywork that will work for your
horse is that when you run into any resistance in the horse, you soften a little until the horse releases the resistance, and then move forward
through it. As a matter of fact, the very first technique in the video requires absolutely no pressure on the horse.
In your guy's case, like many of older, stiffer people, he is grumpy and sore all over to any pressure. The first thing he will probably do when you rest your hand lightly on his neck with the first technique, The Bladder Meridian technique, is to pin his ears, swish his tail, and give you a mean look. If you just rest your
hand lightly there, doing nothing, then his body will start to send circulation to that area and the tension will release. He will start licking and chewing and dropping his head. You can then move on and do the same on other parts of his body.
And all this you can do yourself.
I hope this helps, and I know that you will make the old guy feel more comfortable.
Jim
Editor's note: You can see more questions and answers on the website Discussion Forum
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Calendar of Events
For Prices of each course, follow the link for more information to the Calendar Page on the website. There you will find each course's price, location and registration information
February 25th - 26th
Dade City, Florida
(Near Ocala, FL)
Weekend Seminar-Workshop
Click for Flyer
For more informationor call Cindee: 641-472-1312
March 10th - 11th
Hutto, TX (near Austin)
Weekend Seminar-Workshop
For more information
Click for Flier
or call Cindee: 641-472-1312
March 12th - 16th
Hutto, TX (near Austin)
5 - Day Advanced Course Prerequisites apply
For more information
or call 641-472-1312
April 14th - 15th
Ames, Iowa
Weekend Seminar-Workshop with Marie Riley.
Click for Flier
For more information or call: Jada 515-540-5820
May 5th - 6th
Lexington, KY
Weekend Seminar-Workshop
For more information
or call Cindee: 641-472-1312
May 12th - 13th
Clinton, Oklahoma
Weekend Seminar- Workshop with Yvonne Ohlensehlen.
For more information
or call Cindee 641-472-1312
May 26th - 27th
Cedarburg, WI
Weekend Seminar-Workshop with Stefanie Reinhold.
For more information or call Cindee: 641-472-1312
May 28th - June 1st
Mequon, WI 5 - Day Advanced Course Prerequisites apply
For more information or call 641-472-1312
June 2nd - 3rd
Rockwell, TX
Weekend Seminar-Workshop
For more information
or call 641-472-1312
June 23rd - 24th
Little Compton,
Rhode Island
Weekend Seminar-Workshop with Marie Riley.
Click for Flier
For more information or call Cindee 641-472-1312
July 14th - 15th
Versailles, KY (near Lexington, KY)
Weekend Seminar-Workshop with Coralie Hughes For more information or call 641-472-1312 July 16th - 20th
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Seminar Host Testimonial
Jim Masterson stayed with us for a week in October 2011 and used our horses for both his weekend clinic and Phase I course. We are a busy riding school and the course was run over the weekend and the week. Jim and his clients worked on all the horses and fitted into the running of the yard really well.
It was interesting to see them working on our horses and seeing how they reacted to the treatment. Definitely well worth having the course here and we would welcome them again.
Andy and Kathryn Reeve
St. Leonards Equitation Centre, Launceston, Cornwall, UK
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Another Ask Jim:
Hi Jim,
Just a quick question ... sorry to bother you. Do you prefer to do the
lateral rocking after the dorsal arch or before the dorsal arch?
Thanks, Vickie
Hi Vickie,
I usually do the Lateral Rocking after the Dorsal Arch, but only
after a beer, when no one is looking, and after I've finished working on
the horse.
(ha, ha)
Jim
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Jim Gives Presentation in Wellington, Florida
for Jane Savoie's Mentor Reunion
Jane Savoie (coach of dressage at three Olympic Games) held her second Dressage Mentor Reunion in Wellington, Florida, from January 19 to 22. During the reunion, participants had a chance to watch Jane teaching and critiquing rides - a real treat - and also to be exposed to new trends in the horse world via experts Jane invited to present. Jim Masterson was one of those invited, and on a gloriously sunny Florida afternoon he demonstrated the Masterson Method™ to around 60 participants at Ruth Hogan Poulsen's Bespoke Farm, assisted by two MM Certified Instructors: Coralie Hughes and Diane Howard. As he usually does, Jim started by explaining what makes the MM special, that it focuses on the key junctions that most affect performance and the magic of working with the horse's responses in order to get releases. He then demonstrated the bladder meridian on Sam, one of Ruth's horses, showing how the Search-Response-Stay-Release approach works and how people can do this with their own horses. Two more horses were then brought out and participants had a chance to try the bladder meridian themselves. People were thrilled to find that they could read the horse's reactions and get releases. Happily, all of the horses were very expressive. After letting participants experience the bladder meridian, Jim briefly demonstrated the scapula release as an introduction to working with the key junctions in the horse. The session was followed by a chance to chat informally with Jim and to purchase the new book and video, both of which were enthusiastically received. One person remarked that the photography in the video was some of the best and clearest she had ever seen in an equine DVD. Jim's presentation obviously made an impression, because during the rest of the Reunion people could be heard saying, "Do that at grape" or "Are you using lime pressure?" (Written by Diane Howard, Certified Instructor and Practitioner, Troiry, France who participated in the Mentor Reunion) |
Jim Masterson
Masterson Equine Services
123 North Main Street, #8
Fairfield, Iowa 52556
641-472-1312 |
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