May was a good month for the Masterson Method, with the beginning of the month finding me teaching at a Weekend Seminar-Workshop at the Maker's Mark Secretariat Center at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky. (whew, that's a mouth-full!)  I stayed around the Horse Park for the first week of the Spring Hunter-Jumper horseshow to work on client's horses, including Brianne Goutal's beautiful stallion, Nice. Brianne and Nice jumped clean in the $50,000 Hagyard Grand Prix, which was also an observation class for the 2012 Olympic Trials. Brianne is long listed for the Olympic Show Jumping Team. 

Stefanie Reinhold taught the Weekend Seminar-Workshop in Mequon, Wisconsin at the end of the month, and stayed on to assist with the 5-Day Advanced Course in the Mequon area. Masterson Method Certified Practitioner (MMCP) Sue Harwood came all the way from Wirral, UK to help teach along with Phase III assistants Becky Tenges and Mary Ridgely. 

Congratulations to Becky and Mary for successfully completing Phase III. They are now full-fledged MMCP's!  Read Mary's bio below. 

The added value of attending a Seminar is that you receive practical, what I call, "hands-on-hands" experience with the techniques taught in the Beyond Horse Massage book and dvd from qualified instructors and assistants.   

Diane Howard, Instructor for the UK and Europe, just sent this feedback from one of the participants at a recent seminar-workshop held in Shropshire, UK:  "Hello Diane, Thought I'd let you know that doing the weekend course has made a real difference to my application of the Method with my horses, I just feel like I know a bit more about what I am doing!  Thanks and regards, Jane"  Jane says it all.  Participating at a seminar-workshop really helps pull it all together.  

June is starting out to be a busy month.  We had three Weekend Seminar-Workshops going simultaneously during the first weekend of June: One in Shropshire, England taught by Diane Howard; one in Oxford, NY with instructor Marie Riley; and one in Rockwall, TX with Lorre Mueller. You Go, Horse Girls!

You can now sign up for Courses and Seminars held this Summer and Fall all over the globe:  In the United Kingdom; Ireland; Indiana; Montana; Iowa; Maryland; Texas; Florida; California; Arizona and the Netherlands. See our Calendar webpage for prices and exact locations.

As you read this, we have just finished the Western States Horse Expo in Sacramento, California and it was a big success! I flew out from Iowa and met Stefanie Hoefener, who drove up from Southern California to help. We got help from Phase II students, Barbara McCann and Gari Thompson for the presentations and "manning the booth." I did three fun presentations, sold out of all of our books and dvd's, and left happy, but exhausted.

Looking ahead, I am heading out at the end of the month to help some clients on the Show Jumping circuit. I'll be at the Lake Placid, New York Horse Show with my bodywork partner, Bill Stanton, and possibly to Spruce Meadows in Calgary, Canada.  

I still have not finalized my schedule with my Olympic Show Jumping and Eventing clients at the Olympics in England, I will keep you informed as it develops.  I will be teaching the 5 Day Advanced course in Navan, Ireland in August and the Devon, UK, weekend and 5 Day Advanced Course in September (see Calendar sidebar).  

Lastly, we are having a writing contest! Take a quick look under the Calendar sidebar to read about it.  Looking forward to reading your entries. 

Until then, like me, Enjoy your horses.

New Masterson Method Practitioner, Mary Ridgely, MMCP

I grew up in rural northern Wisconsin and moved to Madison, Wisconsin in my twenties to attend the University of Wisconsin. When I was a kid I couldn't convince my dad to buy me a horse, so I had to be content riding those owned by my friends. My husband grew up riding hunter/jumpers, so when we had kids of our own we made sure they learned to ride and had plenty of opportunities to be around horses.  

Once they were on their own I decided it was my turn, and started taking riding lessons and leasing horses. I was making up for lost time, so I spent as much time at the barn as I could and got close to as many horses as possible. When I saw Stefanie Reinhold, MMCP demonstrate The Masterson Method™ at the 2011 Midwest Horse Fair I turned to my husband and said, "I have to learn how to do that!"    

I took the Masterson Method weekend seminar in Palo Alto, California and was hooked. With the encouragement of my husband, I purchased a quarter horse mare named Shelby and set out to learn as much as I could about these beautiful animals.

As a Vocational Rehabilitation specialist, I have worked with people with disabilities for more than thirty years. The satisfaction I get from helping an individual maximize his or her potential is very significant. Equally satisfying is using The Masterson Method™ to help a horse feel better and improve performance. I have worked on a variety of breeds and horses with different "jobs" and look forward to expanding that experience.

You can contact Mary via email and cell:  608-239-3129;  email: mrid2252@aol.com

 

with the results and decided to purchase the book for myself to see if it is something I might want to pursue for myself.  The book is well written and I have had some wonderful releases with my horses.

I have a problem with one of my geldings though....he became very aggressive during our session and began to act VERY studish. He dropped, became erect and threatened to strike. This was after we performed the Bladder Meridian exercise and moved on asking for the Lateral Cervical Flexion. I stopped doing what I was doing and he proceeded to release in a very major way, yawning, chewing, snorting, blowing, shaking, etc.

Have you noted this before in a horse? Is this a horse that should be proceeded with more slowly? Any help or insights would be greatly appreciated.    Ree  

Hi Ree, 

Yes, this sometimes happens with stallions, and very occasionally with a gelding.  When you get to the Lateral Flexion, or especially the Head Up Technique it can release energy and endorphins that trigger this behavior. The Head Up technique especially, as it simulates (and stimulates) the stallion resting his chin on
the mare's back before mounting. It may be easier next time, as you may have released some accumulated physical tension. If not, the best thing is to do a little work, then stop before
the behavior starts, or, if it starts, splash some water out of his bucket onto his flank or belly as soon as he gets started. The water usually does the trick, but you may have to do it multiple times.  

In any case, as you know, you must always  keep yourself safe. I wouldn't hesitate having someone stand by with water to put out the fire each time it flares up if safety became an issue. 

Good luck, and keep in touch. 

Jim