Happy Holidays to All,

I hope everyone is keeping warm this winter. I've been posting pictures on the  Masterson Method Facebook page of our "winter wonderland" (snow and a wind chill of below zero) here in Iowa.

I am happy to introduce our On-Line Home Study Course. 

For those of you who live too far away (attention our Australia, South Africa, and Ottumwa, Iowa friends) to attend a weekend seminar, or have taken a weekend seminar and want a "do-over", or just want a systematic way and structure, to practice the techniques, this course is for you! 

The course was created to help you move through the Beyond Horse Massage material with the help of video, practice sheets and more, in a manner that's as near as possible to what I call the "hands-on-hands" experience of attending a Weekend Seminar.

The opportunity for us to shout words of encouragement at you as you practice the techniques are, of course, the value of attending an actual Seminar, and there is no substitute for that. This course will be accredited through the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork Organization (NCBTMB) for 12 Continuing Education Credits. Use this Home Study course as a preface to a "hands-on" weekend seminar workshop.

This course is set up similar to a seminar, but rather than having only a weekend of exposure and instruction you will have 6-weeks. At the end of the 6-week period, you may choose to extend your subscription. 

The course includes: Six hours of video instruction and demonstrations taken from the September 2013 Weekend Seminar taught here in Fairfield, Iowa. These can be reviewed throughout the course. Practical hands-on assignments, some reading (yes, reading) assignments from Beyond Horse Massage. Follow up video instruction answering questions from seminar students, and test/quizzes at the end of each chapter. All you need to add is your hands, and the horse.

Here's the Course Format:  

• An introduction to each technique.
• Video of Jim teaching the technique.
• Required reading from the book; Beyond Horse Massage.
• Step-by-step practice sheets that you can print out for real time experience with each technique.
• A follow-up video to watch after you have practiced the technique.
• A quiz to assist you with assessing whether you have mastered the techniques.
• All Online Home Study Graduates will receive $100 off a Weekend Seminar-Workshop of their choice. 

Click here to view the Table of Contents, and a Sample Chapter to try out for FREE!

Digital Download of Beyond Horse Massage   

On a different note, I have joined the 21st century and now use my iPad to read books. We  received word from our publisher that the digital version of the Beyond Horse Massage book is now available. We don't sell it from our store, but you may purchase it from one of the larger online book stores.

Donation Time 

Just in time for Christmas is our donation from purchases of the DVD, Equine Massage for Performance Horses: The Masterson Method.  We announced in June that all of the profits from this DVD will be donated to an equine charity.  The charity we chose in June was the Horses for Heroes project. 

This time we will be sending the donation from your purchases to the Equus Foundation.  

This foundation does its good work by providing financial, management, network and educational support to horse charities across the United States. Click here to find out more about Equus Foundation.

Gift Ideas   

If you are like my wife, you might be getting worried that the Holidays are coming up FAST  and that Santa might not know what YOU want!  Don't worry, it's not too late to make sure that Santa knows exactly what YOU want!  Send this link to your significant other, if you want to try out the Home Study Course.  Go ahead, "no guts, no glory."   

If that's not enough, we have  gift certificates available that your significant other can use as a stocking stuffer in YOUR stocking.  Maybe one of our Holiday discounted DVD combos or a Masterson Method hat? Believe me, it's always good to let "Santa" know EXACTLY what YOU want! (How many of you are guessing that my wife wrote THIS part?)

Instructors, Assistants, Coaches and Mentors  

I know Thanksgiving's over, but I want to take the opportunity here to acknowledge all of my Instructors, Assistants, Coaches and Mentors. The road to an effective Certification Program has been sometimes a bumpy one, and I want to thank those who have hung in there. You do a wonderful job - as confirmed by the feedback from students on the exit questionnaires - and I want to let you know here how appreciative they, and I, are. The hard part's over. Keep up the good work!

Newly Certified Practitioners

We have many new recently certified MMCP's in England, Europe and the U.S. I am very proud to showcase them and have them tell you their stories in each of our newsletters. This is maybe my favorite part of the newsletter, and not just because I don't have to write it myself.

As students they have traveled to distant corners of the planet-country-state or province, gone through many, many hours of practice, often rewarding but sometimes frustrating writing and review, and worst of all having to listen to bad jokes during their time with me. Not always easy, but rewarding and - except for the jokes - all towards the goal of leading them to be the best Practitioners that they can be. A long process, but what more fulfilling work with horses is there to be had? Congratulations to all of them!

That said, keep your eyes open to future pages here for more suffering, bad jokes and learning opportunities as we develop a new Level II Certification and Continuing Education program. I'll keep you hanging on that one...

Until then, like me, enjoy your horses