We’ve talked before about how discomfort, tension or restriction in the muscles of the horse can affect the horse’s movement, performance and even behavior. We’ve also discussed how horses are similar to humans in that each has a more predominant side, eye, or direction. This natural unevenness builds uneven tension in the horse’s muscles. The…
Dear Sir / Hello Jim (whatever suits you best) I have a Standardbred gelding, 8 years old, and two Shetland pony mares, 12 and 5 years old. They are either in training or harness racing. We have quite an active harness racing community for ponies here in Finland. The performance of the elder pony has been…
By Lisa Haldane, MMCP and owner of Avalon Performance Horse and Rider Support In Part One of this series, I talked about the daily routine for cutting horses in a training and show environment. In Part Two I talked about the Masterson Method techniques that are most useful in supporting the mature cutting show horse.…
by Nikki Kagan Anyone who follows Jim Masterson’s work, as well as those of us who treat horses with the Masterson Method know full well its effectiveness on horses. In fact, it works so well, that I began noticing its effect on people too. When I decided to study the Masterson Method and eventually become…
By Lisa Haldane, MMCP and owner of Avalon Performance Horse and Rider Support In Part One of this series, I talked about what the daily routine is like for cutting horses when they are in a training and show environment. It was descriptive of the life of the horses that show at the highest levels,…
by Crissi McDonald, MMCP When we shut the truck doors and let the dogs jump out of the backseat, our clinic horse Rocky raised himself from a warm morning nap he’d been taking. He pushed on to his front legs, rocked forward, and then got his wobbly hind end underneath him. As he walked toward…
By Lisa Haldane, MMCP and owner of Avalon Performance Horse and Rider Support As many of you know I got certified as a Masterson Method practitioner in 2009 and started teaching weekend seminars over the next few years. Later I developed the online courses that are now offered through Avalon Performance Horse and Rider Support…
I was honoured to have a page dedicated to me in the latest Intelligent Horsemanship (IH) magazine. My story is a small part of a huge movement to work with horses in a non aggressive way – I was lucky to have found my starting point with Monty Roberts, move on through some IH training,…
Have you ever noticed in training that it is often easier to do lateral work, bending, turning, and lead changes, in one direction than in the other? This may be due in part to a horse’s natural predominance of one side; what is sometimes called, “natural crookedness.” Horses are similar to humans in this respect.…
The Masterson Method of Integrated Equine Performance Bodywork comprises of two basic categories of techniques: those that release tension in situ, and those that release tension through range of motion in a relaxed state. Releasing tension in the muscles and restoring flexibility and range of motion to the skeleton work together. Relieving tension in the…