The equine bodywork blog reviews Masterson Method teqhniques such as the Bladder Meridian, Tongue and Poll Release and the Head Up technique along with blog posts explaining equine anatomy, bodywork tips and how The Masterson Method works.
The equine bodywork blog features posts from The Masterson Method Founder, Jim Masterson, along with many Masterson Method Certified Practitioners currently practicing equine bodywork.
We hope the equine bodywork blog posts are educational and get you interested in learning more about The Masterson Method. If you have specific questions about The Masterson Method or equine bodywork, check out the Bodywork Questions and Answers page. If you don’t see what you’re looking for, contact us to submit a question
by Lisa Star, Fieldwork Student The gelding put his head near mine and blew softly – his warm breath on my neck and shoulders. I was both thrilled and yet felt a bit vulnerable – for the intimacy of this action surprised me. This has happened a few times recently and I doubt I’ll ever…
by Mimi Duffy, MMCP I saw Jim Masterson giving a demo at a Horse Expo in Sacramento. While watching the demo, I thought, “this is something I can do to keep my horses healthy!” I was working full time as a Registered Nurse and up to my eyeballs finishing a Master Certification at the Academy…
by Megan Dushin, MMCP, MMES, Coach, Instructor Jim Masterson focuses his practice and teaching of The Masterson Method® on the benefits to the horse. Yet, he will admit that this approach to bodywork reaches far beyond the obvious realm of helping horses release tension. He once said in conversation (as a few of us were…
In Part 1 of Primary Issues of Tension in the Horse’s Body, we talked about performance or behavior issues and possible primary issues that might be behind them and discussed Masterson Method® techniques that may help with the (secondary) tension caused by them. All of what we work on in the horse’s body is caused…
by Stephanie Wilkins, MMCP and Coach To answer how I became a Masterson Method Certified Practitioner (MMCP), I have to share why. It was because of our spotted saddle horse Lincoln, who was having intermittent lameness and performance issues that were becoming chronic. It got to the point where we questioned if his career was…
Tension in the horse’s body is caused by something. It is secondary to, or created by, some other primary issue. We can clear tension in the horse’s body until the cows come home (which is always good), but if we can help determine what’s causing the tension and then remedy it, then the tension likely…
When discussing head-shy horses, often the first question that is asked is whether it is a behavioral issue or a physical issue? One of the first signs that something may be a behavioral issue would be how relatively easy it is to train through. If a behavior is unreasonably difficult to train out of the…
Over the last 15 years The Masterson Method® has taught thousands of people equine bodywork techniques in Weekend Seminars, Advanced 5-Day Courses and the Fieldwork program. Tens of thousands of people have learned the techniques from the Beyond Horse Massage book and DVD and it has always been Jim’s goal to make the method accessible…
by Gina Kuttrus, MMCP Meet Star, a horse we helped mentally and physically with the help of the Masterson Method® in collaboration with veterinarians, trainers and her humans at The Right Step Horse Therapy in Colorado. Star is an equine-assisted services horse who primarily did adaptive riding (formerly referred to as therapeutic riding). She injured…
My name is Jenna and I am lucky enough to live and work at Ekone Ranch, a multi-faceted organization in the Columbia Gorge area, in rural Washington. Ekone is home to Sacred Earth Foundation, a nonprofit land trust covering 1,138 acres. White Eagle Memorial Preserve, one of only a handful of natural conservation burial grounds…
The horse is the ultimate prey animal. When feeling threatened by something in the environment, he is hard-wired to run away first and ask questions later. Survival for millennia has been dependent on living in the protection of the herd. Consequently, horses try not to show discomfort in their body. They hide it until a…
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…
What if my horse is constantly fidgeting? What if he appears uncomfortable and wants me to stop?” Often when we find something in the horse that’s uncomfortable, he’ll fidget, or he’ll tell us it’s uncomfortable. This is part of the communication. When that happens, we have to find the right level of pressure or non-pressure,…
by Megan Dushin MMCP, MMES If you’ve seen Jim Masterson or a certified practitioner demonstrate The Masterson Method®, then you’ve seen what some common “releases” look like when a horse lets go of tension. A horse may lick and chew, shake his head, scratch himself, sigh or snort, rest a hind leg, yawn profusely, or…
How Often Can I do this Work? Every horse is different. Different horses have different histories and different things going on, and different nervous systems. A draft horse has a different nervous system than say, a thoroughbred. And with this method you’re working with the horse’s nervous system. His nervous system is releasing the tension.…
by Diane Howard, MMCP, Coach, Instructor In mentoring and coaching fieldwork students, some of the most frequent questions asked are about diagonals, for example, how to determine the diagonal and whether the diagonal can change between sessions. The certification course, in particular, provides excellent information on these issues, but because laterality in horses 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…
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.…
Jim Masterson was interviewed by Jane Pike on the Confident Rider Podcast. Jane shares: Team, I am so thrilled to be able to share this conversation with you today on my podcast. I’m talking with Jim Masterson about the Masterson Method and how it is we can work with our horse to release underlying…
What if My Horse Tries to Kick me? If he’s tries to kick you, it’s because you’re finding something with your hand that he’s been covering up and blocking out, but now that you’ve found it it’s bothering him. He’s now letting you know you’ve found something uncomfortable. You don’t even have to know what…
Can I do this Wrong? We use techniques with this method that use no pressure or movement, and some that involve different levels of pressure and movement. But they all rely on reading the responses of the horse, and softening when we run into resistance. If you’re doing this then 1) you can’t hurt the…
Bladder Meridian Technique Goal: To bypass the Horse’s survival-defense response and connect directly with the part of the horse’s nervous system that holds and releases tension. The results: This simple yet powerful Technique establishes the basis of communication between you and the horse through touch and response. It puts you both on the…
“What if’s” and other questions on the Bladder Meridian/Search-Response-Stay-Release. Now you’ve had time to practice some of the Techniques described in earlier Educational Fridays, and I’m sure you ALL have. (I know some of you haven’t because I have an app that can tell that!). You may have some questions about things that…
Tips on Softness, the Nervous System, and Horse Behavior Before we go any further with the Techniques I want to start to go back over what we’ve covered so far, and to touch on some things that may be relevant at this point in your practice. As you may have noticed, just as there…
Head Up Technique on Shoulder This article is the third of three. As we said last week, there are three ways to do the Head Up Techniques: a) Chin Lift (Hands Under Chin) b) Head in Arm c) Head on Shoulder This week we will work on c) Head Up on Shoulder…
The most common complaint, in my experience, that inspires a horse owner to request bodywork concerns the perceived inability of their horse to bend properly. As a rider and trainer, I know that a rider’s incorrect body position alone can make it impossible for a horse to bend properly through the body. However, when I…
Article by Becky Tenges, Certified Practitioner, Instructor and Certification Block 3 Mentor ~ Since becoming certified as a Masterson Method Practitioner and Instructor, I have been on a continuing education quest to become a better bodyworker by learning more about anatomy, biomechanics and possible primary causes of discomfort in my horse clients. For a couple…
Where is the Bladder Meridian? In Chinese medicine, there are twelve primary acupuncture meridians in the body. The Bladder Meridian is one of the major acupuncture meridians that has a unique effect on balancing the other acupuncture meridians. It runs down each side of the body, about two inches parallel to the top line, then…
Temporal mandibular joint issues can create tension in the poll, and vice-versa says, equine bodywork therapist Jim Masterson. And conversely, pain or restriction in the poll will affect other parts of the body. “Issues in your horse’s body have a way of reflecting in his poll and atlas,” explains Masterson. Therefore, tension and pain he…
By Coralie Hughes ~ I am often struck by the similarities between what it takes to ride well and what it takes to be a good practitioner of the Masterson Method. At a recent dressage training clinic I attended, the internationally famous trainer kept repeating “every horse is a song”, with the admonition that the…
Tongue (and poll) Release The Purpose of this Technique is to release muscle tension in deep muscles around and associated with the hyoid apparatus. This area is associated with tension in the poll, TMJ and jaw, sternum and other areas of the horse. The Goal of this Technique is to encourage the horse to gently…
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…