What I found most helpful: Watching Jim perform the techniques on different horses, seeing how they respond and how he then proceeds with the technique. His explanations are very helpful and I like how he reiterates important points throughout the sessions
What I Experienced: I’ve been working with this Method for about 1 year now on 8-10 horses per week and feel like I am gaining a better understanding of the method all the time.
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What I found most helpful: I’ve been working on reactions to the lightest of touch and release to engender responses both in training and for health issues. For me it’s wonderful to find that I’m traveling in the right direction. It’s pushed me further down the road to understanding more about the use of relaxation techniques and its connection with the nervous system. At first glance, it looks rudimentary, but actually it has an amazing impact on the whole horse and there’s a lot happening under the surface both with the superficial & deep muscles as well as aiding the physiological balance of the whole body.
What I Experienced: I worked on a mare who was extremely heavy and stiff in hind, particularly the left hind. She had very positive responses particularly to massaging the poll area especially with the the head down. She was tighter with the head up. When I got to the back she lifted her hind leg and directed my hand to the abdominal obliques, as I felt my way backwards I found the semitendinosus, semimembranosus & gracilis muscles very tight. After working on the hind end junction she seemed a lot happier and I was able to get some great releases as she dropped her pelvis. She stayed with her legs both forward and inwards as well as crossing over in the backwards position for some time before returning to normal stance.
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What I found most helpful: My wife, Chantal Holder (Nee Labuschagne) trained under Jim at Red Barn Stanford and then went on to assist Jim on a course in Ireland. Chantal has showed my the method and I have used this for some time so the course really gave me so much more information and I found the whole course to be extremely helpful and worthwhile.
What I Experienced: When putting into practice what I have learned from each section, I found that I was getting better and more releases than before
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What I found most helpful: Being able to see the techniques live with the practical explanation. What I Experienced: Excellent, the horses all released and gained benefit
What I found most helpful: Repetition is how I learn and I appreciate being exposed to the same material more than once in different ways. Makes me curious to know who designed all of the Masterson Method teaching materials. It appears to have some science behind it.
What I Experienced: I’m continually amazed at the variety of responses a horse will express. My “latest, greatest” was with a quarter horse gelding who’s lately become stiffer in the front end and the stiffness was starting to show up in the hind end. After doing the bladder meridian and hind end points, and he just showing me some fidgets and an occasional single lick, I stepped back about 15 ft. from him with the owner. After about a minute he brought his front legs back toward his hind legs, squared up with the legs about half the front-to-back distance he’d normally stand with, extended his neck and stretched his nose to the sky until his neck was extended slightly PAST vertical, held the position for a good 10 seconds, let out a huge sigh/grunt, came back to a normal stance with head down, licking some. The owner had never seen the horse do this before. And, oh yeah, he’s performing well now.
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What I found most helpful: The videos associated with each technique. Reading can only take you so far seeing it applied definitely ties it all together.
What I Experienced: The releases I see are just like the ones I am told to look for! Also I like how it is explained what to do when horses give you difficulties.
What I found most helpful: That I can return to each segment and refresh each set of techniques.
What I Experienced: Each horse responds to the same technique differently.
What I found most helpful: The different types of pressure have been most helpful for me as I have used most of these techniques before. I love listening to the horses and looking and listening for their reactions to the procedures.
What I Experienced: The experiences I had were all good my horses love it. I have one head shy mare that I have to take more time with on the poll but once she relaxes and I stay calm she does wonderful
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What I found most helpful: I found all the lessons extremely helpful…..Depending on the horse….you can start or go to another area on the horse if needed.
What I Experienced: One of my horses that I know for a fact suffers from a lot of tension appears to be more relaxed and less reactive as a whole.
Found helpful: Being able to refresh my knowledge (and practice) of the basic techniques, after taking the 2-day workshop and prior to taking the 5-day workshop.
Experiences: I’ve been practicing the techniques since I took the 2-day workshop in Oct. 2014 and every horse I’ve practiced on has taught me something new. I am intrigued with the various types of behaviors I see prior to major releases, ranging from the stoic to the full fledged exhibitionist!
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