Erica Rothstein, Certified Masterson Method Practitioner, Equine Massage Therapist, and proprietor of TOUCHES HORSES, has a life time of riding, working and playing with horses. From placing in the top three National High Score Junior Hunter awards for three years running, to breaking yearlings for a well-known thoroughbred breeder and trainer, to riding her renegade Morgan/Quarter horse bareback across the Sagre de Cristo Mountains, horses have always been the teachers of her most important life lessons.
I stumbled upon The Masterson Method® completely by accident, or perhaps divine intervention, when I asked a women I boarded with what she was doing in the stall with her mare for a half hour every day before she tacked up. “Come watch,” she offered.
I walked back to Violet’s stall and found her in what I could only describe as a state of bliss, as Mac slowly ran her fingers along her normally high strung, ultra sensitive mare’s body. “I’m watching her reactions to my touch to see where she needs attention,” Mac told me. At first I couldn’t see anything that looked to me like a reaction.
“See her nostrils twitch? Watch. There’s a blink. Now I’ll wait here.”
Mac stopped moving her hand and waited, and moments later Violet did a delicate lick and chew. “That’s a little release of tension,” Mac explained. And then Violet did a big, not very delicate yawn and shook her head. “That looks like a big release of tension,” I said. “Bingo.” said Mac, and I was hooked. It was like watching someone do magic, only it was real, No tricks, and I knew at that moment that I found what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I can honestly say that the more I do this work, the more magical it becomes.
Horses give us so much, for reasons I will probably never understand, but always appreciate. They deserve this work. They deserve to have someone give them their undivided, loving attention. I am eternally grateful to Jim Masterson for developing this method, which is as intuitive as it is systematic. The method continues to grow as Jim continues to learn and encourages us to share our experiences. He has drawn together a community bound by a common respect and awe of the incredible creatures horses are. I am thrilled to be a part of it. I look forward to touching as many horses as I can get my hands on!