When she was very young she knew she loved horses. Theresa read everything she could read about them and watched all the TV shows with horses in them. But she didn’t get to have her own horse until she was out of high school. She did lots of trail riding, showing at local shows. One day she discovered ridden dressage and that became her focus for several years. After college she met a lady who raised Shire draft horses.
Then she discovered driving and driven dressage. Along with that came competing in carriage pleasure shows and combined driving events (CDEs) and giving clinics helping others to get started driving in a safe manner. Conditioning is an integral part of CDEs.
The sport of endurance riding and competitive riding is the place to learn about conditioning horses. Starting with 25 mile competitive rides and then 50 mile endurance races, she learned about electrolytes, hydration, massage therapy, pulse and respiration and other tips to keep horses going in the race. She wanted to carry the sport into driving; Theresa is a founding member of the Midwest Distance Driving Association. In this sport horses are driven at a specific pace with distances between 12 to 25 miles and judged by veterinarians for horse’s fitness and how well he comes through the miles.
Spending lots of time with her horses and getting to know them mentally and physically she wanted to help them feel better.
A well respected carriage driving friend told her about a Masterson Method 2 day seminar that was very close to her home. Not sure what that was she found The Masterson Method website and learned more. She was able to take her mare to the seminar. She learned the techniques and was fascinated with the releases the horses showed. Theresa was intrigued too with the softness used so the horse would not brace against you and begin to trust you. Seeking more knowledge she attended the five day course and the field study work and certification. From the beginning she has been taught to trust that she will leave the horse better off at the end of a session.
That is a very rewarding feeling for her to know that she has helped the horse. She enjoys teaching horse owners who have done some Masterson Method on their horse to review the techniques for better results. She believes all horse owners need to study Masterson Method to help improve their relationship with their horse and to relieve tension so the horse performs best for many years in the future.
Theresa looks forward to meeting horse owners of any discipline and helping their horses feel better so they can perform better.