Would you like to enable your horse to perform and feel better, to overcome old limitations and restrictions and reach its full potential? In this book, Jim Masterson, Equine Massage Therapist for the 2006 and 2008 and 2010 USET Endurance Teams, and for equine clientele competing in FEI World Cup, Pan American and World Games competitions, teaches a unique method of equine bodywork, in which the practitioner recognizes and follows the responses of the horse to touch to release tension in key junctions of the body that most affect performance.
This practical book:
Contains step-by-step instructions, photographs and illustrationsIs ideally suited to accompany you to the barn, where you will practice the Masterson Method techniques on horses.Includes chapters with tips & techniques, anatomical explanations and examples from Jim's practice help deepen your understanding.Has a quick reference section that will point you to exercises that are specifically suited to your particular discipline--dressage, endurance, eventing, show jumping, barrel racing, or others in the vast realm of horse sports.
By using these techniques, and knowing the responses to look for, you are able to:
Achieve a release of accumulated stress in deep-seated key junctions of the horse's body that affects mobility, comfort, attitude, training and performance.Restore muscular and structural balance, and natural alignment.Enable your horse to perform optimally and respond to your training without stiffness and pain.Achieve new levels of communication and trust with your horse that spill over into other areas of interaction.
Jim Masterson, Equine Massage Therapist for the 2006 and 2008 and 2010 USET Endurance Teams, and for equine clientele competing in FEI World Cup, Pan American and World Games competitions, teaches a unique method of equine bodywork to therapists and horse owners, in which the practitioner recognizes and follows the responses of the horse to touch to release tension in key junctions of the body that most affect performance. When he first became interested in equine massage in 1997, Jim recognized that the horse exhibits certain neurological responses to touch as it releases tension in the body. Using those responses to guide his work, he developed a system in which the horse participates in the process by showing the practitioner where tension has accumulated, precisely how much pressure is needed to release it, and when it has been released. The result is an effective method of bodywork that anyone can learn to use, to improve performance while at the same time opening new levels of communication and trust with the horse. In 2006, Jim was invited to accompany the USET Endurance Team to the FEI World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany. Team member Jennifer Niehaus said afterward, "Of all the things that were done for my horse Cheyenne, the bodywork Jim did was the most beneficial. He has truly never moved as nicely as he did in Germany." In 2008 Jim was again asked to accompany the Team to the FEI World Endurance Championships in Malaysia. Team member Meg Sleeper, DVM said of Jim, "It is impossible to overestimate Jim's ability to keep performance horses working at their peak level. Simply put, he is like having a secret weapon." Jim again supported our Endurance Team at the 2010 FEI World Equestrian Games in Lexington, KY. Jim has been a presenter to large crowds of enthusiastic horse owners at Equitana Asia Pacific (Australia) and Equine Affaire (US) equine conventions and has presented The Masterson Method techniques at many Horse Expos and Horse Fairs around the US. He was invited to present at the Your Horse Live event in the UK and the famed Equitana in Essen, Germany. Jim currently works on 500 to 600 horses a year on the U.S. Hunter-Jumper Show circuit, including top equine competitors in events such as the USEF and Maclay Medal series, and FEI Grand Prix, Nation's Cup, Pan American and World Cup jumping events. He continues to help members of the USET Singles Driving Team (he helped them prior to the 2010 Championships in Italy) and members of the USET Jumping team. Jim travels the world teaching the Masterson Method(TM) seminars and Advanced courses to horse owners, trainers and therapists. For more information visit Jim's site: mastersonmethod.com. He lives in Fairfield, Iowa.Stefanie Reinhold is a certified Masterson Method(TM) practitioner (MMCP) and instructor, and is the owner of Reinhold's Horse Wellness(TM) Equine Massage & Bodywork. She lives in Madison, Wisconsin.
"In Beyond Horse Massage the reader is introduced to a method of unique, interactive bodywork that is done with the horse, not to the horse, and horses love it. . . . A must-have for horse lovers and guardians as well as professional bodyworkers!" —Natural Horse (January 4, 2012)
