enlightened horsemanship through touch

For many reading today, it’s the depth of winter. Getting out and riding can be difficult, unless you are blessed with a heated indoor arena. I always had a really hard time making myself do more than visiting my horses on the short dark days of winter, particularly when it was raining or snowing. You may even feel guilty that it’s hard, and that the weather and the shortness of days has sometimes prevented you from spending adequate time with your horses. I say, don’t.

Solomon’s message, ❝this too shall pass,❞ or the Buddhist doctrine of impermanence (Pāli: अनिच्चा anicca; Sanskrit: अनित्य anitya), reminds us that all of conditioned existence, without exception, is in a constant state of flux. Nothing, absolutely nothing has a permanent state. I find this a comfort when enduring painful times or even when I’m just plain uncomfortable.

Someday soon, it will be spring. Not only will it be physically easier to get out there and play with horses, but it will also become a kind of instinctive call. Nature will summon us to enjoy the warmth of the sun and share the company of our warm-blooded outdoor friends. It’s a biological, evolutionary imperative for humans. For the time being, for those of us who are daunted by the prospect of entering the dark frozen landscape, no matter the reward outside, it will be a kindness to ourselves to hold in awareness the knowledge that this too shall pass. Instead of feeling guilty or forcing yourself to do something that makes you dreadfully unhappy, consider the following:

• If you hold in your awareness the fact that this time is impermanent, it may be easier for you to get out there in the cold and visit or ride.
• If it is essential that you feed, clean stalls, maintain the facility, then you have no choice. Having no choice is an excellent opportunity for practicing radical acceptance. Reminding yourself that “this too shall pass,” even while fully experiencing each moment, the coldness of your fingers, the dry icy intake of your breath, the damp footing in the aisles, places you in greater contact with the flux of reality.
• If you cannot force yourself to get out there, it is no great disaster. Do not feel guilty. If your horses are lucky enough to be in the company of others and to have the care of hired professionals at a boarding stable, then know that they are receiving the care you have generously arranged for them. They are in their natural company. They are taking care of themselves, and probably welcome the break. You need add nothing more. Take care of yourself.

While you’re waiting for the thaw, here are a few things you can do with your horses if you can’t ride.

1. Groom, groom, groom. I have a friend, Debbie, who has used the bad weather to elevate the grooming her horse Laddie to an art. Not only is Laddie the most beautiful Belgian cross around, but he also gleams with the joy of Debbie’s close contact and touch.

2. Massage. Do bodywork. Find the elusive magic scratching spot. There’s no time like the present to practice what you have been learning in those videos you rented. If you haven’t, get some! Your horse will thank you. He gets plenty of exercise outdoors. Maybe he doesn’t get enough muscle love from you.

3. Perfect that special braid you’ve always wanted your horse to sport. Equine Ink has two excellent posts on braids. Check them out. Do yourself a favor, though: wear some fingerless gloves.

4. Learn to trim your horses’ hooves yourself. This is a long term project requiring lots of education. It’s worth it.

5. Try something totally new. Something you would NEVER try when you are in work. Maybe something you can do right there in the stall. Clicker Train your horse to do a useful trick like lowering his head for the halter or even kneeling for mounting.

Maintaining an awareness of each of those moments, celebrating them even as we are mindful of their impermanence honors our lives and those of our horses. Got any more ideas to help take advantage of the moments we will never experience again this winter?

I’ve been thinking about this new series of posts for a long time. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean I have perfected the concept before I deciding to bring it to you. So I ask your patience as I refine my ideas.

Each week I plan to introduce and discuss how body work can enhance your horse’s life with reference to either a particular part of the horse’s body or a common area of soreness. Often, simple bodywork procedures can alleviate behavioral issues related to pain and fear of pain in those areas as well, and I will recommend those.

As we all know, finding suitable images for use online will be tough, but I hope to get permission to use what I need to demonstrate the all-important HOW TO segments.

This will not be an extended lesson on Tellington TTouch. While it will figure prominently (it’s always nice to write about what you love), there are many other bodywork methodologies that appeal to a wide audience, and I’d like to explore a great many of them.

WHAT TOPICS WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE COVERED ON TUESDAY’S TOUCH?

This will evolve, as all blogging projects do. Please let me know by commenting here if there’s a topic or a particular area you’d like to see discussed here, or if there’s something you would like to add. Guest posts are welcome!

© 2009 enlightened horsemanship through touch and Kim Cox Carneal

I planned a course with Jim Masterson, but had that bad fall back in the spring on the day before I was due to travel to North Carolina to start the course. I know I missed a lot of very educational material, and the chance to learn from, if you’ll pardon the pun, a master.

Masterson accompanied the endurance team to the World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany in 2008 as well as to the FEI World Championships in Malaysia. If what he does didn’t work, he wouldn’t be there. This clip is culled from his video, and I’m surprised it’s been allowed to stay on YouTube. If by some chance you click on it and it’s vanished, you’ll know that Jim has seen to it that the copyright violation by one of his students has met with a cease and desist.

In the meantime, I’m spreading his insightful lesson in the hopes that it will encourage people to touch their horses and learn more about their physical condition by direct contact.

I started my journey to Tellington TTouch® as an equine massage therapist.

Unfortunately, the field felt limited to me, as it left the root cause of discomfort unaddressed. If I had been willing to keep my mouth shut and just do the work, I am sure I could have been of some benefit to the horses I worked on. But I never could! After massaging a horse, a therapist usually has a chat with the owner or trainer to discuss the findings and suggest movements to keep the horse limber and to decrease further stiffness, etc. I found myself suggesting changes in training, and that’s a no-no. Do not go above your station!

That’s why the Tellington TTouch is so appealing. It’s holistic.

But back to massage. It is, after all, a meaningful part of horsemanship, and a therapy I think more people should avail themselves of. I always suggest hiring a professional, after having scoured their credentials carefully. I’m posting some educational videos here so that readers can learn about massage for themselves.

Effleurage is a very basic stroke in human and animal massage. It is completely harmless, and almost anyone can do it. WARNING: do not perform effleurage on any area that is inflamed, has an open cut or sore, or where there is a cancerous growth or proud flesh.

Embedding has been disabled for this video, but it’s worth watching for a basic introduction: Equine Massage Effleurage Techniques