Our Experience With The Masterson Method

Over the winter, I was chatting with some friends when the topic of bodywork, equine massage, and more specifically, The Masterson Method came up. I had read a little bit about this specific technique before, and was intrigued by others' reported success with it, so I decided to order the book and see for myself what it was all about.

The essence of this massage technique is to use the horse's own nervous system to release tension in their body by utilizing very light touch and going through the horse's natural relaxed range of motion to "ask" the horse where there is pain or restriction, and then allow them to release it themselves. There is no force involved, each movement is guided by the horse's response, and Jim Masterson (the creator of the technique) encourages students to lighten the pressure they use, not increase it, if they aren't getting the desired response from the horse. This method also allows the horse to feel as if he's being properly heard and understood - his responses guide the practice entirely, and as the human partner seeks to listen to him as he responds to their touch, communication, trust, and relationship between the two improves.

I absolutely loved the premise of this technique, and devoured the book as quickly as I could! The book itself is clearly written, with scores of excellent photographs, diagrams, step-by-step instructions, and troubleshooting suggestions. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about how their horse's body works! I also really appreciated how difficult it would be to do any harm to the horse by using the Masterson Method - even if you aren't doing each technique perfectly, you really can't hurt your horse by touching your hand lightly to his coat or asking for very, very small and gentle movements of his body. At worst, playing with the Masterson Method wouldn't have any affect on Dino, and at best it could result in some really positive changes in the way his body feels, as well as our partnership.

After reading the entire book cover to cover, I began practicing the Masterson Method by using the Bladder Meridian technique. The Bladder Meridian is a concept borrowed from acupuncture and acupressure techniques, and runs from the poll, over the entire topline, down the rump and hind leg to the coronet on each side of the horse. It connects all other meridians in the horse's body, and working it is a good way for both horse and human to become accustomed to this new mode of communication, relax, and start releasing areas of restriction in the hose's body. As the human runs their hand very lightly and very slowly down the meridian (For Dino, the lightness of touch I need to use is often barely touching the hairs of his coat, and it takes me a minute or so to go just a few inches.), they are to look for the subtlest of responses from the horse that indicate an area where there is restriction, tension, or pain.

Dino, while expressive in his opinion in some ways, can be incredibly stoic. His past has made him an expert at blocking out the world and not reacting to the things that he experiences, and so his responses at first were incredibly subtle and sometimes difficult to read. Often a single blink or movement of his eyelids would be the first sign that my hands had found a trouble spot. When I see Dino react to my hand in a certain spot on the bladder meridian, I leave my hand in that spot and allow his nervous system to react to the barely-there touch and release the tension. Over the course of several seconds to over a minute, if there is tension or restriction to be released, Dino will blink harder and more rapidly, his jaw muscles will start working, his lips will twitch, and if he's really in the groove and we are working well together, he will start licking and chewing a bit. Once he's done, I continue moving my hand down the meridian and watch for the same responses until I've finished one whole side before repeating the entire process on the other side of his body.

After I've finished the technique I come to an important concept of the Masterson Method, which is to allow the horse space to process after you have gone through a technique with them. Once I have gone over the entire bladder meridian on both sides of Dino's body, I physically step away from him several feet and sometimes even look away from him for a moment to allow him a totally pressure-free environment to process what has just happened in his body and continue the release. Often, this allows him to fully release and I'm rewarded with lots of expressive statements of his new state of relaxation and comfort! Dino will start actively licking, chewing, yawning, breathing out deeply and sometimes shaking his head. He will often move towards me and lick my hands and arms, and his facial expression will become softly eager and attentive. It seemed like magic the first time I got such a huge response, and it has continued to be hugely helpful for relaxing and energizing Dino in both mind and body!

After mastering the Bladder Meridian, I moved on to practicing the other techniques outlined in the book, which involve asking the horse to gently increase his range of motion while his body is in a relaxed state. This means that I do NOT force him into a stretch, but I gently (again, with barely-there pressure) suggest to him to move his body in ways that will help un-block him. While I try to practice all of the techniques from time to time for my own education, Dino definitely has opinions about the ones that are most helpful for him! Like a lot of sport horses, he tends to hold tension in his poll, the base of his neck, and his lower back, and responds best to techniques that target these areas. He loves the Head Up technique, in which I allow him to rest his chin on my shoulder to release tension in the poll by taking all pressure off of that area. I love to hear his breathing slow and deepen as he exhales softly next to my ear! Other favorites include placing his front legs one at a time back as far as he can put them while still holding the leg in relaxation, placing the hind legs as far forward as he can put them while still being relaxed, and placing one finger on the the under-the-tail acupressure points. Dino visibly and often dramatically responds to these techniques, going into a sort of trance and breathing slowly and deeply as I use them to allow his body to sort itself out, and releasing more extravagantly after ending each technique and taking a step back. If a technique is difficult or not helpful to him, he'll resist and pull away, leading me towards other areas of his body that need to be released before he can work with me in the more difficult range of motion movements. It's really fascinating how much he has to say!

When it comes to listening to what Dino has to say, the thing I love most about the Masterson Method, aside from how it makes my horse feel physically, is the ways in which it's improved our partnership and communication. The more I practice this method of bodywork, the more I am able to use my intuition to "feel" where Dino needs me to go next to help him release an area of his body that is blocked, and I can feel under my fingers when his muscles are subtly reacting to what we're doing and coming close to a release response. The better we both get at communicating with each other in this way, the better I can intuitively "hear" what he's saying about how his body feels. It has allowed me to give up my own agenda for what I want to accomplish on a given day and instead really, fully, carefully listen to my horse.

And Dino, as we all know, really appreciates being listened to.

After we finish a Masterson Method session, he is transformed. He can start the session acting withdrawn, sullen, tense, fidgety, or cranky, but by the time we are finished and have spent an hour or so working through the techniques, Dino becomes a new pony. At the end of every session he is alert, attentive to me, and seeking out my presence. He often reciprocates what I have done for him by licking my hands and arms or placing his muzzle on my shoulder. He becomes playful, tuned-in, relaxed, and energized and ready for the next thing we'll do together. By listening to him using the Masterson Method and helping relieve latent discomfort, I believe I help Dino feel like I'm really speaking his language, and that alone has wildly improved our connection and relationship. Even after forging such a strong partnership over the years, I feel that the addition of the Masterson Method to our current training program with Ashley has helped Dino and I reach a new pinnacle in our relationship, and as our trust and communication improves both under saddle and on the ground, our partnership reaches new heights.

The Masterson Method is something I hope to keep practicing for a long, long time to come, and I hope you'll give it a try, too. If you've got some extra time on your hands and access to your horse, I highly recommend getting the book, reading it cover-to-cover, and starting to practice the Masterson Method! It's been a wonderful thing for us, and perhaps re-centering your relationship with your horse is just what you need right now. If you've used this method before or are just starting out like me, I'd love to hear about your experience!