When I was shopping at a tack store I stumbled across a book and DVD by Dr. Gerd Heuschmann. The book was titled, “Tug of War: Classical Versus ‘Modern’ Dressage,” and the DVD was titled, “If Horses Could Speak.” I thought these might help me understand the difference between “good” dressage and “bad” dressage, so I purchased both of them. This book and DVD provided my first glimpse into understanding how the way I ride and work with horses could be harmful or therapeutic–it expanded my perspective to include Biomechanics.
In a very strange coincidence, the Dressage Coach who had been helping me progress up the levels with Dart sent out an announcement that she would be hosting Dr. Gerd Heauschmann for a clinic at her farm very shortly after I had purchased his book and DVD. I immediately registered for the clinic. I was now eager to start studying Biomechanics and figuring out how to make the way I work with horses therapeutic.
The clinic was filled with the most beautiful moving warmbloods I had ever seen…and Talon…
Talon was far from a beautiful, elastic mover–he was a typical short, choppy moving thoroughbred. I felt like we were a little out of place among these fancy warmbloods; however, Talon ended up being a blessing for all who had come to learn at the clinic, because he clearly demonstrated the dramatic, positive changes that can occur when a horse finds better alignment and balance.
My Dressage Coach was so thrilled with what Talon was teaching the participants and auditors that she offered to pay to have a bodyworker work on Talon at the clinic, because she thought it would be great for everyone to see the benefits of bodywork. I couldn’t believe her generosity, but decided to accept her gift. I was curious about bodywork from what Kim Walnes had done to me at the clinic, but had no experience with bodywork on horses at this time. I was curious to see how Talon would respond.
During a break at the clinic, I walked to Talon’s stall to check on him and saw his head dropped very low and his eyes nearly closed. I felt myself panic as I feared something might be wrong with him. As I made my way to his stall, I saw a man crouched in the corner gently working with one of Talon’s front legs and realized it was the bodyworker. The bodyworker happened to be Jim Masterson!
I watched in amazement as Talon let out multiple yawns and had the most serene expression on his face. It looked like he had been sedated–he was so relaxed. I knew I had to learn more about this magic…
After seeing Jim Masterson work on Talon at the clinic with Dr. Gerd Heuschmann, I became very interested in Bodywork. I wanted to learn about it and how to do it, so I signed up for one of Jim’s Bodywork clinics and took Talon as a demo horse.
Jim’s approach to Bodywork created another shift in my approach to Horsemanship. Jim’s method is focused on reading the horse and letting the horse guide you during the bodywork session. Practicing bodywork helped me learn to read my horse’s body-language at a much more subtle level and to “LISTEN” to my horse. I realized this should apply to much more than Bodywork sessions–I needed to start “listening” to Talon during any type of work I did with him and let him know I “hear” him by adjusting each session based on his COMMUNICATION.
Something else about Jim’s method that really stood out to me was the importance of my own internal state when doing the work. I had already started becoming much more familiar with my internal state through my Yoga practice at this time, so I was fascinated by how Talon would respond when I worked on him from a “grounded” state versus when I had slipped into a less “grounded” state…
When I first started practicing Bodywork, I often found myself trying to do too much in one session (I was also often pressed for time...not a good combo!) and putting too much pressure on myself to get releases from Talon (Yes, it’s possible to pressure yourself to succeed even during something non-competitive and therapeutic like bodywork, yoga, etc!)–whenever I was in this state Talon often wanted nothing to do with my attempts at bodywork which then left me feeling frustrated. However, when I took time to notice how I was feeling internally and to ground myself if needed prior to the session, Talon responded to me in the same magical, serene way I had seen him respond to Jim. I realized if my internal state matters this much during a Bodywork session it must matter just as much in everything else I do with Talon.
Another awareness I gained during the clinic with Jim was how stoic horses can be about showing any signs of weakness (tension, discomfort, etc.). At one point during the clinic, Talon started pinning his ears and acting agitated as I tried to work on him. Jim suggested we leave the stall and give him some space. After we left the stall Talon hid his head in the feed bucket and let out a succession of seemingly endless yawns (a yawn is a sign of release in bodywork). Jim said, “Some horses prefer to release when you aren’t watching them or you give them more space.” Talon didn’t want us to see how much he needed to release…
I then had a flashback to how I had contemplated telling Kim Walnes I felt “fine” when she asked me to check in with how my body was feeling even though I was in a great deal of pain. Being vulnerable is hard–for people and horses.
I was getting equipped with more and more tools and knowledge to help Talon, but I still had so much to learn…
Despite all of my efforts to find ways to help Talon, things continued to decline…
I had to retire him from a Beginner-Novice level Event when I tried to restart Eventing with him, on trail rides I would often end up in the bushes due to his sporadic bucking and rearing tantrums, sometimes we could not pick up a trot in the Dressage arena, and I was always unsure if he would refuse to jump even the smallest of cross-rails… just some examples to illustrate how things were going for us at this time. We were REALLY struggling.
His body had become more developed from the rehabilitative work, but I could tell he was still hurting. I could feel both mental and physical tension in him during every ride. Not to mention, the constant precision I was requiring during the rehabilitative work was sucking the fun (what little fun we had left at this point) out of our rides. So, with all of my dedicated, hard work to rehabilitate Talon I had managed to create a more physically developed horse that was still miserable and in pain...ugh! Not to mention I was making myself miserable in the process. Something was clearly still missing.
Kim Walnes had known me and Talon for many years at this point and was familiar with the issues I had been having with him as well as the work I had been doing in an effort to rehabilitate him. At one of Kim’s clinics, I told her I was no longer jumping Talon. She suggested trying starting him back at jumping as if he has never jumped before in his life. Usually, I would say this is a great idea; however, it was an idea I had already tried with Talon many times at this point. Sometimes, just a ground pole being present in the arena was enough to set him off on one of his tantrums. I explained this to Kim, and we were both in agreement that perhaps just doing Dressage with Talon was the best choice at this point and to let him tell us if and when he is ready to try jumping again. I was fairly certain he would never jump again.
Kim passively mentioned it would be great if I could find a Holistic Vet for Talon–this would end up being the next “breadcrumb” I needed to follow…
Talon's Story Blog Series Navigation
Part V: Biomechanics & Bodywork
Part VII: The Transformation
Ready to Elevate Your Horsemanship?!....
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