04/06/2025
I have been working with the owner of the popular saddle brand Total Contact Saddles helping with her newest equine friend, a lovely Swiss Freiberger mare who came over to the UK towards the end of last year. Mel has been working hard with Miami to start her education off on the correct path in order to give her the best chance to a healthy life and ridden career, however, Miami was finding it hard to settle on the yard and away from her new herd friends, so Mel brought me in to assist.
My first observations of Miami was that she struggled to relax, she was holding tension through her neck which looked compressed and bulky and not consistent to the rest of her body. She was unable to stand still and rest whilst tied up for any period of time, she would call to her herd and spook at not a lot. Perhaps many people would say this is normal for a horse? But, I would disagree. I believe these are signs of a horse who is anxious despite Miami having all the correct support systems in place.
My intention was to use my bodywork skills to help bring Miami’s awareness to her own body again, encourage her neck to lengthen and body to soften, and regulate her nervous system to reduce her anxiety through The Equine Touch International bodywork technique.
The first session may have not looked like too much was happening but it definitely was and I spent time working only on areas that she could cope with, guided by the horse. It is extremely important that the horse is able to trust me at this point and I’ve got to give my best demonstration of this to her by paying close attention to subtle communication and changes in behaviour, backing off when she becomes wary and asking for permission to work with her.
By the second session, Miami was able to stand for longer, accepted a full body address, started showing good signs of processing and understanding that this bodywork is not going to hurt or put her in a fearful place. At this stage, I was able to better understand what was happening through the superficial layers of her body. In fact, the majority of her body was already in good condition, which further confirmed to me that her anxiety was potentially due to becoming trigger stacked at some stage and not having found a way to release this yet, rather than pain.
Session three was where Miami could really allow herself to slip into deep relaxation, she could stand still allowing me to work across her whole body, getting deeper into the soft tissue. I was able to distinguish between the superficial and deep layers of the body without force, creating longer lasting changes, and observing that balance and harmony had significantly improved!
Since her Equine Touch sessions, Miami has been completely relaxed, happy to be tied up on the yard with friends out of sight, her neck has lengthened and is functioning healthily again. I get regular photos of her continuing to do this day to day.
This isn’t just about being tied up on the yard though, it reflects across all aspects of her life. Having a calm horse means that she will be able to learn and adjust easier, she will become safer to handle and ride. Her body will adjust so much easier to growth changes, coat changes, increase in workload and quicker recovery. Her mind will focus easier, she will interact with her herd mates better and adjust to new situations with less anxiety.
The Equine Touch works WITH the horse, NOT on the horse, which means we can encourage longer lasting improvements throughout the body and mind. It works on the principles of ‘less is more’ thus never overloading. There is no force or flooding in my approach. It is a fantastic option for any horse who struggles with daily anxiety.
Having assessed Miami through initial palpation and then over the course of 3 sessions, I was pleased to find a very strong and healthy back, never once finding concerns for her back or other areas of her body that would relate to saddle fit. Miami is slowly adjusting to ridden work, with plenty of correct groundwork, rest and turn out. I feel that the TCS saddle gives Miami a very nice range of movement through her body, with Mel being a well balanced rider and following the principles of Philippe Karl's School of Légèreté UK with the amazing Kat Layfield, along with my assistance for physical and emotional support, they have excellent foundations in place for a healthy future 🥰
