I was lucky enough to be able to attend a class called Equine Myofascial Release, given by Cathy Covell who is a JB/MFR physical therapist in Indiana. JB/MFR stands for John Barnes Myofascial Release. Myofascial release is a hands on technique used to release restrictions in the body and is one of the best whole body assessment and treatment techniques I have learned as a physical therapist. Please visit www.myofascialrelease.com and read more.
But my story today is about an amazing experience I had this past weekend learning about horses, and how to treat them using this technique.
My friends Phil and Ann and I travelled to Deleware on Friday night, arriving at the Best Western of Smyrna, DE at eleven p.m. so it was off to bed. The next day we made the trek over to The Whispering Meadows Stables which was in Clayton, DE about ten minutes away from the hotel. It was a large farm with three house-like buildings on it and a big stables with many horses. I learned later that the farm had been purchased by a couple about five years ago and Steve, one of the owners had given up his day job as a lawyer. The farm is located near a place called Dover Downs which is a big race track. So several of the horses there were retired race horses. They were fabulous, big, muscular, beautiful animals and we were about to learn how to treat them!
We arrived and found a little room where our instructor was setting up. She lectured to us for about 2 hours that first morning about horses, myofascial release, horse anatomy and safety. The rest of Saturday and Sunday was spent with our hands on the horses. There were 14 students there, a combination of massage and physical therapists and not any "horse" people. Each pair of students had a horse. During the day we would switch both horse and human partners for variety. Some of the horses were old, some young, some were retired from the track, one came all the way from New Zealand. We had all the boys first, then in the afternoon, all the ladies. :) When one group heard the other group moving through the stables there would be all sorts of wonderful commotion. The ladies would paw at the ground and whinny, and some would "squirt", as our instructor called it because they were in heat. LOL. We met Meagan, Cinnamon, No More Rain, Kahlua, Reese and many others.
We were taught several of the techniques as Cathy demonstrated on one of the horses as we all watched. Then we were asked to close our eyes, take a deep breath, open our eyes and see what horse we were drawn to. They were all tied in the alley way of the stables, butts out.
The first horse I treated was "No More Rain", a horse they called mean, but really a softy. I had a great partner, Wayne, a massage therapist from Deleware. As we practiced the first technique, a transverse plane release, I was starting to cry. A huge sense of gratitude washed over me. I thought, " I can feel this stuff". It is not like I didn't already know that I could feel a tissue release under my hands, gosh I have been doing it for 15 years. But the horse was telling me, you can feel this, all you have to do is get quiet, and grounded. I felt a wave of sadness for the abuse that the animal may have been through in the past, and then of overwhelming awestruckness at the healing it was doing, without judgement, without the noisy chatter, without having to analyze it or figure it out. They can't speak to you but they communicate. It is up to us to listen, really listen, so that the healing can happen. They say that the horse is treating you while you are treating the horse. I know what they are talking about now. I left that morning with a sense of confidence, of rightness, and of truth, that I could trust myself, and what I feel. It was a gift beyond words.
We went through that day and the next practicing new techniques and watched the horses go from fidgeting and pawing and being noisy to literally falling asleep. Really! My partner and I worked on Cinnamon the second day. Her owner was standing by just observing the group. As we rotated her at the withers (the place just above where the saddle goes on the spine) her head got lower, and lower, and lower, her eyes drooping and closing. The instructor asked the owner "have you ever seen your horse like this?" and the owner laughed (like "are you kidding?") and said, "no, never". What an amazing confirmation it was to hear her say that, and to know that what we had learned in two days could positively affect a 1500 lb animal. It was a miracle.
Toward the end of Sunday we were supposed to practice the tail pull. Yes, it is exactly what you think. The main therapist at that point was to take the upper part of the horses tail about a foot down from where it connects to the animal and gently lean back, like they are water skiing. We held this position for several minutes and then the second therapist gently released the horse from the base of its neck elongating in the other direction. Imagine!! The whole spine being stretched and elongated from head to tail! How wonderful this must feel for the horse, to have someone listening, following and helping them release.....a back that has had to carry who know how many pounds, that has had to run who knows how many races, and suffer who knows what abuse. Every horse in that stall was quiet during the tail pull. Nobody got kicked. :) In fact most of them were heads lowering, eyes closing. You really had to see it to believe it.
What I have learned about my practice with humans is that I should be clearer, softer, lighter and present in the moment. That if I can do that, they will have an easier chance to heal. I learned that the patient has to do the healing and that it is my job to be a good facilitator. I learned that to push or force won't get you anywhere with a horse and probably not very far with people either. That to be connected is the key. And that connection I am talking about is bigger than we realize, that it is through every living creature. It is God. It is spirit. It is love at its roots.
So I felt a whole lot of loving this past weekend!
Big love to you all,
Laura
