Softness

During the three years it took me to earn my certification to become a Masterson Method Practitioner, there were two things that my instructors, coaches, mentors and any of Jim’s writings or videos would always touch on. They seemed easy and once you understood the work, kind of no-brainers. Those two things were, staying behind the brace and softening. Staying behind the brace means that we work in such a way that the horse has nothing to brace against. If we work in this zone, and the horse is not blocking us out, the nervous system gets the message to release tension that has been held in the body. When we talk about softening, it means, our touch, gaze, even the intensity of our intention. Trust me, the horse can FEEL it. In the in-person courses I took and assisted with, I would always hear practitioners say that the real learning begins after certification. They were right. For one thing, when you are in fieldwork, you are making sure you cover all of the techniques, execute them correctly, demonstrate that you understand the what and why of what you are doing and also processing and implementing the guidance of your coaches and mentors. When you begin work as a practitioner, the training wheels are off and it’s on you to help both horse and owner as much as you can with the tools you have. It’s always great when I work with a horse and the session is textbook beautiful. Those happen, but then there are the other sessions, like the ones I had been having with Autumn, the horse in the picture. Autumn is a tall, dark and handsome Arabian gelding. I love Arabs. While he would always seem to benefit from a session with me, it was never pretty. He would spend our time together trying to bite his owner, chewing the lead line and trying to bite me. In between all of this, he would release tension and after his sessions, he would take deep naps. I kept thinking that after more sessions, he would settle in to the work and relax. He didn’t. I mean, there were improvements, but not like I expected. Then, one day, I decided to try essential oils, AromaPoint Therapy style on him. I diluted them down to a 1% strength and made sure to check in with him before I put them on him. He was all in. Stepping forward, drooling, and then instantly releasing when I placed them on the points. His eye softened and there was a noticeable shift in his energy. I used the oils in our next session. Again there was an improvement, but it didn’t stick. He was still not really settling in. I tried working off of his body with intention (no touch). I even tried working with him without his owner holding the lead line. This often works with horses that get super fidgety or mouthy. Nope. It finally dawned on me that he was bracing even when I was not touching him. Like he was stuck in fight or flight in his nervous system. I have been experimenting with my own horses for a couple of years doing bodywork at liberty and even from a pretty good distance. We have one mare right now who is super spicy and I am always blown away by what happens when I let her choose to work with me. (More on that in another blog.) I asked Autumn’s owner if I could come and try an experiment with him the next time I was at her barn and she agreed. What happened made me want to break out in a full on happy dance and also cry like a baby. Of course I did neither outwardly. When the owner went to walk Autumn to the round pen as I requested, she let me know that he had been particularly ornery. What we often refer to as full of piss and vinegar. When we got into the pen, I asked her to take off his halter and told her she could stay in or step out, but I didn’t need her to do anything else. I went in ready for anything but expecting nothing. I had a lunge whip just in case he felt like charging or kicking. I used gently it only a handful of times throughout the hour when he would decide to try to eat the grass on the outside of the pen. Just asking if he would join our conversation again, never making him work. It didn't take more than a slight ask and he was back in with his full attention. I got out my lavender essential oil and he showed his usual enthusiasm. We got to work. I had no agenda as to what techniques we would get through or what order anything would happen. I just wanted to see what would happen if… What did happen taught me on a much deeper level, what I had been questioning all along. What this big, fire-breathing hunk of a horse needed in softness was far softer than I had imagined. And when it was offered, he stood quietly, blinking and releasing like I had never seen him. Talk about textbook. He dropped his hips beautifully, he stood still while I did the work with his hind legs, while I held his tail for sacrum release and did the hind end points. Normally there would have been lots of walking around and biting the lead line or attempts to bite his owner. I have a special way that I hold the halter with horses that may bite and it was always in play when I did front end work with him. This time, no halter and not bites, EXCEPT when I got greedy and went for him with that, I have to get that booger intensity people have with their babies. You know what I mean. He didn’t actually bite me either, he just reminded me and then stood there waiting for me to do the work the proper way. Ha. So, yes, I would say that the real learning does happen after certification, and that horses are the best teachers. Thank you Autumn for showing me a version of what true softness looks like. For giving me confidence in another tool in my belt and another way to help horses. I promise I will offer to teach owners how to find softness too, and carry it into the way they relate to their horses in every way. You all deserve it.