'Bowen Therapy' vs 'Equine Touch'

Bowen4Horses

Bowen4Horses

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hi all

i just wrote a huge explanation of why i was asking this, but then realised you'd all take pity on me and answer accordingly. so, here's just one question..

Bowen Therapy vs Equine Touch.... opinions please? has anyone had good/bad experiences of either on their horse?

If there was a therapist for both in your area, who charged the same... who would you call out for your horse?

thank you xxx
 
Mine used to have Bowen (EMRT) every 6 - 8 weeks before she retired it was brilliant and she reponded very well to it, I'm not able to comment on Equine Touch, so would probably not use it. Hope that helps.... Are things OK with you? Hope so xx
 
Rachellouise1 said:
Mine used to have Bowen (EMRT) every 6 - 8 weeks before she retired it was brilliant and she reponded very well to it, I'm not able to comment on Equine Touch, so would probably not use it. Hope that helps.... Are things OK with you? Hope so xx
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thank you! all okay. raff healing well and about to come back into work... gulp...

anyone else? xx
 
i've never used either, but have heard only good things about Bowen Therapy. Can't wait to try it... ;)
I don't know anyone who has used equine touch, is that the same as TellingtonTTouch, which is quite interesting - I have a big book on it.
 
Well ET was developed and adapted from Bowen to be Equine Specific. Both techniques have been developed by men with a special gift for it.

As their approaches are similar and attempting to obtain the same result, I don't think it's the method thats important, I think it's the practitioner.

Which one has the better "way" with the horse? Which one has the better reputation?
 
kerilli said:
i've never used either, but have heard only good things about Bowen Therapy. Can't wait to try it... ;)
I don't know anyone who has used equine touch, is that the same as TellingtonTTouch, which is quite interesting - I have a big book on it.
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it's loosely based on Bowen, but both equine touch and bowen make a big deal out of the fact bowen do not want to affiliate with equine touch. the thing is... i can train in equine touch in a few days days for a few hundred quid... bowen is taking me nearly 2 years.... and thousands of £... :eek: and you don't have to qualify to treat humans like you do with bowen. and i'm wondering if i should have taken this route?!?

look at this link - the blurb is very similar to bowen. eg, non-diagnostic and holistic. but, it does sound a bit more 'touchy feely' than bowen.
http://uk.theequinetouch.com/

btw, was hoping to come and do your bowen either today or tomorrow? i'm having mega busy 'new life sorting out' day today. i'm doing all the costings (heartbreaking) on spreadsheets and already feel like i want to murder the creator of excel. although, i have to say, my spreadsheet is looking rather pretty. the content may be pap, but my columns are lovely colours... :)
 
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Ah if your wondering which one to train - I have more info as I have looked into this.

Yes EMRT (equine bowen) is a 2 year course costing £8000+ whereas ET is broken down into three day courses as each level costing £320ish each.

The results for both for the many owners I have asked online was that ET appeared more popular but both heavily depended on the horse and it's response. It either works for the horse or it doesn't. Again - the practitioner mattered in the end result too.

The practitioners I have spoken to also said that these techniques are handy to have as a secondary skill but there was not enough demand to use it as their only means of therapy.

So I would advise you to consider a more traditional approach to therapy in order to fulfill demand. I have a full time job and a mortage so if I may explain my choices:

I have (last week) done the 9day Equinenergy Equine Bodyworker Certification Course. I cannot recommend it enough! I have learnt more in those 9 days than in the last 20 years with horses! And it's a good starting point for getting onto other courses if you don't have an equine degree. I am due to start McTimoney Corley in Sept too. I plan to do ET at some stage as their teaching is broken down and more affordable.
 
i have a book on TTT too, but don't know anyone who practices that or bowen.... would be interested to hear what others have to say. My lad is quite unresponsive to things and seems to think people are like nuisance flies - best ignored... if someone could recommend a bowen/ET/TTT person in North Yorks i would be interested to try and see what he makes of it!
 
clipcloppop said:
why? are you just saying that to make me smile (it worked, i did smile, a huge amount....)

me ---> :D
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Well Im glad I raised a smile....I was obviously being economical with my thoughts yesterday!!

Ive found Bowen to be very gentle and amazingly effective. My horses have all benefited from it on all levels from a pure treat for the old guy to 6 weekly treatment of 'blocked/over muscled' shoulders for the ID.

I too have had treatments over meny years for different things including totally curing my disabling sciatica.

Its worth having a treatment yourself, you really DO feel it even though its the smallest and most gentle of movements.

If there are options for you to train in Bowen I would choose this over TTT or ET. I really dont trust anything that doesnt require you to be human trained first, how anyone can treat a horse without knowing how the rider works is beyond me!
 
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Def bowen any day :)
from what i have heard before the ET is a little bit 'rougher' than the bowen. but before anyone jumps on me, i have not used it or seen it done so i dont know!! :)
I am reassured more by the level of training done by the bowen practitioners and i like the fact that they are trained to do humans as well so can work on the riders problems too! and lets face it a good chunk of our horses problems come from us being wonky :)
I am an absolute bowen convert and have used it for me and my horses (hunt horses, eventers, ponies and the occasional dog! ) for about 6 ish years now, also most of my liveries have chosen to use it after moving to my yard and seeing the effect it has on my horses.

Jenhunt, i am near Darlington and use Vicky Rawle and cannot recommend her enough, im sure you are prob in her 'area' she travels quite alot! She is very good, has always got results with my various horses, is very sensibly priced and is a lovely lady to boot! :)
Message me if you would like her number!
 
Plus what spaniel has said!! :) :)

Had a treatment last night for my sciatica and dodgy shoulder, Bowen is the only thing fixes me!
 
Never used Equine Touch but have had Bowen done on our TB mare with pretty good results. She had a pelvic issue that we didn't know about until recently which wouldn't have been addressed by Bowen anyway, and so we've had that sorted and will get her another session at some point.
 
thank you all.

yes, i'm training as human and equine bowen therapist at the moment. i'm allowed to treat people at the moment, but not horses yet... eeek! it is far more expensive to train in than equine touch. i chose it because i'd heard good things, and, if i'm honest i'd never heard about equine touch.

i love bowen. i love doing it and receiving it. and anyone that knows me will know i'm the most skeptical person ever... in fact, during my first training course, i had my first treatment and i laughed as they were doing it cos i thought there is NO WAY on earth it will have any impact at all... but i'm happy to report i was wrong! so i'm really hoping the money and time is worth it.

Oberon - thank you for the advice, i've costed it all up and think it should be okay to run alongside my saddle fitting.

oooh, exciting! xxx

thank you all for your replies. BOWEN it is then! xxx
 
kate2481 said:
I am reassured more by the level of training done by the bowen practitioners and i like the fact that they are trained to do humans as well so can work on the riders problems too! and lets face it a good chunk of our horses problems come from us being wonky :)
I am an absolute bowen convert and have used it for me and my horses (hunt horses, eventers, ponies and the occasional dog! ) for about 6 ish years now, also most of my liveries have chosen to use it after moving to my yard and seeing the effect it has on my horses.
!
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so glad you said this. i'm aiming at the 'horse and rider' market. like you say, if rider is wonky... it'll affect the horse. i am doing my saddle fitting alongside it too. i think they all complement each other. well, i hope so....

and if it all goes pearshaped, i reckon there's money to be made in the whole 'trying to conceive' world. apparently bowen can really help with fertility/baby making. i can just open a little clinic and shuffle around in a little clean outfit instead of jods! x
 
My cob has a strong preference for bowen over physio and chiro treatments. My bowen therapist also talks alot about the ttouch stuff too though and we will be using an instructor that uses these techniques as well. I know Frank's bowen lady was saying that some vets are recommending bowen and people are able to claim on their insurance which might make bowen more popular and therefore more financially viable in the long-term?
 
Equine Touch for me - but then I've done my level 1 training so I would say that!

My boy never responded to Bowen but is gradually responding to ET - I've seen amazing responses from other horses i've worked on.

I mainly do it on my own horse though as a treat and rarely do it on others.
 
dilbert said:
My cob has a strong preference for bowen over physio and chiro treatments. My bowen therapist also talks alot about the ttouch stuff too though and we will be using an instructor that uses these techniques as well. I know Frank's bowen lady was saying that some vets are recommending bowen and people are able to claim on their insurance which might make bowen more popular and therefore more financially viable in the long-term?
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i think the same thing is happening in the human world. doctors are starting the recommend Bowen in some cases. As therapists we're told to refer refer refer when need be, so doctors are getting referrals from Bowen therapists. I guess their patients will be feeding back their experiences, and this leads to referrals the other way too.

i'm hoping in the horse world i'll find it's the same. i might shadow a vet one day...

i'm really pleased that people have good stories about Bowen. :D thank you for replying! :D
 
Babybear said:
Equine Touch for me - but then I've done my level 1 training so I would say that!

My boy never responded to Bowen but is gradually responding to ET - I've seen amazing responses from other horses i've worked on.

I mainly do it on my own horse though as a treat and rarely do it on others.
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did you enjoy the course? how much anatomy & physiology did you have to learn in advance? was it easy to pick up? xx
 
Bowen v Equine Touch

I am frequently asked about the distinction between these two modalities and often see it discussed on various forums. I’ve only studied Equine Touch so obviously I know more from the Equine Touch point of view. However I have now been teaching Equine Touch for over five years and have had quite a few Bowen qualified people as students on my Equine Touch courses (both human and equine Bowen Practitioners) so as I’m sure you can imagine it comes up as a topic of discussion. I have also been party to discussions with one of the Equine Touch Founders, Jock Ruddock, who initially trained in Bowen Technique, on this topic.

So here is a summary of my personal understanding of the differences and my own interpretation of the information given to me by other people. Apologies to anyone in the Bowen world if my interpretation is off - but this is the understanding I’ve reached personally.

The Training
Bowen – as far as I can see when I research it the training is geared towards achieving Practitioner status and you are required to achieve human practitioner status prior to studying equine.

Equine Touch – the mission statement here is ‘to help horses by educating humans,’ i.e. if horse owners attend the three day level one course they would have more appreciation of their horse’s body and the horse will benefit: 100 people doing level one will help more horses than one practitioner. Level One is a complete set of foundation skills so some people just do this for their own horses whereas others make it the first step in training to be a practitioner.

Both Level One and Two Equine Touch courses involve an element of human work so students can get verbal feedback on their technique and also appreciate how the bodywork feels. The majority of Equine Touch practitioners do in fact continue on to study for the practitioner qualification in the human form of the discipline in order to be able to address the rider too.

From a pragmatic and personal point of view when I was researching whether to learn Equine Touch or Equine Bowen I chose Equine Touch because in a three day course I would get some idea whether I was able to do the technique at all and if it would be something I’d enjoy doing without investing huge amounts in human qualifications only to find it not for me.

The practitioner route was revised in January 2010 and the prospectus is available on the Equine Touch website http://uk.theequinetouch.com/courses.html

The Technique
Bowen students who’ve been on my Equine Touch courses say that they can see the Bowen ancestry in the Equine Touch move but acknowledge how very different it is. The initial movements in both seem to me to be similar being very light and addressing the skin and superficial fascia – the remainder of the Equine Touch move differs in order to achieve a muscle recoil. I think this muscle recoil is where the idea that Bowen is light pressure and Equine touch deep comes from. I feel that a good practitioner in any modality should be able to adjust their pressure to the body beneath their hands as some will require a lighter approach and others will ask for more pressure. Too light might irritate or not achieve as much as it might; too deep and you may cause more tension than that you’re trying to alleviate. Equine Touch pressure should vary as required and still be effective – it can be incredibly light if that is what the body requires, however, there is scope for a deeper pressure.

Development of procedures for animals.
I’ve no information on how this occurs in the Bowen world. Equine Touch has benefited from Ivana Ruddock’s veterinary qualification so there is an appreciation of equine anatomy as procedures are developed for equine touch – and specifically for dogs in Canine Touch.

The Name
I understand that the family of Tom Bowen have requested that the Bowen name is not used or attributed to forms of bodywork that may or may not have been how Tom Bowen worked. I have heard that throughout Tom Bowen’s career as a bodyworker his technique evolved, developed, changed over the years.

Equine Touch is not Bowen by another name. Equine Touch is a soft tissue bodywork discipline amongst a variety of bodywork methods: Bowen, Equine Muscle Release Therapy (another Bowen therapy – I think it is in fact considered to be 'Bowen Technique for Horses' and is under the banner of the Australian Bowen School) shiatsu, massage, myofascial release etc.

Anyway I hope my interpretation isn't too off the mark for the Bowen side of things and I hope this has helped the discussion. Just before I finish up I’d like to make these last few points:

Firstly, if you think that there is something wrong with your horse your first and immediate action should be to seek veterinary help.

Secondly, there is plenty of overlap between many bodywork modalities. We all have the same aims (discover any pain or discomfort that may be causing the body problems, assist in injury recovery improve circulation, improve lymphatic drainage, promote relaxation and therefore healing in the body etc) we just work towards these aims in different ways: same end point but different routes to get there. We work with the same soft tissue with different techniques to try to keep it flexible and functioning optimally.

Thirdly, there is no one form of bodywork that will suit all bodies in all situations. Hence there should not be any one modality versus another. It is also worth appreciating that despite uniformity of teaching of any bodywork technique you will still find different practitioners having different skills, approach and experience – some people and animals may well prefer the approach of one practitioner over another even if they are performing the same modality.

Lastly, bodywork is only a small part of your horse’s wellbeing – other factors including environment, feed, tack, feet, teeth, rider, conformation etc. So much to learn about and so much to try and get right for our horses!

Lara
 
Well I've only had experience of Bowen for a human not a horse, but based on that I would say I would definitely go for Bowen!

My 87 year old mum was completely crippled with sciatica for 13 very long months. And I mean in agony. She saw neurologists, had injections, took a truly extraordinary number of pain killers every, day, had physio, multiple visits to the Pain clinic (you're getting the picture :D ). Her doctor said there was nothing more that could be done.

3 visits to have Bowen and she is completely pain free. So yes I'm a BIG fan :)
 
amymay said:
Probably equally as rubbish as each other.
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Don't knock it till you try it.

I am a Bowen Practitioner for humans and also an ET practitioner - but it does say on my original "ET" certificates "Bowen International Foundation" - signed by Jock and Ivana. So it certainly comes from the same root, different forks, if not branches.

And both are effective, gentle and valid bodywork modalities - I have had some of my clients for over 10 years, including top racehorse breeders and their horses. I don't think they would be throwing their money at me if it didn't work.

If you earn a good reputation, you can make a living at it, but I have other tools in the basket too.
 
intouch said:
Don't knock it till you try it.

I am a Bowen Practitioner for humans and also an ET practitioner - but it does say on my original "ET" certificates "Bowen International Foundation" - signed by Jock and Ivana. So it certainly comes from the same root, different forks, if not branches.

And both are effective, gentle and valid bodywork modalities - I have had some of my clients for over 10 years, including top racehorse breeders and their horses. I don't think they would be throwing their money at me if it didn't work.

If you earn a good reputation, you can make a living at it, but I have other tools in the basket too.
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Oh, I have. My horse had two years of Bowen treatment for a sore back. At no point was it suggested to me that further investigation should take place as to why (despite regular treatment and a perfectly fitting saddle) my horses back kept getting sore.

After treatment for the sudden onset of chronic lameness - guess what? The back was no longer sore.

Steep learning curve for me. But from now on it will be a the 'professionals' all the way.
 
i too am a bit sceptical of "the equine touch" as well, having experienced the training courses. it seems that you don't need much pre-quals to do the course yet the course went along the lines of "you should already know something about equine touch" which was confusing and a bit daunting when taking part, as sometimes you didn't know what was being talked about or felt left behind/left out.
if i had a muscle or back problem with my horse i would choose a chiropractor/mctimoney chiro and/or a sports massage therapist, someone who has spent years training and has an indepth knowledge of the horses anatomy, and therapists in these avenues would also most likely have an equine degree as a pre-qual, which again would show they have a broad academic knowledge of horses.
 
amymay said:
Oh, I have. My horse had two years of Bowen treatment for a sore back. At no point was it suggested to me that further investigation should take place as to why (despite regular treatment and a perfectly fitting saddle) my horses back kept getting sore.

After treatment for the sudden onset of chronic lameness - guess what? The back was no longer sore.

Steep learning curve for me. But from now on it will be a the 'professionals' all the way.
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I'm really sorry to hear that - but if I'm working with a horse I make sure it has veterinary permission, I'm assessing hoof balance and movement every time I see it, if I have not seen improvement after the third session I will refer.

Perhaps all practitioners/trainers are not equal, and it is regrettable that you have not had a good experience.
 
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