Masterson methind... practitioner or DIY?

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wench

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Just after some thoughts really! My horse is rather stiff at the poll, we've had the physio out, and nothing is wrong with her as such.

Been doing some research, and from what I can find out, something like the Masterson method could really help my horse "let go" of the stiff bits.

There is a practitioner reasonably close to me, but they are a similar price to a physio, which kind of puts me off a little bit. I've used some more obscure types of treatment in the past, often paying for travel, and havent found its done much good.

Has anyone used a practitioner? What kind of results did you get out of it? Or would I just be best off saving some money and following the instructions off youtube/out the book?
 
wench said:
Just after some thoughts really! My horse is rather stiff at the poll, we've had the physio out, and nothing is wrong with her as such.

Been doing some research, and from what I can find out, something like the Masterson method could really help my horse "let go" of the stiff bits.

There is a practitioner reasonably close to me, but they are a similar price to a physio, which kind of puts me off a little bit. I've used some more obscure types of treatment in the past, often paying for travel, and havent found its done much good.

Has anyone used a practitioner? What kind of results did you get out of it? Or would I just be best off saving some money and following the instructions off youtube/out the book?
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There are no practitioners near me, but with the help of videos, and the advice of friends down south who have done a Masterson course, we had a go ourselves. It is not difficult to do the bladder meridian treatment, and since you're barely touching the horse it would be hard to do any damage. All of ours enjoyed it, and it really does seem to pick up the spots that need extra work. We had two that had issues around the poll :) My friends advised me to get the DVD, and I think we'll order it shortly.
 
Well I've looked at the videos on youtube, and just decided to buy the DVD. Give me something horsey to watch during the week when I cant play ponies, and a whole lot cheaper than the pracitioner.
 
I am not a practitioner but I have done the 5 day advanced course (and am a qualified bodyworker). IMHO a practitioner would be worth the money, there is tons that you learn/practise on the advanced courses that is beyond the videos you can access online and even the owner-weekend courses.

the book/DVD is really useful, its a great method, have fun :)
 
Well perhaps will see what happens when I prod and poke myself.

I'm a bit of a skinflint, and a bit wary of using someone new for something new that's going to cost a fair bit of money
 
I have completed a one day course, nice day but I didn't gain much if anything from it. I tried the methods the next day on my horses, one tolerated it, another wouldn't give me any of his weight (he is a very polite horse, wouldn't dream of pushing or standing on you so putting his weight on me would have been very strange for him), the youngest thought it was nice in a kind of 'scratch me for a bit of grooming' way. Not for me. Mine horses we worked on during the course we're of course all very used to the methods. :-)
 
A friend of mine uses the Masterson method for her horses. She is self taught and says she gets good results from it.
 
Spot_the_Risk said:
I have completed a one day course, nice day but I didn't gain much if anything from it. I tried the methods the next day on my horses, one tolerated it, another wouldn't give me any of his weight (he is a very polite horse, wouldn't dream of pushing or standing on you so putting his weight on me would have been very strange for him), the youngest thought it was nice in a kind of 'scratch me for a bit of grooming' way. Not for me. Mine horses we worked on during the course we're of course all very used to the methods. :-)
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are you sure you are talking about MM? Because I don't recognise any of that. You aren't asking the horse to put his weight on you, you are asking them to relax and if they don't-you back off until they are comfortable doing so. Its way less 'in their face' if you like, than massage or some other body work techniques.

I've used the methods on quite a few horses/ponies that have never had any type of bodywork before-and in the case of my then 3yo Exmoor pony who has the attention span of a gnat ;) and on the 21yo who is suspicious of everything it was a success. It can take some practise to really appreciate that less is more and some are extremely stoic. Also, what you really take home mostly from initial courses is bladder meridian and what I think of as the 'farrier stretches' and while they are be very useful, its not the be all and end all. No modality is for everyone to do but I think the majority of horses would benefit from MM from a practitioner IMHO.
 
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