Masterson Workshop 2019
About four years ago, a 7-page article was published in a horse magazine about a revolutionary method to relax horses, where even a non-expert can supposedly do nothing wrong. I thought I'd try it on my Manni. Unfortunately I didn't get to see any of the described reactions, to be more precise, nothing happened at all and I rejected the whole thing again as a "sensational advertising".
This spring my horse must have done something stupid in its box, in any case it didn't want to put any weight on one leg when scraping the hoof anymore and it also walked short and stiff in the back. Despite vet and osteopathy it didn't really get any better. The character was also changed: normally a horse that can hardly be disturbed behaved anxiously in situations that didn't bother him before. My horsmanship trainer said when he saw Manni in such a way that there was certainly still tension and pain and that he had seen an amazing method to relax horses on the Equitana. When he mentioned the name Masterson, I remembered my unsuccessful attempt after the instructions in the horse magazine. But since I trust my horsemanship trainer, I wanted to give the method another chance and bought the corresponding book. Very soon I noticed that it was simply due to this short instruction and that important hints were missing. And well, it actually worked. There were some of the described reactions, like blinking and the signs for releasing tension, like chewing, snorting and sometimes yawning. And Manni also seemed to like it. So I wanted to learn more about the Masterson method and to be shown how soft the touches should be. That's why I booked a weekend seminar, a "trial course" so to speak, in which some of the techniques are taught.
The seminar took place in Bad Sachsa at the stallion farm Nüxei. On this farm young and adult stallions, also studs, are kept in a herd. Further information can be found here.
It was really a perfect weekend: eight people who wanted to learn the Masterson method and Walter Saxe, the first certified trainer in Germany as course instructor with Conny as assistant and many different horses, who all participated wonderfully.
The atmosphere was very relaxed, one could learn stress-free and try out a lot without fear of mistakes. The horses seemed to enjoy it very much and showed it by yawning extensively, bending their backs or stretching their hind legs.
During the breaks we were also culinarily pampered by the farm owner Ingo, who easily responded to special requests. We returned home with a fridge still full, which we had stuffed as a precaution. Thanks again to Daniela and Ingo for their hospitality!
The short seminar made me want more, because we only learned about one fifth of all possible techniques. To learn more there will be courses lasting several days.
The method uses the peeling of the individual onion layers as a comparison. Gradually, tensions are loosened and the core is worked out. Now I will start with my thick vegetable onion Manni and try out, refine and see how far I can improve his mobility. If you want more information about the Masterson method, you can find it on this website.
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