Latest / The Horsehuman Connection Matrix / Release work, micro movements, & bonding
Transcript
- 0:01Hello, is she able here with the horse human connection matrix podcast?
- 0:06Today.
- 0:07I want to talk about.
- 0:10Release work with horses.
- 0:12So, first of all, what is release work release work is a type of body work at, it could even be your chiropractor.
- 0:20It could be horse massage.
- 0:21It could be acupressure.
- 0:24It could be energy work.
- 0:26It's what we do when we see stuck places in our horse, or we know our horses in pain.
- 0:32And it's not only a way to help the horse feel better before riding.
- 0:37But it's a way to bond with your horse.
- 0:41And some extraordinary things may happen when you start to treat your horse this way.
- 0:47So there's a lineage that I know of.
- 0:49There's probably many of them.
- 0:52First, I want to say that Marie.
- 0:54Soderbergh has a video online that's free on YouTube.
- 1:00Under horse acupressure and Marie Soderbergh.
- 1:05And she demonstrates for 45 minutes, some excellent techniques.
- 1:10And she is a professional horse acupressurist and has been for a long time.
- 1:17There are other systems out there, some that charge quite a bit of money.
- 1:22Pay Cummings was a student of Sally swift.
- 1:25Most horse people who've studied.
- 1:27Writing, know who Sally swift is.
- 1:30And Peggy Cummings came up with a method called connected groundwork, where she runs through a series of different exercises that do releases on your horse.
- 1:40And they're all very, very gentle.
- 1:42And they're worthy.
- 1:44She had a student Masterson who works on the racetrack.
- 1:48And he came up with a much more involved method utilizing the bladder Meridian, which is.
- 1:56I I'm not going to pretend I know a whole lot about acupressure.
- 1:59I just know the little bits that I picked up in this podcast isn't necessarily about acupressure.
- 2:04But it's about what to do before, what to look for during and what the benefits can be.
- 2:11But of course, along the way, I'm going to need to talk about some of this stuff.
- 2:15So I want to reference these people because I'm also going to talk about systems versus intuition.
- 2:23So if you're a systems person and you know, you're a systems person.
- 2:27Definitely read up on it.
- 2:29Look at YouTube videos.
- 2:31Before you head out there.
- 2:33But if you're someone who has a good feel.
- 2:37Who wants to deepen your relationship with your horse?
- 2:41You may not need so much structure.
- 2:43You may be able to rely on the bond between you and your horse and your own intuition Marie Soderbergh.
- 2:50Peggy Cummings but Masterson all have systems out there that are worthy.
- 2:58For my money, the Murray Soderbergh is free.
- 3:02And it gave me more information than studying the other methods that I could use because I'm a very intuitive person.
- 3:10So, how do you know when to use this when you need it or what to do first, when you want to start.
- 3:18The reasons I like these healing techniques is that they helped me bond with my horses.
- 3:24In several ways when I introduced this work.
- 3:28My horses know that I'm listening.
- 3:31They know, I care.
- 3:33It slows me down.
- 3:35And thus allows me to step further into their world.
- 3:40These two reasons promote recipricol.
- 3:43from the horse now, maybe not right away, but some really magical things have sprung out of me doing this type of work with the horses.
- 3:52Most horses have tried communication with their captors.
- 3:56Yes.
- 3:57I said captors.
- 3:58Sometimes I use the analogy of slavery with horses.
- 4:03Or prisoners because.
- 4:06They're not free.
- 4:07And.
- 4:08They're usually better off if they're not free.
- 4:11And we have a history of having these working relationships with horses, and I'm not, I'm not judging that, but I'm also going to call it what it is.
- 4:21So I think like most prisoners.
- 4:24Initially once the fear is gone of where they are, how they're held in, who these people are that may or may not take care of them.
- 4:34They begin to seek information.
- 4:38But also like people.
- 4:40If you kept asking.
- 4:42And asking and asking questions or trying to talk to someone, especially if you were a prisoner.
- 4:50And they ignored you.
- 4:52How long would you try?
- 4:54Yeah, you're not going to keep that up forever and neither are they.
- 4:57So a lot of horses.
- 5:00Who are owned or kept by people who don't believe the horses can really communicate or talk to them.
- 5:08Or just think there are more stupid.
- 5:10Ignore this, they ignore all the times.
- 5:12These horses have tried to communicate with us and they communicate in so many different ways.
- 5:16You don't have to be an animal communicator hear a voice in your head or get a specific image in your mind that the horse is communicating to you.
- 5:24They will act things out and if you've listened.
- 5:27To my other podcasts, you know, the story of PI standing.
- 5:31By the watering trough for three days, because he was miserable being penned up with the two horses he was with and he wanted out of there.
- 5:39There are so many ways that not just horses, cows, dogs, cats.
- 5:43Communicate things to us.
- 5:45If we just slow down and pay attention.
- 5:48But they also give up.
- 5:50If we don't respond.
- 5:53So, if this has happened to you, if your horse has given up.
- 5:57Starting to do release work with them is a way to get a fresh start.
- 6:02It might require a bit of patience.
- 6:03It might require a little bit of time before they actually believe that you want to listen and believe that you want to help in this way, but they will.
- 6:14How are you going to know if your horse needs release work?
- 6:18It's a really common.
- 6:20And very useful practice in the horse world to brush our horses before we ride to comb them, to pick out their hooves.
- 6:28And part of that is of course, to remove the dirt and debris and hair.
- 6:32Before we put on a saddle or a saddle blanket.
- 6:35To prevent injury and make sure there's no burrs under there or anything.
- 6:40And part of it is to run our hands or a brush or both over the horse's body, so that if there are tight spots, sensitive areas, somewhere that maybe they got kicked or scratched or bitten.
- 6:54That we find it.
- 6:55Maybe it needs treatment.
- 6:56Maybe we just need to be aware of it, but that's another reason for grooming our animals.
- 7:01So.
- 7:02The release work is like taking grooming to a different level.
- 7:07And watching more carefully.
- 7:10The expression on a horse's face and the signs that they may give.
- 7:16During release work is different than what you're look for during grooming, of course, with grooming, you know, you're going to either get the ears back in a tail switch and a look and a glare.
- 7:26If something hurts.
- 7:27But with release work, the signs may be much, much subtler.
- 7:32They may be having their eyes closed and just blink, ever so slightly.
- 7:37They may do the occipital head, Bob, which is a very slow movement from the back of the head behind the pole where the head just barely, barely rocks back and forth.
- 7:48They may do huge yawns accompanied with those eye rolls.
- 7:52That's one of the biggest releases I've seen horses do.
- 7:56They may also swish their tail a little or a lot.
- 8:01And also farts.
- 8:03Stopping walking away, urinating and defecating are also always that horses can show release.
- 8:09Sometimes they're also seek for something.
- 8:12Like a hand.
- 8:14Or putting their nose on the ground and touching their nose releases pheromones and helps them do more releasing.
- 8:22I want to mention too, that if you're doing this type of release, work on your horse.
- 8:27And you're not sure that pressure is right.
- 8:29You can ask them or they may even volunteer the information.
- 8:34By touching your hand.
- 8:36At the pressure they would like to be touched.
- 8:39Yes, they can do that.
- 8:41Or they may even come up and put their nose on your body.
- 8:46Where it hurts on their body.
- 8:48I've had horses do this lots of times to me.
- 8:51They may also put their, their nose and begin.
- 8:55Using their lips and their nose to massage and touch parts of your body that are sore.
- 9:00And I highly suggest you allow this.
- 9:03All of those rules about this is my bubble.
- 9:06This is my space.
- 9:07Don't touch me.
- 9:07That's bad manners.
- 9:08You throw all that shit out the window.
- 9:10When you're doing this type of release work with your horse.
- 9:15It's like.
- 9:16Mutual grooming.
- 9:18It's like a massage be open.
- 9:21Be open for that stuff.
- 9:24So those are the types of releases that you may look for.
- 9:27Also, did I say chin quivering?
- 9:29Th they're just, they could be really small movements and your eye will get better if you start slowing down, which is crucial.
- 9:37To be able to pay attention.
- 9:39To these nuances.
- 9:40You'll begin to see a whole lot more.
- 9:46So I also like to take my horse and yes, I still use around Penn.
- 9:51It's usually has some grass growing in it.
- 9:53It's not overused.
- 9:56But I like it because I can see a horse move and my round pen has 15 or 16 panels and it's actually not round.
- 10:03It's an oval, but whatever you have.
- 10:06You can use an arena.
- 10:07You can use your pasture.
- 10:09You can use a smaller part of your past year, but get your horse moving.
- 10:13Watch them walk.
- 10:14See, if you can get them to walk around you, not on a lunch line.
- 10:19Not on a rope.
- 10:20That's why I like the round pen, because there's no pressure.
- 10:24On their face.
- 10:27And as you watch the horse move.
- 10:30Center yourself.
- 10:32Watch your breath.
- 10:34Let your eye fall over the animal as it moves.
- 10:39And.
- 10:41I'm not talking about watching their beautiful mane or if they're tracking in their footfalls properly.
- 10:48What I'm talking about is watching their body move.
- 10:51Watch the biomechanics watch are they stretched out?
- 10:54Are they gathering themselves?
- 10:56Are they collecting a little bit on their own?
- 10:59Are they.
- 11:01Are they even, does it look like they're sore anywhere?
- 11:03Did the muscles move smoothly?
- 11:06These are the things that you need to train your eye for.
- 11:11Also at a stand some side flexes with the head can reveal quite a bit, some very light touch to the pole.
- 11:20May create quite a bit of release.
- 11:22And when you touch the horse, I need to talk about this a little bit and I'm.
- 11:27I'm going to pull from some of the names that I mentioned earlier and, and what I've learned.
- 11:33So I have one mayor she's 30 years old and she's in pain a lot and she mostly doesn't want to be touched at all.
- 11:42But I can work three inches off of her.
- 11:45In fact, yesterday her back cracked working three inches off of her.
- 11:49Sometimes she's so sensitive.
- 11:51She's swishing at me and saying back up more.
- 11:55I have done energy work on this horse from five feet away and had big yawns and releases from her.
- 12:02They are that sensitive, their energy fields are that sensitive.
- 12:07And if you think about everything you know about horses, how they read your heart rate.
- 12:12And your intention from 60 yards away.
- 12:17You know, they're sensitive.
- 12:19So watching the horse in a round pen.
- 12:22Beginning to apply some light touch.
- 12:24So the first touch is like, A fried egg, a soft fried egg, where you, you just barely touch the yolk.
- 12:33And you don't want to break it.
- 12:35The second touch is like a grape.
- 12:38So you can push into a grape and maybe push in.
- 12:42But not splat the grape.
- 12:45And the third one would be like pushing into a lemon that you're trying to like.
- 12:51Get it all ready to be juiced where you, you know, you're pushing in a little bit, like there's a little bit of pressure in your touch.
- 12:57And what I like to use are my first and second finger, my index finger, and my third finger.
- 13:05There are some times where I'll use my whole hand.
- 13:08And again, Merissa Annenberg has excellent information on this in her YouTube video.
- 13:14And.
- 13:15Masterson's method working the bladder Meridian is a smooth, constant touch.
- 13:20Very, very, very slow.
- 13:23All the way down.
- 13:25Soderbergh uses a two foot.
- 13:28Kind of hopping.
- 13:30Method most of the time until she finds a place that may need a little bit more needing or some palming.
- 13:36So just like if you were giving your boyfriend or girlfriend or wife or husband or.
- 13:42Whomever a massage.
- 13:44You know, you would experiment a little bit with different types of touch the horses going to be the same way.
- 13:50And if you're watching.
- 13:52They'll give you feedback.
- 13:53If you go too deep.
- 13:55They'll probably swish or move away if you don't go deep enough.
- 14:00You may get no reactions and need to go through a second time.
- 14:03Although starting with the egg yolk.
- 14:06And starting with the two inch increments.
- 14:09Is.
- 14:11Is what I like right now.
- 14:13At this point.
- 14:15It's also.
- 14:17Helpful if you know, Where to touch on the horse.
- 14:21And I've mentioned the bladder Meridian.
- 14:23So I can just roughly describe this, but starting in front of the ears, about two and a half inches.
- 14:32And moving on the inside of the ears.
- 14:35And then down either side of the spine.
- 14:38Uh, all the way to the croup and then down the back of the legs.
- 14:43About an inch and a half from the spine on either side, you can imagine like two racing stripes going down.
- 14:51The back of your horse, again, beginning about.
- 14:55Two inches in front of the ears and ending down at the indentation of their back of their hooves, where their heels are.
- 15:03That would be the bladder Meridian.
- 15:06And you don't have to be exactly on it.
- 15:08You don't have to worry about that.
- 15:10All you need to know is that that's a good place to start and don't try to do both sides at the same time.
- 15:16Start on one side, preferably the left.
- 15:19Do that side and do it slowly and take your time and then do the right.
- 15:24There are some other little points that you may pick up glancing at some, a Peggy Cummings work in the front shoulder.
- 15:31And Marie Sonenberg again at that hollow on their back knee.
- 15:37Um, on the back of their knee, where they're at at the back of their Hawk, where.
- 15:41Those bones come together.
- 15:43There's a little hollow.
- 15:44If you just sort of pinch either side of it gently.
- 15:47That is a pain release spot.
- 15:50And again, just looking at your horse, the horse doesn't even need to be moving.
- 15:56If your eye falls on a spot, or if the horse touches your body.
- 16:01On a spot that would correspond to their body.
- 16:04Like if they're touching the left side of your shoulder, Go to their left shoulder.
- 16:09If they're touching.
- 16:11The bottom of your glute on the right side, go to that spot on the horse and try those.
- 16:17The horses are talking to you, whether you soliciting or not.
- 16:21I promise that they're trying to talk to you.
- 16:24So it helps to know.
- 16:26Where to begin this, but even if you never heard of a bladder Meridian, And you just slowly walked up to your horse and gently touched as I've described.
- 16:37Your horse would start giving you some feedback and you'd get somewhere.
- 16:40That's what I mean, anybody can do this.
- 16:44I think, I think that that's a good method.
- 16:46But some of the things I wanted to talk about here.
- 16:50Are not just the touch because you can get that information from one of these systems.
- 16:55What I really wanted to talk about is looking for the signs, watching the face closely.
- 17:03'cause I feel like there's not enough time spent on that.
- 17:07In the systems that I've seen.
- 17:09And what I want people to know, is it, anybody can do this, like after listening to this podcast, you can do this before listening to this podcast, you can do this.
- 17:21This is something that is so attainable.
- 17:24And people charge a lot of money for these trainings.
- 17:27People charge a lot of money to come do this on your horse for you.
- 17:31And in that case, you don't get the benefit of the bonding.
- 17:35You don't get your horse realizing that you were listening to them.
- 17:40And I can't tell you how huge that is.
- 17:44Well, my horse has worked on me too.
- 17:46And I know that might sound crazy.
- 17:48I posted a couple of YouTube videos.
- 17:50I hope to do some more filming very soon.
- 17:53But.
- 17:54They work on people in the equanimity style.
- 17:57That's equanimity retreats in British Columbia, Liz mitten, Ryan.
- 18:02I went to her retreat in 2016.
- 18:04And it changed my life.
- 18:06The case studies I did when I left there proved to me 20 times over.
- 18:11I've watched my horses work on probably.
- 18:15Mm, close to a hundred different people.
- 18:18And sometimes.
- 18:20They're just meditating with them.
- 18:22They're just working in an energetic way.
- 18:25Mostly on emotional issues.
- 18:27But the horses will get in there with the nitty gritty too, especially, especially Sipsy.
- 18:33She'll use her hopes on people.
- 18:35And you'll see that in the, in the latest video, if you care to watch it on my YouTube channel, which is.
- 18:42Capital H H C M little X.
- 18:46That's for the horse human connection matrix.
- 18:51Yeah.
- 18:52If you don't have experience with this.
- 18:54If this is all new to you.
- 18:57Don't fret.
- 18:57Don't worry.
- 18:58All it takes is a little practice.
- 19:01A lot of patients.
- 19:02And slowing down, but I'll tell you something that slowing down.
- 19:07It's good for everybody, whether you're around the horses or not.
- 19:11I want to also say, to watch your own breath, to spend a few minutes standing with soft knees and soft hips.
- 19:19Concentrating on how your breath fills your belly.
- 19:26With every breath.
- 19:27For a minute or two, before you begin, before you begin paying attention, before you begin moving your horse, before you begin touching your horse.
- 19:38They're also methods.
- 19:40To bond with your horse.
- 19:42Not necessarily doing the release work.
- 19:45But they begin with the release work, even around penning your horse in the state of mind in this meditative state of mind.
- 19:53And focusing on their rhythm.
- 19:55Not so much on their gate.
- 19:58Or what they're doing, but feeling their rhythm horses are rhythmic creatures.
- 20:03If you watch them in the wild, their footfalls will be syncopated.
- 20:08Even in your pasture, if you have more than one horse, They're footfalls will often be syncopated.
- 20:15And if you focus on that, when you're watching your horse move, asking your horse to move while you're grounded and your breath is calm and regular.
- 20:27You'll find that you can change their gate.
- 20:31By changing the rhythm in your head when you're that connected.
- 20:35It's not a huge mystery.
- 20:38I know there are people that know way more about horses and horse training that I do that have been using this for centuries.
- 20:46But I feel like it's worth mentioning.
- 20:49Because not everybody's familiar with those traditions.
- 20:53If you get the opportunity and there's more than one horse around and there usually is whether you're at a barn or they're your own horses or they're at your neighbor's house.
- 21:03Watching more than one horse.
- 21:06We'll help you to get accustomed to.
- 21:09Their movements.
- 21:10And while they're moving.
- 21:11If you find your eye keeps coming to one spot on the horse, even if it looks fine to you, even if the muscles seem like they're moving smoothly.
- 21:21Even if the biomechanics seem in order, if your eye keeps falling on one particular muscular group or one 10 by 10 inch spot or one, one by one inch spot on the horse, trust your intuition.
- 21:35Trust your subconscious.
- 21:37Your subconscious has sucked something out that probably needs attention.
- 21:42And even if you just go over.
- 21:44When this happens.
- 21:45And hold your hand.
- 21:47Three to five inches away from that spot that caught your attention.
- 21:51And watch your horses face.
- 21:54Bet you tend to, one, something happens.
- 21:56A bit, you, you see a release.
- 21:58And if you go closer, And touch.
- 22:02With two fingers perpendicularly.
- 22:06I bet you'll get a big release because you know what?
- 22:08We all have intuition.
- 22:11We just haven't practiced.
- 22:14These micro movements register in your subconscious, these micro movements.
- 22:20You're seeing them, even if you don't know, you're seeing them.
- 22:24So trust yourselves.
- 22:26Experiment with these methods.
- 22:29Spend time breathing slowly with your animals.
- 22:32Create those bonds that make life magical.
- 22:38I hope you tune in to some of those YouTube videos.
- 22:41And I love it when people.
- 22:43I share stuff with me.
- 22:46Thanks for listening.