Interview with Jim Masterson: Equine Massage using the Masterson Method

Jim Masterson interview with writer Shan Boggs

SHAN: What first attracted you to physical therapy for horses?

JIM: I really had had no exposure to or real interest in any type of massage or alternative therapy until a horse show in Colorado where I was grooming show jumpers. The trainer had two ladies that specialized in massage therapy come into the barn to work on the horses, and I just kind of “clicked” with it. They pointed out to me how the horse would lick its lips, and chew when relaxed, and blink its eyes when softer inputs were applied. This is what fascinated me the most, so I kind of just ran with it. I started going gently over the horses, following the subtlest responses, learning from the horse what was going on; where the horse was holding stress, how much was there, and when and how much was released.

I began by working on our barn’s horses, and as I learned more, began to take on other clients. As I worked on more horses and came across performance problems or complaints I hadn’t encountered before, I would get out the books and learn what was going on in that part of the anatomy, then apply what I had learned from the books to the responses I was getting from the horse, and voila, results. I was also fortunate to be working in a fairly competitive performance environment, so that I could see what worked as far as improving performance, and what didn’t, and it also helped being exposed to some of the best knowledge as far as veterinary care was concerned.

Occasionally they would bring “horse chiropractors” in to the shows. I would pay close attention and ask lots of questions, and when I came across one who I could thought really knew what he was doing, I would offer to hold the lead rope, drive around with him to different show barns, and just help out for free. One or two had been around, and I would learn just one or two key things , combined with what I learned from the horse, that made a huge difference in results. And results are what it’s all about when it comes to performance. In this environment I was able to learn what key areas of the body are most affected by, and affect, performance.

SHAN: What changes have you witnessed in this type of horse care since you cam on board?

JIM: Interest in massage, bodywork, and “alternative therapies” for horses is booming. I think that certain therapies, such as cranio-sacral and acupuncture are just as, if not more effective on horses than on humans, because horses don’t have that background conversation going on constantly that we humans often aren’t even aware is happening. I think with horses there is a less clutter between what’s going on with their body, and their brain or nervous system. They are in the moment. While you’re working on a horse, he’s not laying there thinking, “this isn’t working,” or “what’s this gonna cost me,” or “if I come home to spaghetti one more time, I’m gonna…” Humans can spend thousands of dollars learning to be “in the moment,” and it can last a few minutes, or seconds at a time. For horses it’s natural. Even more veterinarians (and you know how they can be) are learning and using acupuncture and chiropractic.

SHAN: How does physical therapy for the horse help performance horses reach their goals?

JIM: Horses are similar to people in that they are not perfectly symmetrical. For example, they have a stronger, more predominant side, and a shorter or a longer leg, the same as most people. Under the stress of work, this asymmetry can develop into imbalanced muscle tension patterns that can pull the horse’s body out of alignment. Or it can cause the horse to put more weight on one leg than the other, which can lead to the same imbalances, or eventually lameness. Bodywork can help release imbalanced tension patterns that cause the horse discomfort or pain, and impede performance.

SHAN: How do you involve the average owner in physical therapy for their horse?

JIM: Usually, when I work on a horse and the owner is watching, the results as far as the responses of the horse to the work are pretty clear. They see where the horse is holding stress and his responses when he releases it. They are usually pretty impressed by how sensitive the horse is to touch, and how easy it is for him to release tension with almost no force applied. And if the rider can tell a difference in the way the horse moves after the session, then it become really clear how effective the therapy is.

Part of working on the horse, for me, is to help determine what might be contributing the imbalance in the first place, and helping the owner/rider to keep it from developing into a problem to begin with. For example, problems in the body often come from problems, or just soreness, in the feet. Often by applying local therapy such as ice, topical liniments, supplements, or having a veterinarian or farrier deal with a problem in the lower leg, you can prevent problems in the body. I’ll also show them flexing, stretching and massaging exercises.

One thing that is appealing to horse owners, and also therapists, about the method of bodywork I use and teach is the interaction between the therapist and the horse, and the horse’s involvement in the process. This isn’t a mechanical process. It’s a process where you learn how to read the horse. The horse talks to you, and let’s you know where, how much, and when the tension is released.

SHAN: What role does the average horse owner play in the success of the horse’s health?

JIM: Since the horse owner is the one who creates the conditions the horse survives in, and is ultimately the one who makes the decision regarding care and repair of the horse, the more knowledge the owner has regarding what to do, or have done to the horse, the better life the horse will have, and the better he will perform.

SHAN: What are some of the other benefits of this kind of one on one communication with the horse?

JIM: In addition to making him “go better”, this method of bodywork gives the owner an awareness of how sensitive and reactive the horse can be, and it opens a new level of communication with the horse.

SHAN: How do you think the work could change the current thinking surrounding horse health?

JIM: As you can see with the popularity of Horse Whisperer trainers such as Monty Roberts, the Parelli’s, Buck Branaman and John Lyons among many others, there is a huge shift towards “partnering,” and “natural” and “resistance-free” training in the horse world.
I guess it would just have been a matter of time before the same methods would be used in physical therapies. These same methods that utilize the participation and sensitivities of the horse to get the desired results in behavior or training, can work in physical therapies and bodywork. That’s what the Masterson Method hopes to teach. And not only that, it works.

SHAN: Are there any major surprises or conclusions drawn from your work with horses that you would like to share?

JIM: What amazed me when I began studying this, and still does daily, is
a) that the horse can be so expressive when he releases physical tension in his body, and b) that when you provide just a little bit of help in the right way, that his body will let go of large amounts of accumulated tension that it would other wise be difficult for him to let go.

SHAN: Do you keep in touch with horse owners as they take what you have taught them and put it into practice?

JIM: The Internet’s a wonderful thing. Not only can you go to my website and see where the next clinic will be, but people from Italy, Germany and England who have taken Masterson Method clinics and workshops can email their questions, get answers, or generally gab about what is going on with their horses — all with the touch of a button (or, quite a few buttons).

Many of the horses I work on, on the A show jumper circuit, I work on weekly during the show season, so I get to see and hear the results from the trainers and riders (in real time, even).

SHAN: Do horse owners come back for repeat training?

JIM: I have enough requests for more training from equine massage therapists who have taken my workshops, to organize a more intensive clinic, or course. I will be returning to England in October to give more clinics, and some repeat training with, among others, graduates and practitioners of McTimoney Animal Chiropractic.

SHAN: Do horse owners share wonderful stories with you?

JIM: (See testimonials page on website. Some of the US Endurance ones are good, and a couple of testimonials from body workers and therapists are okay too.)
I did get a kick the first time I heard a young show rider say, after riding her horse after a session, “This is great! I can see my horse’s front feet when we trot out!” He’d obviously been a little restricted in the lower neck and shoulders for a long time. I do get a lot of feedback like that.

SHAN: Are there client performance horses with commendable achievements that you would like to mention?

JIM: The winter circuit in Florida is the busiest time of year for me, and where I have been making my bread and butter for the last few years. From January to April I work with Bill Stanton, who works year round on the hunter-jumper show circuit. There are between 4,000 and 5,000 horses showing in Wellington, Florida, and we work 10-hour days, six and sometimes seven days a week. Bill’s clients include some of the top Grand Prix jumpers in the world, as well as competitors in the Young Riders finals, Mac Clay Series, Nations Cup, as well as amateur hunter-jumpers. I work on horses in all of these categories, which can be exciting. It’s a high-end sport, with some of the best and most expensive horses in the world, as well as the best trainers and riders. But back in the barn, working on a horse in the stall, where the temperature of the horse, the air, and the humidity can all be in the upper nineties, the glamour sometimes gets a little thin. The rest of the year I work some of the larger shows in Lexington, KY, shows at Lake Placid, NY, and the Washington International Horse Show at the Verizon Center in Wash. D.C. In between, I do workshops and seminars, and catch whatever other types of horse disciplines come along. I also have some international level Endurance clients, whom I met while at the 2006 World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany. I had met Valerie Kanavy near Ocala, Florida, the winter of 2006, and worked on her horses there. She is a two-time World Champion Endurance Rider, and when she was named chef d’equip for the US Endurance Team, she asked me to come with them to the World Equestrian Games. Another fun job, and a great bunch of people, and of course horses. During the two weeks before the Games I made friends in Germany at the barn where we were stabled. Now I have German and Belgian dressage clients. See how that works? It’s great! I get the chance to visit these clients when I go to Europe to do workshops, which is turning out to be a couple of times a year. This year we did two workshops in England. We will be going back in October to do two or three in England, and next spring again in Italy. Australia is probably going to be on the schedule next fall.

SHAN: What’s on your mind these days with respect to your work with horses this year?

JIM: This year the focus is on teaching clinics and workshops. I’m pleased that so many people are interested in working on their own horses. Some people ask me if I’m not afraid I’m working myself out of a job, but I don’t think that’s the way it works. There are so many horses out there that need work, and this method of bodywork is unique in the sense that it really provides another level of communication with the horse. I really don’t even worry about teaching other therapists. Plus I have confidence in what I do. I haven’t seen a lot of therapists using these methods. I also have a DVD available on my website, and distributed through equine and human body work catalogs that was produced by Sean Riehl of Real Bodyworks in Santa Barbara, CA. It’s very well done, professional and practical, and gives step-by-step instructions for both horse owners and therapists to get this interaction started with the horse. My workshop schedule can also be seen on my website, and it will be expanding next year. I will be interviewed on a show called HorseCityTV, on RFDTV in March, I think (let me confirm this before it goes anywhere). I hope to be doing a lot more workshops around the country by next year.

SHAN: Where would you like to see horse physical therapy in five years?

JIM: As I said before, my method of bodywork, the Masterson Method, really runs parallel and in the same vein as Horse Whisperer methods of training. There’s a partnering with, and participation of the horse. Some of the early pioneers in equine massage were well-trained human sports massage therapists like Jack Meahger and Don Duran who were also very experienced horsemen, who transferred their bodywork knowledge over to horses. To me sports massage can be an effective, but somewhat of a mechanical exercise, especially for someone who is just starting. Now, even with the popularity of the Horse Whisperer trainers in horse behavior, I don’t see much use of the same sense of feel in bodywork, so I’m hoping to help fill in that gap.

SHAN: In ten years?

JIM: I’m barely goal oriented enough to answer the “five year” question. Don’t push it.

SHAN: What is the best part of your job?

JIM: Without hesitation… it is the interaction with the horse, and to see the responses the horse gives you when he has let go of some huge block of structural stress that he wouldn’t have been able to let go of on his own. Number two would be introducing something new to an owner or therapist, about the horse. Many people’s interaction with the horse is on the level of it being a 1200-pound mass of power and muscle that they’re relieved to keep within the bounds of control. That is true, but there is another level of interaction with the horse that transcends its sense of protection and survival that we have access to, and it’s rewarding to be able to show that to horse owners and lovers.

SHAN: Do you have any favorite quotes by famous people that you would like to share?

JIM: A friend of mine once said, “You can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose…but you can’t pick your friends nose.” That’s probably not applicable here.
But there was an old fellow from New Zealand who had spent over 40 years working on horses. He was pretty well known in this country because he knew what he was doing and he got results. He is one of the ones I used to pay close attention to, and offer to hold the lead rope whenever I had the opportunity. He held his cards pretty close to his chest as far as giving out information went, but he would let one or two nuggets of wisdom slip by every now and then, and just a couple of those nuggets are probably what helped me figure out what direction to take in developing my own method of bodywork. One of the things he said that separated him from others was that he didn’t quit until the job was finished, and he got out of the horse what he wanted to get out. Meaning he didn’t just go through the moves. And, of course, he knew what he wanted to get out of the horse. The other nugget of wisdom has to do with this last sentence: what to work on in the horse that will get you the best results and improvement in performance. That’s one of the cards that I like to keep close to my chest… until, maybe, workshop time.