Equine Partnered Bodywork – Introduction

Equine Partnered Bodywork will introduce a light touch technique we can do WITH our horse. Through practicing our state of mindfulness and presence, we discover the connection of how to ask for and observe our horse’s consent to partner. By applying a light touch to the neck of a horse, we will see and recognize different levels of response. As a result, we discover by applying a light touch and staying on the point or area, the horse will ‘process and release’ their own tension, be it physical, mental, emotional. We in turn will feel our stress level melt away into relaxation.
Thousands of hours spent with horses has confirmed this overly simplified concept – Give a voice to discomfort, allow it to show up and be released. When we see and hear the disturbance, truly listen and stay with the horse until they release the disruptive energy, their body will then self correct. I have observed and filmed horses doing this with and for each other. An amazing example is a young and very large Percheron client has hind end weakness due to nerve damage. I began to realign his ribs, his pasture mate stepped forward and looked me straight in the eye then proceeded to work on each rib, starting just behind the shoulder and worked his way back. He worked on 6 ribs individually – slight nip and pull of the skin then his nose nuzzled across the bone top to bottom and he moved to the next rib… He then looked me straight in the eye and stepped back, he was beaming with his brilliance.
By fully connecting with the horse’s heart and spirit, offering support, ‘holding space’, the disturbance is able to simply melt away. It is important to check in often so problems don’t become acute or chronic. Future courses will dig in deeper to issues that don’t fully self correct, but this is the place to start. We must get ourselves in a mindful state of presence, without an agenda, to listen with an open heart for energetic imbalances. This activity is not meant to be done with an ‘intention to fix’. Nor will you want to start working with a horse that has issues or injuries that would be better addressed by a Veterinarian.
Personal responsibility of the student who chooses to engage in activities presented in this course:
PARTICIPANTS WHO ENGAGE IN EQUINE ACTIVITIES ASSUME THE RISKS OF ENGAGING IN AND LEGAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR INJURY, LOSS, OR DAMAGE TO PERSON OR PROPERTY RESULTING FROM THE INHERENT RISKS OF EQUINE ACTIVITIES
The skeletal image used in videos – left, right and top view are screenshots from 3D Horse Anatomy software from Biosphera3D.
The design of added circles and acupoints (© Nancy Horne)  show major areas used in EPB bodywork. The software programs used in this course creation are the Adobe apps – Photoshop, Illustrator, Premier Pro, Apple – Keynote and ScreenFlow.