During one of our advanced equine massage classes over the 2010 winter, we took a break from the usual trigger points and Pranic Healing to explore the trail course that had been set up for the Ranch Versatility Competition that had been held the previous day. The course included an "elephant stand"- a raised platform that is just big enough for a horse to stand on. One of the horses I worked with that day was Shekhinah. Shekhinah is a Danish Warmblood and Ferronato’s show and demo horse.
When we got to the elephant stand, Shekhinah would willingly step up with her front legs, but wanted to step the front legs down when stepping the hind legs onto the platform. The idea is to get all four legs on the stand, so after asking Shekhinah a few times with the same result, I asked Ferronato for assistance. Shekhinah stepped all four legs on the stand for Ferronato. As she stepped down, Ferronato told me to watch her hips and low back as Shekinah got down off the stand. It was easy to see that she was very tight and stiff in the area as she stepped down. At Ferronato's suggestion, I took Shekhinah aside and spent 10 minutes (or less) massaging her lower back and hips with a combination of trigger point and myofascial release. We then returned to the elephant stand where she proceeded to step up with all four feet on my first request A lightbulb went off in my head- it wasn't a behavior or training issue behind her unwillingness to get on the stand with all four legs in the beginning- it's that it was physically difficult and painful for her to execute the maneuver because of the tension in her body. I began to wonder, “How many ‘training’ issues are really bodywork issues?” It seemed that Shekhinah really benefited physically from the massage, but it also increased our understanding of one another for me to acknowledge and address that she is a physical being with a body that has physical limitations.
Nicole Sulick
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