Issue 4 - 2010
Aloha - Its now ten years since Ivana and I were married on the beach in Honolulu. Our minister was one of my closest, dearest friends, my 'big brother' - Keith Haugen - singer/songwriter journalist/photographer who grew up on a farm in Minnesota riding horses before moving to Hawaii. I thought I would share this photo with you that Keith took in 1968 of the Suicide Race at the Omak Stampede WA. Suicide in that the riders start at the top of a virtual cliff, ride straight down and into the river at the bottom, where they all swim across to the rodeo arena and the finish line on the other side. This is the only photo known to have been taken of the race from directly in the track of the horses as they plunged down the face of the river bank. Keith set the camera and at the last moment dived aside and this was the spectacular almost suicidal result. A great shot which I hope I can get a signed copy of to hang in my office. The photo was on page one of the Daily World. Then it was chosen by the State of Washington from photos taken of some 300 events that year, and was used on the 1969 Special Events brochure for the State. It was also used on the cover of the 1969 Omak Stampede program. Do you think that after this race there could have been a need for some ET for the Horses, riders, and perhaps a rather crazy photographer? Bet he could not move that fast nowadays!
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The Clinic in Tauranga was a great success, Denyse Cambie as always presented an extremely professional and friendly clinic, in fact I must say it was one of the most satisfying clinics I have had the pleasure to teach for a long time. Everybody gelled on the course and the enthusiasm and team work made it a really enjoyable experience, also it was really nice to welcome Thea who took a day off from school to attend. New Zealand thankfully does not have the Draconian moronic laws that some countries have and so not only are 14 year olds allowed to attend such clinics but they can also be in the class photos! Interesting that we are still receiving new students from the Equitana demonstrations I did two years ago. Such was the enthusiasm of this class that I will be presenting a new Level 2 at Denyse's on the weekend of 16, 17, 18 of April. So if you want to catch up with your levels this will be your last chance at a level 2 in New Zealand with me this year. Stop Press : Request came in tonightfrom Denyse to hold another Level 1 on the same dates as the Level 2. So please tell your friends, lets have another great one on top of the mountain.  Talking of Equitana we have booked a double stand for this year and Ivana and I and the whole Australian Team will be there as well as some of the New Zealanders, so if any of you are going to be attending this major horse event please let us know, even if its just to drop by and say hello. |
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You asked for it and here it is - Ivana will be holding another complete horse dissection clinic at Lincoln University on the 30th April and the 1st and 2nd of May.the coordinator as before will be the unsinkable, unstoppable, incomparable Janis Clyma! The Cost will be the same as before, however for those who would like to repeat the experience the class will be half price. Janis did a great job last time arranging accommodation etc and coordinating everything o please contact her as soon as you have decided to attend. The Deposit for attending is $200. It is planed to have this clinic, professionally filmed, due to all the different systems that are out there we had a great deal of difficulty in processing the last film shot into DVD's to distribute to the students. Hopefully we can correct that completely this time around. Please let your friends in the horse world know about this class as it is not confined to Equine Touch Students - everybody in the horse world should learn about what is happening underneath the skin of the animal - and that includes, riders, trainers, vets and equine bodyworkers from all schools. Everyone who attended the first clinic in December was adamant that this was the best dissection clinic they had ever attended - describing it as brilliant. Now this next one promises to be even better. Numbers are restricted to allow everyone maximum participation and exploration in this fascinating and revealing clinic. So let your friends know and book now. |
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| Great news from Carolyn Jurgens of IETA. All Equine Touch Practitioners are now eligible to join HATO (Holistic Animal Therapy Association) - and receive insurance through the IH Group. That is brilliant news, congratulations Carolyn on picking up the ball when it was dropped, running with it, and scoring big. This is a massive step forward for ET in Australia. For further information regarding the requirements please contact Carolyn who is the acting president of IETA in Australia and she can supply you with all the information which you will require. |
UPCOMING FOUNDER'S CLINICS DOWN UNDER February- 11,12,13,14 Wagga Wagga Level 3
March- 9,10,11,12,13 Victoria VHT-Modules 1,2,3,4,5,6 +Family & Friends
April- 2,3,4,*5 Tauranga NZ Level 3 & 4 (*5-prescription and layering. April-16, 17, 18 Tauranga NZ Level 1 and 2 April- 9, 10,11 Boddington WA Level 1
May- 7, 8, 9 Whangarei NZ Level 1 STOP PRESS Dissection Clinic in Christchurch April 30, May 1,2 BOOK NOW |
 Questions and Answers with Jock and Ivana |
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Q: Hello Jock It is always good to receive the newsletters. I have a question about a horse and its owner. A 6 year old q/h mare at' branding' had very solid hard rumps and over her back, particularly the right side. She allowed me to pick up front legs but the hind legs - were very hard to lift - I started with right leg which was like lifting a ton of weight and as I lifted it to position it across my legs she started to put weight on it. I rubbed and lowered it and put it down noting the lack of flexibility with the owner. I approached the left side but she would hardly lift it and as I did she started to sit down on me - confirming my thoughts that she would find it hard to balance. However, the owner worked with horses for over 30 years got quite cross with my handling of her hind leg and proceeded to demonstrate how I should pick up the foot/leg. I affirmed that my intent was to pick up the leg not the foot but he continued to teach me so I discerned that the best course of action was to heartily agree to a lesson from him on how to pick it up. I thought I would run it past you as he believes the ET approach is dangerous, asking for resistance and lack of cooperation from the horse. His method is to stand close to side of horse facing the tail, push against horse with hand to rock the back end, and with outside hand rub feathery strokes down the horse's leg until reaching under the fetlock and then apply pressure with both hands until horse lifts the foot, reach under the hoof and hold the toe. I haven't found problems with other horses I have worked with. The session did not go well after that as he clearly lost respect for my lack of handling ability - and was quite dismissive of my finding problems with the first horse's neck, teeth and shoulders. I did request, very politely, for him not to pull and hold the horse's tongue out so he could show me the horse had no such teeth problems. Your thoughts on the lifting the leg procedure would be helpful. |
A: Many of our instructors have at some time or another run across this problem with 'experienced' horsemen telling them they are wrong. There is no such thing as wrong only different, and if that difference has form and purpose then no one has the right to tell you you are incorrect.
 You are absolutely100% right, we are trying to pick up the leg not the hoof, and the ideal is in training the horse to give it willingly to us . This is one of the reason that we lift the front legs the way we do, to educate the horse that we are different, so now the curiosity of the animal is brought into play, and when we go for the hind leg, if he is aware and interested will give us the all important 'try'. He will ask the question "Is this what you want"? Educate the horse into giving us the leg and then feeling safe and secure with us in the perfect position to correct its balance while it is on three legs, and to then work on it with the leg raised. For a medium sized lady with a big horse, can you imagine trying to do the hip hula holding up one side of the horse with just the hands holding the foot? Of course if there are major sacrum, pelvic, sciatic even hoof problems the horse will not want to stand on three legs no matter what system one uses. However in saying that we can then turn that into a positive by recognizing that that is evidence of a major area of concern and then work on the horse standing on all four legs until the problem abates and it is happy to stand on three legs while you mobilize and ET it. Two well known Australians made different prophetic statements to me: 1- Linda Parelli, "Sometimes its easier to educate a horse than a horseman". 2- Roy Heffernan, "Egotism is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of ignorance". I think your final paragraph sums up this horse owner and makes these two statements apt. Pulling out the horses tongue - only an egotistical uneducated moron would do that! The tongue is attached to the hyoid, any damage to that area - often caused by pulling the tongue out - could result in permanent injuries. A couple of months ago the Natural Horse Magazine published an excellent article by Barbara Chasteen on that very subject. |
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March - 9, 10, 11, 12 - VIC Vibromuscular Harmonization Technique Foundation and Advanced Seminars MARCH 13th Family and Friends - 1 day only - contact: Susan Wyatt: naturalsavvy@iprimus.com.au |
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We return to Hawaii, Maui in May 15, 16, 17. Three days of intensive Level 1 Equine Touch, as well as a human clinic which is yet to be confirmed. Watch this spot for details as soon as they are locked in. Coordinator for ET on Maui is Jill Fairchild - Email contact: horsesfromtheheart@mac.com. Please tell your friends in hawaii that we are definately coming. |
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Due to the interest being shown in VHT in Australasia we have decided to put together a VHT Instructor program for those interested in making a career out of practicing and teaching VHT either on a full time or part time basis. This program will not have the same format as the one being held in the Northern Hemisphere due to the time frame factor relating to when VHT was first taught in the Northern Continents compared with down under. However the goal will be exactly the same - to produce the best practitioners and instructors of VHT possible.
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With this aim in mind the VHT symposium that we will be holding in Victoria on March - 9, 10, 11, 12 will be focused two fold. one of course for practitioners but also for those who wish to ultimately become instructors of VHT down under. Formal information regarding this process can be obtained by contacting us at ETFpanel@aol.com or contact Sue Wyatt: naturalsavvy@iprimus.com.au |
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Thank you all who wrote in about Equine Bodywork Horsemanship© after last week's newsletter. I know I have mentioned it off hand on several occasions but recently having worked with so many ET Practitioners on ET and Beyond clinics, I am starting to notice more and more that this idea is starting to take root. I can now see someone in a field working on a horse and tell if they are ET trained, and whether they understand the concept of EBH©. It is so hard to isolate yourself, to go into that neutral place, to find yourself and to work on the horse without enforcing your will onto them especially if you have had training methods of horsemanship ingrained in you. This week's question ex amplifies exactly this. Was the 'redneck' who wanted to show our lady how good he was wrong? No, not from his view he wasn't. He was just unable to comprehend that there may have been a very good sound reason for our ET lady picking up the leg that way. Perhaps like so many people out there his mind was just closed and enwrapped by his own ego. If you have a closed mind, then in every positive that is suggested to you,just because it is different, you will always find a negative. After years of arguing with horsemen from all schools I have at last decided that it is a waste of time, if there is not an open mind and an acceptance of the idea that there is always another way, not better just different, then it is a waste of energy. However every way has to have a foundation if it is to have any credibility at all and for that we have to go back to the words and thoughts of the masters such as Tom Dorrance and Ray Hunt analyze their prose and see how we can adapt it to our world of caring and helping the horse. EBH© is a new concept, it is like a new song, the concept and the melody are there, the lyrics need to be written, a verse for each problem and a fundamental chorus to keep coming back to and reminding as just what we are singing about. A very close friend of mine Peter Schellivus who was the chairman of Polygram Records dropped into my house one morning for breakfast." Do you know' he said,' There is not one song on the top 40 I can whistle the melody of, or even remember the words to'. If we are going to write a song about EBH© and I need all of your help on this, then it must have a concept, a melody and lyrics that will last. |
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This technique was taught to me by Dr Judith Shoemaker in PA. Judith is one of the foremost equine equine veterinarians in the world, and was one of the first people to open up our eyes when we first began to teach ET. I can still remember her pulling out a chair and sitting down in the middle of the room, folding her arms and 'instructing' me to show her what I did on an Olympic dressage horse. At the end of the session she stood up and after conferring with her horse psychic said " Congratulations, you have just developed the best holistic address for a horse I have ever seen.' I would often drop in and watch Judith work on a horse and I unabashedly admit that I have stolen this technique from her as she appears to know more about propreoreceptors than anyone I have ever met, before or since. You are called to a horse which is compromised due to physical elements of influence - teeth or hooves. The teeth have had a radical or well overdue session, the feet, perhaps a remedial trim, the horse being taken from shoes to barefoot, or the style of barefoot trim being completely changed ie Stressor to Ramey. Due to the time involved and the compensation factors which have imbedded themselves in the horse the propreoreceptors have programmed themselves over time to adapt to these to the current balance or ill-balance of the horse. All of a sudden - the teeth are balanced - the rest of the body which had developed residual compensation is now out of balance and confusion reigns supreme, likewise the remedial trim or strange new shoes. To some degree the horse is now in what we could describe as propreoreceptors shock, the wrong signals are being sent to the brain. What I do now, having completed everything I wish to do with the horse balancing, even mobilization and stretching, neck if it is the teeth, legs if it is the feet - I walk the horse backwards three to four good steps - then bring it forward three steps, then immediately make it walk backwards the three steps and forward once again. I repeat this exercise a further three to four times, the focus being to re-educate the propreoreceptors and remove the imbedded compensations. Another way to do this if the facilities are available is to walk the horse several times briskly over several different surfaces, sand, gravel, stones, grass even through water. |
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WORD OF MOUTH: That is the way we can continue to keep ET affordable for horse owners everywhere, so talk, talk, talk. Let your friends know all about it, the ET family is becoming one of the biggest and most respected in the world. Lets keep it a family - Off to Australia in the morning - Take care until next time, and keep touching! Aloha - Jock |
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