Back on the road again, as you all know we have decided to cut down on our travelling, so last Wednesday we drove from Czech, through Germany, stopped off in Holland to send some stock to Australia thanks to Linda, took the ferry overnight, arrived in England, dropped the car off at Stansted Airport and flew to Copenhagen. As usual the plane was delayed by three hours, so we arrived late in the evening and met up with Eva. The next two days saw us working on some of the most beautiful but badly trained horses we have ever run across. Trainers are really needed over there, every muscle in my body aches, 18 horses in two days! Oh yes we are trying to slow down, so on the Sunday evening we went straight back to Copenhagen Airport, flew to London, arrived at 11.30pm, One night in the worst hotel in London, then spent the next day doing the laundry and preparing for the next day's filming of three videos, one for Monty Roberts and the other two for Equine Touch. This was followed by four days at the Blue Cross horse rescue centre in Burford and an instructors Guild meeting. Today we arrived in Glastonbury, caught up with the laundry again and tomorrow morning we jump on a plane at Bristol, for Newark, then catch one which gets us into Minneapolis at 11.30pm and in the morning at 9am we start teaching at Colettes. I am even tired reading this.
But yes we are slowing down .... I think.
Everybody should look at our Texas schedule as we are going to be in a couple of new venues-one near Fort Worth and the other at Hutto near Austin. So if you have any friends in those areas please tell them to come along. Both of us are looking forward to seeing new faces and new places. For our Texas schedule please click here TEXAS.
VHT, for those of you in the Texas area or who know people who want to attend a full four day VHT clinic we are holding one at San Marcos on 23, 24, 25, 26 of October which I will be teaching, so please get in touch. It will be the only one this year which will not only cater to Equine Touch students but to bodyworkers from all schools. Just have them get in touch with the Whole Horse Clinic and they will take care of it.
The new words for the month:
'It's not who you are to the horse that counts, it's what you are to the horse that matters'.
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Recently one of our well established and most respected Equine Touch Practitioners in the USA was threatened with legal action by a lawyer representing a specific Equine Massage school. It appears that this school has trademarked the descriptive words EQUINE BODY WORKER, and are prepared to, or are threatening to, take legal action against anyone who refers to themselves as an equine body worker or uses the term. The ET practitioner in question also practices some other arts and offers Equine Body Work as a description of the service she offers.
Unbelievably - research has shown that these three words (in capitals) EQUINE BODY WORKER (2004) have in fact been trademarked. No one can understand how this has been approved for registration as this is a generic descriptive term which covers not only what ET students are but also any form of hands on address of the horse from Reiki to Rolfing.
For the past 10 years I have called myself an Equine Body Worker, and while I teach a specific discipline it is still bodywork, equine bodywork. This is a descriptive explicit term which covers what I do and what all of you do. It is generic, if you charge a fee for the service then you are a professional, that is also a recognized legal definition.
I am an Equine Body Worker and that has been my description of myself and will remain so! The service which I offer is 'Equine Body Work'as does Ivana who is a qualified vet, and which we are paid for. It does not matter whether Body Work is one or two words it is a descriptive term related to what we do and in my opinion and the opinion of everyone we have talked to, can not be trademarked as it is a generic descriptive phrase. I for one will personally continue to call myself an Equine Bodyworker and will support any of my students who also wish to do so.
However we shall not rely on my words alone. In the meantime I personally will support any person who wishes to call themselves an Equine Bodyworker, or Equine Body Worker. In the meantime in order to avoid confrontation do not put it in capitals and make certain that there is no intimation whatsoever that you are trained by Equinology or are a member of the IBWA which is their association.
" The Supreme Court of the United States expressed the determined and settled rule to be "that no one can appropriate as a trade-mark a generic name or one descriptive of an article of trade, its qualities, ingredients or characteristics, or any sign, word or symbol which from the nature of the fact it is used to signify others may employ with equal truth."
If the trademark claim is allowed to stand it will have a negative effect on the entire industry right across the board. Reiki, cranio, acupressure, shiatsu, myofascia, massage, soma, healing touch, acupuncture, vibro-therapies,bowen, raindrop therapy as well as Equine Touch will all be affected if this is not confronted en masse and immediately. This is wrong and should be addressed universally, no one school should have the right own the name under which all of us have worked collectively for so long. We would love to hear your opinions on this subject. (Especially if you know a lawyer).
Stop Press! On the 21st of July the Prairie Winds Equine Massage Therapy College in Wellington, Colorado and their association Equine Body Workers Guild also received a threatening letter.
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While in Denmark we had the chance to work on a Sorraia stallion. This is the first time we had ever come across this breed. Absolutely beautiful, the Sorraia has an appearance remarkably similar to the prehistoric cave paintings found across the northern Mediterranean and the Iberian peninsula. Not surprisingly, it has recently been genetically linked to the now extinct Tarpan that once ranged throughout southern Europe and into Asia.
The breed possesses many characteristics that are typical of prehistoric Iberian equines, with a narrow, convex head and long slender ears. The neck is elegant and muscular, and can be held nicely arched. The horses are somewhat compact, with an uphill build, well defined withers, and a medium tail set. The Sorraia's hips tend to slope down and outward in what is sometimes referred to as a raftered hip. This can give the animal an exaggerated appearance when in poor condition. Sorrias have a narrow but deep chest having great lung capacity, and a fairly horizontally angled sloping shoulder. Their legs have exceptionally good joints, hard hooves with a thick wall, and good cannon bones that are rounder in cross section, and therefore stronger, than in most human-created breeds.
This was a velvet gray with an amazing bi-colored mane and tail that that we had never seen before and as with all of the Sorraia's had a dorsal stripe and zebra markings on the legs, and withers.
The Sorraia is descended from an ancient stock that may have originated in the western region of the Iberian Peninsula. Surviving remnants of what was once an extensive population can be traced to an area between the Sor and Raia rivers, from which the breed gets its name. Traditionally, the Sorraia would be used for herding, working the land, light harness work, and riding.
We must assume the Spanish conquistadors took some horses with Sorraia origins to the Americas, as there has been DNA evidence that has found Sorraian genotypes in a couple of feral horse herds in the western United States.
In the 1920s, a herd of 30 wild horses were discovered and 11 captured that are the founders of all existing population. It is interesting that the mitochondria DNA tests have shown these horses to have a very distinct genotype from the rest of the Iberian breeds, except a portion of the Lusitanos that seem to be have a maternal link to the Sorraia. It is thought that there are only about 200 of these horses currently in existence throughout the world.
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THE EQUINE TOUCH 'From Zero to Hero in Your Horses Eyes' is now on sale in the UK and can be obtained either from your local instructor or direct from the NCC. We are at present negotiating with printers to have it published in the United States, Australia and New Zealand, and will keep you posted as to when that all comes together.
| 2, 3, 4, 5 | Colorado - Berthoud | Level 3 | USA National Coordination Center: Berthoud Email:USANCC Instructor: Ivana |
| 3, 4, 5 | Colorado - Berthoud | Level 4 ET and Beyond | USA National Coordination Center: Berthoud Email:USANCC Instructor: Jock |
| 10, 11, 12 | Texas - San Marcos | Level 1 | Whole Horse Clinic, 3330 Harris Hill Road, San Marcos, TX 78666. Ph:512 396 2234. Instructors: Jock and Ivana Email: Equinetouchinc@aol.com |
| 10, 11, 12 | Texas - San Marcos | Level 4 ET and Beyond | Whole Horse Clinic, 3330 Harris Hill Road, San Marcos, TX 78666. Ph: 512 396 2234. Instructors: Jock Email: Equinetouchinc@aol.com |
| 17, 18, 19, 20 | Texas - San Marcos | Level 3 | Whole Horse Clinic, 3330 Harris Hill Road, San Marcos, TX 78666. Ph: 512 396 2234 Instructors: Ivana, Email: Equinetouchinc@aol.com |
| 17, 18, 19 | Texas -Collinsville, Fort Worth area | Level 1 | Contact: Jennifer at Zaal Ranch, jnwilliams@myself.com (directions click) Ph: 214 797 9723. Instructor: Jock Email: Equinetouchinc@aol.com |
| 23, 24, 25, 26 | Texas - San Marcos | VHT - Equine Touch for Humans | Contact: The Whole Horse Clinic, 3330 Harris Hill Road, San Marcos, TX 78666. Ph:512 396 2234 . Instructor: Jock, Email: Equinetouchinc@aol.com |
| 31, 1, 2, Nov | Texas - Taylor area | Level 1 and Level 2 | Contact: Suzanne Kurten, Location: 5700 Hwy 79 Hutto, TX 78634 Email suzanne_kurten@yahoo.com ph:512-8562110 or 512-923-1068 Instructors Jock and Ivana. Email: Equinetouchinc@aol.com |
Thats all for just now folks, we have some big news coming up soon, big positive changes which we hope you are all going to love.
Aloha Jock
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ET Australia |
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ET Africa |
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ET UK and France |
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