Thanks, well, if you were local I’d hire you to come see my mare!
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So these BTMM heroes who are so brave and so noble and fearless apparently do not have the ability to use their delicate “touch of a lover” or their eyes and horse sense to read ANY subtle body language and just plow on and produce those kinds of violent and dangerous reactions? Not just once in a while - but a lot of the time as this person attests? And this “journey” seen as amazing and Zen and saintly and warrior-like? No - that hardly sounds like a cult at all.
I have seen many horses having bodywork done - including Masterson techniques. And somehow magically those practitioners had the ability to feel tightness before it turned to an explosion, to sense tension and pain and adjust or slow down or stop… to make adjustments and changes without causing extreme distress or being shaken like a rag doll or being run over, bitten etc. They work with that horse - not at him. They read him correctly. They use their insight, skills, horse sense and horsemanship and not woo-woo Zen master warrior sh-stuff that apparently at times is best observed from the other end of the arena.
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Kicking/biting/bucking etc can be an expression of pain, but they’re nonspecific behaviors that can mean a lot of things, and they can also be something a horse has learned to do because of how he has been handled. Depending on the underlying reason of the behavior, there are times it’s appropriate to push forward, but if it’s because the horse is in such pain he can’t help but act out, that’s not the time.
I have to say though, if the horse is bucking and biting, he’s probably not “consenting” to whatever is going on.
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You’re absolutely spot on.
As someone with first-hand experience, I did have a horse that THW herself did nerve release on, early on when I wrongly thought it was gentle and relatively harmless.
As I had mentioned earlier up in the thread, there was nothing wrong with my horse prior, he was seeing deeply skilled and highly educated professionals I deeply trust, and I presumed, wrongly, that nerve release could be an additional therapy to add into the repertoire.
My horse who was very docile and sweet turned very sour and aggressive following the hour long session. My horse was attempting to bite CLL the entire time, she wears these bangles on her wrists to protect herself from being bitten. Red flag numeral uno.
It took over a month before the pain responses subsided enough that my regular professional could perform any treatment to my horse. Like others have mentioned upthread, a knowledgeable professional knows how to read consent with a horse and will not push the animal. It took about half a year of rest and time off before my horse returned to normal. Again, there was nothing wrong with my horse prior.
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Pepsi is dangerously close to making an appearance in my nasal passages.
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I’ve had a number of body workers on my horse over the years. They are all careful to watch for the obvious signs of discomfort. Like tight eyes and mouth. If you are horse savvy enough to watch for the small signs no, very few horses are going to kick or bite you out of the blue. And a body worker that accelerated to that stage would be fired by me on the spot.
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My deepest regret was not stopping THW when my horse was loudly screaming at her to stop. I was disillusioned at the time and trusted her word when she said it was all a normal part of the process.
Never again.
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I’ve been reading this thread for a couple of weeks now…I was in the FB “masterclass”, found it poorly organized, nothing new, and dropped out after the first month or so. Saw that she was doing this new class for lots of $ and in looking into that, found this thread, which has been interesting to say the least! And confirms my gut feelings about THW.
So here is my question about your experience with your horse – (which I believe, BTW). Were you able and allowed to watch what she did close up, and if not, why not? When she does the “nerve release” is it something like a deep tissue massage or more like a chiro/osteo adjustment?
I’ve taken a couple of clinics on Masterson (and the home study materials and books). I’ve had Masterson bodyworkers work on my horses, and my mare, with old injuries and chronic pain, did not like some of what was done, so the bodyworker backed off, way off, as she should have done. The second bodyworker chose to observe her at a distance and truly barely touch her since she was so reactive and anticipated pain. I’ve studied calming signals quite a bit, so know how to read the tensions before they blow up. And I will tell the professional that the horse is getting worried, so stop or slow down. I have no problem doing this (and yes I’ve made mistakes in the past by going along with things, so I know it’s a learning process for us all.) I’ve also had another bodyworker who did fairly deep massage and the horses all just melted in her hands, they loved it so much. I’ve had chiro, osteo, and acupuncture done. I’ve learned and do some acupressure myself.
In no case with any horse have they ever gone over the top as is described in the screenshot. If that is descriptive of reactions she is actually getting during treatment, that is just wrong, and unethical. She is not a Zen master or hero for being able to push through with a horse that’s in that state of pain or fear; that’s BS and sounds like marketing. There are better ways forward; she should know better.
If she is doing things to the horse and the owner is not allowed to watch closely, also a big ethical red flag. If she is doing any manipulations that can move bone and nerves, and there is not a licensed vet approving and supervising, also unethical and in some states, illegal. Folks should look into their state laws regarding whether or not bodyworkers, chiros, etc. are required by law to be vets or at least supervised by vets.
I really wanted to think she was amazing, but more and more I just thought she was manipulating people and creating a great SM persona – the IG photoshoot after her horse died really did it for me…that was it, in poor taste and sickening. Actually all the IG photoshoot stuff is a turn off.
And no one should ever in a million years allow anyone to do anything to their horse without being able to watch it all, up close, if not actually holding the lead rope, including vets, trainers, farriers, dentists. I do understand that in the moment, in a clinic or treatment setting it’s easy to do things to appease the “professionals” but really we all need to stand firm on this and supervise all things being done to our horses. And walk away when needed.
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All excellent questions, and excellent points.
I am trying to figure out how to answer them while providing enough information but not too much to divulge who I am, thus placing a target on my back. Delicate balance, I suppose I will keep it short and to the point.
I was close by, but I was not holding my horse. I couldn’t exactly see what she was doing to be honest. I do know she worked on one area for quite a long time, and that is the area that became extremely inflamed in the aftermath.
There was no vet present.
I believe her nerve release is a form of Structural Integration, similar to myofascial release or trigger point. The issue at hand was spending so much time on one area clearly pushing through obvious pain signals from the horse.
Since this experience, I have learned that those modalities can cause injury if performed more than 90 seconds per muscle group, CLL had spent the entirety of an hour on one spot from what I could gather.
I definitely went along with things and deeply regret it, despite recognizing the discomfort and pain signals my horse was clearly giving. I let my horse down and it cost the trust I had developed prior. It took time to heal the relationship in that respect as well as the physical injury.
I’ve learned a valuable lesson, the hard way, through this unfortunate experience, and will always stand firm for my horses from here on out. I will also be certain to verify credentials before proceeding with any professional in the future.
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I generally try not to judge people for how they grieve after a loss, but laying out flowers and doing an Instagram influencer photo shoot with your horse’s dead body is definitely, um … a choice.
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Thank you – we all have made mistakes like this as owners – for someone claiming to be a professional, especially a GIFTED professional, to make such grievous errors is completely unacceptable. It’s amazing and sad that she is getting away with it, and highly unethical to be “certifying” others to do it when clearly there is no protocol here that would stand up to any scrutiny. Teaching the “Pillars” (as she labels it for her own marketing) is one thing. Messing around with the intention of changing nerves and their function is on another level entirely. I saw someone on her FB page a couple of days ago asking for her credentials. There was no reply and the comment was deleted. I wonder if that person was blocked as well. Honest people of integrity have nothing to hide and can answer questions like that quickly and easily. THW seems unable to do that, so what else does one need to know. I’m an educator, 38 years higher ed teaching experience, full time, tenured full professor. Her so-called “Master Class” was a joke, pedagogically speaking. Just a mess.
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Had to add bolding in that part because… well… that is indeed some kind of choice.
This thread just keeps on dishing out little nuggets of New Age Social Media Horsey Foo-ness. At this point, it almost qualifies for its own Bingo card.
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Performative Vulnerability, anyone? Anyone have Performative Vulnerability? Oh you in the back! We’ve got a Bingo! 
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People do grieve in their own ways, it was just a bit much, felt both exploitive yet in line with everything else. I lost one of my horses, Aug. 2021, I did post on FB about him, wrote an obituary as it were, with a photo of him looking alive and vibrant, the way he deserved to be remembered. I had several FB friends who followed him, were interested in him, so I shared the facts; he was a grandson of Northern Dancer, fell on hard times, and recovered to retire with me. He had a story, and it had an ending. But we don’t post photos of our loved ones laid out at the funeral home – I think most would find it disrespectful, though post mortem photos were popular during the Victorian era esp. those of children and infants, dressed and posed to look alive…but that is something else entirely and were done for the family’s private viewing. ANYWAY… how many reasons do I need to not join the club? The worst thing is that we feel unable to speak publicly about it – I mean, how can you even begin to question the photo in question without sounding like a a complete ASS. I just unfollowed her (and her friend who did the same), something I do with anyone who posts photos of their recently deceased equines moments after they take their last breath. For one thing, we all deal with loss and we all have times when those losses are fresh. The last thing we need to see at those times are photos like that on our random news feed. It can reopen raw wounds and be a little traumatizing. She of all people should be sensitive to that.
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New Age Social Media Horsey Foo-ness
A term I shall embrace from this minute onwards…
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What were they, cutdown Saflok Mk 5s or something? Those are the only “bangles” I’ve ever met that could remotely prevent a horse bite.
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I zoomed in and cropped out some example of her bracelets. I might have it wrong, maybe they’re not called bangles?
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Ironic, looks like she recently posted this on her IG, shows the same bracelets in case anyone thinks I cropped out a random person’s wrists. The accusations have been ludicrous lately…
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Go forth, my child, with my blessings.
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not sure how those keep you from being bit…
