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[RC] My APEX Experience / Part Two - Patti Stedman
Jim Masterson (www.mastersonmethod.com) demonstrated an integrated method of massage for horses, using Finch, one of Smoke Rise Farm?s horses, as a subject. The great thing about this method is that it is intended to be one that horse handlers can perform themselves. Finch is a stoic sort, but we all watched in fascination as Jim?s work, even with the lightest of pressure, elicited responses from Finch ? twitching of his lips, blinking, changes in breath, snorting, shifting of weight or fidgeting, to repeated and enthusiastic yawning ? that showed release of tension. An additional handful of horses were brought in for hands-on practice, each with different tight spots and personalities, and one of the many messages brought home, as in so many situations with horses, is that less is more. When a horse would resist, many of us would push or pull through, rather than lightening our touch and guiding the horse along. The light touch worked much better! At the end of a long day Kerry Ridgway gave a saddle fitting demonstration, using a systematic approach (http://www.ultimatesaddlesolutions.com) to check the saddle, the horse, and the fit of the saddle to the horse, to include the placement and rigging of the girth or cinch. Kerry gave us his opinions and anecdotal stories about specific brands and types of saddles but the overall theme of that discussion was, as it is so many times with endurance riding I?ve learned, ?Whatever Works!? Day Three ? As Joan Rivers would say, ?Can We Talk?? The third day of the clinic came too soon, culminating the previous days? learning, with round-robin small team work with each of the following ? John Crandell, Stagg Newman and Doug Lietzke. Doug gave us a lecture about positive imagery and using sports psychology tools to excel in our sport. Fascinating, and applicable in a very practical sense. We shared stories, ideas and techniques. We laughed, we confessed our inadequacies and challenges and strengths, as well as those of our horses. I won?t share the inadequacies, other than to say that even the legends are human (or equine) in their imperfection. Being less than a model of perfection, myself, and having a herd of beasts for whom I can point out every flaw and shortcoming, this is considerable comfort. Something I scribbled in large letters in my notes -- ?There are NO formulas!? Conditioning, electrolyting, post-leg care, whether a young horse was ready for his first CTR, 50, 100 or ready to race ? each participant there, including and with emphasis on the ?experts,? had their own opinions, experiences, ideas, and strategies. And in the end, one of the predominant messages was summed up in a presentation by John about a ?Virtual Stable?, in which the endurance community in the Since so many of us have only one or two horses, why not set up a network with so many others like ourselves, so that we can learn and share and commiserate and set community goals so that we can belong, virtually, to a much bigger stable? It will make the highs higher, the lows a little less traumatic, and celebrate our collective successes. The creation of a ?virtual stable?, in a nutshell, is the message behind APEX. Patti Ann Stedman, CHMM
Proactive Compliance Services Inc.
"A Common Sense Approach to Health, Safety and Environmental Training and Compliance"
716 560 8297
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