Horse Trail Chicks

If we could speak “horse” or horses could speak our language we could help them so much by learning what parts of their body hurt, which joints are stiff, or what makes them tense or anxious. Then again, could we even answer these questions about our own body? To some extent, yes, but we are not necessarily aware of where we hold tension or how we use our body incorrectly when we ride. I recently had experiences with a physical therapist and a massage therapist who both pointed out things about my own body that I was not even aware of. Sometimes it takes a professional who can identify and address the problem.

Carmel Stone is an Equine Body Worker who does just that for horses. I was introduced to her work at a Vermont Horse Council-sponsored clinic that I attended in September, where I was impressed by how relaxed she got my horse, despite being in a new place with lots of activity. Then she offered me a free private session for my horse. Who would say “no” to that?

Carmel describes her work as helping the horse relax tension in order to help with movement and/or with recovery from physical or emotional injury. She helps healthy horses become more supple and relaxed. For horses who have been injured or who have emotional scars, such a rescue horses, she enjoys solving the puzzle of their issues and helping “put the pieces back together,”as she puts it. As such, she sees the horse very holistically, including your own relationship with them. In some cases she communicates with the vet and farrier to understand the horse’s physical state and current treatment plan.

To me the session looked like part yoga (though not technically yoga), part massage, and part connecting with my horse through keen observation and interaction, and she definitely helped my horse relax. When I ride, my horse is very stiff laterally. In Carmel’s hands he demonstrated that he is actually fairly supple and can flex his neck beautifully. I realized that his problem is not lack of flexibility, but tension that he holds in his neck. Interestingly, I hold all my tension in my neck too.

With my horse, Tupelo, Carmel started by massaging his neck, poll, and shoulders. She felt his hindquarters and noticed how he reacted and how he moved. Her approach was very gentle and quiet. If Tupelo moved away from her, she let him. All of his reactions informed her about his tight spots. He started licking and chewing (which, in case you didn’t know, indicates relaxation), and dropped his head. By massaging his shoulder and withers and putting gentle pressure on the lead rope, she got him to bend his next against his side and keep it there even after she released the pressure.

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She taught me how to do this as well as to get him to step under himself better when side passing. By raising and lowering her own energy, he responded in kind, so she was able to get him to move faster or slower, this way or that, from a distance.

Carmel Stone grew up with horses and got into equine body work gradually over time, as she learned more and as people asked her to work on their horses. She is trained in equine massage, acupressure, the Masterson method, and Reiki. When I asked her about the scientific underpinning of these therapies, she told me how massage releases endorphins which impact the parasympathetic nervous system, leading to a lowering of stress. She also seems knowledgeable about biomechanics as well as the physiology of injury to muscles, ligaments, and tendons and how movement can aide with recovery. You can have a single session with her, or for horses that need a lot of help, she can come on a regular basis. You will be involved too, as she can assess how your own stress or tension translates to your horse and give you exercises for both you and your horse to do on your own.