Review of Equine Certification Bundle

We recently had a student named Rowen Edwards share her experience taking our Ultimate Equine Bodywork Course Bundle which includes our  massage therapy, craniosacral therapy, kinesiology taping and body alignment (ANMR) courses. I am happy to share what she has written with you....enjoy!

    First off I just wanted to begin with a general testimonial for this amazing course. I did the Ultimate Equine Bodywork Certification courses and was a little skeptical at first as to how in depth the online learning would be. I was presently surprised with the amount of content that was more than just the average slideshow filled with information. The opportunities shown through each step and the kindness shown by each of the teachers is phenomenal. I have recommended both the personal and practitioner options to quite a few others because I truly believe that owner should have the opportunity to connect with their horses in ways they could not before these courses. Beginning a private practice was definitely a challenge to build clientele and senior practitioners in the field will always be competitors. By going out of my way to give in person conversations, reach out and find new therapies to incorporate, I was able to build amazing relationships with these horses past just the physical barriers. I have had many clients surprised by my knowledge base for my age, but this course definitely was a heavy step into my career. Angelique Barbara is the founder and is a very knowledgeable, kind person who incorporated the holistic and physical approaches seamlessly allowing for the practitioners own choice to follow the holistic approach as well as the basic science. "

Testimonials Rowen Received from Clients:

   With one massage my horses back went from sore to minimal touch to totally fine even with more intense pressure! Can’t recommend enough.

   I use Rowen for my training and breeding program horses and have seen amazing results with the attitudes and comfort from both programs. It really opened my eyes to the importance of bodywork and saddle fit.

   My gelding is dealing with some behavioural issues that are not normally like him. Through an assessment and massage/BEMER maintenance with Rowen I have been able to connect back with my boy and work through the areas of stress and pain he was experiencing.

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PSSM Case Study

A few months ago, I began working on a horse struggling with PSSM. She is a very kind girl, she was stuggling with some nutritional deficiencies and was building up extra lactic acid in her muscles causing the stiffness. The abnormal sugar levels in her muscles were causing her to pick up times of lameness and the owner struggled between PSSM lameness and access/stone bruises. This mare was quite high maintenance in terms of her ability to hurt herself so I came out to assess Stevie and give the owner some of my opinions on the next steps here. As I am not a veterinarian or nutritionist, I referred to my general idea of some of the deficiencies she is presenting in her muscles and why this may be happening. After her vet reassessed the situation, she continued with bodywork and nutritional changes in her diet. From the last visit to the most recent, her topline has strengthened, allowing for the saddle to fit comfortably around her spinal processes as she was experiencing some rubbing or pinching due to loss of muscle. The use of more amino acids assisted in her recovery. This condition is a very difficult one with ups and downs. I am very proud of the owner for taking the time to understand the needs of this horse and get her to the point she is at. She is now sound and back in the hunter ring! This happy girl is back onto normal maintenance and has much more relaxed interactions with me through my massage, kinesiology taping, myofascial release and BEMER therapies.

Shoulder Abscess Case Study

I also had another mare who had a shoulder abscess caused by a puncture wound that went deep into the shoulder. They have the vet come and disinfect, sew and protect the injury, but a few months later they reached out to me to assist as she was still tender in the girth, chest and shoulder area. I came and was cautious around the injury that was closed and the inflammation was down, and the mare was sound. By moving around the area her main aggressive response they were seeing was due to the muscular tightness from supporting this side of her body while injured for so long moving all the way down her back. This very quiet mare was loud with her releases and we relieved her stress points. I gave the owners some ideas to practice stretching and positive reinforcement when grooming or putting pressure around this area as it had become more mental than physical. Immediately they saw the change in attitude and were able to become more confident in their handling of this mare. We continue to do maintenance sessions. 

Kissing Spine Case Study

And the last case study I will be including was a stallion that was presenting signs of kissing spines under saddle. He was a very kind boy and this caused the owner to miss some of the signs along the way that he was hurting, this is common with saddle fit issues these days. Bringing awareness to this is one of my most important steps when finding reactions such as his. This stud did not present any physical spinal process palpation and was struggling more in the musculature around the area of saddle fit. We worked through this issue by calling out a saddle fitter than fixed the pinching problem. This was a friend of mines horse which she then went to sell and I was present for his PPE and back X-rays. He had normal spinal processes and passed his PPE with flying colours. I was very proud of this owner for going deeper into saddle fit and bodywork to fix this issue before it caused and physical changes to his body. New surgeries have come out to fix the wear and tear on the touching vertebrae but this is something we want to avoid. He is now happy with this new family who is taking the extra precautions to continue his recovery journey.