Integrated Equine Bodywork is a fusion between ancient and modern healing methods which works to reduce the after effects of injury, prevent injury, and restore and enhance the horse's performance ability.
 
Reiki is an ancient energy healing technique which works to restore balance the body's energy flow. Horses quickly become major Reiki fans, assisting the practitioner with body posture and showing their relief in many ways. Many horses will postion their bodies to allow the practitioner's hand placement on painful or blocked areas, or to request a change in hand placement. Others will display their pleasure and relief with yawning, chewing, or sighing. Improvement in movement can often be instant and definitive.
 
Range of movement excercises move the horse's extremities through their normal movement cycles, enabling the horse to achieve stretches that are not possible for the horse alone. Flexions and stretches work to release built up tension in the horse's body and to focus the horse's awareness on the various body parts, resulting in a greater proprioceptive sense.
 
Pressure point therapy works to release muscle spasms, resulting in pain relief and improved movement. Myotherapy releases tension along the body of a muscle, and releases trapped facsia.  
 
Soft tissue injuries can be frustrating to recognize and treat, because radiographs are of little use and conventional medicine is oriented more toward surgical or medicinal treatment. Conventional treatment calls for rest and anti-inflammatory medication.  But often soft tissue injuries result in scar tissue which limits the movements of muscle tissue, tendons, and fascia. Untreated, this scar tissue can result in lingering pain and movement alterations which prohibit a return to full soundness. Integrated Equine Bodywork acts to reduce the after effects of soft tissue injury, and to assist the horse in a return to complete soundness and atheletic ability.
 
The aim of Integrated Equine Bodywork is to start the horse on the road to wellness, assisted by the rider, owner, or trainer, who will be educated in techniques which can be used regularly to maintain the horse's optimum movement and flexibility. The Integrated Equine Bodywork practitioner works as part of the team including the farrier, veterinarian, chiropractor and rider.
 
Rates are dependent on distance and number of horses to be treated. Please contact Middle Way Equine Services for more information.

REIKI QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

A question from Betty:

Karen does your site address Reiki and foundered horses?  I have looked but cannot find anything. I could use some advice. One of the horses I have been asked to work with has foundered  (I hope I am using that term correct). The owner explained to me that this stemmed from a uterus infection.  The mare's colt is almost 3 weeks old now.  I have shared Reiki with this mare twice, the first session left a lot to be desired. The second session was yesterday and it was very energy packed and a very peace filled session.  I believe the mare (and her colt) received it very well. When I left they were both sleeping in the straw. Another awestruck moment for me. I had the greatest urge to lay down and curl up beside them. 

My response:

The short form "Founder Lecture": Founder is a generic term that refers to laminitis, a condition that has a broad range of expressions. Due to a metabolic upset (as with a mare with a uterine infection, which may be caused by a retained placenta) the horse develops a severe inflammatory state in the feet, usually both front feet, more rarely the hind feet.  Because the hoofwall prevents the tissues from swelling, the extreme pressure in the feet causes severe pain (like slamming your finger in the car door -- and they have to walk on it!). If  the inflammation is not reduced immediately, tissues in the foot, the lamellar structures, or the sensitive lamina, can become necrotic, which causes the coffin bone, in the center of the hoof, to lose its support. The pull of the deep flexor tendon (which is attached to the bottom of the coffin bone) then causes the coffin bone to rotate. The severity of the rotation is often referred to in degrees of rotation. 2 or 3 degrees of rotation can be managed with corrective shoeing, but greater rotation can lead to total disability. Plus, the metabolic cause can lead to subsequent attacks. So, as a practitioner, if you are treating an acute attack, where the feet are hot and painful, you want to encourage the flow of blood away from the feet -- send no heat into the feet!  And quiet the metabolism. A long term founder needs structural support and strength. 

A foundered horse needs veterinary assistance. You can help, but the horse will need the advantage of anti-inflammatory medications as well as the cooling properties of ice or cold flowing water.

Chronic recurring founder usually results in horses being put down. Reiki can help ease the transition for both horse and horselover.

The more you can learn about horse anatomy the better. And the more you can learn about horse behaviour the better.  The horses will teach you a great deal (don't listen to the people -- the people are often very misled -- listen to the horses).

Reset Points/Fuses:

The brow area holds what I refer to as a reset, or fuse point. It will be felt as two points, one on either side of the centerline of the forehead, between the eyes and the ears. The brow fuse is the mental/emotional fuse. The area of the chest at the base of the neck in front and between the points of the shoulders holds the physical fuse, again, one of each side of the centerline. Your Reiki hands will find these points -- hold the points gently until the flow quiets. Horses will often draw a deep sigh and drop their heads as the emotional fuse releases. The horse's reaction may be extreme; I have had horses buckle their knees and almost hit the ground when I have addressed the physical fuse, and some are unwilling to allow the brow fuse to be addressed until they achieve a level of comfort with you. Be alert, listen to the horse, and get out of the way if things get scary.

Namaste'
Karen Maas

For Additional Information on Reiki, visit the Oasis Reiki Institute.