What the horses never told me….

I used to be a professional rider and trainer for jumping horses before I came to the United States in 1997. I trained horses under different national and international riders. I even trained with Pierre Joliscoeur, a Canadian Olympic trainer, in the USA for a few month. Every rider, every trainer has his own way of working. I had to adapt and retrain myself accordingly with each new trainer and approach. I was exposed to many different training methods. In the process I took the best of each and made them my own. In 2003 I decided to end my jumping career, thinking of the future and a retirement plan. I never touched or rode a horse again. However, by training horses for these riders and trainers, I had the opportunity to meet the best farriers, veterinarians and other equine specialists. I had the chance to ask many questions, understanding the reason of their particular approach to help/ train the horse and improve performance. I also realized that some questions had no answer. The solution to help a horse side bend better or use its back more was always equipment oriented, a stronger bit, Spurs, etc.
Today, I am a Certified Advanced Rolfer™ and have been the owner of Terra Massage for 8 years. This year however, I am coming full circle – I am learning how to Rolf horse; how to structurally integrate them better and improve their performance, from the inside out.No tools. This program typically follows a 5 session protocol, with room for tailoring the session to the particular need of the horse. Just utilizing the first of these 5 sessions, many of the questions I had as a rider have been answered. The horse never told me ,because I never asked. By placing my hands on the horse it reveals and communicate to me his needs. In the second picture, I am working on Magic Dash, a 12 year old, Andalusian appendix quarter horse, gelding. His owner is holding the lead.