Equine and Small Animal Veterinary Specialty Practice

"There is no voice that will teach you greater than your own." Ramtha

• Ask the Doc
• A State of Balance, by Effie Ligon
• The Plasticity of Conformation - A Before & After Story
• Gerd Was Great!
• Evolution of Sage - Quantum Change Begins!
• New Things Happening!
• Calendar of Events
• Feed-Back

Ask the Doc

Click here to send an email with your question to Dr. Seelye.

Question: "How long until I should canter, do lateral work, jump, etc., following a bodywork session?"

Answer: Frequently after a Quantum bodywork treatment, I am asked how long until something can be done. Every horse, just as every person, is a unique individual and this will depend on many factors. I give loose guidelines as how to best proceed in order to progress the bodywork treatment and not return to old patterns of movement and posture. Ultimately, as this month’s quote asserts, there is no voice that will teach you greater than your own. This work is not a one-size-fits-all, but celebrates the individual. Each horse will advance at a different rate, depending on how compromised in body, mind and spirit they are. You must listen for when the time is right to move to new movements. Trust in yourself; you will know.

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A State of Balance

by Effie Ligon*

There is much talk these days about the desirability of being balanced. A balanced person is a happy person; a balanced animal is a happy animal. It is probably safe to say that almost everyone would agree with this, but I find myself wondering if we really know what these statements mean.

According to Webster's Dictionary, balance \'ba-laen(t)s \ among other things, is “a state of equilibrium or equipoise; equal distribution of weight". Okay, that makes sense. It is also:

• "the ability to maintain bodily equilibrium…”
• “mental or emotional steadiness” and
• “the power to decide an outcome".

Now we're talking!

Let's start with Number 1: "the ability to maintain bodily equilibrium…". I like this definition because it implies that balance is not static but rather a part of the dynamics of movement. It also implies that there are degrees of balance.

• If you can hold one leg out to the side while standing on the other and not fall over, we can say you have good balance.
• If we put a stack of books on your head and you can walk across the room without dropping any, then you are poised, balanced.

My question would be however, "What is the quality of this balance?" For example, why do some horses and riders, dogs and cats seem to glide with ease and others look awkward or stressed? Why is it easier for you to stand on one foot than the other? (Go ahead, try it!)

When we start to look at the quality of balance, this opens up a whole new area for consideration. If we understand that balance represents a dynamic process where all parts must work together in order to safely trot across a field, pick up a bucket, stay on a horse, catch a ball or leap into the air, then we realize there is a team effort involved: mind + body + you + yourself + your animal.

Perhaps some clarification is due here. I say “you + yourself + your animal" because oftentimes we are not really doing what we think we are doing. We may think we are relaxed when we are actually stressed. We may think we are balanced when we are actually out of alignment. As for the animals, they look to us for clues; they will either mimic or react to us 95% of the time! This is why I call it a team effort; getting ourselves on the same page with ourselves (knowing what we are really doing), and therefore becoming a centered example for our animal, taking care not to throw them out of balance.

Ideally, balance as bodily equilibrium is the ability to move in any direction one wants without having to prepare to do so. Martial artists know this well. We could call this "living in the 360", where all directions are possible. Most of us don't live there though, so we have to ask ourselves, "Why not?" The most obvious reason for interference is injury. All it takes is to stub your little toe to realize how much you use it, (and perhaps more importantly, what the body has to do not to use it!) Everyone has also had the experience of "discovering muscles they didn't know they had."

What I find interesting is that the same rules apply whether you are two-legged or four-legged. If there has been an injury or strain, the whole body will shift or compensate away from the discomfort. This is what the body is supposed to do. What often happens, however, is that by the time the injury or discomfort has healed, the body has forgotten its original balanced state! Now this is huge! You can begin to see how the aches and pains of daily living can add up to be a very confused mind, body and nervous system!

It should be obvious by now that the "ability to maintain bodily equilibrium" is a bit more complex than one might at first think. But just wait, there is more! Remember Number 2 of our definitions: "mental or emotional steadiness"? This important factor will be discussed next time!

*About Effie -

Effie Ligon was born in Maryland and grew up on a farm which had opened its fields to Pony Club activities early in her life. Ms. Ligon participated in Pony Club until going to college where she received her BA from the University of Montana in 1979. In 1983 she graduated from the Amherst Feldenkrais Professional Training Program where she had the honor of personally studying with Dr. Feldenkrais. She enjoyed her practice over the next 20 some years with time off for children and personal study. During this time she also became a Certified Bodytalk Practitioner, studying with Dr. John Veltheim and other fine teachers. Currently residing on a small farm in Rainier, Washington, Ms. Ligon now devotes her time to writing and enriching her personal knowledge of life and the dynamics of change.

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The Plasticity of Conformation – a Before & After Story

CJ BEFORE:

CJ’s conformation; notice the inward angle from the shoulders down and the close front feet placement.	Notice the close placement of the hind feet.  (The front feet were physically placed in this position to show the close proximity of the rear legs.)	Note the right top of his hind quarters is higher than the left side.

 

CJ 1-YEAR LATER: Pay attention to the placement of CJ’s feet as he stands in the video and compare them to the BEFORE images.

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Gerd Was Great!

Attending Dr. Gerd Heuschmanns’s lecture and 3-day clinic in Ridgefield, WA on May 7-10 was a wonderful learning experience.  Dr. Heuschmann, author of Tug of War, is a true advocate of the horse.  It is a joy to see a clinician who puts the horse first and has a profound love, understanding and feel for the horse.  Gerd rode every horse in the clinic and one could see visible improvement in each horse before having the rider get back on and lessoning them.  I would like to share some pearls of wisdom that I gleamed from the clinic.

• The seat starts in your mind.
• YOU HAVE TIME!
• Rein contact should be like you are holding a baby bird in each hand and you want the bird to survive! DON'T PULL.
• Think of the engine of the horse being the rear legs.
• FEEL THE FORWARD.
• Only a horse that chews can have a relaxed poll.  If the noseband is too tight then they can’t chew.
• Importance of rider relaxation.
• Sit and feel happy (smile).
• Your mind should be in your seat.  Your seat must bring relaxation and confidence; mind→to→the→butt!
•  YOU HAVE TIME!
• DON’T PULL on the reins!  Use of the French half halt by bringing your hands slightly up and keeping your hands wide when necessary but DON’T PULL.
• FEEL THE FORWARD.
• Slow down, wait for your horse.
• Stretching the neck is extremely important to develop the correct muscles to carry us.  Work towards a longer neck, with opening of the angle at the throat latch.
• The pulling inside hand is the devil – bring the hand up not back.
• We want a happy horse.
• Put the energy in your seat, sit proud.  Melt into the saddle.
• Oh, and did I mention, FEEL THE FORWARD, YOU HAVE TIME and DON’T PULL!

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Evolution of Sage – Quantum Change Begins

Eleanor Van Natta searched for 8 years knowing there was something wrong with her horse Sage.  Many diagnosis were made and many temporary fixes given.  Through Quantum healing she has discovered the real reason behind all of Sage's problems and has started in an evolution forward for better health for her horse and self discovery for herself.

See this amazing story on Eleanor’s website:

http://www.sagebynature.com/quantum_changes_for_sage.htm

 

← This is how Sage's back legs used to look as she stood.  What is the key here is to note how close together she placed her feet.

This is what we got from Sage by the end of the session. →

Everything below is from above, so by aligning the pelvis, everything below (i.e. the rear legs) comes into correct alignment and placement.

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New things happening!

• Watch for Dr. Seelye’s BLOG coming soon.
• Now on Facebook– Sign into Facebook to visit with Dr. Seelye on Facebook.

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Calendar of Events

MAY 2009

MAY 7th – Quantum bodywork – Healing Through Body Alignment; Ridgefield, WA

4:00-6:00 PM. Presented by Dr. Seelye. Open to the public. Location: Jim’s Place, 1613 NE 259th St., Ridgefield, WA 98642, contact Amy Kendis for additional information: T/ (305) 835-5070

MAY 7th – Dr. Gerd Heuschmann seminar; Vancouver, WA – 7:00 PM.  Visit http://www.highhopesdressage.com/ for more details.

MAY 8th-10th – Dr. Gerd Heuschmann clinic; Ridgefield, WA

First time in the Northwest! Dr. Gerd Heuschmann seminar & clinic - MAY 7th seminar; Vancouver, WA - MAY 8th-10th clinic; Ridgefield, WA Visit http://www.highhopesdressage.com/ for more details. Dr. Heuschmann’s seminar and/or clinic are strongly recommended to gain an understanding of correct development of horse "conformation". Following is a link to a Dr. Gerd Heuschmann clinic review held in Utah, April 2008 (pdf file): http://www.utahdressagesociety.net/

MAY 13th – Dr Seelye is the featured guest on "Talk with the Animals" radio show at 12:00 PM (noon) on KKNW 1150 AM. It is streamed over the internet on www.talkwithyouranimals.com and rebroadcasts on www.animalradio.com

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JUNE 2009

JUN 27th-28th – "Celebrate the Horse"; Puyallup, WA

Dr Seelye will be giving 2 presentations each day. Check their website for times and more information: http://www.celebratethehorse.org/

SAT – 3:15 PM in the warm-up arena – “Heal Your Horse, Change Your Life”

SUN – 10:00 AM in the warm-up arena – “Heal Your Horse, Change Your Life”

SUN – 12:15 PM in the Red Barn – “The Plasticity of Conformation”

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JULY 2009

For a Quantum clinic at your barn, please contact Dr. Seelye.

AUGUST 2009

AUG 15th - 16th – 2-day clinic; Snohomish, WA

Dr. Suzan Seelye and Nancy Kittleson, certified Centered Riding instructor, are again joining together to present another dynamic 2-day clinic at FromtheMother Farm, Snohomish, WA.

AUG 21st - 23rd – Dr. Gerd Heuschmann clinic; Bainbridge, WA

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Feed-Back

Dr. Seelye wants to know what you want to hear about.  Let her know so we can incorporate items of interest in future Newsflash! releases.

Dr. Suzan Seelye
info@quantumvet.com