Just a reminder that Earth Hour is this evening. In short, millions around the globe are turning their lights off at 8:30 p.m. (local time) in support of the global sustainability movement. Even the Las Vegas Strip and several casinos are participating.
To learn more, go to http://www.myearthhour.org/about
Did you know there are over 60 variations of seven basic massage techniques? Sadly, some equine massage therapists are never taught more than the basics, and some only learn three or four of the seven basic strokes. If you are one of these, you may find that you have a limited technical repertoire and even worse, you are using the same techniques over and over in a never-changing, boring massage pattern on every horse you massage.
Horses, like people, can become bored with routine. We’ve already learned this in our training and/or riding efforts. Who hasn’t heard the term “ring sour” or “arena sour?” This occurs when we ride our horses day after day, week after week in the same patterns and in the same place without variation. We often see evidence of the horse’s boredom through his lethargic response to a repetitive training routine. If the boredom continues, we may even see the horse displaying bad manners or poor behavior under saddle.
Just as the horse can become bored with repetitive training patterns, he can easily become bored with a limited massage pattern or routine. His boredom could be displayed in poor ground manners, refusal to stand still for the massage, and/or an inability to focus on you during the massage. The bored horse may choose to pick at your clothes or he may even attempt a bite or two. While this behavior may call for a reprimand, we need to try to understand what the horse is really trying to tell us with his undesirable behavior.
If you decide the horse has become bored with your work, the simple cure is to learn new techniques or new variations of the techniques you already know. This is easier said than done since nearly every book on equine massage you can pick up tells you to use strokes x, y, and z; repeat on the other side. You may even have learned this same type of massage during your equine massage training. If this is the case, you can learn to break the pattern.
There are several ways you can learn to vary your massage. You can attend a different equine massage program, taking care to make sure that they offer a greater variety of techniques and more than a patterned approach to massage before you enroll. Or, you can attend an advanced course in equine massage that offers new techniques and varied applications.
Another option is to begin reading books and literature based on human massage techniques. There is much more information available in this venue than is available in equine massage books. And, many human massage books will offer you more in-depth information about the strokes you already know as well as some different strokes and variations of each. Other study options include massage periodicals and articles that discuss massage techniques as well as other modalities.
By learning a greater variety of massage techniques and applications, you can make sure that the horses you work with remain interested and coöperate more fully in each massage session. More importantly, you’ll rediscover the excitement in your work as you explore new ideas and learn new techniques. As a bonus, you’ll find that your new knowledge of technique and application will help you achieve a more permanent, positive change in each of your equine clients!
“Whoever wears a turquoise, so that it or its setting touches the skin, may fall from any height and the stone attracts to itself the whole force of the blow, so that it cracks and the person is safe,” wrote Anselmus de Boot, the court physician for Emperor Rudolph II. (Kuntz 221).
So begins one legend that surrounds Turquoise. Many riders believe that wearing this beautiful stone or using it as decoration on their saddles, offers protection to both horse and rider, guarding them from falls. Thus we come to the legend of the saddle charm and to Turquoise as one of the major gemstones used in their design.
Saddle charms are usually made of turquoise or a combination of turquoise and other stones such as coral, amethyst, clear crystal, and onyx. Adding other stones to the charm’s design enhances the beautiful color of the turquoise and adds each stone’s legendary healing and protective properties to the strength of the saddle charm. Turquoise combined with silver, other gemstones, or by itself, can also be added to a horse’s bridle to help protect the horse from broken bones and falls, or simply to add decoration.
There are many other legends associated with turquoise. Throughout Native American history, we see turquoise used by medicine men for healing and by warriors who affixed the stone to the ends of their bows to ensure accurate shots. Native Americans have a long-standing love of turquoise and use it extensively for protection and healing. They believe turquoise is a sacred stone and a connector of the earth and sky. It is one of the four “elemental” gemstones of the Pueblos (the other stones include jet, coral, and abalone shell). Today, we can find turquoise either by itself or combined with other stones that are usually set in silver, to create Native American jewelry as well as carvings of birds or animal shapes called “fetishes.”
Our research tells us that there are more legends and folklore about turquoise than any other gemstone. Due to those legends and the protective properties of turquoise, it remains the primary stone that we associate not only with horses, but with saddle charms, bridle charms, and the rider’s personal jewelry.
No one can guarantee that adding a turquoise charm to your saddle will make sure that you never fall from your horse, but I’ve had one attached to my saddle for several years and can honestly say that I haven’t “bitten the dust since.” Of course, over the years I’ve become a better rider. I’ve also quit riding horses beyond my skill level (that’s a good choice) and now that I’m what you might call a “senior rider,” I stick to riding horses that have a bit more training and sense. Silly though it may be, there’s still that one little piece of my mind that believes that my little turquoise saddle charm just might be helping to keep me onboard. So, I’ve decided that whether the legend is true or just a bit of hokum, that saddle charm is going to stay right there on my saddle! It may work, or it may not, but it sure can’t hurt!
Footnote: To read a longer article on Turquoise gemstones, visit our website at www.equitouch.net and click on “Past Topics.” Also, feel free to browse our store for saddle charms and other natural gemstone jewelry.
