Cristina’s Equine Bodywork

02/12/2026

✨I am an MMCP - Masterson Method® Certified Practitioner ✨

The Masterson Method® is Integrated 🌀Equine Performance Bodywork

I work to relieve built-up tension in core muscles and key junctions 🔗 of the body that affect the horse’s movement and performance 💪

In order to relieve tension, I need to be able to identify it 🔎… and identifying areas of tension can add valuable information to how a horse is feeling - another piece of the puzzle! 🧩

02/11/2026

Great reminder for me today … don’t give up! Horses need TIME!!

🛑 My session with Max last year was a NO go 🛑

✨ My session with Max today was WONDERFUL ✨

He just needed time to settle into his new home 💕

Thank you .rc3684 for letting him have another chance!!

02/08/2026

02/07/2026

👀 What are we looking at in a before and after photo??

Handsome Kalvin .eq_ shows us:

1. A softer facial expression
2. Improved suppleness through the neck
3. Less tension in the shoulder
4. Lift along the back
5. Relaxed abdominals
6. More comfortable stance

This won’t happen every session ✨but these are things we’re looking for. Things to work towards. A great way to maintain these improvements is to add a few minutes of tension release work to your routine 💕

A horse with less tension is a happier, more comfortable horse 🥰

02/06/2026

02/06/2026

To date, radiographically identifying the bony landmarks relevant to diagnosing the complete C6 aplasia of the caudal lamina ventralis (C6 aCLV4) has not been described. Furthermore, a gross study has identified C6 aCLV4 as the main correlation between transposition of the CLV from C6 to C7, where c...

02/06/2026

02/05/2026

So proud of Joy and honoured to call her a friend and colleague ✨♥️

Join me in congratulating Joy Hart on completing her PHCP Practitioner Certification. Such hard work and dedication. Way to go Joy! To learn more about Joy, visit the Practitioner Directory at: https://progressivehoofcare.org/directory/entry/20260/

02/04/2026

Lego 🖤 is right on track …

3 / 3 / 3 is a rule of thumb for how horses adapt to change (a move)

🗓️ 3 Days 🟰 Decompression & survival mode

The first few days are all about orientation and safety.

What you often see:
👀 Heightened alertness, watchfulness
👀 Reduced appetite or picky eating
👀 Clingy or withdrawn behavior
👀 Gut motility can be a bit off
👀 Nervous system is running more sympathetic (fight/flight)

What helps:
♥️ Consistency, quiet handling
♥️ Low expectations
♥️ Lots of turnout if safe
♥️ Familiar forage and routines

Think: “Where am I and am I safe?”

NO BODYWORK IN THIS TIMEFRAME ‼️

🗓️ 3 Weeks 🟰 Testing & settling

By about 2–3 weeks, the horse starts to exhale… and sometimes get opinionated.

What you might notice:
👀 Personality shows up more (sass, curiosity, playfulness)
👀 Herd dynamics become clearer
👀 Training “issues” may appear (they weren’t gone just hidden)
👀 Digestion, sleep, and movement patterns normalize

What helps:
♥️ Gentle structure
♥️ Clear boundaries
♥️ Light, positive training
♥️ Bodywork is often very effective here (hello nervous system integration)

Think: “Okay… I think I understand how this place works.”

🗓️ 3 Months 🟰 True adaptation

At around 90 days, the horse is usually fully oriented.

What’s happening:
👀 Nervous system regulation improves
👀 Muscles and posture adapt to footing, terrain, workload
👀 Stronger bonds with humans and herd
👀 The “real horse” is now consistently present

This is when:
✅ Training decisions are most accurate
✅ Saddle fit, bodywork patterns, and soundness assessments make more sense
✅ Long-term behavior becomes predictable

Think: “This is home.”

Note:

🧠 💪 🧪 🐎 🧬

This isn’t just behavioral — it’s neurological, hormonal, muscular, and digestive adaptation. Horses are prey animals, so their systems take time to truly stand down.

And of course:
➡️ Trauma history, age, herd setup, transport stress, and handling quality can shorten or lengthen each phase.
➡️ Sensitive horses often need more time, not more pressure

02/02/2026

🧐 Lameness Doesn’t Always Come From the Legs 🧐

When a horse appears lame, the most common assumption is that the issue lies in a leg or hoof. While limb-related injuries and hoof problems are certainly frequent causes, they are not the only reasons a horse may show uneven movement or reduced performance.

Pain or dysfunction can also originate from areas such as the back, neck, pelvis, or shoulders. Poor saddle fit, dental discomfort, muscle soreness, or spinal restrictions can all change the way a horse moves. In some cases, neurological conditions or internal discomfort may create gait changes that closely resemble traditional lameness.

A horse’s emotional and mental state can also influence how they move. Stress, anxiety, tension, or changes in routine may alter posture, muscle use, and way of going, sometimes making movement appear restricted or uneven.

Horses are also experts at compensating. When one area is sore, they may alter their movement to protect it, which can place strain elsewhere in the body and make the original source of pain harder to identify. What looks like a leg issue may actually be the result of a problem higher up.

This is why a full, systematic evaluation is so important when lameness is suspected. Considering the horse as a whole, not just the legs, can lead to a more accurate diagnosis, more effective treatment, and better long-term comfort and soundness.

Movement tells a story — sometimes we just have to read more than one chapter.

02/01/2026

✨ SECOND PLACE DRAW! ✨

This challenge just kept raising the bar 👏

To be eligible for the second place draw, you had to post a minimum of 8 times throughout the Homework Challenge. Once again, the consistency was real ✨

Showing up that often takes intention, awareness, and commitment. These participants didn’t just do the homework, they felt it, observed changes, and stayed curious with their horses. That matters 🥰

🎉 Congratulations to our Second Place winner 🎉 👏Your dedication deserves to be celebrated, and your horse absolutely benefited from it.

Thank you for trusting the process and staying engaged all month long. This kind of consistency is where real change happens ✨

✨ ✨ HappyHorses