Aloha - another day gone and another year older. Many thanks to the dozens of you who sent me Birthday Wishes through Facebook - really touching! Ivana as usual pretended she'd forgotten and hid her presents until the last moment. This time alas I did not celebrate my birthday with my dear old friend Jack Daniels but with a Chinese Herbal concoction that elicits the word 's#@t' after every glassful. I am definitely paying the price for a life of abusing myself physically and every other way imaginable. Czech is unbearably hot just now and absolutely energy draining so I am not exactly looking forward in some aspects to teaching this upcoming weekend in Slovakia - perhaps it will rain! It actually feels quite strange at times teaching Level 1 especially when the clinic has students who speak three different languages and only a couple of them English. The other major problem I find when I am teaching the foundation work is that every time I find a horse on the clinic with a problem, I find myself torn between my desire to work on the animal and the professional aspect of being an instructor and sticking rigidly to the Level 1 protocol. Perhaps the reason why I will never be an ET Instructor in the class of Ivana. No personal discipline! In saying that however the advancements in equine bodywork that are opening up to us through Equine Touch and Beyond are extremely exciting. In trying not to overload the horses on this clinic a new and simple system of balancing the horse has evolved which can be used before and after a session involving the L 4 advanced area of concern procedures. Also a new approach to spinal mobility and release has emerged from this work and I am working on that at present so that I will be able to present it at upcoming ET and Beyond Clinics - all exciting stuff. On top of that Penny Crockart from Zimbabwe brought over to Czech a new hip release technique developed by her niece Debbie one of the leading equine chiropractors in Africa who incorporates many ET principles and techniques in her work. Equine Touch is international - and is growing more so each year - who knows maybe China next year - or if I'm fit enough a trip back to the former Rhodesia to catch up with old friends and new horses. Talking about old friends the upper photo on the right is from the temple of Epona who was the only Celtic Goddess to be worshipped by the Romans - hence the Epona Awards. The old guy with the toothpick who was reputedly even grumpier than I am at times is of course Ray Hunt who if Epona ever smiled on someone it must have been him.

14, 15, 16 - Level 3 Theory - Ivana at Hartsop Farm - Whitney

14, 15 - VHT Modules 5 and 6 - Jock - Bird in Hand Hotel, Whitney

16 - Prescription and Layering - Jock at Hartsop Farm - Whitney

17, 18, 19, 20 - Dissection Clinic - Ivana at Hartsop Farm - Whitney

17, 18, 19 - Level 1 - Jock - S. Ireland Clare Equestrian Centre - C. Clare- Gina Sivyer - contact Gina

11, 12 - National IETA Conference - and The Epona Awards.

Q: I attended a demonstration at Stoneleigh a couple of weeks ago and saw a most distressing exhibition by a famous horseman trying to put a bridle on a horse. In the end the horse was twitched, its foreleg tied up, hobbled and still it fought against being touched on its head. They tried again and again to no avail, they horse ended up crashing into barriers and trying to escape, and all of this to music! Do you think ET could have helped that horse? Lindsay

A: I know the incident that you are talking about, the blogs are full of it. Could ET have helped the horse? I do not know, what I do know however is that not all problems that an owner has with a horse's behavior can be put down to a training issue. The horse in the photos above was very reluctant to allow anyone to touch his head - I gave it one slow session - two days later you can see the result on the right. I have no way of knowing whether the horse in question had been minutely examined for pain - real or in memory. The average vet does not do that so on many occasions 'vet checked' does not mean the horse is OK to be worked. If no one could get near the head, then how could a vet check it? Sometimes it will take my 30 minutes to be able to get the horse to allow my hand to rest on its head. I would certainly never work with a horse with such a reaction in front of a few hundred predators. Were the teeth examined? - it was a stallion - gingivitis is often present - the ears - did the horse have a history of ear or TMJ problems. Some years ago in Texas our horse Jovana would not load when we went to pick her up - it was put down to bad behavior - the lady looking after her could not put a bridle on her. She loaded for us at liberty - when we tried to examine her ears she went ballistic - even to the point of attacking in defense. In the stocks and while anaesthetized we found two extremely large deer ticks full of blood in each ear - even under sedation she fought our attempts to enter and remove them. It took over one year of constant, gentle work for her to allow us to fondle her poll and ears once more. Always remember that a horse reacts to stimuli - and it remembers pain and its reaction to specifics - often the pain is gone - but very often the memory lingers on in character armour and the horse reacts in defensive anticipation.

Hi - I have been invited to Kalgoorlie to work on horses once a month- I have been once already and it was fantastic, well worth the 1000+ km round trip. The horses up there have had chiropractic but never bodywork- they were mesmerized!
There were many interesting observations to be made, but I wanted to share the reaction/processing of one horse in particular, Fella- I'd be interested to know if you had come across similar reactions during processing.
Fella was already producing amazing hind end heat after receiving some ET when suddenly, after a particular release, his breath started steaming (as if on a cold day) and he then dropped the hottest manure I have ever encountered. Every other horse that came into the arena over the next three days headed straight for that particular manure and found it the most fascinating thing they'd ever encountered.
Fella's person is now keen to start learning ET herself. .. her other horses' reactions had already blown her away but the steaming pony was something else.. Apparently, 2 weeks on, he is still moving as if he was 10 years younger than he is and they are going to give him a new show name- DRAGON! - Carolyn Jurgens - Western Australia

For true understanding of the muscle and skeletal structure for bodywork purposes or trimming barefoot horses this course is invaluable. What is witnessed here makes sense out of book pictures.’ N.K.
‘I cannot begin to put into words how awesome this class is. I’ll be happy to take it again as with all ET courses you learn to really clarify with a repeat. It was wonderful to be able to go through the horse in its layers and to see how interconnected from the outside and in a body is’ Hoppy Stearns
‘There are things, places or certain people who can give you the experience of a lifetime.
The dissection clinic has done that for me. I have a new appreciation for the wonderful horses I come in contact with. I am ever grateful for this opportunity’ Eli Dock

IETA-UK 5th Annual Conference 11th-12th September 2010 -Contact NCC

Doveridge Village Hall, Doveridge, Derbyshire

The Committee is pleased to announce plans for this year's Conference which will be taking place in the Midlands. Following the popular 2-day format, the weekend will be chock-full of informative and interactive lectures and workshops.

The program is detailed below and booking details at the end of this announcement. We have held ticket prices at 2009 with the exception of the most popular ticket that has been discounted further. Come along and meet up with old and new ET friends and colleagues.The venue is based just off the A50 which has direct connections from the M1 and M6 motorways. A list of local accommodation options is included with the booking form. Nearer the time we will encourage car-share with exchange of contact details for all attendees.

DETAILED PROGRAMME
Saturday 11th September: A `human' focused morning then an equine behavior
afternoon

Bonematters: Osteoporosis specialists Tracey and Isobel from Bonematters will speak about bone density and osteoporosis: increasing awareness and learn how to reduce the risks through exercise and diet. Individual consultations will be available throughout the day.*

Pilates for Riders: Chris Sharp is a Pilates teacher who specializes in rider position and function. Learn about how you can improve you body posture and body control.

VHT for Family and Friends: Equine Touch Founder Jock Ruddock speaks about the history of the human side of the bodywork and demonstrates the recent development of VHT for Family and Friends..

Equine Behavior: An interactive afternoon lecture with equine trainer, Ben Hart. Not allied to any one particular method of training, Ben presents his thought-provoking and fun approaches to managing behavior and understanding the true nature of the equine. A highly engaging, entertaining and knowledgeable speaker.

Sunday 12th September: IETA-UK AGM, followed by specialists in equine research and welfare.
The Horse's Lymphatic System and Pain Response: Equine Touch Founder Ivana Ruddock MVDr is back by popular demand for a third year. Always a highlight, Ivana will be presenting a lecture in her inimitable style, imparting just some of her encyclopedic knowledge related to pain in the equine.

Equine Welfare in the UK: World Horse Welfare's Chief Field Officer David Boyd will talk about how to recognize suffering/need for intervention, when a welfare charity can act, and how current legislation affects what can be done.

Herbs for Horses: Stephen Ashdown MRCVS created the Global Herbs product range by blending modern science with ancient wisdom. Having qualified as vet in the UK he traveled to Asia and Africa to assist with projects to improve healthcare and conditions for livestock. During this time he witnessed the power of herbs.

Equine Research: Afternoon lecture from Andrew Hemmings, head of the Equine Research Sector at the Royal Agricultural College. Andrew is a specialist in horse behavior and welfare issues, and has led pioneering work into brain pathways underlying abnormal equine behavior. With a strong emphasis on imparting knowledge to all those involved in the equine industry, Andrew will give us an invaluable insight into this specialist technical area and the role modalities like ET can play.

THE EQUINE TOUCH EPONA AWARDS: ETF and the Founders pay tribute to those selected for this new award as a result of their dedication and achievement to and within the modality. This will be an annual award and will reflect ET members achievements worldwide.

BOOKING INFORMATION
Tickets are on sale now – prices held at 2009 prices
PLUS 2 day IETA members' ticket with Early Bird discount available at BEST
EVER PRICE!

Sept 24, 25, 26 - Detroit, Michigan Whole Horse Dissection Clinic Contact: eastrup@comcast.net

October 1, 2, 3,Leesport, Pennsylvania Whole Horse Dissection Clinic Contact: maidensprings@msn.com

September 24, 25, 26 San Marcos, TX Equine Touch and Beyond - L4 Contact: Luanngroves@yahoo.com

September 27 - 1 day only San Marcos, TX New Prescription and Layering Contact: Luanngroves@yahoo.com

September 28, only, San Marcos, TX Mobilization and Stretching Contact: Luanngroves@yahoo.com

October 1, 2, 3 3 Queens Equestrian Center; 209 Whitetail Lane; Hutto, TX ET Level 1 and Level 2 Contact:suzanne_kurten@yahoo.com

For those of you who wish to catch up with us in the USA this year, the above dates will be the only chance, as we have decided to cut down the amount of time we have been spending on the road recently - I have been promising Ivana I will slow down for 11 years - so perhaps its time to see what staying at home withy our horses for a while really feels like.