Equine Bodyworks By Mary Sargeant

Equine Bodyworks By Mary Sargeant Musculoskeletal, Myofascial Therapist, Whole Horse Therapist
Releasing Tension Improving Performance
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Over the years I have incorporated many modalities to my original qualifications which offers you a unique way of bodywork for your horse
Masterson Method Practitioner MMCP since 2013
Equine Touch level 1 and 2
Saddle fit4life cpd
Mobilization techniques
Rehab (Classical training)
Anatomy and palpation
Veterinarian assessment and biomechanics
Kinesio taping
Myo-Fascial
Cranio-Sacral
Equine Massage
3 Whole Horse Dissections and Limb dissections
Tucker bio kinetics
Dr Kerry ridgeway acupressure
Many cpd hours with various webinars

All this with the added bonus of watching the horses responses while I work so your horse is getting the benefit of movement within the joint while in a relaxed state. I am fully insured and a member of IAAT

I NOW OFFER ONE DAY HORSE OWNERS COURSES AND DEMOS ARE ALSO AVAILABLE

How do we educate anyone without scaring the crap out of them, belittling them, or just generally thinking because you h...
02/02/2026

How do we educate anyone without scaring the crap out of them, belittling them, or just generally thinking because you have information that you think is right that everyone needs to hear it.

I struggled with the educational system all my life, it wasnt that I was stupid it simply was because I struggled to fit in to what society thinks education should look like, I came from a poor background where to get out of it money was more important than education. To earn money was to escape from the wearing hand me down clothes, cardboard in your shoes when they became full of holes, never knowing what it was like to have brand new.

I worked hard I did all the crappy jobs you could think of, so my children would never have to do something they hated to pay the bills, they would be able to choose to chase their dreams, one excelled in academia, one excelled in the military the other became a strong independent business woman but each had their own minds to make in what they wanted to do, i never pushed them into the only way out was to chose to live the life that I deemed was fit.

I also worked hard enough to earn lots of money yet it never brought me happiness it just meant I spent more, then worked hard more to keep having the things I thought I needed, yet family and time are to things which often you have to sacrifice to live a life others think you should.

I dont believe we all learn in one systematic way that any educational platform believes in, yes it might work for the masses but what about those of us left behind asking where do we fit in, for we are not stupid we just have skills that if nurtured can shine just as bright.

When I draw my anatomy pictures I dont want to appeal to the masses they already have a wide variety of choice out there, I want to appeal to the people who like me, sat down and thought I cant do this because society hasn't left an educational place at the table.

We all fill a niche, we all appeal to someone and isnt that what matters its not being able to reach everyone its being able to reach that one person.

Do I get reprimanded all the time by my peers?? Of course all the time and although none of us like to be criticised for me its what has happened all my life because traditional does not like to embrace new or different.

My page has always been to give a different perspective, a sneak peak into how my brain works from the endless questions, to the 20 attempts until I am satisfied that those out there like me go "now I understand".

There are plenty of traditional ways of learning if that is how you learn, I just want to reach those that feel their dreams may not be achievable because they to like me struggled to fit in.

You may be the fish but not all of us have to climb a tree

😉

An owner has never asked me what do I do they simply ask can I help.Why do we get so bothered about what others are doi...
30/01/2026

An owner has never asked me what do I do they simply ask can I help.

Why do we get so bothered about what others are doing, if we tend to our own gardens it will flourish and grow rather than peering over the fence and critiquing others, when an owner chooses to spend their money, time, with someone else its probably because at that moment in time they choose to do so, and I still think we live in a world certainly where I live that still we have the freedom of choice.

I have never told an owner I am the best, more qualified, more experienced than the next therapist probably who like me thinks they are trying their best with the knowledge they have acquired at that moment in time.

If we think an owner makes the wrong choice well simply its their choice to make and like us we live and learn, we cannot go around like a saviour scooping up owners saving from a fate we deem inappropriate for that is only our opinion and while we are all entitled to our opinion, sometimes we dont need to make everyone listen to them.

With the explosion of online activities horse owners can immerse themselves in more of an eclectic range of different modalities and see what fits but you have to try something before you can see wether it suits you and your horse isnt that how we learn??

Its not what you are trained in its always how you apply the skills you have learned to help the horse, if someone doesn't gel with something that something may still be right for someone else, you can speak your lived experience but it yours not someone else's.

If we build our pages by spotlighting someone elses inadequacy then do we then miss out on the opportunity to shine the light on ourselves. Are we dimming the light on the potential of our pages merely to become a echo of moral superiority that maybe shows a lack of integrity, for i think any horse owner first needs to trust that we are there to help their horse and that begins with first being humbled at what a privileged job we are in

Archie is just to damn cute, thor and archie hoping to get a snack 😅Nearly 6 months old and like a tank lolHe is a cane ...
30/01/2026

Archie is just to damn cute, thor and archie hoping to get a snack 😅
Nearly 6 months old and like a tank lol
He is a cane corso/boerboel mastiff xx

Do sweat the small stuff!!When we are assessing horses wether our own or in a professional sense often the small stuff g...
30/01/2026

Do sweat the small stuff!!

When we are assessing horses wether our own or in a professional sense often the small stuff gets missed out and that can be vital information lost when looking at the horse.

As professionals we often don't see the horse and its "normal" behaviour pattern, it could be simply the fact we are now there that could affect a behavioural change or the owner is nervous about getting it right say when they walk the horse for you (ps most of us can see the issue already so dont panic walking your horse as we already know lol).
Remember external influence will alter a horses response, movement, behaviour so the first thing i always do is wait until the horse goes back to a behaviour that relates to something of the normal pattern.

Often the horse will check us out and it's important we don't interfere while they are doing this for they have to collate the information and draw their own conclusions as to wether we are friend or foe, a horse that checks you out then goes and rapidly snatches at their haynet (I never ask for a resource to be removed) may still be worried so we wait and little longer and start building a list of questions as to why the horse feels worried it's all information.

Once the horse is back to showing its "normal" then we can start collecting information on things like is that horse comfortable to stand and eat i mean it's not a difficult task, or is the horse shifting weight? Resting only one hind limb, chewing to one side, if my intention moves along the horse does the horse get worried when I have intention of moving to the back?? For we may not feel like we are doing anything with intention yet the horse will notice our subtle shift in our body.

Does the horse ignore us, fuss us, give us a warning not to go somewhere?? For these subtle behaviours can often be a flick of an ear or a change in their expression yet its so important we notice this small stuff because for the horse It's a clear instruction !!

If we walk in rub the horse on the head, take it out trot it up and down or in a circle without even letting the horse know that we have seen the small stuff then the horse may not show us the true issue, for already adrenaline will be pumping through the body making things a little harder to spot so break things down into bitesize evaluations so both you and the horse can digest the information from each other ..

One of my first drawings I did on how I saw fascia in the equine body, i was trying to represent the freedom of movement...
29/01/2026

One of my first drawings I did on how I saw fascia in the equine body, i was trying to represent the freedom of movement that it represented, luckily my drawings have improved
The problem with having images in your head is often my hands cant replicate them 😅😅😅
Its why I try not to think in lines when describing fascia as when I saw it on dissections it was everywhere and interconnected to everything, I think people think if you tweak here there is a clear line to somewhere else but there are offshoots, different directions, pit stops, and many more pathways that often the clear path encounters.

If anything it shows that we all begin somewhere and we are all a little bit rubbish when we begin something, getting comfortable with not being good in the beginning means you can move forward to getting better, remember that next time you try a new thing with your horse and feel stupid, clumsy or simple feel like giving up because you are your own worse critique, and showing your journey just might help someone beginning theirs and feeling all those things you once felt and that is where your words of encouragement might just push someone who just didnt think they could ever do it.

Always be kind to those who are at least trying xx
Nobody began anything as an expert we were all once beginners.

Counting horses in the fog 😄
28/01/2026

Counting horses in the fog 😄

28/01/2026

Archies new obsession, he is really good just sometimes we forget with his size he still is not even 6 months old yet 😅 and puppies will do puppy things

What does a pain response look like in the horse Is it the spasm of the muscle as your therapist runs their finger down ...
28/01/2026

What does a pain response look like in the horse

Is it the spasm of the muscle as your therapist runs their finger down the horses back, or is the "spasm" a fasciculation indicating something else rather than pain?? is it a pull away as they squeeze the lower neck?? Is it the pinned ears or lifting a leg as hamstrings are prodded?? Well yes they are all pain responses but very extreme responses, it doesn,t tell you how much pain the horse is in it just tells you how much the horse will tolerate, and by the horses response they cannot tolerate being squeezed, poked or prodded, could you ???? What would be your reaction to the same assessment??

There are many factors to take into account when assessing a horse you could have two horses in the exact same pain yet one has a covering of fat so they may get poked harder to illicit a response rather than a thin skinned finer horse, you could have a horse that may have dealt with pain a long time so shuts down in response rather than a horse that will not put up with it

You have horses that may have PSSM where for some touch is like a hot iron so they are super sensitive to any touch so merely placing a hand may have a huge reaction

We have so many variables on pain, personality, injury or disease yet often the same palpation is done on every horse and the results are not depending on any of the above but always on how much the horse reacts to the palpation, we often adjust our work but never the palpation

There are some horses I do not palpate at all, there is no point for already these horses are on the defensive for whatever reason, so already their body could be tense and their mind defensive so what does it serve

We have horses that may associate bodywork with pain depending on the previous therapists before you so the horse already has a negative association with the placing of hands and again the body under your hands may feel different and we have to work our way through to get to how the normal body is underneath that defensiveness

Good palpation skills is not using your hands to illicit a response its allowing your eyes and hands to work together your hands are only often confirming what your eyes see, good palpation skills like bodywork is knowing when not to do it, good palpation skills is watching and waiting not just for the body to respond but watching the horses behaviour, a sideways glance of the eye is often more telling than a spasm in the horses back

If you are having to hold a leg up, hold a tail or moving away every time you palpate a horse then your hands are feeling a body that is on the defence and already tense, so are you palpating for pain or palpating tension and then the horse is supposed to relax and enjoy the bodywork

The body is good at blocking out irritants and we need to ask the question has the body just blocked out the finger that keeps poking or has the issue only been resolved temporarily, if the issue returns in weeks, it may be that the issue was never addressed in the first place

Often assessment is what everyone wants to learn and the first lesson is know your horses normal its as simple as that we can look at pictures and point out what is wrong but that’s easy looking for the right in the body is a lot harder, but pictures only tell us that moment in time if your know your horses normal then you start to spot things much earlier we do not need to palpate to show a huge visual response of pain because we may create more tension if done on a horse that is already defensive

27/01/2026

Its ok to look like a potato in a sleeping bag.
Its ok to not brush your hair
Its ok for your horses to be muddy
Its ok to f**king hate the rain and mud.
Its ok if you have to bring your horses in
Its ok if you cant bring your horses in as long as they can get somewhere out of the mud, wind or rain be that natural or a man made shelter
Its ok to scream f**k off if the random podcast pops up telling you to just to breathe to regulate your nervous system just as you are holding on for dear life to the tarpaulin that you are trying to cover your hay with and not becoming the first human kite 😅😅

Back in 2019 when I was on ask the expert in a horse magazine Jesus I almost sounded like I knew what I was talking abou...
27/01/2026

Back in 2019 when I was on ask the expert in a horse magazine
Jesus I almost sounded like I knew what I was talking about 😅😅😇

I woke up, I heard the rain again, I sobbed a little while eating my breakfast, the end.I think the uk horse owners may ...
27/01/2026

I woke up, I heard the rain again, I sobbed a little while eating my breakfast, the end.

I think the uk horse owners may just have had enough of the rain now, please stop.🙂

This cartoon is how I usually look right now.

Learn to value your own work and be your own cheerleader.How many times has an owner told you you did a great job, how m...
26/01/2026

Learn to value your own work and be your own cheerleader.

How many times has an owner told you you did a great job, how many times has the horse began to relax as you work, how many times has someone said you are good at your job, yet all the time we doubt we are good enough

Why do we not see what others see in us, we worked bloody hard to get where we are, the days stood freezing our asses off working on the horses no others would touch, the only postive comment was oh my horse hasn't tried to kill you😅.
The hours of endless study, oh and the money like jeez I could of been rich if only I hadn't chose horses as my career and also my past time, the highs followed by crashing lows because we dont possess x ray eyes and didnt spot what others also couldnt we often are our own worse critique because to be confident can be seen as crass.

But you have worked hard, you have paid your dues, yet we often look around and think what can I offer, we think every compliment will be closely followed by critique, like why do we feel awkward with compliments😁.

Dont look around and think of others as competition like how is doris in alaska your competition, social media may bring the wider world in yet it still has no relevance to being out there in your world of working with horses and hey doris may have some good things she writes about which we could learn from☺️.

If you want to be better do it for yourself, be your own competition, and yes its ok to earn a living and just do what you are doing now.
If you look around and wonder why others are just getting on with things its not becuase they don't care what they put out there its simply because they believe they have something of value to share, they have self belief not self doubt, and dont forget how hard you worked to get here

If you are happy where you are then dont feel you need to do anything that may please others at the cost of your happiness for how we feel will affect our work, the horses look for confidence and calm and if they believe in you then you are already winning xx

Address

Barnsley

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 6pm
Tuesday 8am - 6pm
Wednesday 8am - 6pm
Thursday 8am - 6pm
Friday 8am - 6pm
Saturday 9am - 1pm

Telephone

+447528431922

Website

https://www.equinebodyworksbymarysargeant.com/challenges, https://www.eq

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ABOUT ME

I first qualified as a Masterson Method practitioner in 2013 and Over the years I have incorporated many modalities to my original qualification which offers you a unique way of bodywork for your horse Equine Touch level 1 and 2 Saddle fit4life cpd Mobilization techniques Anatomy and palpation Veterinarian assessment and biomechanics Kinesio taping Myo-Fascial Level 1 Cranio-Sacral Equine Massage and stretching Whole Horse Dissections and Limb dissections.

Biokinetics and acupressure

All this with the added bonus of watching the horses responses while I work so your horse is getting the benefit of movement within the joint while in a relaxed state.

You can be effective without great movement, a treatment where your horse is a partner