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 Mass

age
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

Ok so I am redoing all my pictures (why my courses take so long 😅😅).I prefer the white background and transparent pictur...
29/07/2025

Ok so I am redoing all my pictures (why my courses take so long 😅😅).

I prefer the white background and transparent pictures and yes my drawings are a little artistic licence but again its trying to make you think whole horse
Old vs new only 80 pages to redo 🤪
Of course now I can save as a copy the original drawing with stuff on it might be quicker than blummin drawing it a hundred times

Walk, trot or wheeee gallop!!!!Putting the bounce back into horses 😃If I asked you what is the best exercise for fascial...
29/07/2025

Walk, trot or wheeee gallop!!!!

Putting the bounce back into horses 😃

If I asked you what is the best exercise for fascial health your mind would go to yoga, stretching and often slow sedate movements which is good but to be really healthy fascia also needs to bounce🙂
Now skipping is great for humans but I am not sure horses will appreciate it but think of part of what fascia is made of, Elastin and that stuff needs to have good recoil to keep things healthy good elastic recoil in the fascia is essential for overall health.

So have horses become the equivalent of a couch potato??? Stabled for long periods of time, only moving on one surface going so slow that the toes scuff in the sand ( i remember a time when a toe scuff simply meant your horse was not producing enough energy to move correctly), while we have become hyperfocused on an imaginary posture to help the nervous system, obsessed with horses looking sleepy all the time is it really good for the horse or is aim always to make us feel better. A harmonious nervous system is when the internal can react to the external influence placing a horse in a position or posture does not relax the horse if the horse has not adopted it relevant to how its feeling.

Why do young horses get zoomies?? Is it just youthful energy or are they building up proprioceptive, strength and agility helping them navigate varied terrain in all gaits for overall health.

While repetitive strain is not healthy neither is not allowing the joints the range of motion they were designed to create, and we need all gaits to achieve the freedom in the body.

Not allowing the full potential of the body being able to move freely and at different speeds can often pose a potential risk to that body when we ask it to move with the restrictions held in place by the static posture or limited range of motion the horse is restricted by.

We are brought upto believe for humans that anything faster than a walk is detrimental to our joint health, yet its not, fascia, bone and joints can actually benefit, be stimulated and help stave off things like osteoarthritis. We get stuck on old thoughts almost like if your horse doesn't wear shoes its feet will wear out 😉.

While we may feel safe placing our horses in gaits we feel comfortable in the horse still has to maintain gaits it feels comfortable in for both brain and body health and long term benefits for both.

Variety is the spice of life and unpredictability raises that sympathetic system a little that the brain is switched on ready and waiting for the next move, horses are first and foremost energy conservers if your work is predictable the parts you were trying to engage on Monday will be null and void by Friday as the horse finds an easier way to use less energy and let's face it doing the same thing day in day out is boring for both human and the horse.

Restriction in the joints is not healthy, less movement is going to have long term consequences for the health of them, static is a stagnant joint.

It's why most of the rehab I suggest is outside of a school, feeling different surfaces underfoot and it gives the horse a chance to offer its preferred gait for both comfort and ease, different gaits can be more comfortable depending on what the horse is healing from.

Me and Thomas contemplating who has got more chin hair
28/07/2025

Me and Thomas contemplating who has got more chin hair

How do you know my dog is back from its weekend awayMaybe a small clue 😃😃😃😃Honestly I dont even care what people say any...
28/07/2025

How do you know my dog is back from its weekend away
Maybe a small clue 😃😃😃😃
Honestly I dont even care what people say anymore, I haven't the energy to go looking for the missing shoes no matter these are not even mine !!
Why dont they ever take a pair, of course he doesn't get told off because I read its because he is so emotionally overwhelmed he has to carry something.
At least I live in a village where this would be classed as normal 😃😃

28/07/2025

Hi new followers
A little introduction to who I am, and how I choose to work with horses and why I got to this place xx
Enjoy

28/07/2025

A nice little technique you can do as an owner before and after riding or just in general in a quiet time with your horses.
Remember the first rule is you take a big inhale, then as you exhale your shoulders drop you relax and send that through to your hands, if you feel your elbows locking up then you are holding your breath 😃🙃
Thank you to Kelly and lizzie xx

I dont know why I always look like I have just seen a ghost 😃😃

Panic and Anxiety I often am full of encouragement with horse owners, and offer some great advice for other therapists w...
28/07/2025

Panic and Anxiety

I often am full of encouragement with horse owners, and offer some great advice for other therapists when it comes to building their business up and creating success

But what happens when I put that into practice myself, I usually end up panicking, filling up with anxiety, worry that what I am offering is not worth it and then end up delaying things as I procrastinate rather than just trying and seeing, I want it all to be so right that my projects end up on a dusty shelf with the memo "not quite right".

It took two years to put my online class out, I will put things out in a moment of postiivity then I act surprised when someone actually wants to book me and then all those negative thoughts come flooding in

I very rarely take my own advice and that one comment that I may misread will play over and over in my mind until I want to pack up and never work again, you are never going to please everyone but for a people pleaser that’s hard to hear as we strive to make everyone happy even if our own happiness is the price we pay

You as a horse owner may do it with your horse, you may be pushed into something to please others but all the while you and your horse are miserable

If someone wants to collab you always think why me what do I have to offer, and all the while negating your own knowledge is something of value

We put immense pressure on ourselves to have all the answers yet even when we know the answer we still doubt our knowledge.
We also put pressure on to do more, when are you bringing your 2 day course out??? Because that is what people expect you to do after a one day course has been successful, but I never wanted even to go out a do an in person course but we always see success as doing more yet success is being happy and if that means you dont climb the ladder of "success" then its ok

So how do I combat all those thoughts well I don't I just push them to the back of my mind and keep going and you know its never as bad as I think it will be

How do I cope with my anxiety when doing a demo in front of a lot people?? I just focus my attention on the person who looks the least interested and, in my mind, if I can engage them in the demo then everything else will be easy

How do I cope with my anxiety while teaching, well you are going to gets lots of information as to cope I talk a lot

I don't think we can ever change who we are, but we can have coping mechanisms to try and still get out there its not how we feel its how we deal with those feelings and how they affect us

I don't think I am alone I think its probably what makes us therapists who work with animals for they get it and hold no judgement, we simply have nothing to prove to them we just do our job x

pic of me dying inside while trying to look calm 😀

Effort, time, calm, CONSISTENT, reality check, one owner xI must admit I did and probably still do have to a certain deg...
27/07/2025

Effort, time, calm, CONSISTENT, reality check, one owner x

I must admit I did and probably still do have to a certain degree a slight prejudice about the OTTB, you see i used to ride out with one often thinking jeez that woman may die today, of course I was on my Welsh section D which again often has alot of people roll their eyes and utter the words I would never own one of them!!!!

I was taught they were all nuts, high maintenance, and of course in those days where they were literally given away for free it was probably the job it had done, the immaturity of the horse and the inexperienced human that ended up giving the OTTB the much maligned reputation, of course i then owned an ex racing standardbred but still a Tb euwww😃

My inexperience as a therapist while training also confirmed that yep they had a short attention span, didnt really have that personality that I could warm to and made me feel like I was a s**t therapist because they wouldn't stand still, like of course they wouldn't because most of them were young, alot were in rehab and I was still a new therapist who was winging my way through my job😃😃😃 but like always we sometimes just blame the breed instead of the circumstance.

Funny how your path takes you to try and rid you of your pre conceived ideas of what something should be and the long list of OTTB,s on my books shows each one may have similar patterns of dysfunction but each one has a unique personality that I still have to take into consideration in my approach even though I may be working on similar issues.

Real world often conflicts with social media ideology we know its not beneficial for those young horses to train at such an important time of growth for the immature body and mind but they are and its how we can help limit the impact on the future body and mind that is probably the most helpful input to the horse as it begins a different career. Do we refuse to work on a horse because our ideal is different from someone else's?? Do we leave these horses and their owners in the s**t because we hold both of them to a past none of them chose to have??

I see patterns that repeat themselves, when backed to early into a high octane lifestyle and the discipline they are in, often we see pelvic dysfunction, we see restriction through the Thoracic/lumbar area, we see restrictions depending on which way they ran, the greyhound physique and more some are less, some show more, steeplechasers have different patterns than flat racers but often they can go on to have successful working lives after the racetrack.

I truly believe horses mental well being thrives when they have one owner rather than being part of an industry, that is my own personal opinion, horses recognise and retain memories of those who are consistent and kind in their lives, we see this with our own horses others may acknowledge you but your own horse knows its you.

Again idealogy vs reality can often leave owners and their professionals in conflict with what do we do with this horse that has come into our lives and how do we change the preconceived ideas that often can cause a worry and concern that may never resurface

I have been to horses that i have advised to be ridden as part of the rehab yet if I showed the before pictures gasps of horror and clutching handbags would ensue, yet for some mentally and physically its the movement that is needed and not in a school, yet long hacks, in straight lines, preparing the body to develop for its new job so the brain and body can amalgamate into the new surroundings, trying to get the muscle tone in a place to support the body.
This doesn't take years it can take months yet often the pictures that may give the confidence to a new owner to keep going would be ripped apart by those who keep horses from ever progressing and they spend a lifetime of yo-yoing from one dysfunction to another.

The one thing all the owners have is a consistent work ethic wether handling, groundwork or riding they put in the hours to hopefully change the pre conceived ideas of the breed.

We see so much online of things that stop you and your horse from moving forward for fear of doing something wrong, yet it doesn't take alot to make things right.

It's important as professionals we show what was and what can be for every horse i see in the moment I see not the horse in front of me but that horses potential of what it could be and if I can share that same dream to the owner they may not feel so alone xx

Why do I do this???I must admit I forgot about my app this morning I am waiting on my new diary and still cant get to gr...
26/07/2025

Why do I do this???

I must admit I forgot about my app this morning I am waiting on my new diary and still cant get to grips with the calendar on my phone 😀😀 luckily my client was only 10 mins away so I hopped in the car and arrived apologising profusely, (sorry Kelly ☺️).

But woah what a change in her horse and the sole reason I take pictures because often owners when seeing their horse cannot see the change in see coming in every few months.

Now I could take the credit but I only offer the body a window of opportunity to change, I simply turn the pedal once its the owner who keeps the wheels turning🫠

Well its only put on weight is often what I hear yet what is the hardest thing to do with horses who have stress factors in their life, yep weight gain so often its a first indication we are on the right track.

I will take a little bit of the credit but owners do all the hard work and its why I take the pics but also share the pics so you to as an owner can see your future horse and a little bit of inspiration to keep doing what you are doing

Well done Kelly xx
P.s please be kind Kelly has worked hard and mean comments will be deleted 😇

If your scared of it you wear it!!!So i have just watched a horse tearing around a field with a feedbag tied to it, drip...
26/07/2025

If your scared of it you wear it!!!

So i have just watched a horse tearing around a field with a feedbag tied to it, dripping in sweat and with obvious signs of distress, and with the hashtag line above.

Like who invents these things who sits there and goes ooh my horse is s**t scared of something so I will strap it to its head, back or legs?? And if you comment with a bit of common sense like your horse may run through a fence ooh your a tree hugger like WTF.

Of course its stems from the human world where we are taught face your fear, its called exposure therapy and of course by the time it comes to the equine world some "professional" has made up their own version and filled the blanks with peppa pig science to sound like they know what they are doing, and then even worse it becomes a trend that hey may get you likes at the cost of your horses mental and sometimes physical well being.

While exposure therapy for humans is in a controlled enviroment, with someone talking the same language as us to give us reassurance, introducing things gradually and monitoring the situation carefully, trained professionals knowing that often in an escalation that a deescalation will follow and the most important part the professional can communicate you will not die!!!

While in the equine world the horse spooks or is scared of something then you got to wear it, and the horse will only fight or take flight until it can no longer dislodge the item or its so knackered it can no longer run, but does that mean mentally it has come out the other side aware of it didnt die??, of course not, fear and stress in horses are two different things fear is in the moment all geared for survival in the moment whereas stress is a slower burner, so while the horse may stop running or reacting the stress of that moment may resurface every time it has to engage with it.
And what about the chemicals flooding the body in that series of stresses living longer term negative impacts on the body??? Just because we cant see the stress doesn't mean its chipping away internally messing up the long term health of the body.

Where has common sense gone?
Where has the compassionate thinking for another living being gone??
Horses are not hashtag trends, dont even get me started on the let's feed my horse candy trend like I wouldn't give a child a pop tart no matter a horse !!
Ragebait posts are an increasing phenomenon with horses paying the price for a like, comment or to earn the poster some money.

Fear is there for a reason, its a protection mechanism to stay safe how can a horse learn in a positive way if it is in fear, there are better ways to teach a horse yet we always choose violence

Could you learn in an enviroment of fear what information would you retain??

25/07/2025

A nice easy technique for you to do with your horses 🐎
Early access for subscribers xx
Enjoy

25/07/2025

Hope this helps understand a little more of a follow on from the back post, as always thank you to Kelly for filming and lizzie for putting up with my filming she usually ends the filming session 😀😀😀 but she knows its ok to say enough i mean lizzie found her voice and uses it well 😄😄
Of course this is the way i work i am not saying its a better way but hope you get a little understanding with the way i think xx

Back technique coming in next video xx

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Hemsworth

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Tuesday 8am - 6pm
Wednesday 8am - 6pm
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+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