Having a background in problem horses Maria has found that many of these horses had physical issues which attributed to their "bad" behavior. This led her to expand her training career into one that includes equine structural integration and human massage therapy.

BODY WORK FOR THE HORSE

Equine Structural integration is a modality of body work that involves a series of often 5 sessions for horses to unwrap a lifetime of physical holdings resulting from compensation, injury, rider imbalance, time off etc. and allowing the horse to reintegrate their bodies into their best balance and perform their best. After going through the 5 series horses are able to go a longer amount of time between sessions which are then focused on maintaining the horse's natural balance and supporting them in wholeness.    

Benefits 

• Increased Balance and Performance: increased balance leads to consistency in work and performance because the body does not waste energy by increasing long term postural strength. 
• Supporting Soundness: Better balance leads to long term soundness and decrease in incident of injury due to fatigue, lack of coordination, and by supporting the whole body.  
• Stress Relief: As the nervous system is allowed to return to a parasympathetic state, it allows the body to decrease the amount of stress hormones in the body. This often leaves owners with happy horses who are more focused and pleasant in their work. 
• Trauma Relief: By unwrapping the body and finding areas that have been a source of physical and emotional trauma we are able to rewire the system to allow comfort, mobility, and well being in the body. 
• Improved Circulation: aids in recovery after injury and event and improved function of the body systems 
• Trust: During sessions we are able to build trust with horses that may have PTSD or unpleasant experiences with humans and teach them that touch can be comforting and healing. This will help build the bond not only between Maria and your horse but she will give the owner exercises and things to help build their relationship and partnership.

What to expect

Before the Session: 

Veterinary approval is requested prior to body work sessions. Before the horse is worked on a waiver is required allowing the body work, Maria will also go over horse history, management, training, history to best determine the best program for you and your horse. Please have horse(s) clean and in a safe environment prior to arrival so that we can dive in and get to work. Owner/Trainer participation is encouraged to create the best program for your horse. 

During the Session:

The fun part! During our session Maria will start by palpating your horse and make note of any problem areas or spots of concern for the house, then the session will open with deep friction strokes around the body to begin unraveling the body. Maria will then begin making a custom program tailored to your horse, this may involve movement therapy, stretches, and a variety of different massage strokes and modalities. She will also give the owner homework as to how to help support their horses balance and performance with different stretches, and exercises on the ground and in the saddle if deemed appropriate.

After the Session:

Equine Structural integration involves deep tissue work and the release of toxins and restructuring of the horse's nervous system in response to the work can occasionally cause a day of soreness where the horse can appear to be a bit off. This is a normal process so try not to be alarmed and have patience with the process and it is recommended the day off after receiving body work to reintegrate their bodies. Horse hydration during recovery is important so that their fascia is able to move freely. Some horses may be very relaxed following their sessions while some will become more mobile and energized, others may show little changes, it all depends on the horse.  Horses continue to integrate their body for days to weeks after their session as they relearn how to balance their bodies. Detailed notes of our session will be emailed to owners within 7 days for your records.

To learn more about structural integration check out our blog post here: 

Structural Integration and what it means to me

BODY WORK FOR THE HUMAN

Maria Lacasse is a licensed massage therapist Lic #MA99187 educated at the Florida School of Massage. She is strives to create space and wellness by stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system to facilitate healing. 

Maria's experience in horse massage has helped build her sensitivity and awareness to better provide compassionate touch to her clients. She uses a variety of modalities to breath new life into the body including swedish massage, connective tissue, polarity/energy work, cupping, manual lymphatic massage and neuromuscular therapy. 

Clients have reported relief from chronic pain, improved posture when riding, engagement of the parasympathetic nervous system and more. Visit our book me page to schedule your massage today or contact for a free consultation to see how our services can help you reach your goals and live your dreams. 

What to expect

Before the session:

Before our session we will go through an intake process. During this time we will discuss health history, physical limitations and riding goals to build our session. There may also be palpation of areas of interest as well as range of motion and applied kinesiology tests to increase the specificity of your massage.

During the Session:

During our massage session communication, movement and feedback is encouraged. In order to provide the best service, I like to tell people to channel their inner cats. If there is an area of interest, increased sensation, lack of mobility, etc. Tell me about it and how I can change depth, angle, etc. If you feel called to move to better facilitate a stroke feel free to do so. Our time together is about allowing you to become present with your body and your breath. 

After the Session:

Return to the land of the living! Jk, it is not uncommon for clients to feel slightly cloudy, after their massage experience. We affectionately call this period massage brain. Hydration is greatly encouraged so try to drink up. At times there can be some muscle soreness from fascial reorganizing and chronic muscular dysfunction so we encourage hydration and giving yourself permission to embrace self care.