Linda and Klaus help Gracioso relax at a competition.

Equitana is very successful once again. Klaus Balkenhol had a marvelous seminar with more than 5000 people Monday evening. His voice and his connection to the horse and rider and to all of us watching with fascination was both inspiring and educational. He mentioned that he is always learning and that he has worked with Jane Savoie and Peter Kreinberg- and with me for many years. I heard much positive feedback about the evening.

Its interesting to consider I have been working with Klaus Balkenhol for more than 20 years, with much success. I really should make a small photo book of Grasioso at the Steinhagen show where he won for the first time.  Gracioso had never been shown because of his tendency to scoot and bolt without seeming cause. Of course Klaus could stop him immediately, but that would blow a test.

The first time I worked with Klaus was for the Kosmos video “TTouch for Dressage Horses”. Klaus Balkenhol was open to seeing if the Tellington Method could overcome the deep fear locked in the body of Gracioso. Klaus said he had spent months quietly in the stall with the horse because he had a phenomenal piaffe and passage and would be an outstanding competitor if the  bolting could be overcome. However, apparently the habit of bolting had not improved enough to trust the horse in a competition.

I worked Gracioso first at home and he was so fearful when I lead him out of the stable and into the arena that his head shot up to the height of a giraffe.  I managed to get him into the labyrinth that we had set up in the arena  by luring him with a tub of grain. Once he was in the labyrinth he began to focus on the poles and I could get his attention. I TTouched him in the labyrinth and stroked him all  over with the Wand. Once he was quiet I lead him around the arena taking a little grain from spectators who had gathered  to watch me work. This was preparing him to have an interest in spectators at the show. And of course the chewing overrides the flight reflex.

The first day at the show Gracioso was so panicked when I lead him out of the stable thinking I would TTouch him on the side of the warm up ring, that once again his nose shot straight in the air when he was just 10 feet out of the stable.  I managed to get him back in the barn with a feed tub of grain to get his head down where he could think again. I TTouched him in the stall for two sessions that day. By the morning of the third day the focusing effect of TTouch was apparent. I was able to lead him out of the barn and keep his focus and with what see ed like a miraculous turn-around, he stood quietly on the edge of the warm up ring while two of us TTouched him all over.

Klaus riding Gracioso.

That afternoon,after just three days and five sessions of TTouch, Klaus rode him and won his class with a very high score and not one moment of panic.  I later went with him to The very important Stuttgart show which was his first indoor with a huge stadium that holds 10,000 people which is very scary. He had a few moments of near panic in the warm-up arena when several teams of ponies pulling buggies entered the area. I was able to bring his head down and work his mouth with his rider, Nadine Cappelman, in the saddle. In less than a minute his eyes softened, his respiration was normal, and the tension left his body.  At one point in the test, during the free walk, a  loud food cart was pushed across the top of the grandstand and we held our breath praying Gracioso would not react. He did not flick an ear and placed fourth in a class of very experienced horses.

Another time when I accompanied Judith and Klaus to Stuttgart, I worked twice daily with Garcon and Klaus won the Grand Prix, The Grand Prix Special and the Kur.  When a company rep tried to interest Klaus in magnetic blankets for his horses he commented, ” I don’t need magnets. I have Linda”.

Enjoying a wonderful session riding at Klaus’ beautiful farm.

© 2013, Linda Tellington-Jones. All rights reserved.

I helped to introduce Quarter Horses and Western riding into Germany at Equitana in the mid 1970′s.

As usual I have a very full schedule.

Each day I will be giving 2 presentations most days in Hall 1, in addition to special performances in Halls 6, 2 and 1A with inspiring horsemen and women: Ingrid Klimke, Frederic Pignon & Magali Delgado, Dr Massimo De Ra, Dieter and Dodo Laugks, Jochan Schumacher and Georg Fink.

Kirsten Henry will be back with me organizing for the first time since her son was born. Bibi Degan, Susanna Salzmann and Diana von Dieken, will also be assisting as they have for the last decade. Karen Freiling and Tomke Oeltjen will be available for sharing TTouch for riders and demonstrating new technology Lifewave Pain Patches for pain relief without drugs or side effects for riders and their horses and dogs.  Ingvil Schirling will be moderating.

Demonstrating lowering of the head at Equitana in 1979.

My schedule:

Saturday, March 16

12:30 to 13:00 Hall 1

Forum Seminar with horse: “The Magic 3 TTouches for Trust and well-being for Horses & Their People & presentation of the Angie Program for Kids.

15:00 to 15:30 in Hall 1A

Forum Discussion with PP: With Frederic Pignon, Magali Delgado & moderator Ingvil Schirling we have a 30 minute dialog including photos of how Frederic incorporates Nostril, Ear and Mouth TTouch into his training systems and the benefit to performance in his work.

16:00 to 16:30 in Hall 1 Ring

The Tellington TTouch Trust Training for Starting and Retraining Horses

Sunday, March 17

12:30 to 13:00 in Hall 1 seminar with horse:

“The Magic 3 TTouches for Trust and well-being for Horses & Their People Plus Lick of the Cow’s Tongue, Tail & Leg Circles

13:00 to 13:30 Hall 1A Ring

LTJ with Dr. Massimo Da Re: The Tellington TTouch Trust Training Solving Riding Problems from the saddle for Retraining Horses who are stressed or reactive under saddle. Balance Rein, Lindel & Snaffle, Promise Wrap, Promise Rope for more impulsion, Training Bit for slow or spooky. Body Wrap for Rider

14:20 – 14:40 Hall 2 Kosmos Ring

The Tellington TTouch Trust Training for Starting and Retraining Horses

14:40 – 15:10 Kosmos Stand

Analyzing Equine Personality from Photos

17:00 to 17:45 Hall 1 at our stand

Analyzing Equine Personality from Photos

Monday, March 18

12:30 to 13:00 Hall 1 seminar with horse:

“The Magic 3 TTouches” for Trust and well-being for Horses & Their People Plus Lick of the Cow’s Tongue, Tail & Leg Circles

16:00 to 16:30 Hall 1 Ring

The Tellington TTouch Trust Training, Dingo, Head Lowering, Chest Driving & Tellington Trust Obstacles Over/under/between Plastic for Starting and Retraining Horses. Chest driving

17:00 to 17:45 Hall 1 at our stand time to be determined.

Analyzing Equine Personality from Photos

Tuesday, March 19

12:30 to 13:00 Hall 1 Forum with horse:

“The Magic 3 TTouches” for Trust and well-being for Horses & Their People Plus Lick of the Cow’s Tongue, Tail & Leg Circles

Demonstrating some of the TTouches for Trust in 1977.

14:00 to 14:20 Hall 2 Ring with horse

The Tellington TTouch Trust Training, Wand on chest and outline, Head Lowering, Ears, Mouth, tail, Chest Driving & Tellington Trust Obstacles Over/under/between Plastic for Starting and Retraining Horses

14:20 to 14:40 Hall 2 at Kosmos Stand

Analyzing Equine Personality from Photos

A “Meet & Greet” at the Kosmos Booth (my German publisher) in 1996.

18:00 Kroeber Treff in Hall 10/11 FN stand

Launching the book on the life of Wolf Kroeber

Wednesday, March 20

11:30 to 12:10 Hall 6 Riding & Ground with FS horses

with Jochan Schumacher & Georg Fink

The Tellington TTouch Trust Training Solving Riding Problems from the saddle & From the Ground for Retraining Horses who are stressed or reactive under saddle. Balance Rein, Lindel & Snaffle, Promise Wrap, Promise Rope for more impulsion, Training Bit for slow or spooky. Over, under & thru Plastic for Mental, Physical & Emotional Balance

12:30 to 13:00 Hall 1 Forum with horse.

“The Magic 3 TTouches” for Trust and well-being for Horses & Their People Plus Lick of the Cow’s Tongue, Tail & Leg Circles

13:45 to 14:05 Hall 2 Ring with horse for Kosmos with Ingrid Klimke demo-ing the Tellington Liberty Ring, Balance Rein, Promise Wrap, Heart Hugs for Riders, Ear, Tail & Nostril TTouch for Mental, Emotional & Physical Balance. Tail work for stability and confidence.

Ingrid Klimke, using a Heart Hug on herself.

14:05 to 14:30 Hall 2 at Kosmos Stand

Analyzing Equine Personality from Photos

16:00 to 16:30 Hall 1 Ring with horse:

“The Magic 3 TTouches for Trust and well-being for Horses & Their People Plus Lick of the Cow’s Tongue, Tail & Leg Circles

18:05 to 19:00 Hall 1A Forum

Expert Talk on Building Relationship & Heart Coherance while Enhancing Performance and Reducing Stress in Sport Horses with guests Dodo & Dieter Laugks, & Dr. Silvia Torresano and Dr. Massimo Da Re and short video and PP of Weltall if we are in the section with PP possibility. Ingvil Schirling moderating

EVENING “HOP TOP” SHOW

Thursday, March 21

12:30 to 13:00 Hall 1 Forum with horse.

“The Magic 3 TTouches” for Trust and well-being for Horses & Their People Plus Lick of the Cow’s Tongue, Tail & Leg Circles

13:00 to 13:30 Hall 1A ring with horse

LTJ with Dr. Massimo Da Re: The Tellington TTouch Trust Training Solving Riding Problems from the saddle for Retraining Horses who are stressed or reactive under saddle. Balance Rein, Lindel & Snaffle, Promise Wrap, Promise Rope for more impulsion, Training Bit for slow or spooky. Body Wrap for Rider

14:20 to 14:40 Hall 2 ring with horse

The Tellington TTouch Trust Training, Wand on chest and outline, Head Lowering, Ears, Mouth, tail, Chest Driving & Tellington Trust Obstacles Over/under/between Plastic for Starting and Retraining Horses. Body Wrap for Rider

14:40 to 15:10 Hall 2 at Kosmos Stand

Analyzing Equine Personality from Photos

17:00  Hall 2 at Cavallo Stand A16

Portrait Interview of LTJK with Melanie Tschoepe

0175 9676022

Friday, March 22

11:30 to 12:10 Hall 6 with Frederic Pignon

The deeper the trust and relationship – the more brilliant the performance.  Linda and Frederic will demonstrate Nostril, Ear and Mouth TTouch and explain how they can be incorporated into training systems and how these, together with tail and other TTouhes, will benefit performance.

Frederic Pignon demonstrating the Nostril Work.

15:00 to 15:30 Hall 1A Xenophon Expert Talk

with Dodo & Dieter Laugks, & Dr. Silvia Torresano and Dr. Massimo Da Re. Enhancing Performance and Reducing Stress in Sport Horses.

Grand Prix Dressage Horse Weltall and his rider Deiter Laugks.  My latest book, “Dressage for the Body, Mind, and Soul” was dedicated to this amazing horse.

16:00 to 16:30 Hall 1 ring with horse

The Tellington TTouch Trust Training, Wand on chest and outline, Head Lowering, Ears, Mouth, tail, Chest Driving & Tellington Trust Obstacles Over/under/between Plastic for Starting and Retraining Horses. Body Wrap for Rider

18:00 Kosmos Party

Saturday, March 23

12:30 to 13:00 Hall 1 Forum with horse.

“The Magic 3 TTouches” for Trust and well-being for Horses & Their People Plus Lick of the Cow’s Tongue, Tail & Leg Circles

14:00 to 14:20 Hall 2 Ring with horse

The Tellington TTouch Trust Training, Wand on chest and outline, Head Lowering, Ears, Mouth, tail, Chest Driving & Tellington Trust Obstacles Over/under/between Plastic for Starting and Retraining Horses

14:20 to 14:40 Hall 2 at Kosmos Stand

Analyzing Equine Personality from Photos

18:00 Dr. Ende Party

Sunday, March 24

12:30 to 13:00 Hall 1 Forum with horse.

“The Magic 3 TTouches” for Trust and well-being for Horses & Their People Plus Lick of the Cow’s Tongue, Tail & Leg Circles

16:00 to 16:30 Hall 1 ring with horse

The Tellington TTouch Trust Training, Wand on chest and outline, Head Lowering, Ears, Mouth, tail, Chest Driving & Tellington Trust Obstacles Over/under/between Plastic for Starting and Retraining Horses. Body Wrap for Rider

© 2013, Linda Tellington-Jones. All rights reserved.

Frederic and I at the venue. Frederic did a wonderful job translating!

Each day Fred worked with 12 students, with one session in the early morning with 6 students and a second session with 6 different students in the afternoon. Magali worked outside giving riding lessons all day to 8 very lucky riders. Her teaching has a poetic quality that is indescribable and I am inspired every time I watch her teach a riding lesson. The horses seem to enjoy the lessons as much as the riders do.

Riding Spiree after she had made her wonderful transformation.

Five horses were chosen for me to work with for the 2 days.

• A 15 year old pony mare named Niagara had spent a very hard four years in a riding club with many different children riding her. Nobody liked her and she had run away with many riders. She was hard to catch. Very hard to halter, and did not like being touched on her body. This is just the type of horse I LOVE to work with- particularly because two months ago she was rescued from this situation by a very caring, young woman named Elodie who wants to understand and help the mare.

Meeting Niagra. Frederic translates as I start with mindful Forelock slides.

One of the key TTouches for Trust, ear slides are a wonderful way to encourage a lowering of the head and overall relaxation and trust. Notice how much she has relaxed from our initial interaction.

• Spiree, a 6 year old mare owned by Segolene who was there with a film crew to produce an online TV show. The mare was said to be extremely spooky, sometimes bolting sideways, and other times lethargic. Spiree had coliced twice and had been treated for ulcers after being in training for Three-Day Eventing. Segolene said she was not an experienced rider so she sent the mare for training and the trainer was training her to with a very low head.

Raising the back will immediately change a horse’s posture and begin to change their habitual response to things.

• A 2 –year old Andalusian stallion brought by a very nice Dutch woman who wanted the horse to have the experience of being in front of a crowd. She thought he was ready for this and could not understand why both Frederic and I told her clearly that this horse needs basic manners and training at home. He could not be lead in a straight line because she had to hold him back constantly. The only way she could stop him was with her elbow in his shoulder and his head pulled around to the left – not a good idea for a stallion because elbowing a stallion in the shoulder activates the biting instinct and she had an understandable issue with his mouthiness.

• A beautiful 3-year old Andalusian mare being trained by her owner, Sylvie, for liberty work. Apparently the mare gets annoyed sometimes and will not listen to Sylvie so she says she walks away and comes back to the mare later, but wanted to understand why the mare was getting “annoyed”.  Sylvie was worried that she was doubting the mare too much, did not understand her behavior and said she did not know how to “read”her.

• A 4-year old Arabian gelding named Uriel who had exactly the same conformation and posture as a 16-year-old unrideable Arabian in the Speyer clinic a few weeks earlier. Uriel had been to two trainers and sent back to the owner as dangerous and unrideable after badly injuring one of the trainers.

What was intriguing about the three horses who were very challenging to their owners, was their extremely high head-carriage with very tight underside of their necks. Sylvie’s three year old mare has a lovely eye and appeared to me to be very willing, but her habit of carrying her head so high, combined with a tight neck, effects breathing and causes tension throughout the whole body, limiting her ability to focus and effecting mental and physical balance. In my opinion the mare wanted to cooperate but was limited by her habitual posture. As soon as I raised her back with back lifts, she lowered her head and was able to give her attention and became very cooperative. I believe the mare’s apparent unwillingness to cooperate was due Sylvie’s lack of understanding the impact of posture, not knowing how to change that posture, and lack of clear direction to the mare.

Our basic concept: “Change the posture and you can change the behavior”  fit this situation perfectly.

The initial posture of the young Andalusian mare. High headed and tense in the back.

After some TTouch and leading exercises she was able to release her neck and change her posture.

Both Niagara and Uriel had these same tight necks and high-head carriage and both had been trained with the technique of running the horses in a small circle and backing them up from a toss of the rope with this same high-head, tight-back, blocked hindquarter posture that prevented awareness of their bodies. This posture activates the sympathetic nervous system and puts a horse out of balance.  Both these horses were described as dangerous and unrideable and were not helped in the least by this method of training.

Chest line driving is an invaluable tool for helping horses overcome fears of things behind and around them.  It is also an excellent way to show horses how they can begin to shift their weight while releasing their head and necks.

The idea of Changing posture to effect behavior is something we can achieve so easily from the ground with 5 steps of Tellington TTouch: Raising the back, lowering the head, Ear TTouch for trust, Tail TTouch to connect the whole horse, and Leg Circles for grounding and balance.  The changes we can get are so obvious and make for happy, successful horse and rider communication.

Showing Frederic some TTouches to help release the head and neck.

Teaching a weekend training when every word has to be translated is a challenge. I had to keep my explanations simple and as clear as possible so people could understand what my goals were.

There were 4 basic concepts I wanted to get across.

*You Must Change Your Mind in order to Change The Behavior of Your Horse.

* To Change Behavior You Must Change the Posture.

* Tellington TTouch Training teaches a horse to think instead of react instinctively by becoming aware of his body.

* “Spirit Go” – a concept Roland and I developed on this trip.

It’s time to Leave behind the 20^th century belief that horses need to be dominated and can only learn when they are tired and submissive.  Adopt 21^st Century Training methods that recognize the horse’s potential for learning and willingness to cooperate when they understand what you are asking.

Honoring the Spirit of the Horse -

Building trust -

Nurturing the instinctive bond of the herd -

Preserving the natural curiosity of the horse -

Resulting in the Ultimate Horse-Human Connection.

This concept is valid for all levels of training and riding,

From the beginning equestrian to the Olympic star.

The weekend also included a very special opportunity for 24 students to work in hand with Frederic; typically he only gives clinics once a year in Germany.  This opportunity to work with him can be life-changing.

24 students lucky enough to receive In-Hand instruction from Frederic.

What was so remarkable is how quiet – but present, and not bored the horses were as each one quietly waited their turn along the one side of the arena. Many times Fred would take one of the horses for a few moments and demonstrate how, with the slight shift of energy (as he calls it) the horse would respond to the slightest touch on the rein or body with the Spanish Walk or Side-pass. The goal was to establish a connection and a lightness that makes it look as though they were dancing. It was totally soothing, and inspiring to watch.

A quiet moment during the Milano Expo as Frederic connects with his stallion while doing Nostril Slides.

He spoke to the auditors at the end of my first day about the need to see this attitude of respect as coming from a place of LOVE. He explained that is a hard concept for many.  I then commented that there is said to be two emotions in our world: Love and Fear. Jerry Jompolski’s classic book, “Love Is Letting Go Of Fear” is a book I find helpful on this subject.

Frederic working with one of his stallions at home. TTouches along the horses crest helped to encourage a more relaxed and balanced posture.

To watch Frederic work with such deep respect and appreciation and a place of ‘no doubt” that the horse can do what he is asking was a concept we discussed several times over the weekend. This state of mind of “no doubt” he says is necessary for success. It is a pleasure to watch and describes a state of heart coherence where the horse wants to work with that person. And it fits perfectly with the Tellington TTouch of Trust, a way of being with horses in which the horse enjoys the connection as much as the handler or rider.

There was so much positive feedback from the auditors we have set a date for another weekend in Avignon for a Pignon/Delgado/Tellington weekend. Contact Monique Brognon<mbrognon@hotmail.com> if you would like to sign up for next September to get on a list to work with Frederic on the ground and Magali for a riding lesson.

© 2013, Linda Tellington-Jones. All rights reserved.

As in Tellington TTouch®, cell communication is recognized as an integral
function of the LifeWave Patches.

This fact is introduced on page 1 of the LifeWave Handbook and piqued my
interest the first time I had the book in my hand. It reads: “About the LifeWave

Patches …The primary method of action lies in changing the electrical potential
of the skin to improve energy production flow and cellular communication. The
patches activate acupoints to stimulate biomagnetic frequencies and send
signals to the body.”

The following story of Sandee Arndt’s 15-year old Portugese Water Dog, Gussie,
is typical of the magical changes owners are seeing with their dogs and horses
when they place these patches on the body. You just stick them on the hair and
they stay on. No shaving is necessary. There is no medication in these patches,
and as proven by more than 60 research studies, nothing measurable goes into
the body. That is why the patches could be worn by athletes in the Olympics in
London.

LifeWave patches are unique. Unlike other pain relief patches on the market,
they do not have to be placed directly on the body. You can attach them to a
collar of a dog or cat, or halter of a horse, or on the clothing of a person.

I have seen so many phenomenal examples of pain relief in minutes that I feel
passionate about sharing these products and combining them with TTouch. And
LifeWave has a 100% money back guarantee. So there is nothing to lose. If it
does not work for you or your cat, dog, horse, or other animal, you will get your
money back.

This following story of Gussie is typical of my experiences.  Enjoy!

© 2013, Linda Tellington-Jones. All rights reserved.

I am frequently asked some thought-provoking questions. “Do I believe that animals are capable of emotions like we humans?” The answer is yes. Some poignant memories that come to mind in response to that question:Our Great Dane, Tiger’s obvious look of guilt when he ate a whole roast beef I had foolishly left on the counter while I went to greet our dinner guests! And Hungarian Graflo’s jealousy if I did not ride him before his half-brother each morning.  And my cat, Sybil’s, attempt to punish me by 10 minutes of the cold shoulder whenever I returned from a trip longer than a week. And this blog is about the love, and another beautiful cross-species experience.My thanks to my friend, Jane Reed, for passing this story along to me. Feel free to share it with your friends. In Warwickshire, England, the police  opened a garden shed and found a  whimpering, cowering  dog. The dog had been locked in the shed and abandoned. It  was dirty and malnourished, and had quite clearly been  abused.In an act of kindness, the  police took the dog, which was a female greyhound, to the  Nuneaton Warwickshire Wildlife Sanctuary, which is run by a  man named Geoff Grewcock, and known as a haven for animals  abandoned, orphaned, or otherwise in need.Geoff and the other  sanctuary staff went to work with two aims: to restore the  dog to full health, and to win her trust. It took several  weeks, but eventually both goals were achieved. They named  her Jasmine, and they started to think about finding her an  adoptive home.     Jasmine, however, had other  ideas. No one quite remembers how it came about, but Jasmine started  welcoming all animal arrivals at the sanctuary. It would not matter  if it were a puppy, a fox cub, a rabbit or, any other lost or hurting animal.  Jasmine would just peer into the box or cage and, when and where possible, deliver a welcoming  lick. Geoff relates one of the  early incidents. “We had two puppies that had been abandoned  by a nearby railway line. One was a Lakeland Terrier cross  and another was a Jack Russell Doberman cross. They were tiny when they arrived at the centre, and Jasmine approached them and  grabbed one by the scruff of the neck in her mouth and put him on  the settee. Then she fetched the other one and sat down with them,  cuddling them. But she is like that with all  of our animals, even the rabbits. She takes all the stress out of  them, and it helps them to not only feel close to her, but to settle  into their new surroundings. She has done the same with the fox and  badger cubs, she licks the rabbits and guinea pigs, and even lets  the birds perch on the bridge of her nose. Jasmine, the timid, abused, deserted waif, became the animal sanctuary’s resident  surrogate mother, a role for which she might have been born.  The list of orphaned and abandoned youngsters she has cared  for comprises five fox cubs, four badger cubs, fifteen  chicks, eight guinea pigs, two stray puppies and fifteen rabbits -  and one roe deer fawn. Tiny Bramble, eleven weeks old, was found  semi-conscious in a field. Upon arrival at the sanctuary, Jasmine  cuddled up to her to keep her warm, and then went into the full  foster-mum role. “Jasmine the greyhound showers Bramble the  roe deer with affection, and makes sure nothing is  matted.” “They are inseparable,” says  Geoff. “Bramble walks between her legs, and they keep kissing each  other. They walk together round the sanctuary. It’s a real treat to  see them.” Jasmine will continue to care  for Bramble until she is old enough to be returned to woodland life.  When that happens, Jasmine will not be lonely. She will be too busy  showering love and affection on the next orphan or victim of  abuse. Pictured from the left are:  “Toby”, a stray Lakeland dog; Bramble”, orphaned roe deer; “Buster”,  a stray Jack Russell; a dumped rabbit; “Sky”, an injured barn owl;  and “Jasmine”, with a mother’s heart doing best what a caring mother  would do…and such is the order for God’s  creation.   Feel free to pass  this on and maybe make someone else’s day a little happier.

© 2013, Linda Tellington-Jones. All rights reserved.

September 4th to 8th 2012 I taught an exciting riding clinic in Udine, Italy organized and co-taught by our “darevets” Silvia Torresani and Massimo Da Re with the additional teaching assistance of long time TTouch Practitioners, Beate Meyer and Anke Recktenwald from Germany.  Silvia and Massimo have spent the last several years introducing and promoting TTouch in Italy with great success.

A group photo of horses, riders, and instructors.

The clinic was everything we had hoped for, thanks to excellent horses, many of them on loan from Massimo’s clients, and a wonderful group of participants and teachers.

The riding emphasis was on the Balanced Seat style of riding we taught in our 9-month program for riding instructors at our Pacific Coast Equestrian School of Horsemanship in California in the 1960’s. For the first 3 days each rider received personal coaching while riding with the Tellington TTouch equipment: Balance Rein, Promise Wrap, Training Bit, Lindell sidepull, and combination of snaffle and Lindell.

In addition to individually experiencing the different tools, the participants enjoyed working in groups of six riders in quadrille style.  By the end of the week the groups were working together bridle-less, using only the Liberty neck rings.   Riders and horses were grinning from ear to ear.

The Joy of Riding! A bridle-less Quadrille.

It was a fabulous training and everyone enjoyed the sense of learning, co-operation, and fun, I can’t wait for my next trip to Italy!

Friendship, gratitude, and love make us better riders!

© 2013, Linda Tellington-Jones. All rights reserved.

TTOUCH – Ahead of Its Time
By Rikke Schultz, DVM Denmark

In 1989 I saw three women doing “strange” things to an Icelandic horse at the World
Championship for Icelandic Horses in Denmark. I had heard TTOUCH mentioned and
realized that it was Linda, Robyn and Susan doing TTouch on their horses before the
competition. That was my introduction to this fabulous technique. I have since spent time
at Robyn’s farm in Canada and had Robyn and Mandy give a clinic in Denmark.

As an equine vet working only with acupuncture, osteopathy and cranio-sacral therapy
for many years I am still astonished by how well the Tellington Method fits into
explanatory models about the body and mind appearing in humans and animals. It is
fantastic what Linda seems to have understood over 30 years ago, what is only being
realized on a larger scale within the past ten years.

The Rolfer and massage therapist Thomas Myers’ explanations of the muscular chains
that he has named “Anatomy Trains” and his realization of the importance of connective
tissue and fascias really explains why the circular TTouches and skin rolling have such
a huge effect on large areas of the body. The TTouches work directly on the fascias in
different layers, depending on the finger positions. It explains why the lifts, that also
release the subcutaneous tissue so well and give space for the blood vessel function, can
have an impact on the pulse and respiration in endurance horses. I also believe that the
fascias surrounding the carpal joint and the hock restrict the joints and releasing those
will bring better joint mobility and maybe decrease some cases of lameness.

It should be mentioned that in 2012 the third bi-annual human congress about the
importance and newest research of fascia will be held in Canada. That is how short a time
the important of fascias has been widely accepted in the human research world.

Cranio-sacral system (C-S system)

When we look at ear and tail work together with cranio-sacral therapy the huge effect of these exercises can be understood. The inner most center of the entire body is the central nervous system, CNS – the brain and the spinal cord. It is surrounded by different layers.  One very close called pia mater and another one also surrounding the spinal fluid called dura mater. The last one is very hard, not at all elastic and it is attached to the inside of the cranium, the first cervical vertebra (atlas) and the sacrum.  All the peripheral nerves leaving the spinal cord go through the dura. A static dysfunction of the skull, atlas orsacrum, but also the other vertebra can result in a pull on the dura influencing nerve roots,  spinal fluid flow, the mentioned bones and craniosacral rhythm.

Doing circles with the tail can release the sacrum and pulling gently on the tail will
stretch the whole spine but also affect the dura. I think this is why the horses often
shake their heads when it is done. They can feel it in the atlas and the cranium. This also
emphasizes why a gentle pull and SLOW release is so important.

Linda demonstrating tail work in Germany, photo by Gabriele Boiselle

Ear Work

Doing ear-work not only effects the acupuncture points in the area but also the tentorium which is the membrane that separates the cerebrum from the cerebellum, that is also a part of the dura. This “tent” like membrane is attached to the medial side of the inner ear bone that is part of the temporal bone. The wrong tension in it can affect the whole C-S system. Below and medial to the inner ear bone is a big hole in the cranium where three of the so called brain nerves (vagus, assesory and hypoglossus nerves), the biggest arteries for the brain and the jugular vein passes through. A dysfunction of the temporal bone can decrease the volume of this hole and thereby create malfunction of one or more of these structures. The vagal nerve has connections to most of the inner organs and a dysfunction can therefore affect the heart, digestion, respiration and more. The assesory nerve innervates among other structures some of the muscles around the shoulder blade and a dysfunction can have huge impact on the front leg movement. It is easy to imagine how impaired blood flow to and from the brain will have a huge impact on the horse.

This understanding makes one realize the power of ear work but also why it has to be gentle, why one should NEVER pull hard on the ears and why some horses, who are really ear shy, can have a good reason for it.

A clinic participant demonstrates the Ear Slides at a workshop in Italy.

The poll (The atlanto-occipital joint)

Linda gently works around the poll and TMJ in Italy.

The joint between the skull and atlas is very important, of course in a biomechanical
sense for flexing, extending and turning the head but also because there are a lot of nerve
sensors (propioception) in the joint capsule and muscles around it, which are responsible
for the brain’s sense of the body-ground relationship – how the body is orientated in
space. The same goes for the TMJs.

This is also the area where the brainstem transforms into the spinal cord. Other VERY
important structures in the area are the vertebral arteries that are running through holes
in the cervical vertebrae and supply the brainstem with blood. When the atlas is rotated
(or the other cervical vertebrae) a pull on these arteries can occur. In short the atlanto-
occipital area is VERY important.

When there is a dysfunction in this joint, more often contractions in the extensor muscles
uni- or bilateral extending the joint and making it hard for the horse to flex the neck
correctly are the reason. This is VERY common. Flexed lesions where the horse can flex
but have a hard time extending the poll are less common or less realized, because that is
what we want the horse to do. Doing forelock circles helps to release the soft tissue on
top of the joint.

Neck releases where the head is stretched brings the joint in a “position of ease” used in
the osteopathic very gentle and effective “functional indirect technique” F.I.T. The soft
tissues around a joint are brought to relaxation and the brain is given time to figure out
what the normal tension in the tissue should be. This brings the normal function back
to the joint. This technique moves the lesion as opposed to direct techniques in manual
medicine (chiropractic, osteopathy and more) that goes into the lesion with the risk of
increase the pain at the moment it is done.

Fight and flight reflexes

Linda has always spoken about the importance of bringing the head down in order
to overcome the fight, flight or freeze reflexes and increase the learning ability. This
happens because the parasympathetic (relaxation) nervous system is activated or one can
also say that the sympathetic (stress) nervous system is deactivated. Authors like Steven
Porges and Peter Levine write about this subject in humans now in relation to stress
syndromes and depression. When a person is balanced between the two systems in the
autonomic nervous system, it is referred to as being in a state of “social engagement”.
I think TTOUCH can bring the horses very much into a parasympathetic state and the
ground work into social engagement. The more I work with complementary medicine I
realize how much “deeper” the treatments work when it is possible to bring the horse in a
parasympathetic state. TTOUCH, acupuncture and cranio-sacral therapy are some of the
methods that can do that.

It also happens with the mouth and nostril work by releasing the facial fascias which
according to Thomas Myers are connected to the toes in humans!!

When the horse is playing with the jaw during the mouth work it brings about a release of
the TMJ, osteopathy has a similar treatment for those joints.

Rib release

Rib release at TTouch for You & Your Horse in Hawaii.

 The rib releases can normalize rib- and diaphragm tension and dysfunction. These are commonly overlooked problems in a lot of horses, especially the later, both in western medicine and chiropractic. It also stretches the lumbar area together with back lifts. These exercises bring the back into flexion which is good because most lesions in the spine are extended lesions where the horse tries to avoid using the back in flexion which is, what we want it to.

My “learning journey” over the years has given me a better understanding of the
anatomical and physiological effects of Tellington TTouch Method and how much Linda has been
ahead of her time with her method.

All together TTOUCH/TTEAM has lots of options to treat the inner core – the C-S
system and the outer “case” – the fascias together with a big effect on the autonomic
nervous system and thereby having the ability to release a lot of problems in horses in a                                                                                                                    gentle way both physically and mentally.

With respect for great work,
Rikke Schultz, DVM
Denmark

Literature list
Levine, P. “ Waking the Tiger – Healing Trauma”
Myers, T. “Anatomy Trains”
Porges, S. “Polyvagal theory”
Evrard, P. “ Introduction à l’Osteopathie crânio-sacrée appliqué au cheval”

© 2012, Linda Tellington-Jones. All rights reserved.

In one of her many books on the after-life Sylvia Brown wrote (paraphrased as I remember her statement): “Of course animals go to Heaven. Otherwise I could not be there.” There are other books that show bible reference to animals going to Heaven and I intent to find some of the references. For anyone doubting the existence of an after-life, Raymond Moody Junior, Life After Life and Dr. Eben Alexander’s Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Afterlife, are must-reads.   I have experienced this crossing over in a meditation exercise I did in a week-long workshop with Joan Ocean leading us through a Robert Monroe “Soul Retrieval” workshop in 1997. It’s a very comforting feeling to know our animals will be waiting for us on the other side.

© 2012, Linda Tellington-Jones. All rights reserved.

http://news.discovery.com/videos/animals-elephants-show-cooperation-on-test.html

Tina has been teaching TTouch and riding for more than two decades and is an MBS Feldenkrais Practitioner incorporating cutting-edge concepts in her trainings. Tina commented:

“Very interesting research. I am studying more and more about brain intelligence , both from brain research in the human format, and in my own experiences of working with animals…. and love how TTouch works so well in that concept of expanding an animal’s ways of thinking and learning to figure out new ideas,tasks, situations…very cool!”

Check out her website at www.tinahutton.com .

This link reminded me of my time at the Sheldrick Wildilife Trust.  I had the special privilege of spending several hours
with tiny orphan elephants and young rhinos at Daphne Sheldrick’s sanctuary in Nairobi, Kenya in 1990. This was in a time where there were few visitors and Annegret Ast and Harriet Crosby and I had the joy of interacting with two of the orphans.

I recently met with Annegret’s daughter, Amilee in Salzburg and she told me she has a scrapbook with photos of us with the Sheldrick ele’s.

Here is an entry from my journal.

With a baby Elephant in 1990.

December 19. Sunday. Nairobi
Off to Sheidrick’s Animal Orphanage which I’ve seen on a TV documentary. The Sheldricks have been caring for orphaned animals for many years – primarily elephants and rhinos. This is the only private residence inside the Nairobi National Park. Daphne Sheldrick is away on Safari, but her daughter Jill, met us. We were greeted by two yearling elephants, two yearling rhinos, to tiny 3 and I month old elephants and a yard full of warthogs!

The two baby elephants had just finished their noon feeding and came out for play. They are attended 24 hours a day. Fiona, the little female is 3 months old. She was found after her mother was shot by poachers. She appears cheerful and “smiles” and plays.

Dika, the little male, was found November ill at about three months old. He is still depressed and obviously misses his mother. Fiona and Dika both wear blankets most of the day to protect them from the sunburn. Normally their mothers stand over them to protect them from the sun. These two aren’t much bigger than a Great Dane.

Sheldrick’s don’t believe in punishing the elephants. They treat them only with reward. If one gets out of line the worst reprimand they need is a light rap with the knuckles on the forehead, but Jill said that is very rare.

The male keepers obviously love the elephants. They rolled out a big softly blown up inner tube from a tractor tire and the elephants, sometimes three at a time, came and sat and rolled around and lay in the tube sometimes on top of each other and on top of their keepers who playfully encouraged them to throw sand over their backs and roll around.

We were allowed to play with the youngest two, who were fascinated by our hair - somewhat longer than the keepers’. Harriet and I squatted so Dika and Fiona could chew on our hair and wrap their trunks around our heads. They somehow found this most intriguing. It was a funny feeling to have an elephants tongue pulling my hair.

During the day the elephants wander into the woods of the park – always accompanied by the keepers – as protection from the lions.

I just read Daphne Sheldrick’s new book, “An African Love Story“. It’s an inspiring story and I highly recommend it.

Another book I loved and was so sorry to finish is “Secrets of the Savanna: Twenty-Three Years In nThe African Wilderness Unraveling The Mysteries of Elephants And People” by Mark and Delia Owens.

This is about their elephant research in Zambia. They are compelling story-tellers and I felt as though I know them intimately after reading their book. It is especially interesting to me because Harriet Crosby and I spent 10 days with Sheila and David Siddel at their Chimfunsi Chimpansee Sanctuary in Zambia just before our stop over at Daphne Sheldrick’s sanctuary in Kenya.

At the Chimfunsi Chimpansee Sanctury we saw an elephant graveyard where the Sheila and David Siddel had seen elephants spending a long time delicately touching elephant bones in a way that they appearing to be remembering. Just standing in
the middle of those remaining bones had a special energy.

The time spent with the elephants was so special and their amazing ability to cooperate and connect with one another on such a deep level is something that all beings can learn from.

© 2012, Linda Tellington-Jones. All rights reserved.

Mugs in his full majesty.

In the fall of 2000 my father was in a car accident in Charlottesville, Va., and I left Colorado to go spend the rest of his remaining days by his bedside at the University of Virginia Medical School, where he had many ties. One intensive care nurse was involved in animal rescue, and I asked her to check the shelters for a Maine Coon, thinking how much I would like a second one. The next morning she came in with an ad from the paper…Orange tabby male Maine Coon kittens in nearby Waynesboro. That very afternoon I was in the car going to check them out…oh my God, they were the cutest kittens I had ever seen. I chose one whom I named Bubba, and when it came time after my Dad’s service to leave, the breeder dropped Bubba off at the Marriot, bringing along the runt (Mugs) whom he said would be harder to sell due to his size, so he just wanted him to have a good home. When I saw them the first time at 5 weeks old Jaime, the breeder, told me that Mugs was the sweetest kitten he had ever seen. So I packed the boys up and flew home with them in a carrier under the seat. They were perfect.

Mugs and his litter mates.

Mugs grew to 18 pounds (only surpassed by Bubba at 21)…and sure enough was the sweetest cat I had ever known other than Pud, whom Linda helped me take care of when I broke my pelvis in 1981(remember…he had just had his leg amputated?) when she was staying with me.

  When Mugs was 9 and 1/2, he was diagnosed with mouth cancer. I first noticed it in February of 2009, when his muzzle became swollen on the left side. I took him to the vet, and he gave me the dreaded news. He said it was a fast grower normally, and gave him one to 2 months to live. I was devastated, but went home determined to make the most of our remaining time together.   Soon the tumor grew to the point where it became hard to lap up food, because he ate by picking up food with his tongue and it wouldn’t reach far enough beyond the tumor to get the food. I tried a number of things, yogurt, canned food things, and he could just rub his face in and somehow get it down. This went on for a few months, supplemented by my dropping individual pieces of food down his throat, which he would lift his head up and open wide for.     He loved sandwich meat and got plenty of that in little pieces.

Mugs, several months after diagnosis.

  The last 6 months he lived on Whiskas treats, which is all he was interested in. I would feed him four to five times a day. Sometimes he would eat as many as 50 pieces in a sitting. His appetite was voracious even though he looked like he couldn’t possibly eat or even want anything. Through out the end, he remained affectionate, cheerful, always happy to see me and anyone else who might come through the door. He would immediately jump in a stranger’s lap and offer kisses and head butts,completely unaware of how grotesque he was starting to look.

Mugs enjoying his final hours in the sunshine, keeping the decoy in line with a well placed hiss.

  By December of 2009 he had outlived his diagnosis by a nine months. The tumor was starting to invade his throat area, and his breathing became labored. I could hear a rasping sound, and the vet said he would soon choke on the tumor, which would be a terrible end.  I had no idea what to do. He still was such a cheerful soul, was still eating, etc. He had a lot of nasal discharge and discharge from his right eye, and required daily cleaning, but he was fine with that. He went with me everywhere, and sometimes he would sit beside me on the table and watch me eat, like he wanted a spoonful. His gaze would follow the spoon from the plate to my mouth. He never tried to grab it, but seemed fascinated. He didn’t do well with spoon however, so I abandoned the idea early on.The last week of his life everyone that came to the house was telling me I had to put him to sleep, but I couldn’t do it. He was wasting away at this point, but still eating plenty and purring, and seemed like such a good sport. The last day(I finally forced myself to call the euthanasia vet) he ate 20 Whiskas pieces, then I let him out in the pool yard to enjoy his last day of sunshine, and fresh air. He went to the far end of the pool, and sat down, when the wind blew the wooden decoy duck that floated in there, right over to where he was sitting. He jumped up, arched his back, and hissed at it, and I thought, what am I doing? This seems crazy. He looks like he is way past his last leg, but there he was, then he proceeded to go over under the Palo Verde tree and dig a hole, go to the bathroom, and cover it up.

Mugs in one of his favorite chairs.

  The vet came an hour later, and Mugs lay on the table while we stroked him and talked. I was feeling horrible about the whole thing. She was lovely, kind and gentle, but when she finally put the needle in his leg to put him to sleep first, he jumped and looked at me like what in the hell was I doing? I will never forget that look as long as I live. I will never do that again. I can’t think about it without crying. I feel like I betrayed him. I was trying to be kind, but I to this day feel like I made a huge mistake. It is so hard to know when their final moment will be, what it will be like, what to do, etc. I so didn’t want to see him suffer. The Tibetans say it is wrong to kill ANYTHING, so that leaves many of us with a huge question of what to do. I think next time I will ask the vet to leave me the shot and see if I can do it as they are on their way out for good. Mugs taught me so much about kindness, forgiveness, and cheerfulness under the worst of circumstances. God Bless His Soul. He was the best.

   Jane called me early on after the diagnosis of cancer saying she had been advised to euthanize Mugs so he would not suffer. She did not feel it was the right thing to do and asked my opinion. I did a check using body kineseology and get a definite response that he did not want to go at that time. She was urged by many friends over the next 8 months to send him to heaven but never felt it was the right time.  

 

  Last July I told Jane’s story as a part of my presentation at the Animal Hospice Conference for veterinarians at the University of Davis, California. I believe that our animals give us an opportunity to learn how to be with them in this ultimate transformation so we can better understand the transition of our human families and our own ultimate transition we call death and Hawaiians refer to as “changing address”. I was so grateful for all the end of life experiences I have had with animals in my lifetime. It prepared me to be fully present for the last three weeks and the last breaths of my Dad as he crossed the Rainbow Bridge. 

  For information about animal hospice go to www.SpiritsInTransition.org. – an online course in animal hospice developed by Ella Bittel, DVM.  Ella is a holistic veterinarian and a Tellington TTouch Practitioner (for almost two decades). I am so grateful for the awareness that Ella is bringing to this important subject of animal hospice.  I hold the hope that the Mugs story will help you, dear reader, to be fully present for this ultimate transition of a beloved animal. 

© 2012, Linda Tellington-Jones. All rights reserved.