Logo for Ophelia, showcasing a stylized brown horse head inside a circular frame with the text 'Ophelia' in cursive and 'Therapeutic Equine Bodywork' in smaller print.

SERVICES

Services

Connecting with each horse is a different experience with diverse results.

Marigold is the mare I work with weekly. In our first sessions months ago, her attention span would last 30 minutes before she starts fidgeting.

Now the endorphins kick right away. Marigold gets into a deep parasympathetic state almost from the start. 

In this particular session in May, after 20 minutes, she rounded her neck and then her back in a cat pose position, the opposite of the down dog position she did couple weeks ago. Then couple minutes later, she literally dropped down on the floor; a first for me.

I didn’t want to interrupt the flow so I continued my energy work and she laid down completely on the floor on her side, felt asleep and went into a deep REM sleep.

The level of trust was incredible, the connection quite deep, her level of relaxation, off the chart.

EQUINE BODYWORK is first a partnership with the horse. 

Aside from helping your horse to gain better mobility, to enjoy liberty work, trail rides, to perform or to simply live a comfortable life, regular bodywork including touch, massage, energetic balancing, nervous system regulation can also enhance communication and relationship skills, as well as trust with your horse.

Depending on your horse's special needs, Cheyenne Equine Therapeutic Bodywork LLC is committed to respect your horse’s magnificent awareness and sensitivity to outside stimuli.

Maryline’s primary goal is to detect the right amount of pressure to apply for each horse bypassing the bracing response to access the specific part of the nervous system that will release tension.

Note: techniques inspired and guided by the Jim Masterson Method.

At Cheyenne Equine LLC, we address:

The Poll-Atlas Junction

The poll-atlas junction is a vital part of the horse’s anatomy. The nervous system passes through this junction to enter the brain.” Pain, tension and discomfort anywhere in the horse’s body shows up as tension in the poll.”

A person grooming a brown horse outside a barn with mountains in the background.

Cash

The lateral cervical flexion

After applying the Bladder Meridian Technique to connect with the entire body and depending on your horse primary needs (they can differ from session to session), the lateral cervical flexion is the chronological step to release tension in the poll-atlas area.

A woman petting a small horse or pony in an outdoor fenced area with mountains and snow in the background.
Person petting a brown horse in a fenced outdoor area with mountains in the background.

Head down

Head down technique helps working with large and small muscles attached to the poll, atlas and other vertebrae of the upper neck.

Released tension in the poll-atlas junction results in relaxation in neck, shoulders and hind end (gluteals, hamstrings and sacrum), and vice versa.

A black horse with a rider holding its bridle and a small black dog resting on its forehead.

Yukon

Head up

Real progress happens when endorphins kick in.

A girl hugging a brown horse with a white blaze on its face, inside a fenced horse stable area with a large building in the background.

Scapula release

Accessing under the scapula with specific stretches will help release tension in the cervical-thoracic junction.

A woman crouching down to hold a foal's head while a large brown and black horse watches nearby in a fenced outdoor farm area.

Thunder

The thoracic sling

Releasing tension in the sacroiliac joint, lumbar area and Sacro lumbar junction can help your horse lift his core and regain a healthier posture while practicing different gaits reducing excessive pressure in the thoracic spine.

Two chestnut horses with white socks standing inside an indoor riding arena.

Cash — Before and after

Two photos showing the same chestnut horse with white socks on its front legs, inside a riding arena. In the top photo, a person is leading the horse, and in the bottom photo, the horse is standing alone with a halter and lead rope.

Cash – Before and after

Releasing the hind leg

This technique in few sessions can help your horse’s hind leg mobility and range of motion while performing different gaits but also simply improving the limb’s range of movement.

Person feeding a horse through a wooden fence
Two people with striped long-sleeve shirts are holding the head of a small, fluffy white and black dog on the ground outdoors.
Person tending to a horse in a stable or barnyard, holding the horse's head gently.

Tension release in the head

Your horse’s head weighs approximately 10% of his/her body weight and tension easily accumulates there. A 1000 lb. horse’s head weighs 40 lbs. Your horse can not release tension there on his/her own.

A woman in a gray jacket and sunglasses gently holding a dark brown horse's face outdoors near a barn.
Person petting a black horse with a brown snout in a stable yard.
Woman with sunglasses holding a horse's face in an outdoor setting.

The forelimbs

The forelimbs bear the majority of the horse’s weight: 60 to 65%.

Healthy and strong limbs are extremely important considering that horses do not have muscles from their knee (carpus) to their hoof.

A woman touching a horse's side in a paddock

Thunder

A person with long hair and dark clothing bends down next to a large brown and white horse inside a stable or barn, with the horse's face close to the camera.

Cash

Close-up of a horse's nose and a person bending down to touch its leg, with a stable background.
A woman crouching down and petting a brown and white horse inside a stable.

Addressing performance issues and pre-event bodywork

With her 17 years of world class athletic history in triathlons and Track & Field, Maryline is highly interested in working with performing horses in a healthy environment that promotes excellent care and respect of the horse’s integrity.

A female sprinter crouching at the start line on a blue running track, preparing for a race.
Close-up of a brown horse with braided mane against a black background.
A rider on horseback, holding the reins, with the horse's head close to the camera.
A female athlete running in a race, wearing sunglasses, a headband, a black athletic top, and a race bib with the number 886.

Rehabilitation

At Cheyenne Equine Therapeutic Bodywork LLC, we also can support and help your horse after injury and/or surgery. Rehabilitation takes time, patience and love. Maryline concentrates on tension build-ups in the body, scar tissue reduction and new adhesions removal.

A brown horse standing outside a barn, viewed through an open door, with a clear blue sky in the background.

Scarlett

Close-up of a horse's leg with a severe, bleeding injury on the lower leg, showing torn flesh and blood.

Day of Injury

Close-up of a horse's leg showing a wound with a scab and signs of infection.

5 weeks later