technique, which Iris learned from her Equine Sport Therapy teacher, Michael Baxter, head of the International Institute of ESP in Warendorf. “It is a very powerful relaxing technique and includes putting pressure with your thumb in a point at the base of the neck of the horse, lateral of the C7 neck vertebrae, where one finds an indentation,” Iris explains. “These stretching and releasing sessions were a particularly important step for preparation before lunging and under saddle work.” “This point works on the parasympathetic nervous system on the horse and helps them relax their whole body and mind. A video of how to use this point is found on my web- site,
iriseppinger.com,” she adds.
Theory That Brings Results Psychology plays another big role in working through problem horses, Iris says, whether the origin of the prob- lem is improper training, emotional trauma or physical pain. “Since horses don’t understand the value of ‘working through pain’ to feel better, they need to trust us enough to make that decision for them. The trainer is responsible to read the horse well enough to find the path forward with- out taking them past the pain threshold into resistance,” she says. Iris says that many horses show compensation pain which can make it harder to diagnose the real problem. “Compensation creates misalignment which creates further problems, so it’s a vicious circle. It is important to peel back the layers and work through to the original basic issue. The assistance of a capable open-minded veterinarian is a big help. We have the advantage of working with Dr. Peggy Fleming, who is an amazing veterinarian specializing in chi- ropractic and acupuncture. She came many times to help me with Tanzeln,” she continues. With Tanzeln, Iris focused on establishing a communica-
tion that gained his respect. As cuddly as he is in his stall and to handle, she says he would shut down as soon as it was time to work because he anticipated pain. To break through that pattern she used natural horsemanship, she explains, that included walks in the field where she had him do exercises on the line. She also incorporated classical in-hand groundwork, which she had learned during four years of study with Christian Bachinger of the Spanish Riding School. “I had to establish healthy boundaries with Tanzeln, just as I do with a lot of nervous horses. It’s simply a matter of set- ting the ground rules, not allowing the horse to intrude into my own space or ‘bubble.’ Once the horse respects my space, he or she will suddenly release tension and fear. It’s amazing how that works,” she says.
Serious Progress When it was time to start his work under saddle, Tanzeln showed his discomfort with vigor in the beginning, launching a rider or two. However, at the same time, he also showed a strong desire to work, happily going to the right and giving his best effort in that direction. Iris spent
22 September/October 2013
Iris doing ground work with Tanzeln before competition.
countless hours with him, using chiropractic, acupuncture, massage, supplements with minerals and many stretches to gradually improve his ability to carry weight on the left side. “From my background in equine sports therapy, I knew how to open up his back and neck with particular exercises both on the ground and under saddle. He was severely blocked in those areas and had totally lost his lovely gaits,” she says. Regaining his flexibility became a top priority and aided in his healing. Tanzeln started to become playful and motivated once
again to work “with” a human. His threats to buck off his rider while going to the left lessened and he began to be able to extend his frame. “His first trot extension was a thrill! As his confidence in pain-free work grew, so did his ability to be- come a team in the under saddle work, as it had become on the ground,” Iris explains happily. “As he regained the use of his left side and strengthened his responses to me, we were able to progress to collection, which had appeared to be impossible in the beginning. Through the steady use of these techniques, he let down his guard and we moved along to more difficult exercises.” “Stallions need a job and he looked forward to the atten-
tion,” she adds. “He started to fully engage in his work and could again show his talent for dressage. It was tremendously rewarding to find success in the ring with him.”
Competing Again It took two years of patience and careful rehabilitation, and in the end Iris’ efforts paid off. The pair was able to show through Third Level dressage in 2012, gaining enough points for Tanzeln to receive his performance bronze medal from the American Trakehner Association. In 2013, Iris has shown Tanzeln *Pb* at Fourth Level and Prix St. Georges and every- one involved is hopeful that the pair will be able to earn Tan- zeln’s silver medal. Beside Tanzeln, Iris has had success with rehabilitating
other problem horses with issues ranging from behavioral to physical and combinations thereof. “Sometimes horses are an accident waiting to happen,” she muses. “And some have the luck of meeting the right trainer at the right time and over- coming what appears as an impossible injury or damaging training that left a broken horse.” Oftentimes the issues are
Courtesy Iris Eppinger
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