Freguently Asked Questions
The objectives of our courses are to progressively train you to work with horses and dogs as a Myofascial Release/Structural Integration Therapist. After our first course you should be able to and go to work with the animals, or at least add these skills to your repetoire of therapeutic options. We know that you are investing your time and money with us, and we want you to be able to quickly put your new skills to work helping your clients and earning you a living.
Because we recognize your investment we don't waste time in the course going over what we feel you can learn on your own. Our time with you is short and we pack it with useful information that we feel you can't get elsewhere. This course is fast paced with an expectation that you are willing to engage in your education through active participation. In other words this is "adult" education.
We earnestly suggest you invest in the book Equine Structural Integration: Myofascial Release Manual and video Canine Myofascial Massage/Release to gain an idea of how much information is presented in the course, how the information is presented and as an inexpensive way to decide if this training is what you are looking for. This book and video are representative of the MFR training section of the course without access to the instructors.
Where is the course held?
The course is generally held in Longmont Colorado. You would fly into Denver International Airport.
The lecture portion is held in either our therapy barn or my Rolfing studio, depending on the weather, the flies, West Nile... For the basic course we work with horses at the Colorado Horse Rescue and dogs at the Longmont Humane Society.
What does the Course Cost?
Starting in 2007 we decided to offer people the opportunity to come back and take the course for free for one year from their first course attendance. We understand that a lot of material is covered and that the interaction with the instructors is important to your gaining mastery in these techniques, to support you we decided to make this unique offer.
Space permitting, you can come back to any of the same course for free for one year. After the first year you will pay 25% of the course fee, after 2 years 50%, after 3 75% and then full payment.
The four day canine or equine myofascial release phase (MFR) costs $1000 for a year of attendance.
If you register a month in advance by sending a $200 deposit, the cost for the MFR phase is $950. We accept Master Card and Visa as well as Paypal online.
Is there housing near by?
Yes. Once you've registered we can send you a list of available accommodations in Longmont. Longmont also has many good and inexpensive restaurants as well.
Will I be "certified" at the end of the course?
Yes and no. We don't offer a certification for the first 4 day course. There is a very simple reason for this. Currently there is no independent certifying body in the USA for Animal Body Therapists. Most people who have a certification, received that certification from the school that they attended and paid money to; that's a little fishy to us. We prefer to think that graduates of our program will be able to attract clients through their ability to do this work well and obtain results, not from our giving out a "certification". With that said, you will receive a certificate of completion for the 4 day course if you complete it.
After the initial course you may decide that you like our style of training--intense, Socratic, asking you to show that you know what you are talking about--then you can continue to take it further to a Certification with us. Animal SI Certification Course
What are your pre-requisites for coming to the training?
For the MFR phase you'll need to comfortable with the anatomy of either the dog or horse, to be able to understand the lectures and the demos. The Structural Integration phase has a pre-requisite of the MFR phase. To gain the most from the basic phase you should be either a touch therapist or a dog or horses person. We have found that it is too much of a burden to try to learn about touch and how to handle the animal at the same time. We have also found that the"lay" people do great in the course without the burden of too much knowledge/opinions about how touch therapy should be performed.
How much time is spent in class each day?
The class starts at 9 AM and runs until 6-6:30 PM or we accomplish our objectives for the day. It's a very demanding schedule with most of the day being outside with the horses or at the Humane Society. We usually eat lunch as a group and talk about subjects like practice building; this adds more constructive time to the course. Don't be fooled by the short time of this course, it is demanding. There is a lot of material presented and it requires a new way of seeing dogs and horses; both of which put a demand on you.
My State has specific requirements for certification do you meet them?
We have been working to provide a more intensive home study course for those of you who need to meet state certification requirements. With this additional home study course you will meet 100 hour state requirements. If your state has specific requirements we will work with you to adapt the course to help meet those criteria through more home study on your part and providing you with a test. Let us know about the requirements of your state so we can work with you. We are certified by the International Association of Structural Integration for continuing education Level II credits.
How comfortable do I need to be with horses?
Very comfortable. Horses are predictable in their being unpredictable animals. You need to be secure in your interactions with them. The subject matter of the course is demanding enough, you don't want to complicate it more with a discomfort over being alone with a horse. You will be taught how to work around the animals safely. While safety is paramount to how we teach and work, you will be allowed enough space to connect to the animal and your own way of practicing this work. During the course we often pair people with the horses, an experienced horse person could be paired with a less horse experienced Human Therapist. We find that this leads to a shared training, horse sense for touch sense... If you aren't very familiar with horses, haven't spent much time with them but feel a draw to working with them, don't be put off. Let us know and we'll take care of you. We've had accomplished body therapists who were terrified of horses leave the course confident to be around them. We do ask if you are not animal savvy that you are a practicing touch therapist of some kind. It is too much for you to try and learn both at the same time. We are working with animals that have potentially been abused and need our help. In the 11 years that this course has been held we have not had one person hurt by an animal, except maybe a broken heart when they couldn't take the animal home, during the course.
How comfortable do I need to be with dogs?
Very comfortable. Dogs are predators and pack animals by nature and can be more dangerous than horses. You need to be able to project a calm, respectful and dominant demeanor--pack leader--around the dogs. As with the horse course you will be taught how to work safely around dogs, you will never be left alone with a dog as part of the course. One of the participants will act as the "guardian" for the dog as you work. As with the horses, if you are not a "dog person" you will need to be a practicing touch therapist to attend the course. You can't learn this material and how to be around the animals at the same time. If you have questions about this email us with them. We are working with animals that have potentially been abused and need our help. In the 11 years that this course has been held we have not had one person hurt by an animal, except maybe a broken heart when they couldn't take the animal home, during the course.
What's a typical class day like?
We get together in the morning and discuss any questions from the previous days. This can be related to the material presented or from the work with a specific dog or horse. We will then go through new material related to a specific area of the dog or horse, review the relevant anatomy, do some exercises to increase our understanding of the material. Each day we work a different session with the animal, you will either watch an Instructor Demo of the specific session or the instructor will guide a participant through the session while you watch. After the demo you will work individually with the dogs or horses under the loose supervision of the Instructor(s). Generally you are paired with another student to handle the dog or horse and to exchange information. With the horses we can allow experienced people to work alone with them, in a round pen or such, with the dogs another participant is always present to handle the animal.
Is this an Animal Structural Integration course?
Yes and no. During the MFR phase, you'll learn a method for removing restrictions from the soft tissue fascia that prevent the horse or dog from reaching it's full potential. The method is not simply a bunch of "strokes" rather it is structured to allow the horse/dog to find it's own inherent balance and therefore "myofascial integration". The Animal Structural Integration phase courses follow this first phase training. This MFR phase is the pre-requisite to the next phases of training. (Both the Equine and Canine MFR Course are required for the Animal SI Certification Animal SI Certification Course. You can enter into the Animal SI Certification through either of these two.)
How many students are in the course?
We like to keep the classes small to assure the maximum exposure to the instructor. The class size is limited to 10 total, with a maximum student to instructor ratio of 8:1, during the practice sessions. If there are 10 students there are two instructors while you are working.
Will I have my own horse/dog to work with during the course?
Once you see the changes in the structure of the animals that occurs in the demos people want to be able to "get" that with a particular animal. This leads to one wanting to work with a specific animal that no one else is working with. That's ok and we can accomodate that.
We also have found that a good deal of the learning that occurs in the course comes from our classmates and their particular experiences. Imagine being able to work with a top race horse veterinarian, or a chiropractor.
We usually pair the students to an animal, one is the therapist while the other is the handler of the animal. This is how you'll work with animals, there will always be a guardian/handler present to watch you work and ask you lots of questions. You can decide that you want two therapists to work with each animal, its a hot July day in Colorado's sun and you need a break, or you want to work with the animal as the sole therapist. This distinction happens more with the horses than the dogs. With the dogs we usually have one therapist per animal, you see the at least one animal 4 times and others less often. (We are working with the Humane Society's needs as well as our own and they may need us to work with a number of dogs.)
We are also open to what we call "first aid" demos. Say there's a horse that's laminitic and the vets want us to help the circulation, the instructors will demo those techniques. Or there's a dog with a kinematic lameness, not a biomechanic one, we'll demo with that dog as a special case.
The course is run like a practice is, and any number of special cases can arise.
We haves lots of horses and dogs for you to work with!