I visited a few horses whilst in France, and I just wanted to share this rather lovely email from an owner of some horses I worked with.
Just wanted to say how much benefit my horse has shown after
> a massage and muscle stretch by Sophie Slavin, using Likits. Initially,
> during the physical assessment; he pinned his ears back and was not a happy
> bunny. But as soon as the likit incentives were offered, he couldn’t wait
> to get involved and then once he began to feel the benefits of the amazing
> muscle stretching that Sophie gave him, he almost went into a trance of
> ecstasy. Thank you both for helping my 25 year old feel comfortable in his
> skin and muscles once again.
He was sooo grumpy when Sophie initially examined him but so utterly different as the treatment – and the incentives- progressed. Sophie also kindly rode my new horse, an Andalusian stallion who appeared to have been desperately traumatised before he came to me. She took a long time getting to know him in the stable and gaining his trust (with the help of some Likits, I might add!) before taking her time to tack him up and then work in the round pen the first day and the menage the second day to help him learn to relax under saddle. It was amazing and quite emotional to see her quietly bringing relief and comfort to both my troubled horses – one with the aches of old age and the other with the aches of emotional stress.
I can’t praise her work highly enough but also her deep understanding of the equine psych that enabled her to use what some traditionalists would call treats or bribes but which are in reality wonderful incentives – your Likits!
