Sound Asleep in the Arena
It was after a good long workout on the lunge line for my horse Grace, that I remained in the center of the arena to do a bit of Masterson Method (see Recommended Resources) tension release work on her. She was especially tight in the hind end area on her left. I had noticed this while she was moving. Beginning the release work, I was not only getting the blinks you look for which indicate tension in the horse, but I was getting closed eyes that day. She was really into it! After doing quite a bit of work on releasing her tension, I was done and was ready to exit the arena. As I went to leave, I took a quick glance at her and noticed that she had a bit of a dazed look on her face. Not her usual alert self. I tried again to get her to come with me and still she was not willing to move. She looked to me to ‘be in the zone’. As I stood there realizing that she was still processing my work on her, she began that downward perch that horses do when they begin to lay down or roll. Within seconds she had gone down. I started to think that she wanted to roll, but instead she just laid there in that kitty cat position. Mind you there was a lesson going on down at the other end of the arena and other people milling around just outside near us. I decided to go with it and within about a minute; she stretched out completely on her side and just laid there. Someone who was getting her horse ready by us said “that’s a funny place to take a nap”. 
I chuckled as I thought to myself, “it sure is”. Grace proceeded to take a nap for about 10 minute’s right there in the arena. Had I not known that is was common for some horses to process this way after tension relief work, I would have wondered what had I done to my horse. A few passers-by asked if she was o.k. and I just said, “She’s just sleeping”. After a while, someone entered the arena at a gate near us and Grace decided to wake up and we eventually left the arena. I guess the work went well, as the next day she was moving better than ever! For anyone who would love to have a better relationship with their horse, I strongly recommend investigating a weekend course on the ‘Masterson Method’. Some of the best money you will ever spend.
