How often should we schedule Equine Hanna Somatics® (EHS) sessions for our horses and clients?

Like so many things with horses, it depends...

Is it for maintenance? Performance Enhancement? Rehab? Relationship building? To address a chronic somatic issue?

Here's what we teach in the EHS Professional Training and Certification Program

Scheduling a cluster of several EHS sessions in the first week for a new horse is ideal, for several reasons:

1: The first EHS session is a brand new experience for most horses, even if they have had a lot of 'bodywork' before, so there is quite a learning and trust-building curve for many of them.

This means that for some horses, they are not able to participate fully in the first session, mentally or physically, and in some cases the first session is shorter because the horse may feel overwhelmed or overstimulated, or longer because the horse may need more 'processing' time or walk breaks, etc.

In contrast, as you are doubtless experiencing if you work somatically with horses, the SECOND EHS session is often completely different, with the horse eagerly waiting for you 'at the gate' and ready to participate from the first minute of their session.

This means you'll likely get a lot more 'done' because the horse is trusting, willing and actively participating (because of the learning and confidence-building you did in the first session), and because the horse is likely more comfortable and present 'in their body' - also resulting from what you and the horse 'got done' in that first session.

2. Although the many beneficial results from the EHS are both cumulative and semi-permanent, the horse will most likely go back into the same environment, same training, same tack and same rider, etc. so will be exposed to the same stressors that may have been contributing to his or her habitual posture. This means that the horse may start to re-learn their same old patterns again, re-acquiring some of the habitual muscle contractions you just helped them reset (but not all of them or to the same degree, as habituation generally takes much longer than the resetting).

3. Each EHS session exponentially improves the horses ability to think, to self-organize and maintain homeostasis (even if you are not always seeing dramatic before/after results in posture), which creates exponential increases in their resilience to stressors, both old AND new - this means they will be less easily startled or stressed in general as well as less likely to re-acquire old patterns even when exposed to the same levels of stress or repetition.

4. Because we are truly working WITH, not ON, the horse, and they are making all their own changes to resting muscle tonus and growing neural connectivity via natural NON-INVASIVE nervous system processes that are INTERNALLY MEDIATED from start to finish - there is no required 'recovery' period, no concept of "they will get worse before they get better" and no need for rest or time-off between sessions or from their work/training other than letting them have the rest of the day and night off after each EHS session to integrate their changes.

Can you do too much EHS?

It's also impossible to do 'too much EHS' and hurt a horse or 'relax them too much,' or to accidentally remove an adaptive compensation pattern they were actively relying on, because we aren't doing any of it TO the horse, but are facilitating the horse in making only those changes they are able and ready to make for themselves...

After the first week, I like to schedule follow-up EHS sessions 1x/week for 3 weeks IF the horse is still exhibiting any soundness, comfort or behavior issues, or displaying elements of the 3 characteristic abnormal postural patterns (Green Light, Red Light or Trauma/Asymmetry).

If the horse is no longer experiencing any physical, postural or behavioral complaints, but the owner wants to continue their horses somatic development for performance enhancement and cognitive development, I like to schedule EHS 1x/month for a horse in a high-stress environment (active training/competition, growing, hauling frequently, or in a rehab program, are some examples); or 1 EHS session every 2 months for a horse in average-light work or who is kept and ridden recreationally.

An EHS Maintenance Schedule, for recreational or retired horses, may look more like 1 EHS session every 4-6 months, or can be scheduled on an As Needed basis.

I always work with the horse owner/trainer, other professionals on the horses care team, and the barn manager when it's appropriate, to create a custom schedule that makes sense for each horse, but I'm also prepared to change the plan based on what the individual horse communicates to us.

Photos are of a lovely 5 year old warmblood dressage horse I worked with doing 6 EHS sessions over the course of 5 weeks. You can see more photos and read his case over on the EHS blog.