Sarah Martin is a USDF gold medalist and Certified Instructor through Fourth Level and a USDF instructor/trainer faculty member.

This testimonial first appeared in the January 2018 issue of Dressage Today:

"Dressage done right is a study in the fine-tuning of the balance point between horse and rider. In my opinion, Equine Hanna Somatics (EHS) is another major tool in resetting the balance for both horse and rider.

As a rider and trainer who is constantly observing my horses (and my students’ horses) for progress that is achievable by normal humans and normal horses—not super athletes and not people who have all day to devote to one horse—I have found that the time I invested to learn how to use EHS with Alissa Mayer, Certified Equine Hanna Somatics Educator based in Oregon, has enhanced my relationship with my horse. Learning EHS has also increased my awareness of where the horse’s body may not be cooperating or available and given me tools to help my horse access those parts.

What I found the most intriguing in the EHS work with my horses was how much the methodical progression through the body mirrors good dressage training and thereby facilitates the progression of training for the horse’s whole body. On the Training Scale, two of the trickiest ingredients to define and develop are Suppleness and Relaxation. Any athlete or trainer understands that a tense muscle will not be supple. But less understood is the link between mental and physical relaxation. The study and practice of EHS allows the body and mind to build awareness and explore range of motion in all four legs, the spine and in the major muscle groups of the hindquarters, back, shoulders, neck, poll and jaw.

As a rider who can compare how my horse feels both before and after EHS work, what I find is that the sessions do seem to profoundly affect my horse’s ability to accept connection through his or her body as well as to access areas of tension that exercises under saddle have failed to alleviate.

An equally intriguing aspect of Hanna Somatics (HS) is that the person who practices EHS with her horse can also pursue HS for herself. Not surprisingly, there are frequently parallel restrictions that the rider may find and free in her own body by practicing HS. Most importantly, in my view, is that a rider can feel how this slow release through range of motion can greatly improve the rider’s own body, balance and feel."

- Sarah Martin