Treatment Consultations

Mary Midkiff is available for private treatment consultations in person, by phone or online. Fees will be charged at the hourly rate of £75 per session per horse plus mileage if beyond 30 miles

Initial consultations can be conducted via online or via phone to discuss your horse’s issues prior to an appointment. Or we can go ahead and set up an initial appointment with your horse(s) on site.

For our initial consultation: Please provide as much of your horse’s history of injuries, medications, behavioral issues and jobs as you can. I understand with rescue cases background history may be missing. Provide the veterinary care the horse has had such as surgeries, exams, vaccines, nerve blocks, emergencies, etc. This will assist with providing an overall background of chronic or deep patterns set into the horse’s body and mind.
 
Mary Midkiff’s sessions are mindful, respectful and fully aware of what the horse is indicating, and include but are not limited to:
  • Musculoskeletal issues
  • Soft tissue and Fascia blocks, adhesions, hyper stretches, deficient areas, scar tissue, muscle imbalances
  • Tension, bracing, and learned stiffness against the rider, driver, ground handler or pain
  • Foot/hoof balance
  • Conformation issues and the use of the horse
  • Hyoid Apparatus exams and releases
  • Examination of balance and imbalance throughout the body alignment
  • Detection of pain sources
  • Saddle fit
  • Rider influences
  • Gait analysis and postural tendencies (static and dynamic)
  • Changes in behavior, mental acuity and nervous tendencies
  • Overall well-being and maintenance of the horse in work
Mary Midkiff’s skills, therapies, modalities and practices include but are not limited to:
  • Hands-on full body exploration and evaluations
  • Massage, Myo-fascial release, Trigger point release, Energy tapping and balancing, dowsing, Ortho-bionomy based principles of release
  • LASER, TENS, E-STIM, PEMF (Pulsed ElectroMagnetic Field Therapy Machine) modalities to assist in deep tissue work and healing
  • The InBalance Horse essential oil aromatherapy for horses created and made by Mary Midkiff for releasing, relaxing and calming emotions and tension.
  • Ground work, exercises, stretches and ridden/driven work to improve on all therapy and treatments.
  • Conditioning and training recommendations to enhance and sustain the horse’s level of performance.
Disclaimer: Mary Midkiff is respectful of and in coordination with the British laws of veterinary medicine. She does not diagnose, provide medications, or provide medical advice which comes solely from a veterinarian. She will always ask about previous veterinary protocols and supervision as well as defer to a veterinary clinic for further treatment.
 
 
For the RIDER:
 
Mary Midkiff is the author of “Fitness, Performance and the Female Equestrian” (Wiley Publishing) and the creator and founder of the Women & Horses fitness and performance program (see womenandhorses.com). In my book you will learn the differences in the male and female body as they apply to riding. We, as females, do not have the bony pelvic support to lift our sensitive vaginal soft tissue off of the seat-to-pommel angle of the traditionally made saddle, therefore we sit in a way to stay comfortable which takes us out of balance on the horse. My program provides the information, techniques, body awareness, saddle fit, and exercises to attain and sustain the neutral pelvis position which allows females to move without impediment, without rubbing issues, without pain and without worry. I have experienced all of this myself over many years of frustration in trying to obtain a “good deep seat” in saddles that hurt, rubbed and sent me out of balance. “You have to work harder, remain frustrated and always second guessing your skill to ride unnecessarily!!”
 
Midkiff emphasizes, “Other sports such as skiing, golfing, and cycling to name a few, have evolved in designing techniques, exercises and equipment specific to the female athlete. Horse riding is very slow to make these changes, therefore, compromising the performance, comfort, skill and progress of the female rider.”
 
She has spent over 40 years providing books and articles, website newsletters, talks, seminars, clinics, workshops and private consultations working with female riders to improve, resolve and solve issues of finding a neutral pelvis position in her overall posture and in horse riding pursuits.
 
Midkiff’s body work sessions will provide any female rider at any age help with alignment, balance, confidence, safety and comfort no matter the discipline or intensity. Her work provides strengthening the core and lightening the use of the extremities; lengthening of the spine; explanations of the female biomechanics and offering solutions for painful groin and crotch area related issues; finding a saddle that fits and allows her pelvis and legs to be free and move without interference; information and undergarment recommendations that supports her body type along with relieving former chafing and pain related issues; and offering multiple ways to find a balanced position whether in flat work, jumping, cross country or hacking out.
 
This information and the techniques offered to female riders provides the rider with safety, confidence, comfort and effectiveness throughout her life. Midkiff also recognizes and supports life changes from teen years, through pregnancies, and into middle age and beyond through body awareness information, techniques
and exercises.
 
As women and humans, our tendencies and commands in riding are to squeeze tighter, ride stronger, sit deeper, sit taller, get the shoulders back and push harder. And in emergency or frightening situations we automatically go into a “fetal” position, collapsing in the waist, gripping with the knees and grabbing the reins which leads to the horse being more afraid, more tense and less conscious.  It’s not easy to react to fear in a counter intuitive way, and this has to be learned and trusted over time. Midkiff works with women to gain this awareness, confidence and ways to handle stress and fear in riding.
 
We can discuss your case via the phone or online initially or Midkiff can meet you for an appointment. Each working session is £75 plus mileage if over 30 miles.
 

Please contact Mary Midkiff for further details or send a message. Further contact information will be found here.