Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

 We had another wonderful opportunity to explore Tellington Touch with an open-minded group and their lovely dogs with a range of difficulties - blindness, deafness, anxiety, etc. This gave us the chance to explore TTouch tools in a variety of fields.  We were even able to help out one owner who needed a little bit of slack with a simple body wrap.

A curious case was a little chihuaha who always walks backwards.  With the harness and two point of contact she was able to walk forward and do the groundwork exercises.
 
Tabatha, expressive as always,  sticks to Noemi.

The day before the workshop we paid a visit to the Bañaderos Shelter where a group of volunteers were keen to learn a little about the technique so that they will be better able to help the animals in their care. Wraps were a hit there too when hyperexcitable Mila responded immediately to a half wrap and her excitement level dropped. Mouth work was another clearly useful tool for dogs that express concern through their mouths.

What is reactivity?

 

I am posting this quote from Leslie McDevitt's book because I feel that this is something that many people have to deal with and many are ill-advised and oriented in the wrong direction.

"Reactivity comes from anxiety, which comes from feeling uncertain about something. Reactivity is an information-seeking strategy.  A reactive dog will rush towards something or someone that he is uncertain about, barking, lunging, growling, and making a big display. People sometimes perceive reactive behaviour as aggression, but a reactive dog is not rushing in to do damage; he is attempting to assess the threat level of a given situation. His assessment strategy is intensified because he is panicking as the adrenaline flows through his body. If a reactive dog learns to feel confident about something, he is less worried about that thing and therefore reacts less to it. People also sometimes perceive reactive behaviour as "dominance" because they view a dog that flies at his triggers as a dog that wants to take charge. This is absolutely not the cases. Reactive dogs are anxious, and their response is intense because they are freaking out.

That is why clear structures are necessary for anxious dogs. They need to know what is happening next, and they need to know they are safe. If left untreated (or if treated inappropriately with physical punishment), reactivity can escalate into aggression. Much, but not all, aggression is anxiety-related. Reactivity and anxiety-related aggression are simply different levels of response to a stressful situation. Anxiety-related aggression will occur when the dog is put in a situation that pushes him beyond what he can manage with a measured response. In these cases the dog's anxiety takes him to the next level of response."

Leslie McDevitt  "Control Unleashed" p. 25

An Introduction to the Tellington TTouch® Philosophy

El Campito Animal Rescue Centre

Sometimes the heart sings and the spirit just soars!  That is how I felt at the free TTouch workshop for some volunteers from El Campito.  El Campito Refugio is the largest and best known animal rescue centre in the greater Buenos Aires area and homes about 2,000 dogs per year. They operate a no kill policy but aim to rehabilitate the dogs that come to them as best they can.

Last year I had offered to give a short introduction to TTouch, and this year, through the good offices of a friend who runs the prison therapy dog project and is a supporter of the centre, the offer took shape and fourteen volunteer workers came along after work to spend an evening exploring TTouch.  They brought 6 dogs with them. The workshop lasted for 3 hours which provided the opportunity to embrace, however, briefly, the three main practical pillars of TTouch work.

 Zorrito is blind and has two herniated discs.  From the lumbar area his body twisted to the left and his hind legs were very wide apart forming almost an A shape. He accepted bodywork from his carer, but the major change came when wraps were tried out.  The volunteers learned how to apply a simple half wrap. I always warn people attending workshops not to expect miracle results and that TTouch work requires patience and perseverance. In Zorrito's case, however, this was not so. As soon as the half wrap was put on, his back aligned and his hind legs drew together so that they were coming straight out of the hip sockets.

Then came the psychological pay-off.  Due to his blindness and possibly also due to his physical condition, before the wrap was put on Zorrito was not inclined to stray from between his carer's legs, but with the wrap on he began to explore the room and later was able to negotiate the labyrinth and surfaces in a relaxed way.

When Blin Blin arrived he attracted everyone's attention because he was trembling from head to tail.  His repertoire of calming signals was large and he displayed a great many of them. Because the participants felt so sorry for him, several wanted to practise their newly learned bodywork on him, but this was overwhelming for the dog so I asked them to work with Samson and Isaura who were  much more relaxed and leave Blin Blin with his carer. Left to themselves in a corner, Blin Blin allowed Alejandra to do some gentle circular touches all over his body.

Putting on the half wrap might have proved to be difficult, but Blin Blin's anxiety and nervousness provided the perfect opportunity to teach just how important it is to go at the dog's pace, and we took the wrap process step by step, just as though we were working with a cat, giving the dog time and space to process what we were doing. After about 20 minutes the wrap was securely on and then we had the joy of seeing Blin Blin's body language gradually change: he stopped trembling, his tail came out from between his legs, he stopped lifting his front paw and his gaze was less anxious.  We withdrew our attention from him, and once he felt ready Blin Blin began to explore the room beyond the corner where he had stayed up till that time.

Albert is paralysed in the hindquarters.  In his former existence before being surrendered to the shelter he was the "site dog" at a factory or building site.  When he was involved in an accident, the workers did the best they could to tend his wounds, but to do so they had to pin him down at the shoulders.  This has left him highly sensitive in that area, but working with awareness his carer was able to do gentle body work over the shoulders and python lifts on his front legs to try and alleviate the tension which must accumulate there due to his paralysed hind legs. The volunteers also experimented with different wrap configurations to try and give some relief to his neck and shoulders.

Albert normally uses wheels to get around, but he is ready to go and full of life.The interesting experience with him was that he was able to stand and take weight on his hind legs when taken over certain textured surfaces, notably the artificial grass.

Another interesting case was Balti, a little pekinese who had also suffered paralysis in the hindquarters after an accident. He is now able to walk again, but from time to time his back legs collapse and he has to be helped to get back up again. Once again the wrap was key, but Balti showed just what a difference small adjustments can make.  When the simple half wrap was put on he was unwilling to walk, and when he did start to walk he soon sat right back down again. Then the back section of the wrap was moved further towards the tail and immediately he stood up and walked forward as it seems that the touch of the wrap drew his attention to that area of his body.

One of Balti's carers was able to vouch for just how uncomfortable it is to have to wear a collar around one's neck, so she had no difficulty accepting the notion that some other configuration would be a much better option!

The brief groundwork session provided the opportunity to demonstrate and practise the balance leash technique.  With 750 dogs currently in the shelter and a limited budget, it is most unlikely that El Campito will be able to buy harnesses and leads so the balance leash is a viable alternative.  Despite the briefness of the session, all the volunteers were able to appreciate that this is a valuable tool which they can use because with a fairly large volunteer base they do manage to take the more able dogs out for walks and excursions. It should also help them encourage dogs achieve better physical balance which will have a positive influence on their emotional wellbeing.

If there is one thing that makes teaching this work worthwhile, it is seeing  individual animals benefit directly or indirectly from the techniques that people learn. In this case the changes were so evident that the volunteers left on a real high, determined to learn more on my next visit to Buenos Aires. 

© Mary J. Rodriguez 2013

TTouch in Buenos Aires 2013

This year's courses were extremely well attended by a wide variety of professionals across a broad specttrum. We had the usual Introductory course followed by three modules on sensitivities, fears and the importance of observation when working with animals. The participants really did participate and the dogs offered us many opportunities to learn and help the dogs learn how to learn and find new responses which might serve them better in their daily lives than the options they may have found so far. To see anxious and stressed dogs relax and others with physical difficulties find a more comfortable position is more than rewarding.

Introductory Course

Follow-up module

Julieta tries a wrap for her sore shoulder

Australian labradoodle gets his certificate!

TTouch - Ahead of Its Time

We know how effective the Tellington TTouch® Training can be for enhancing
behavior, performance, and well-being, as well as developing a really special
connection between horses and humans. For over 30 years we have received
countless success stories from horse folks from around the world which have been
recorded in the TTEAM Connections Newsletter published quarterly by my sister,
Robyn Hood. But a question that comes up from time to time is: Why is TTouch
and the method so effective. Last year Robyn published this report by Danish
veterinarian Dr. Rikke Schultz which sheds some light on that question.

TTOUCH – Ahead of Its Time
By Rikke Schultz, DVM Denmark

In 1989 I saw three women doing “strange” things to an Icelandic horse at the World
Championship for Icelandic Horses in Denmark. I had heard TTOUCH mentioned and
realized that it was Linda, Robyn and Susan doing TTouch on their horses before the
competition. That was my introduction to this fabulous technique. I have since spent time
at Robyn’s farm in Canada and had Robyn and Mandy give a clinic in Denmark.

As an equine vet working only with acupuncture, osteopathy and cranio-sacral therapy
for many years I am still astonished by how well the Tellington Method fits into
explanatory models about the body and mind appearing in humans and animals. It is
fantastic what Linda seems to have understood over 30 years ago, what is only being
realized on a larger scale within the past ten years.

The Rolfer and massage therapist Thomas Myers’ explanations of the muscular chains
that he has named “Anatomy Trains” and his realization of the importance of connective
tissue and fascias really explains why the circular TTouches and skin rolling have such
a huge effect on large areas of the body. The TTouches work directly on the fascias in
different layers, depending on the finger positions. It explains why the lifts, that also
release the subcutaneous tissue so well and give space for the blood vessel function, can
have an impact on the pulse and respiration in endurance horses. I also believe that the
fascias surrounding the carpal joint and the hock restrict the joints and releasing those
will bring better joint mobility and maybe decrease some cases of lameness.

It should be mentioned that in 2012 the third bi-annual human congress about the
importance and newest research of fascia will be held in Canada. That is how short a time
the important of fascias has been widely accepted in the human research world.

Cranio-sacral system (C-S system)

When we look at ear and tail work together with cranio-sacral therapy the huge effect of these exercises can be understood. The inner most center of the entire body is the central nervous system, CNS – the brain and the spinal cord. It is surrounded by different layers.  One very close called pia mater and another one also surrounding the spinal fluid called dura mater. The last one is very hard, not at all elastic and it is attached to the inside of the cranium, the first cervical vertebra (atlas) and the sacrum.  All the peripheral nerves leaving the spinal cord go through the dura. A static dysfunction of the skull, atlas o rsacrum, but also the other vertebra can result in a pull on the dura influencing nerve roots,  spinal fluid flow, the mentioned bones and craniosacral rhythm.

Doing circles with the tail can release the sacrum and pulling gently on the tail will
stretch the whole spine but also affect the dura. I think this is why the horses often
shake their heads when it is done. They can feel it in the atlas and the cranium. This also
emphasizes why a gentle pull and SLOW release is so important.

Linda demonstrating tail work in Germany, photo by Gabriele Boiselle

Ear Work

Doing ear-work not only effects the acupuncture points in the area but also the tentorium which is the membrane that separates the cerebrum from the cerebellum, that is also a part of the dura. This “tent” like membrane is attached to the medial side of the inner ear bone that is part of the temporal bone. The wrong tension in it can affect the whole C-S system. Below and medial to the inner ear bone is a big hole in the cranium where three of the so called brain nerves (vagus, assesory and hypoglossus nerves), the biggest arteries for the brain and the jugular vein passes through. A dysfunction of the temporal bone can decrease the volume of this hole and thereby create malfunction of one or more of these structures. The vagal nerve has connections to most of the inner organs and a dysfunction can therefore affect the heart, digestion, respiration and more. The assesory nerve innervates among other structures some of the muscles around the shoulder blade and a dysfunction can have huge impact on the front leg movement. It is easy to imagine how impaired blood flow to and from the brain will have a huge impact on the horse.

This understanding makes one realize the power of ear work but also why it has to be gentle, why one should NEVER pull hard on the ears and why some horses, who are really ear shy, can have a good reason for it.

A clinic participant demonstrates the Ear Slides at a workshop in Italy.

The poll (The atlanto-occipital joint)

Linda gently works around the poll and TMJ in Italy.

The joint between the skull and atlas is very important, of course in a biomechanical
sense for flexing, extending and turning the head but also because there are a lot of nerve
sensors (propioception) in the joint capsule and muscles around it, which are responsible
for the brain’s sense of the body-ground relationship – how the body is orientated in
space. The same goes for the TMJs.

This is also the area where the brainstem transforms into the spinal cord. Other VERY
important structures in the area are the vertebral arteries that are running through holes
in the cervical vertebrae and supply the brainstem with blood. When the atlas is rotated
(or the other cervical vertebrae) a pull on these arteries can occur. In short the atlanto-
occipital area is VERY important.

When there is a dysfunction in this joint, more often contractions in the extensor muscles
uni- or bilateral extending the joint and making it hard for the horse to flex the neck
correctly are the reason. This is VERY common. Flexed lesions where the horse can flex
but have a hard time extending the poll are less common or less realized, because that is
what we want the horse to do. Doing forelock circles helps to release the soft tissue on
top of the joint.

Neck releases where the head is stretched brings the joint in a “position of ease” used in
the osteopathic very gentle and effective “functional indirect technique” F.I.T. The soft
tissues around a joint are brought to relaxation and the brain is given time to figure out
what the normal tension in the tissue should be. This brings the normal function back
to the joint. This technique moves the lesion as opposed to direct techniques in manual
medicine (chiropractic, osteopathy and more) that goes into the lesion with the risk of
increase the pain at the moment it is done.

Fight and flight reflexes

Linda has always spoken about the importance of bringing the head down in order
to overcome the fight, flight or freeze reflexes and increase the learning ability. This
happens because the parasympathetic (relaxation) nervous system is activated or one can
also say that the sympathetic (stress) nervous system is deactivated. Authors like Steven
Porges and Peter Levine write about this subject in humans now in relation to stress
syndromes and depression. When a person is balanced between the two systems in the
autonomic nervous system, it is referred to as being in a state of “social engagement”.
I think TTOUCH can bring the horses very much into a parasympathetic state and the
ground work into social engagement. The more I work with complementary medicine I
realize how much “deeper” the treatments work when it is possible to bring the horse in a
parasympathetic state. TTOUCH, acupuncture and cranio-sacral therapy are some of the
methods that can do that.

It also happens with the mouth and nostril work by releasing the facial fascias which
according to Thomas Myers are connected to the toes in humans!!

When the horse is playing with the jaw during the mouth work it brings about a release of
the TMJ, osteopathy has a similar treatment for those joints.

Rib release

Rib release at TTouch for You & Your Horse in Hawaii.

 The rib releases can normalize rib- and diaphragm tension and dysfunction. These are commonly overlooked problems in a lot of horses, especially the later, both in western medicine and chiropractic. It also stretches the lumbar area together with back lifts. These exercises bring the back into flexion which is good because most lesions in the spine are extended lesions where the horse tries to avoid using the back in flexion which is, what we want it to.

My “learning journey” over the years has given me a better understanding of the
anatomical and physiological effects of Tellington TTouch Method and how much Linda has been
ahead of her time with her method.

All together TTOUCH/TTEAM has lots of options to treat the inner core – the C-S system and the outer “case” – the fascias together with a big effect on the autonomic nervous system and thereby having the ability to release a lot of problems in horses in a  gentle way both physically and mentally.

With respect for great work,
Rikke Schultz, DVM
Denmark

Literature list
Levine, P. “ Waking the Tiger – Healing Trauma”
Myers, T. “Anatomy Trains”
Porges, S. “Polyvagal theory”
Evrard, P. “ Introduction à l’Osteopathie crânio-sacrée appliqué au cheval”

TTouch Comes to Portugal!

We are finalising the arrangements for the very first TTouch workshop in the beautiful city of Lisbon.  Check the Events page for the details. We will be updating information as it becomes available.