Experience Equus Level I CranioSacral Therapy

Developed by Dr. Sandi Howlett DC CST-D 

Experience Equus is 4 days of CST for horses, where we have a classroom setting in the mornings, and lab or hands on sessions all afternoon.  All of the practice is on horses, not people.  We cover how CST can be applied to horses and especially focus on the horse’s way of being in the world, so as to bring in elements of equine facilitated therapy, or horse behavior, as this is done to help the students gain a perspective of the clinical application of CST on horses and how it is uniquely different from working with humans.

Dr. Howlett (Sandi) is a 1987 graduate of the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College in Toronto, and spent the first 18 years of her professional career in the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia. She relocated to Peterborough, Ontario in September 2005.  Dr. Howlett has been using CranioSacral Therapy (CST) techniques in her practice since 1992.  She has completed her Advanced II training, and has received her diplomate certification (CST-D).

Following the CST networks and opportunities for advancement, Dr. Howlett has added SomatoEmotional Release (SER), Heart Centered Therapy (HCT), and Brain Curriculum (BC), and Lymphatic Drainage Therapy (LDT) to her therapeutic skill set.    She often volunteers as a teaching assistant from the introductory to advanced levels and is a certified Teaching Assistant (TA).

Sandi offers a comparison, wherever possible and practical, from CST 1, so there are elements of a review of sorts, but there are more techniques and techniques specifically adapted for horses.

Because we are working with horses, who are energetic, sentient, magnificent beings, we as practitioners, need to be aware of our own energy fields and how we move in the world with our energy, as the horse responds to that first and foremost and does not rely on language.  Having said that, there are exercises in the lab to discover ourselves as well as practicing being neutral so that we may approach and engage with the horse.  Again, this may be interpreted as some as equine facilitated therapy, but we are not asking the horses to assist us in clearing our own issues, but we need to be aware of whether or not our ‘stuff’ is in the way of an effective therapist – client rapport and relationship.

Description of the workshop Experience Equus

Level 1

This 4 day class provides an opportunity for CranioSacral Therapists to develop and expand their non-verbal dialoguing skills through the exploration of inter-species communication.  Therapists learn to listen with their hands, their hearts, and their inner wisdom.

Course content includes introduction to equine anatomy, physiology and biomechanics, as well as CranioSacral techniques for horses.  Theory and practical application is included.  Participants receive lectures in the mornings, with afternoon practice sessions with horses using equine CranioSacral Therapy.

Course syllabus also includes:

• CranioSacral Rhythm
• Listening Stations
• Tissue Release
• Safety
• Disphragms
• Cranial Vault Anatomy and techniques
• Equine Behavior
• Energy and Awareness
• Musculoskeletal System
• Dural Tube
• TMJ
• Scapula
• Sacrosciatic Ligament and more

Pre-requisite: CST 1 (offered by Upledger Ireland) and prior horse experience.

Course Fee: €715 (only €50 deposit required to reserve your place)

Level 2

Provides an opportunity for CranioSacral Therapists to continue to explore and expand their equine CST skills and interspecies communications.  Course material is more in-depth, and techniques learned in Level 1 are reviewed, expanded upon and augmented by techniques to include sutures, neural pathways and kinetic chains.

Course syllabus includes:

• Cranial Sutures
• Cranial Nerves and entry/exit points in the skull
• Stomatognathic System
• Equine Gait and Confirmation
• Autonomic Nervous System
• More Biomechanics
• Facilitated Segments and Introduction to Equine Energy Cysts
• Advanced Sacrosciatic Ligament
• Sternum and Rib techniques
• Stay Apparatus
• Extremity Anamatoy and Techniques and more

Pre-requisite: SER I (offered by Upledger Ireland) and prior horse experience.

Dates for level two have yet to be arranged.