By Jean West-Watanabe The natural training approach to equine behavior has highlighted many new things about horses and their innate behaviors and instincts. One of those behaviors is that horses will store pain and stress in their bodies, learning to block pain out mentally so as not to show signs of weakness. Both domestic horses and their wild relatives are as inclined to do this for as long as they can, because they are prey animals and weakness can often mean death. It’s the very thing that predators look for when stalking herd animals. Horses will avoid showing weakness even in the comfort of their own backyards or barns. By the time a horse eventually favors a limb, leg and neck flexion have been compromised, the problem has reached an intolerable stage of pain and stress, and attention is needed immediately. What most people don’t know is that the stress and pain have already been stored there for quite some time, and early intervention can be helpful in preventing performance issues. The Masterson Method is becoming a nationally known therapy for innovative bodywork and is excellent in releasing this stored pain and stress for a better performance horse. It all began in 1997 in Fairfield, Iowa, where Jim Masterson, the renowned equine bodyworker for USET Endurance Teams, FEI World Cup and World Games competition horses, began to take interest in Equine Massage. Jim noticed that horses would show neurological responses to light touch, releasing tension and stress from their body. Deep eye blinks, quivering lower lips,