My Name is Gypsy Merritt and I live in the beautiful Yarra Valley in Victoria with my husband and my two beautiful horses Apache and Eski.

I grew up in a family of body-workers and health care practitioners but never felt drawn to work on people, so I pursued a career in textile design. I loved horses and riding as a child and re-discovered horses in my 30’s, that passion soon became the focus of all my spare time. Over the years I met a number of different equine practitioners, practicing many different bodywork and healing techniques, and thought what a lovely way to make a living, help horses feel better and move more freely.

As with many other Masterson Method® practitioners, it was one horse in particular, my paint gelding Apache that motivated me to look for ways to help relieve his muscle and joint strain myself. When I found The Masterson Method® I quickly realised it was something unique and valuable. After the first weekend workshop I was hooked, the results spoke for themselves and my journey to become an equine bodywork practitioner had began. 

I finished my Masterson Method® training in 2018 and have now set about building a small business treating horses in the Yarra Valley, Dandenong ranges, Pakenham and surrounding areas.

My goal as an equine bodyworker is to help horses to move in a relaxed, light and lively way and enjoy their work. To relieve pain, restriction and tension in the mind and body, and encourage horse owners to listen to their horses and help them to investigate where the tension and strain may be coming from.

As horse lovers, whether we ride competitively or for pleasure, we all want our horses to feel at their best. I believe bodywork is a big part of equine welfare and a great way to give back to your horses. 

My focus as I grow my equine bodywork business is to help all horses I treat have a happier pain free life and to help them enjoy the time they spend with us, as much as we enjoy them.

Improving performance, communication and relationship with your horse.

The Masterson Method® is an integrated, multi-modality method of equine massage. It is a unique and interactive method of equine bodywork in which the practitioner uses the responses of the horse to touch and movement to find and release accumulated tension in key junctions of the body that most affect performance. In contrast to other modalities, it enables the horse to actively participate in the process of releasing tension. It is something you do with the horse, rather than to the horse. This participation and interaction is what makes the method fascinating for those who use it. In fact, if you do not allow the horse to participate, it does not work!

Horses work hard for people in a multitude of jobs which require athleticism, focus, and calmness. Fluid movement, and a willing attitude are difficult and sometimes impossible to access for horses who are holding stress in their bodies. Helping horses let go of tension so that they become more comfortable in their movements expands their natural athletic abilities and eases the aches and pains of use, stress, and age. 

Careful reading of classical horsemanship texts reveals that massage modalities and techniques have been used on horses for centuries. As the horse has transitioned from a work animal to a recreation animal, massage has moved from the realm of talented grooms to trained, certified specialists. Currently, an internet search will yield pages of horse-massage books, schools, and practitioners. Traditional massage modalities are manual manipulations of body tissues, usually muscles and fascia. A massage practitioner is very literally working on the body, kneading, pressing, rubbing, or stroking. 

Masterson Method® practitioners do not manually manipulate tissue in the same sense as traditional massage therapies. Instead, MM gently influences the horse and its neurological system to release muscle tension through touch, weight support, and movement. The poll-atlas junction, neck-wither-shoulder junction, and sacroiliac junction are of particular importance for equine athletes. Therefore, MM pays particular attention to these areas of the equine body and works to maintain and improve fluid movement in these areas. For more detail about MM techniques and products please visit www.mastersonmethod.com

$75...

Standard MASTERsoN method® bodywork treatment

Most treatments take about 1.5 hours, but there is no set length of time a treatment will take, so I would generally be working on each horse from 1-2 hours. When treating a horse I tend to throw away the clock. Some horses have had enough after 45 minutes, and more work can only be done at a later date. This is often the case for young horses, or horses with acute pain, injury or chronic tension issues. Every horse is different.

Negotiable

Masterson Method day clinics and club presentations

I love to introduce people to the benefits of Masterson Method® and show them how easy it can be to learn simple useful techniques that can relax and release tension in their horses. I am happy to come and do Masterson Method® presentations or tutorials to Adult Riding Clubs, Pony Clubs, RDA Groups or any interested parties. Contact me directly for details and we can taylor the best possible presentation for your group.