What is Equine Touch?

Equine Touch is a non-diagnostic, noninvasive, energy and connective soft tissue discipline which works at a complete holistic level; that is, it addresses the equine as a whole without paying any particular attention to any named problem as such.

On a practical level Equine Touch consists of a series of gentle vibrational moves performed over specific points in specific chreographed patterns, some of which may be interspersed with observation periods to allow the equine to recognizes and process the effects of these subtle procedures.

These soft tissue vibrations when performed correctly with the ET move have the effect of releasing spasms, distortions and adhesions in the connective tissue, and smooth muscle of organs. In synergy they stimulate the body's natural inclination towards balance and harmony in its structure and function as well as creating awareness of placement and motion within the equide.

For instance such a soft tissue correction can very quickly restore the compromised saddle area of the horse to its full pain -free-mechanical function or at the very least relieve or reduce the current level of pain giving it a better quality of life.

History

Jock Ruddock became a bodyworker due to circumstance,his interest in bodywork being sparked in 1966 after noting a scoliosis in his youngest daughter. As a professional wrestler and martial artist he began to study the work of other wrestlers who had picked up methods of manipulating backs, necks and limbs as a result of injuries obtained in the ring or in the dojo. With his practical knowledge of how a body worked and the ‘gentle touch’ which all aikido practitioners and professional wrestlers are trained to use, he developed his own methods of addressing imbalance in the body from a purely physical paradigm.

As his experience grew so did his reputation and soon he found people just dropping in to have their neck 'cracked or their back popped'. Young wrestlers who trained under him in New Zealand would immediately be treated and their spontaneous injuries addressed. Fellow police officers and other sportsmen were always willing to have a creak or a stiffness dissipated at Jock's hands.

Jock continued as a part time self-taught chiropractor/bone setter, helping people free of charge until 1990 when one night shortly after manipulating the neck of a friend the subject began screaming in pain and continued throughout the night. Although the friend in the morning was 100% recovered, the pain gone and full movement restored, a lesson had been learned. Skeletal manipulation was dangerous,(even at the hands of trained professionals) and Jock stopped.

In 1993 Jock retired from the ring and showbusiness and turned to complementary health, qualifying as a clinical hypnotherapist and eclectic bodyworker adding Bowen to his body worker's tool box alongside Dynamik Ki, Asagai, Hyperton-X, Kinesiology, Lomi Lomi, Berry, Aikido and the skeletal manipulations he had learned in the wrestling rings. He began to research, develop and choreograph a complete new modality partially based upon the principles of bodywork as pioneered by Tom Bowen and Lauren Berry. He discovered that by vibrating the muscles in a certain sequence and at specific points in the body using his own Aikido based move, the entire body would slip into a state of medical chaos and confusion. The syndrome is something similar to an entire orchestra tuning up prior to a concert. Out of this cellular and holistic confusion and what is now termed as medical chaos, order emerges and within the body homeostasis is attained. After considerable studying and fine-tuning of this new approach, Jock decided to name it The Vibromuscular Harmonization Technique (VHT). VHT is now being taught world wide from Norway to New Zealand.

In 1997 using his unique VHT move he began to work on horses. From a simple beginning at a stable in Aberdeen Scotland the Equine Touch has now grown to a pont where it is being performed with success on equines from log pulling horses in central Europe to Olympians in the USA.

Arguably one of the most sought after and busiest clinicians in the world Jock has been recognized as pioneering and teaching VHT and The Equine Touch in Scotland, England, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Spain, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Zimbabwe, Zambia, South Africa, USA, Hawaii, Holland, New Zealand and in 2007 Canada.