“What the horse has to say” is the mantra of Sonoita resident and longtime equine therapist Marie Eastman.
Arriving in the area from Wyoming’s Big Horn Basin at the end of 2023, Eastman brings with her a lifetime of equine experience.
“Starting at the age of five, I have ridden and competed in many disciplines: hunter-jumper, dressage, reining, roping and cutting,” she said. “I managed thoroughbred racing barns, polo teams and retrained and redirected many of these hardworking horses to new careers after retirement from competition.”
In 2008, Eastman founded Rainhorse Equine Assisted Services, a non-profit organization that provided equine assisted counseling for many groups in the area. For that program, she found and rehabilitated horses that “had fallen on hard times and enlisted them to help people who had troubles themselves,” she said..
This interest in rehabilitating horses became her main focus, leading Eastman to become a certified practitioner in the Masterson Method of bodywork.
According to the Masterson Method website, “The Masterson Method is an interactive method of bodywork in which the owner uses subtle changes in body language to get not-so-subtle results. By applying levels of pressure (touch) and movement to the horse’s body in a way that the horse’s nervous system is unable to brace against or guard—and reading changes in the horse’s behavior as you do this–you enable the horse to tell you where it is holding tension; you enable her nervous system to release it; and you enable her to tell you when it has been released.”
After completing the 500 hours of coursework, study and practical clinical experience to become certified in the Masterson Method in 2021, Eastman began working on different equines, from show horses to racehorses to miniature horses.
Eastman recently added another therapeutic skill to her practice—craniosacral therapy, a method that was originally developed in the early 1900s for humans but has been adapted for equines, where it has been employed successfully for several decades.
Eastman and her husband Skip both enjoy starting colts using the “California” tradition of horsemanship. They also find gratification in helping owners work through problems with their horses.
When not working with the horses, Maria applies her creativity in writing cowboy poetry and has been an invited performer for many years at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada.
Having grown up in Tucson, Eastman is familiar with the Sky Islands and now owns property in the eastern foothills of the Santa Rita Mountains. She offers her services to horses and people in the Southeast Arizona region by appointment and has a Facebook page: Eastman Equine. She can also be reached at maria@tctwest.net or 307-250-2711.