Animal centre receives donation

The Masterson Method Academy in South Africa donated $300 (R3 891) through the Mike Dunne Foundation to the Society for Animals in Distress at Vorna Valley on 23 February.

The academy was launched in South Africa by Rob and Chantal Holder who spent extensive time abroad working with Jim Masterson and eventually became certified Masterson Method Practitioners.

The Masterson Method is a unique, interactive method of equine massage and bodywork in which you recognise and use the responses of the horse to your touch, to ‘release accumulated’ tension in the body that most affects performance.

During one of the Masterson workshops abroad, Mike Dunne, a passionate cowboy, selected Chantal as one of the beneficiaries of a fund to assist horses around the globe.

“Instead of using the money for our institution, we chose to identify organisations like this one, where we go and offer our services to give back to them,” she said.

The couple and students of the academy did not only donate money to the society, they also used the Masterson Method on the horses kept at the Society for Animals in Distress. “A lot of horses brought here for rehabilitation are used in townships to pull coal [carts]. The major problem we have identified is that the harnesses that were used on the horses were not the best fit and, as a result, some sustained injuries,” said Rob.

Marizda Kruger, equine manager at the Society for Animals in Distress said, “It was absolutely amazing. All the animals were relaxed and yawning and wanted more. These are animals that did not have much in life. For them, it was like a day at the spa and the money will help a lot of other animals from Tembisa,” she said.

The society runs a programme called Diamonds from the Dust which aims to reduce the number of working horses within Ivory Park and Tembisa.

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