My Journey with the Masterson Method

My Journey with

the Masterson Method

By Kimberly Ramirez, MMCP

I was first introduced to Jim Masterson’s work over a decade ago, around the same time I began exploring the teachings of Manolo Mendez. Both had a profound impact on how I viewed the horse’s body, tension, and communication. I became deeply curious and began integrating their ideas into my daily routines—watching, experimenting, participating in clinics, and learning wherever I could.

In 2018, I decided to pursue the Masterson Method® more seriously, and I completed the Masterson program. I'm now a Masterson Method Certified Practitioner (MMCP®). I use this work daily in every aspect of my training and coaching. Watching a horse move—free, on the lunge, or under saddle—I see patterns of tension and restriction emerge, often telling the story of their past experiences.

I believe horses are born into this world like a beautifully designed computer—with a clean, perfectly formatted hard drive. Their movement, balance, and communication are pure and aligned with nature. But as prey animals, they are biologically wired to survive above all else. So when humans begin interacting with them—through training, handling, or riding—the horse adapts. These adaptations often include physical and emotional compensation, even if those patterns aren’t ideal. They do what works. If it doesn’t cause harm, if they stay alive and functional, the horse will continue using those patterns—over and over—until they become imprinted into their neural pathways.

These are not always caused by trauma. Sometimes they’re created simply by repetition. For example, when excessive tension is repeatedly placed on the inside rein, I can clearly see the brace that develops and the block that shows up in the right hind’s ability to come through. Even once the rein is released, the horse often continues to move in the same guarded way—because it has become the default.

Years ago, I began observing that you cannot simply overwrite these types of dysfunctional patterns with new ones. The horse doesn’t just switch from a “bad” pattern to a “good” one. You have to alleviate the original pattern first—create the space—before a new, healthier way of going can emerge. About two years ago, I had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Steve Peters, a neuroscientist and co-author of Evidence-Based Horsemanship, while attending one of his clinics. We had a long conversation about this very concept. What I was observing in horses—the way they clung to old patterns even when conditions changed—mirrored what he explained from a neurological perspective: that old neural pathways must be interrupted or erased before new ones can effectively form. That conversation deeply validated everything I had been feeling and seeing for years in my work with horses.

This is where the Masterson Method® is such a powerful tool. It works with the horse’s nervous system to reveal and release those embedded patterns—those outdated lines of code that no longer serve. Once the tension is released, the body begins to move differently. The mind opens. And slowly, you start to see the horse choose new ways of being. Not because we’ve imposed it, but because it feels better. Because it works.

I pair this bodywork with classical training techniques to help both horse and rider step into a new dynamic based on feel, clarity, and mutual understanding. When the horse begins to realize that the pressure, the old code, the source of discomfort is gone, something powerful happens. You see it in the eyes, the breath, the stillness—the horse begins to process. Then, almost naturally, they begin to hunt for balance. And when they find it, it’s not artificial. It’s theirs.

Tom Dorrance once told me that we must set up the equation and let the horse come through. That’s what I strive to do—guide the horse back to its own natural alignment. When the body is in balance, the mind follows. And when the mind is in balance, learning can happen, communication flows, and connection thrives.

Everything I do today is rooted in what the horse tells me—and the Masterson Method® has given me a clearer, quieter, and more powerful way to listen.