Yes. And I'm going to tell you exactly what that looks like- and who it's actually for.
Because "90 days" sounds like a shortcut. It's not. It's a commitment. There's a difference.
Why Most Certification Timelines Are 9+ Months
The Intuitive Equine Bodywork Certification is a deep program. We cover anatomy, postural assessment, gait analysis, osteopathic principles, intuitive assessment strategy, massage methods, and three full case studies. There's written testing and video submissions. You need access to horses. You need time to practice, integrate, and actually develop feel- which doesn't happen overnight.
For most students, moving through that material at a sustainable pace takes 9 months or more. And that's completely valid. Life doesn't stop because you enrolled in a certification program. You have horses to care for, a job, a family, a farm. A 9 month timeline gives you room to breathe while still doing the work seriously.
But some students aren't built for slow. Some students want to go all in, clear the calendar, and come out the other side certified- fast.
That's who the 90 Day Jumpstart was built for.
What the 90-Day Jumpstart Actually Is
It's a structured plan that maps out the entire core certification curriculum across 90 days. Every module, every assignment, every submission- sequenced so that a student who shows up fully and does the work can complete the core certification in just three months.
It is intense. It is designed to be.
This isn't a watered down version of the program. You're covering the same material, completing the same case studies, meeting the same standards. The difference is pace, not depth.
Think of it like the difference between a semester abroad and a full degree. The learning is real. The credential is real. You're just moving faster.
What's Completed in 90 Days- And What Continues After
In 90 days, you complete the core certification. That's the curriculum, the case studies, the testing, the credential.
What doesn't stop at 90 days:
Your 2 private VIP days with me.
Every certification student gets two full days of one on one time with me in Phoenix, Arizona- yours to use however you need. Hands on practice, business strategy, shadowing me with real clients. No group. No schedule. Just you and me and the horses. These don't expire. Use them when you're ready.
Every certification student gets two full days of one on one time with me in Phoenix, Arizona- yours to use however you need. Hands on practice, business strategy, shadowing me with real clients. No group. No schedule. Just you and me and the horses. These don't expire. Use them when you're ready.
The Keys to the Kingdom business program.
Growing your equine bodywork business is its own education. This program- included with your certification- covers marketing, pricing, client relationships, scope of practice, and building something sustainable. It's ongoing. It doesn't disappear when you certify.
Growing your equine bodywork business is its own education. This program- included with your certification- covers marketing, pricing, client relationships, scope of practice, and building something sustainable. It's ongoing. It doesn't disappear when you certify.
The post certification Telegram mentorship group.
This is where the education continues after graduation. Anything that couldn't fit inside the core certification lives here- continuing education, case support, business guidance, community. You have access continuously. It doesn't expire.
This is where the education continues after graduation. Anything that couldn't fit inside the core certification lives here- continuing education, case support, business guidance, community. You have access continuously. It doesn't expire.
Certifying in 90 days doesn't mean you're done in 90 days. It means you've earned your credential and everything else is still waiting for you on the other side.
Who the 90 Day Jumpstart Is For
Be honest with yourself before you choose this path. It's right for you if:
- You're the kind of person who does better with intensity than with a slow burn
- You have a window of time- a season, a transition, a gap- where you can genuinely go all in
- You've been sitting on this decision and you're ready to stop sitting
- You learn fast, you're self directed, and you don't need to be chased to complete your work
- You want to be certified and working with horses as quickly as possible
It's probably not right for you if you're juggling a lot right now and need flexibility. The standard timeline exists for a reason- and there's nothing wrong with taking the time you actually need. The program is the same either way. The credential is the same. The support is the same.
The only difference is how fast you get there.
A Note on "Fast" Certifications in This Industry
I want to be clear about something. There are weekend courses in this industry that hand you a certificate after two days and call you certified. That's not what this is.
90 days of intensive, structured study, case submissions, video evaluations, written testing, and hands on work with horses is not a shortcut. It's a sprint. Sprints are hard. People who finish them have earned what they're holding.
If you come out the other side of the 90 Day Jumpstart certified in Intuitive Equine Bodywork, you did the work. All of it. Just faster than most.
What Happens After You Certify
You're not on your own. That's the part that matters most.
The horses who need this work aren't going to come with easy answers attached. You're going to encounter cases that challenge you, clients who are frustrated, situations where you're not sure what you're feeling. That's not failure- that's the job.
The Telegram mentorship group exists for exactly that. Bring your cases. Bring your questions. Bring the horse that's making you second guess yourself. That's what it's there for- and it's there as long as you need it.
The 90 Day Jumpstart gets you certified. The ecosystem around it keeps you growing.
Ready to Find Out If This Path Is Right for You?
Start by looking at your next 90 days. Do you have the time, the horses, and the commitment to go all in?
If the answer is yes- or even maybe- let's talk.
Margaret Parsons is an Intuitive Equine Bodyworker, Osteopathic Practitioner, and the founder of Celestial Equine Services based in Phoenix, Arizona. She is the creator of Intuitive Equine Bodywork and the Intuitive Equine Bodywork Certification Program, available online to students worldwide.
If you've been researching equine bodywork certifications, you've probably landed on the same handful of names: Equinology, Freely Forward Bodywork, Masterson Method. Maybe you've already done one of them. Maybe you're trying to figure out which one is worth your money before you commit.
I'm not going to tell you those programs are bad. They're not.
But I am going to tell you exactly what they teach, what they don't teach, and why I built something completely different- because the horses kept showing me that something was missing.
What Most Equine Bodywork Certifications Teach
Most programs are built around technique. You learn strokes. You learn sequences. You learn where to put your hands and in what order.
Equinology is rigorous- one of the most technically thorough programs out there, with hundreds of hours of anatomy, soft tissue work, and externship requirements. If you want to learn equine sports massage from a science-first, evidence-based foundation, it's solid.
Freely Forward Bodywork has been primarily a horse owner education brand. Their flagship product- Equine Massage 101- is an affordable online course designed to help owners care for their own horses. It's not a professional certification, and they say so directly. Their professional certification program launched in 2025 and has almost no track record yet.
That's not a knock. Horse owner education serves a real purpose. But if you're seeing Freely Forward Bodywork ads and thinking it's a professional certification path, it's worth knowing what you're actually looking at.
Equinology is the legitimate professional program in that comparison- rigorous, science-based, technically thorough. It will teach you how to do bodywork.
Here's what it won't teach you:
How to read what a horse's body is actually saying before you touch it.
And here's the harder truth: techniques are a small part of this work. You can learn every stroke, every sequence, every protocol- and still be lost in front of a horse whose body is telling a story you don't have the framework to read.
That's not a gap in any one program. That's a gap in how the entire industry has been teaching this.
The Problem With Technique-First Training
I've done the certifications. Multiple of them. I have credentials in equine massage, red light therapy, myofascial release, craniosacral therapy, ktape and equine osteopathy.
And the thing I kept running into- with every program, every technique, every sequence- was this:
The horse didn't care about my protocol.
The horse who was labeled "behavioral" wasn't being difficult. He was bracing against something nobody had named yet. The mare who kept losing her left lead wasn't undertrained. She was compensating for tension that had been building in her body for years- tension that no sequence was going to unlock, because the sequence wasn't listening to her.
Techniques are tools. But tools don't tell you what's wrong. Assessment does. Pattern recognition does. Understanding the nervous system does. Understanding how compensation works does.
That's the gap. And that's why I built Intuitive Equine Bodywork.
What Makes Intuitive Equine Bodywork Different
1. It's built on osteopathic principles - not massage theory
Osteopathy looks at the body as a whole, interconnected system. Tension in one place creates compensation somewhere else. What looks like a back problem is often a response to something happening in the hips, the jaw, the feet.
No other equine bodywork certification program is built on osteopathic principles. This isn't a technique layered on top of massage. It's a completely different framework for understanding why a horse's body is doing what it's doing.
2. There is no fixed sequence
This is the one that makes people nervous- and it's the one that makes the biggest difference.
When you work from a sequence, you're deciding ahead of time what the horse needs. You're working on the horse.
Intuitive Equine Bodywork teaches you to work with the horse. You learn to read postural patterns, gait compensations, nervous system responses, and the story the body is holding- and then you respond to that, not to step four of a protocol.
This is not "woo." This is pattern recognition. It's what every good osteopath, chiropractor, and physical therapist does with human patients. We just don't teach it in most equine programs.
3. You learn to find root causes- not manage symptoms
Most bodywork addresses where it hurts. Intuitive Equine Bodywork asks why it hurts- and works back from there.
That means the horse who keeps getting tight in the same place, session after session, finally gets resolution instead of temporary relief. That means the "behavioral" horse gets understood instead of managed. That means your clients stop calling you back to fix the same problem every six weeks.
4. It's for the horses everyone else has given up on
The horses labeled fine. The ones labeled difficult. The ones whose owners have spent thousands on vets, chiropractors, and other bodyworkers and still don't have answers.
That's the work this certification prepares you for.
Who This Program Is For
You're in the right place if:
- You're brand new to equine bodywork and you want to start with a foundation that goes deeper than technique
- You've already done another certification and felt like something was missing- like you had the strokes but not the understanding
- You're a horse owner who wants to go professional and build a practice around work that actually changes outcomes
- You've always trusted your instincts with horses and you want a framework that honors that instead of replacing it with a checklist
A Note on Where You Are in the World
I'll teach you wherever you are.
I don't know the laws in every country, every province, every state- and I'm not going to pretend I do. That part is yours to research for your location.
What I can tell you is that the knowledge itself has no borders. Understanding how a horse's body compensates, how to read tension patterns, how to work from osteopathic principles- none of that changes based on your zip code.
If you're in Australia, the UK, Canada, Europe, or anywhere else in the world and you've been struggling to find training that actually reaches you- this program was built for exactly that. 100% online. No required travel. No geographic gatekeeping.
Learn first. Then figure out how to practice within your local rules.
The Practical Stuff
- 90-Day Jumpstart Plan available- the full certification typically takes 9+ months, but for students who are ready to go all in, the 90-Day Jumpstart gives you a structured path to complete the core certification in just 90 days. It's tough. It's designed to be. But it's completely doable for the right person.
- 100% online- with optional 1:1 VIP days in Phoenix, Arizona
- 9+ months- this is not a weekend course. You'll cover anatomy, postural assessment, gait analysis, massage methods, osteopathic principles, intuitive assessment strategy, and five full case studies
- Hands-on optional- you don't need to travel for an in-person intensive, but access to horses is required for your case studies
- VIP Days- 2 days of private 1:1 time with me, yours to use however you need
Every certification student gets two VIP days with me in Phoenix, Arizona. Not required to certify- but available to every student who wants them. Use them for hands-on practice, business strategy, shadowing me with real clients, or anything else that moves you forward. One-on-one. No other students. Just you, me, and the horses. This isn't a group intensive. It's private mentorship built into your enrollment. - Post-certification mentorship- included, ongoing, no expiration
Graduation doesn't mean goodbye. Every certified graduate gets access to a private Telegram mentorship group where the education continues. Any material that couldn't fit inside the certification itself lives here. Hit a case you're not sure how to handle? Stuck on something in your business? This is where you bring it. The support doesn't stop when you get your certificate. - Business training included- the Keys to the Kingdom: Growing Your Equine Therapy Business program comes with your certification and continues after it. Both are included. Neither expires.
The Honest Answer to "Which Program Is Best?"
The best equine bodywork certification is the one that matches what you actually want to do with horses.
If you want to learn to care for your own horse and understand basic technique, Freely Forward Bodywork's owner education courses are affordable and accessible- but they are not a professional certification path.
If you want a technically rigorous professional credential built on science and anatomy, Equinology is thorough and well-established.
If you want to understand why horses hold tension where they do- how to read compensation patterns before you touch the horse, how to work from osteopathic principles instead of sequences, how to resolve problems at the root instead of managing them on the surface- that's what Intuitive Equine Bodywork teaches. Techniques are a small part of this work. The framework you use to read a horse is everything. And right now, this is the only certification built around that framework.
Most programs teach you techniques and send you home. This one comes with the framework, the mentorship, the business training, and a community that stays with you after you certify- all included. No upsells. No expiration date.
The horses who need this work aren't waiting for a better sequence.
They're waiting for someone who can actually hear them.
Margaret Parsons is an Intuitive Equine Bodyworker, Osteopathic Practitioner, and the founder of Celestial Equine Services based in Phoenix, Arizona. She is the creator of Intuitive Equine Bodywork and the Intuitive Equine Bodywork Certification Program, available online worldwide.
I’ve worked with and studied horses for over 30 years. In that time, I’ve seen my fair share of injuries, lameness, and behavioral challenges. I’ve trained horses, rehabbed them, and even broke a few to ride myself. Some healed quickly. Some didn’t. And some had chronic issues that no amount of training seemed to fix.
Back then, I believed those horses had reached their highest potential- and that it just wasn’t enough for my ambitions. I thought I had tried everything. But the truth? I only had half the map.
As I deepened my studies- earning certifications in massage and rehab, developing my Intuitive Assessment Strategy, and mastering equine osteopathy- I discovered what was missing. The horses weren’t incapable. They weren’t difficult. I just hadn’t been listening to what they were truly telling me.
Now, my mission is to help other horse owners bridge that same gap- between frustration and understanding, between surface-level fixes and true transformation. Whether through hands-on bodywork, online education, or intuitive coaching, I help horsemen and women like you trust your instincts, decode your horse’s needs, and make the small shifts that lead to massive breakthroughs.
Your horse isn’t at the end of the road. And you don’t have to struggle to figure out the next step alone.
Let’s take the guesswork out of it. Book a free call with me, and let’s uncover exactly what your horse is asking for.
Do you remember back in middle school learning the order of operations for math problems?
Parentheses, exponents, multiplication/ division, addition/ subtraction
Well... don't worry- that's as far as the math talk goes here 😂
However, order of operations still matters and even applies to life with horses... and other areas of life too.
A big picture example of this is conditioning horses.
If we don't address the horse's basic needs (nutrition, environment, socialization, etc) before we start making physical demands, the muscle and endurance you are attempting to build is probably going to take a lot longer than it could. And if you don't assess the horse's experience and knowledge before mounting... you could end up in the hospital.
Those are pretty obvious situations where we can see that the order of operations matters- here are a couple that aren't as obvious.
Parentheses, exponents, multiplication/ division, addition/ subtraction
Well... don't worry- that's as far as the math talk goes here 😂
However, order of operations still matters and even applies to life with horses... and other areas of life too.
A big picture example of this is conditioning horses.
If we don't address the horse's basic needs (nutrition, environment, socialization, etc) before we start making physical demands, the muscle and endurance you are attempting to build is probably going to take a lot longer than it could. And if you don't assess the horse's experience and knowledge before mounting... you could end up in the hospital.
Those are pretty obvious situations where we can see that the order of operations matters- here are a couple that aren't as obvious.
If we don't help the horse to be tension and pain free before we attempt to build muscle:
- your horse will likely end up being unbalanced
- your horse will likely build muscle unevenly due to compensation patterns
- your horse may struggle more with movements and endurance
- your horse may develop behavior problems
- you may cause your horse to have lameness problems
- you will have to work harder to ride your horse in a way that supports their proper body mechanics
Sometimes we skip steps because we don't know any better, we are too impatient, we have been lucky in the past, or we simply don't see the value in one step in the process. The fact remains that there is an order of operations for the best possible results.
If you are ready for the best results for your horse, let's get them on my schedule ✨🐎🦄 Request an Appointment
Your vet is not trained in saddle fit.
Your vet is not thoroughly trained in equine dentistry.
Your vet is not trained to be a farrier.
Your vet is not thoroughly trained to assess your horse’s spinal alignment.
“To become an equine veterinarian, you must obtain a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree from a college or university accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). A DVM program takes four years to complete. Generally, the first three years of the program involve coursework useful for all types of veterinary practice, such as anatomy, histology, veterinary neurobiology and reproductive physiology. The fourth year is dedicated to clinical rotations through several areas of veterinary care like large animal medicine, surgery, critical care and ambulatory care.”
A simple google search tells us that equine vets are not trained only about horses- in fact, their first 3 years of school include learning about a wide range of animals and all the different aspects of animal care.
Much like my accounting degree- the first degree (four years) exposes you to the broadest aspects of the field you intend to go into and it's foundational principals.
It's the study AFTER those first 4 years that helps to determine what a person’s specialty will be. Some vets choose not to get into a specialty- and that’s great! Because we need vets that can mend wounds, diagnosis illnesses, and attend to the general well-being of our horses.
However, specialists are important!
And it’s important that we assemble a team of specialists to work with and assist our vets.
As most horse owners are aware, our veterinarians are in short supply and many are overworked and burned out.
The best way we can help our vets is to enlist the help of other equine professionals- saddle fitters, massage therapists, equine dentists, etc.
Just because these professionals are certified and don’t have a DVM degree, doesn’t mean they aren’t educated or able to help your horse feel their best and reach their highest potential.
In fact, I have found that the most passionate, effective, and dedicated horse care professionals are those certified in specific aspects of horse care. Much like a DVM, they continue to learn about their craft- they invest in continued education and they want to do the best they can for every horse they meet.
I have also found that while it sounds expensive to have so many different professionals involved with your horse, it is actually more cost effective- because it is more efficient. Problems are solved faster- or even prevented.
And really- doesn’t that just make sense? That is what we do for ourselves- we have a team of professionals from varying backgrounds to attend to our own health because they have done in depth study on one particular facet of human health and function.
We don’t ask our primary doctor if our teeth look okay before we bother scheduling an appointment with the dentist or if they think we would benefit from a massage leading up to or after strenuous activity.
So- do yourself and your horse a favor- assemble a care team for your horse!
Preferably, a team of professionals that are open to input from one other. A team of people just as dedicated to seeing your horse happy, healthy, and functional as you are. A team of people that are always willing to learn and grow- because that team of professionals will always be better than one thinly stretched veterinarian.
*If you happen to be in Michigan March 10-12, 2023- come see me at the Michigan Horse Expo!
Your vet is not thoroughly trained in equine dentistry.
Your vet is not trained to be a farrier.
Your vet is not thoroughly trained to assess your horse’s spinal alignment.
“To become an equine veterinarian, you must obtain a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree from a college or university accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). A DVM program takes four years to complete. Generally, the first three years of the program involve coursework useful for all types of veterinary practice, such as anatomy, histology, veterinary neurobiology and reproductive physiology. The fourth year is dedicated to clinical rotations through several areas of veterinary care like large animal medicine, surgery, critical care and ambulatory care.”
A simple google search tells us that equine vets are not trained only about horses- in fact, their first 3 years of school include learning about a wide range of animals and all the different aspects of animal care.
Much like my accounting degree- the first degree (four years) exposes you to the broadest aspects of the field you intend to go into and it's foundational principals.
It's the study AFTER those first 4 years that helps to determine what a person’s specialty will be. Some vets choose not to get into a specialty- and that’s great! Because we need vets that can mend wounds, diagnosis illnesses, and attend to the general well-being of our horses.
However, specialists are important!
And it’s important that we assemble a team of specialists to work with and assist our vets.
As most horse owners are aware, our veterinarians are in short supply and many are overworked and burned out.
The best way we can help our vets is to enlist the help of other equine professionals- saddle fitters, massage therapists, equine dentists, etc.
Just because these professionals are certified and don’t have a DVM degree, doesn’t mean they aren’t educated or able to help your horse feel their best and reach their highest potential.
In fact, I have found that the most passionate, effective, and dedicated horse care professionals are those certified in specific aspects of horse care. Much like a DVM, they continue to learn about their craft- they invest in continued education and they want to do the best they can for every horse they meet.
I have also found that while it sounds expensive to have so many different professionals involved with your horse, it is actually more cost effective- because it is more efficient. Problems are solved faster- or even prevented.
And really- doesn’t that just make sense? That is what we do for ourselves- we have a team of professionals from varying backgrounds to attend to our own health because they have done in depth study on one particular facet of human health and function.
We don’t ask our primary doctor if our teeth look okay before we bother scheduling an appointment with the dentist or if they think we would benefit from a massage leading up to or after strenuous activity.
So- do yourself and your horse a favor- assemble a care team for your horse!
Preferably, a team of professionals that are open to input from one other. A team of people just as dedicated to seeing your horse happy, healthy, and functional as you are. A team of people that are always willing to learn and grow- because that team of professionals will always be better than one thinly stretched veterinarian.
*If you happen to be in Michigan March 10-12, 2023- come see me at the Michigan Horse Expo!
