Having bonded with horses since childhood, Martina Stiel Perez’s mastery of veterinary
physiotherapy and acupuncture equips her in running Equisit, a freelance horse
training, treatment and rehabilitation services in Doha. By Anand Holla
THE CONNECT : Martina Stiel Perez’s association with the stable goes back to her childhood days in Cologne, Germany. Photo by Najeer Feroke
For Martina Stiel Perez, reading between the neighs comes as effortlessly as reading between the lines must seem for a discerning mind. “If a horse misbehaves, it’s almost always because of pain,” she says, seated on a large couch at her sunshiny residence.
Perhaps the only person in Qatar to offer freelance horse physiotherapy, acupuncture, riding and training services, the German specialist finds it second nature to uncover their problems and treat them.
“Many people work with horses but they may not be trained for this,” she says, “Sometimes, they get afraid for no reason or they become aggressive, and in turn make the horse aggressive when the horse perhaps was only afraid.”
A devoted horse rider and trainer, Perez’s mastery of veterinary physiotherapy and acupuncture equips her in running Equisit, a one-woman-show that offers freelance horse schooling, riding lessons, training and rehabilitation services apart from the treatment, of course.
That’s why misreading the signs is something this horse doctor can’t stomach. “Many a time, I have entered a stable only to be told by the grooms: Take care, this is a crazy horse. But the horse is not crazy. Maybe, the horse is afraid or in pain,” Perez says.
“Horses are good creatures,” she continues, “They aren’t aggressive by nature and don’t want to cause you any harm. If a horse ever kicks you or bites you, it is preceded by 10 signs which you could read – maybe, it will swish its tail or pinch its ears back to tell you it is unhappy.”
Having bonded with these gentle giants ever since she can remember, Perez has fine-tuned her sensibilities to impressive frequencies. Back in Cologne, Germany, where she grew up, Perez had begun riding horses regularly by the age of eight.
“In Germany, there’s this system where all young girls go to the stable, to help clean it and tend to the horses,” she says, “Someone, then, would give you an opportunity to walk with the horse or teach you something.”
Perez was fortunate to get to help who she calls “one of the best instructors in Germany” and get taught in return. “I could learn from the best horses. That’s where it started,” she says, smiling.
Be it meeting and feeding her neighbours’ ponies or riding a little pony Sisi, Perez learnt a great deal, early on. “When you have your horse, you have to take care of it, and learn responsibility and discipline. Come rain or snow, I had to take the horse out every day or else it would get sick,” she says.
Riding Sisi through the open fields of Cologne meant the world to Perez. “That pony, back then, was my best friend. I knew it would wait for me and we would go out and have fun together. You have horses that teach you something and get you to the next level, and there are those that aren’t useful in your riding career but you instantly forge a special bond with them. Just like there are humans you like and there are humans that you like better,” she says.
Her parents, though, ensured that she goes to University for some solid education because “you don’t believe you can actually make a living out of treating or training horses.”
Soon, Perez became a translator of French, English and Arabic to German. Translating human languages, then, became her second interest, while deciphering horse-speak remained the dearest.
“I didn’t let go of it,” Perez says, “Over the years, I got myself thoroughly trained in various aspects related to the horse.” That included everything from being qualified with a Degree of Horse Physiotherapy awarded by the German Institute for Horse Osteopathy (DIPO), to a Degree of Horse Acupuncture awarded by the German School of Paracelsus.
“I studied physiotherapy because when riding, you realise you can’t move ahead with a horse because something in his body is bothering him,” she says, referring to a discipline that involves massaging, stretches, and mobilisation moves for horses, “Then, I got interested in the biomechanics of the horse – how the body and the muscles work, and it led me to physiotherapy and acupuncture.”
A treatment derived from ancient Chinese medicine, acupuncture involves the insertion of extremely thin needles into specific points on the body to manipulate the flow of energy or Qi. “It tries to find the imbalances in the body and tries to set off the self-healing mechanisms within us,” Perez says. “It’s interesting because sometimes I couldn’t figure out a solution to the horse’s problem in Western medicine, but would find it in acupuncture. So it’s a great combination,” she says.
In the years she lived and worked in Dubai and Bahrain, Perez trained horses of all breeds and various disciplines, and even participated in big-ticket horse shows. With training, her focus has been in preparing the horses for dressage competitions (Called the highest expression of horse training, in Dressage, the horse and rider are expected to perform from memory a series of predetermined movements).
It is only after she moved to Qatar, three years ago, that Perez has been able to pursue her passion in full flow by offering a variety of equine services. “Until I moved to Qatar and started Equisit, my horse pursuits remained on the side as I worked for banks. Somehow, you have to finance all the private courses and equipment, too,” she says, “Qatar is a terrific opportunity as it has many horses in a small area, and also, nobody else does what I do.”
It wasn’t easy beginnings though. “I started working in one of the clinics for race horses at the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club, and made some contacts in two months. Soon, people would call me to ask if I can come to treat their horse,” she recalls.
That brings us back to Perez’s talent for reading her subjects. “If a horse is in pain and becomes aggressive in my presence, I need to win its trust by being quiet, talking to it softly, and being gentle,” she explains.
This approach is quite different from that of a vet’s, who would prefer to sedate the horse so as to desensitise it to the treatment. “For me, that’s impossible. I need the reaction because I need the horse to lead me to its pain,” Perez reasons, “Physiotherapy goes to the root of the problem. With medicines, you can only treat the symptoms.”
And therein lies the key – Perez always unravels the source of the problem. “A horse’s body is always in a state of imbalance when it is not in its natural environment,” she explains, “Horses don’t get fed or exercised the proper way. While a horse would usually run 16 hours a day in the open field, and consume food in small amounts through the day, you won’t find any stable today where the horse can do that.”
Moreover, they are fed thrice a day, Perez adds. “It’s way too much food because their stomachs are very small. Since hay and water is all that a horse really needs, everything else we feed it is like fast food,” Perez says, “A horse won’t find grains in nature just as we wouldn’t find burgers in nature. Yet, horses are fed with grains.”
Usually, they suffer from back problems or are lame, causing them to limp. A muscular issue or blocked joints, Perez says, can be solved first by manual therapy and later by treating the muscles. “As for the behaviour problems, Chinese medicine offers answers,” she adds.
Perennially at beck and call, Perez would zip off almost every day to whichever stable would require her services – until she took a break during her pregnancy. Ever since she has had a cute little baby girl Katarina, she has now been stepping out only twice a week.
At the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club, Perez treats the race horses, while at the Qatar Equestrian Federation and Al Shaqab she treats the Show Jumping ones. At Sheikh Faisal’s stable Al Samarriyah Equestrian Centre, she treats school horses and endurance horses. “It’s very interesting for me as I get to treat horses of different disciplines,” Perez says.
One of the memorable experiences for Perez was last year, when she accompanied the riders of the Qatari Armed Forces for the Show-Jumping event the CSI2* Sharjah Ruler Cup International Championship 2014. “It was wonderful because I would treat the horses there, and would get an immediate feedback on whether they had done a good job or not,” she says.
There are also times when she feels empowered to pull off miracles. “Once, a very famous stallion was lying in a box. It was suffering from a chronic disease in the hoofs, and the pain was so excruciating that it couldn’t stand,” Perez reminisces.
“In Europe, we would euthanise such a horse to spare it from suffering. Here, this isn’t done easily – you leave it to God’s decision,” she continues, “I got called to treat this horse. Eventually, it could stand on its legs and could do its job as a breeding stallion again.”
While treating so many horses, does she not get affected by the grief and pain they are in? “Every horse affects me personally,” she says, “That’s why if somebody calls me, I can almost never say no. I really don’t have a day off. If I know that a horse is in pain or is on its way for a big competition, I will rush to help.”
