One of the most persistent questions raised about any hands-on therapy is whether the results can be explained by placebo. If a patient believes a treatment will help, the argument goes, improvement may reflect expectation rather than physiological change. It is a reasonable question. But it becomes considerably harder to sustain when the patient is a horse.
A Practitioner Who Crossed Species
Peter van Minnen has been practising Body Stress Release for over 27 years. During that time he has applied the same principles he uses with human patients to horses and dogs, with results that have been consistent enough to document in detail.
His book, Horses Have Wings, published in 2009, records 53 case histories of BSR applied to horses. He has also worked extensively with dogs. The animals presented with a range of conditions: restricted movement, behavioural changes associated with pain, performance decline, and in some cases symptoms that veterinary examination had not fully explained. The BSR assessment and release process was applied in the same way as with human patients, locating stored tension in the nervous system and prompting the body to release it using light, precise pressure. If you are new to the therapy itself, start with how Body Stress Release works, since the same gentle principles apply whether the body on the table is human or four-legged.
Why Horses?
The horse is in many respects an ideal subject for demonstrating the physiological basis of BSR. Horses are large, their musculoskeletal presentations are often clinically complex, and their responses to treatment are unambiguous. A horse that is moving more freely after a session is not reporting improvement because it expected to feel better. It is moving more freely because something in its nervous system and musculoskeletal system has changed.
The presentations that Peter has addressed in equine patients are varied. Restricted movement in specific gaits, asymmetry in way of going, behavioural changes associated with chronic pain, resistance to being ridden, and performance decline have all featured across the 53 cases documented in the book. In many instances the horses had been assessed by vets without a definitive structural explanation for the symptoms.
The BSR assessment is adapted for the equine body but follows the same principles as the human assessment. Peter reads the horse’s stress responses to locate where tension is stored and applies light, targeted input to prompt a release. The horse’s responses during and after the session confirm the process, often visibly, through relaxation of the musculature, deeper breathing, and changes in posture.
The Work with Dogs
Peter’s work with dogs follows the same framework. Dogs present with musculoskeletal issues including gait irregularity, reluctance to perform certain movements, postural changes, and chronic discomfort that manifests as altered behaviour. The BSR assessment locates the stored tension, the release addresses it, and the dog’s responses confirm the change.
As with horses, the dog has no frame of reference for what the therapy is or what it is meant to achieve. The improvement is physiological.
What This Tells Us About the Mechanism
The consistent results across both human and animal patients over more than two decades of practice support the core claim of BSR: that the nervous system stores stress in the tissues and that this stored tension can be systematically released using light, precise input. Horses cannot anticipate what a therapy is supposed to do. They do not have expectations about recovery timelines or treatment credibility. When their movement improves or their pain behaviour resolves following BSR, placebo is not a meaningful explanation. The mechanism is biological, not psychological, and it operates across species.
Why This Matters for Human Patients
For people who are sceptical of therapies that sit outside mainstream clinical medicine, Peter’s work with animals offers a straightforward reframe. The question is not whether BSR is “alternative.” The question is whether the nervous system stores tension in the tissues and whether that tension can be released through precise, light input. Fifty-three documented equine case histories, compiled and published, represent a substantial and verifiable body of practice-based evidence that it can.
For those interested in reading the full account, Horses Have Wings is available directly from Peter. Further detail on his approach to both human and animal BSR can be found on his practitioner page.
To find out more about Body Stress Release or to book a session with Peter at Hever Health, contact us or book a treatment.