MADISON, Wis.—Jim Masterson has been working with animals for almost 30 years. It’s more than just a job for him; it’s a passion he’s had for his entire life. As part of that passion, Jim developed a signature method of animal care—the Masterson Method—that he has taught to willing students all over the world. Demand has become so high that he has trained people to become instructors in his method. One of those instructors is Becky Tenges, a lifelong animal lover and a strong believer in Jim’s method.

But the state of Wisconsin doesn’t care that Jim and instructors like Becky have taught the Masterson Method to acclaim for years. And it certainly doesn’t care about Jim and Becky’s constitutionally protected right to teach willing students. Instead, if Jim and Becky want to teach the Masterson Method, Wisconsin wants to force Jim’s school to go through an all-encompassing review process that would span from Jim’s curricula to his business model. That review, and the ongoing regulation it would bring, would require spending an excessive amount of time and resources on compliance costs, along with the pure financial cost associated with the fees the state charges for its ongoing interference. So, Jim and Becky are fighting back and teaming with the Institute for Justice (IJ), a nonprofit public interest law firm, to challenge these arduous restrictions and protect their First Amendment rights to teach to their students.

“The First Amendment has clear protections for occupational speech, protections that Wisconsin is plainly violating,” said IJ Senior Attorney Jeff Redfern. “Jim and Becky deserve to have their constitutional rights upheld and to be able to freely speak without government approval.”

Jim started his animal-care journey by working at a stable for equestrian horses. Equestrian horses are athletes, and they need physical recovery just like any other athlete. As Jim observed different practitioners working on horses, he noticed that those horses would respond with subtle physical cues. Jim was determined to develop techniques that would be responsive to those cues and so allow the horse to release tension. The resulting system of bodywork was centered around working with the horse to relieve tension, rather than simply working on the horse. And so, the Masterson Method was born.

Jim refined his method in the performance-driven environment of the equestrian circuit. Through word of mouth, Jim’s method spread and his clientele grew. Soon, he was using his method on horses competing in top competitions. In 2006, Jim worked with the U.S. Equestrian Team’s endurance athletes at the World Equestrian Games in Germany. Over the next eight years, Jim continued to work with the U.S. Equestrian Endurance Team at multiple international competitions, from Malaysia to France.

Jim has also trained other people to serve as instructors in the Masterson Method, including Becky. As his operation grew larger, he has expanded his course offerings; he now has a course tailored to teaching equine therapists how to deploy basic Masterson Method techniques in their practice, as well as a course focused on lighter techniques.

Jim’s method became world renowned and was well known in the national horse world to the point where he was even something of a minor celebrity. At conventions he would be approached by fans asking for autographs and would spend time happily answering questions about his work to anyone that approached him.

But in March 2023, just as Becky was preparing to teach Jim’s advanced, five-day course in Wisconsin the state’s “Educational Approval Program” (EAP) demanded that all teaching and advertising of the Masterson Method cease until Becky and Jim comply with their regulations or else face the threat of fines up to $500 a day.

Housed under Wisconsin’s Department of Safety and Professional Services, EAP’s mission is to regulate private trade schools. The scope of regulation extends to the people who promote those schools and the buildings the schools occupy. The regulations can be as burdensome as they are comprehensive. They go well beyond commonsense anti-fraud protections—after all, that’s what Wisconsin’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act is for. These regulations are also unconstitutional under the First Amendment and interfere with Jim and Becky’s right to speech.

When Jim found out, he was taken aback.

“I teach because people want to hear what I have to say and because my work helps people care for their animals,” said Jim. “For the state to come in and tell me what I can and cannot say to people who want to hear it and especially given my entire track record and years of practice, it’s just not right.”

“Wisconsin cannot tell Jim and Becky that they don’t have the right to teach,” said IJ Attorney Prashanta Augustine. “The First Amendment protects Americans’ right to speech within their occupation. Teaching is speech, and burdensome restrictions on speech—particularly those that regulate speech based on its subject matter—are unconstitutional.”

This case is the latest in IJ’s commitment to protecting occupational speech under the First Amendment. Previously, IJ has litigated on behalf of Leda Mox who, in a similar set of circumstances, was told by the state of Minnesota that she couldn’t teach horse massage unless she subjected herself to a panoply of regulations. Minnesota was wrong, and IJ won. But this fight extends to other occupations across the country and is part of IJ’s overall goal of protecting occupational speech. IJ protected a Mississippi startup’s First Amendment right to create informal maps against an overzealous regulator’s attempt to shut the company down for supposedly practicing “land surveying” without a license. In California, IJ successfully defended a horseshoeing teacher’s right to talk about horseshoeing to willing students. In Indiana, IJ defended the right of two end-of-life doulas to talk about home funerals with willing clients. And IJ has also secured court victories all over the country—from the District of Columbia to Charleston to Savannah—for tour guides who want to tell stories without needing the government’s permission. 

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To arrange interviews on this subject, journalists may contact Phillip Suderman, IJ’s Communications Project Manager, at psuderman@staging.ij.org or (850) 376-4110. More information on the case is available at: https://staging.ij.org/case/wisconsin-animal-care/