https://cequinetherapy.wixsite.com/cctherapy

C.C.EquineTherapy, Callander, ON (2025)

07/05/2025

I have a few openings on Thursday July 17th for Eastwood/Powassan Area!

These spots will be first come first serve - please message or email me at [email protected] to claim an appointment. 😊

07/03/2025

🍁 JULY SCHEDULE 🍁

A little late, but here is my current July schedule! I have extended my working hours for my travel days, so please reach out ASAP if you would like to add your horse(s) to my list - my remaining openings will be first come first serve!

** Please note: I will be on holidays July 21st to July 26th.

I may have additional days come available through out the month - I will post these as they become available. 😊

🍁 Friday July 4th: Sturgeon Falls, Verner, Warren - LIMITED AVAILABILITY

🍁 Friday July 11th: High Point Farm, Knowlton Ridge, Callander - LIMITED AVAILABILITY

🍁 Monday July 14th: North Bay - BOOKED

🍁 Thursday July 17th: Eastwood, Powassan Area - LIMITED AVAILABILITY

🍁 Friday July 18th: Burksfalls, South River, Trout Creek - LIMITED AVAILABILITY

07/03/2025

Why do we demand more qualifications to train humans than we do to train horses?

A kinesiologist for humans typically needs a degree and a nationally recognized certification — after years of formal study in movement science, injury rehabilitation, and anatomy.

But in the equine world? There are no consistent regulations, no common baseline qualifications. Anyone can call themselves a horse trainer.

And I can’t tell you how many times I’ve handed a scientifically grounded rehabilitation plan to a trainer—detailing exactly what a horse needs to recover—and it’s ignored.

Not adjusted.
Not adapted.
Completely dismissed.

Despite clear recommendations like:

* This horse lacks spinal stability—jumping is contraindicated.
* Pelvic range of motion is insufficient for collection work.
* Shoulder mechanics don’t support lateral movement yet.
* Neck range of motion does not allow for true bend.

The response? Silence. Or worse—resistance.

And more often than not, that horse is pushed anyway.

Meanwhile, I hold a university degree in this.

Years of study. Clinical experience. An evidence-based approach.

But somehow, that gets overlooked in favour of someone with no formal education in anatomy, physiology, biomechanics, or rehabilitation.

Let’s be clear:

Horses can’t say, “This movement hurts.”

They can’t articulate where they feel pain, or what they’re physically not ready for.

So we owe it to them to know better and do better.

If you’re working with a trainer who can’t identify basic anatomical structures or doesn’t understand the difference between mobility and stability, please think twice.

You’re not just wasting your money—you’re risking your horse’s body.

You surely wouldn’t let someone without a license - rehab your child through post-injury rehab - so why is this acceptable for your horse?

This is one of the deepest flaws in the equine industry—and one that demands change.

If you're unsure who to trust, I will be curating a list of vetted, qualified trainers who understand movement science. This project will take some time but I will work on it over the coming months and add it to my website - stay tuned!

07/01/2025

💌 Check your inboxes! 💌

I am catching up on all outstanding invoices for the month of June - just a reminder that payment is due THE DAY OF your appointment.

I will also be sending out July dates and times this week - all balances must be paid in full before your next appointment will be booked. 😊

If you would like to be added to my July list, please reach out soon!

Have a great evening!

06/30/2025

Assessing Muscle Development in Horses – How Much Muscle is Too Little?

Understanding your horse’s topline is more than just an aesthetic choice — it's not just about looks - it’s a window into their health, comfort, and movement potential.

This drawing, based on Herbst et al. (2022) Muscle Atrophy Scoring System, helps us assess muscle atrophy using a simple 4-point scoring system:

1. No Atrophy – Healthy, rounded muscles with no sharp points or jaunty angles.

2. Mild Atrophy – Slight hollowing, but maintaining the majority of the topline curves.

3. Moderate Atrophy – Noticeable loss of muscle mass, with a loss of the natural topline curvatures and some jaunty angles.

4. Severe Atrophy – Sharp bony prominences, deep hollowing, very little muscle mass evident.

Whilst atrophy can occur for many reasons -

Poor welfare state, disuse, pain, injury, poor saddle fit, to name a few -

A question I would pose is how much muscle development is needed to carry a rider?

Does your horse have enough muscle mass to be ridden?

-

"Should I be riding my horse right now?"

Join Integrative Equine Podiatrist, Beccy Smith, and I as we discuss this topic through a variety of lenses: combining evidence-informed practice and research to give you practical skills to assess your own horse's wellbeing so you can answer the question for yourself.

30.06.2025 19:00 BST

Recording available if you can't make the live ❤️✨️

06/28/2025

If my human patients couldn’t speak, they would be labeled as “difficult.”

This week, I had a day where all four human patients came in — each in acute pain.

* One had a previously herniated disc, degenerative disc disease, and facet joint arthritis—presenting with radiating lower back pain and numbness in both feet
* Another came in with acute sinusitis—reporting a migraine-like headache and sharp neck pain
* The third had a gym injury—a shoulder that couldn’t tolerate lifting or reaching
* And the last was recovering from three recent dental surgeries—experiencing sharp pain with neck rotation and jaw movement.

You know how I knew where to start?

Because they told me. Because I could ask the right questions. Because they could answer.

Together, we narrowed down which nerve roots were compressed, which cranial bones were impacted, which parts of the shoulder capsule were injured, and which jaw movements were triggering the neck pain.

They got relief because I believed them. Because they could communicate. And because I could do what I do best: assess, identify, and treat the actual cause.

And it reminded me—how many of our horses would be diagnosed with a “behavioural issue” instead?

Each case was complex. But each person could tell me what hurt. They could answer detailed questions, follow instructions, and guide me toward the root of their pain.

That’s what made effective treatment possible. That’s why they walked away with relief and a clear plan forward.

This is the power of two-way communication—and it’s what many horses are missing.

Most horses in pain can’t explain the exact location, nature, or trigger. And because of that, their pain is often misread as disobedience or attitude.

But pain isn’t a behaviour problem. It’s a physiological one.

I don’t treat behaviour. I assess structure, function, and compensation patterns—whether the patient can speak or not.

When behaviour doesn’t match expectation, it’s my job to investigate why.

That’s the difference between symptom management and meaningful change.

06/28/2025

* ~ Massage & Modalities ~ *

Therapeutic Modality:
(as defined by www.physio-pedia.com>Therapeutic_Modalities)

"...the administration of thermal, mechanical, electromagnetic and light energies for therapeutic purposes..."

Think of a time when you, yourself, may have visited a massage therapist, chiropractor, physiotherapist - what was included in your care?

Therapists will ask you to provide them with your Subjective Findings:
- Current pain/problem
- Cause (if known)
- Aggravating/Relieving factors
etc.

Followed by their Objective Findings:
- Current range of motion
- Palpation: is there any tightness? spasticity? joint restrictions?
- Mobility
etc
...Now imagine if once all the investigative work was done, all your therapist did was hook you up to a machine and send you on your way.

Will you experience some short term relief? Probably.

Will the root cause of the problem be addressed? Probably not.

Would YOU be satisfied with your treatment? Leave your answers below 👇

Now let's apply this to the horse world - will applying a therapeutic modality provide them with temporary relief? Potentially.

Will applying a modality fix an underlying lameness issue? Probably not.

In my experience, sometimes this gets lost in translation between the human and the horse worlds - sometimes, we rely too much on a modality instead of working to address the root cause of the issue.

I'm not saying we shouldn't use machines such as PEMF & BEMER - when used by professionals with proper training and when used in COMBINATION with some form of hands on treatment they can be extremely beneficial.

Therapeutic modalities should be used to assist or enhance treatment sessions, not be the solution to all problems.

06/25/2025

I have TWO openings this Friday for those in the Bonfield, Powassan, or Callander areas!

Please contact me if you would like to claim a spot. These will be first come first serve. :)

06/19/2025

I have ONE appointment open this Friday for those at Eastwood!

If you would like to claim this spot, please contact me ASAP.

This is my last opening for the month of June! July is starting to book up quickly, so please reach out if you would like to be added to my list. 😊

06/16/2025

Training aids- harmful or helpful?

When we look at training aids I think we need to do so objectively -

If a training aid is marketed to encourage the horse to ‘work over the back’- but instead it’s creating resistance through the cervical region and extension through the thoracic and lumbar…. Then that is not something we want to be using with our horses.

If a training aid is marketed to ‘teach the horse head set’- but is instead using the mouth and head as leverage.. we often see this creating cervical tension and excess pressure on the mouth. This is not something we want to be using with our horses.

In these images I’ve highlighted some of the biomechanical differences we see in the same phase of the gait both with and without a training aid.

Without the TA:

👉We have more impulsion.

👉We have more extension through the forelimb and carpal joint.

👉ROM through the limbs will influence hoof landings- heel vs toe vs flat.

👉We have more extension through hind limb joints- stifle, hock, fetlock.

👉Increased stride length/tracking.

👉Open throat latch.

👉More relaxed ventral cervical musculature.

In the Equine Wellness Academy we have lessons that walk you through how popular training aids on the market work.

What muscles they affect, how they influence the horse’s movement and how to train your eye to understand your horse’s functional movement better.

Whether you’re thinking about using TA for young horses, to help build topline, or in rehab cases….the bottom line is, you need to know how they work! You can explore the Academy here👇👇
https://abequinetherapy.com/academy/

C.C.EquineTherapy

07/05/2025

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