Lauri Rusk is an Equine & Canine BodyWorker - offering animal massage for 25 years. Specializing in horses, dogs
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I'm hoping the person who contacted me through Western Wheel Local Business Directory about a dog needing some work due to a shoulder issue sees this. I cannot access your message to respond to it, due to technical issues on the newspaper's end. My apologies - I always respond within a few hours, and your message was sent two days ago! Please PM me here or text/call 905-242-9985 and I'll get right back to you.
What an awesome three days!! Learned so much and we had some fabulous hands-on with the horses, working with some equine osteopaths! So cool!
I'm so excited to be attending the three day conference, Osteopathic Relations: The Viscera, presented by the World Alliance of Equine Osteopaths!! Speakers from around the world on some very awesome topics. And, Lisa Byers will be joining me from Ontario!
Miss Buena enjoying some laser on her lower back and massage throughout her body. She's such a sweet mare.❤️
Some cool pictures and info on the hyoid bone.
We’ve established that the hyoid is connected not only directly to the tongue, forelimb and poll but also indirectly to the hindquarter. Therefore a restriction, pain or any dysfunction in the hyoid may have a direct impact on the mobility of the forelimb, leading to a possibly shortened or stilted gait. This can be transferred to the hindquarters as an inability to engage the hindlimbs.
So we see that the hyoid and the tongue affect the movement of the head, poll and jaw, and also of the forelimb. Indirectly it connects to the hindlimb as well, through muscular chains and the fascia. We can expect to see many areas affected by dysfunction in the hyoid bone, including the ability to perform lateral movement, the range of motion of the cervical spine, tension in the ventral muscles of the neck (and a tendency for the horse to go behind the bit to relieve that tension), a potentially hollow back and a shortened, stilted stride.
An interesting picture of how alike our leg is to a horse's.
This is a 23 year old Standardbred gelding, who I originally saw 7 months post right hind suspensory tear. He was just not healing and the leg was still quite swollen, and fetlock dropped almost to the ground. The vet recommended trying some laser. I unfortunately didn't take any pictures before, as I was not too optimistic that I could help him. (Were we all surprised!) The two pictures before the laser sessions were taken by the owner, and you can see that the leg is swollen and the fetlock joint very low. The bottom, right hand picture shows the leg after only 5 laser sessions! You can see how the swelling is way down and the right fetlock joint has tightened up. We were all so pleasantly surprised with the outcome! We ended up doing some laser on the left hind as well, to help tighten things up. Horse was able to go back to his original job of light riding.
Motion - the focus!!
Kira - smokin' it through the poles! Still speedy for a mature lady.
We had a wonderful Masterson refresher day at Opening Gaits Therapeutic Riding Academy last weekend. Honed up on some problem areas, plus learned some new stuff. You are never too old to learn something new!! Here is Norwegian Fjord Belle having some what I call "delicious" releases. Thank you Samantha Lethbridge for letting us work with these gentle souls, and helping out all day.
When doing bodywork, it is very important to pay attention to the animal, step back, and give them time to process what is going on in their bodies. You can see how Becky is tuned into herself, has some little blinks, then a big release at the end.
Dexter chillin' after his massage. He was such a special, sweet fellow.
Does pulsated cold laser therapy work for wounds and help speed up healing - yes it does! The picture on the left was taken just before the first laser session. The picture on the right was two days later, after two laser sessions!
Does your dog suffer from arthritis? Cold laser therapy and massage really help to alleviate discomfort. Here is Sadie enjoying some laser therapy. She is such a sweet girl!
Flashback to a proud moment in 2016. Pictures of me massaging in The Trail Rider magazine article. Thank you Shawn of Clix Photography for doing the photoshoot.
Does cold laser therapy work for tendon and ligament injury? Proof is in the pictures. This was a 100% suspensory tear - so bad that you could see the pastern joint subluxing. We did several laser sessions 2-3 days apart originally, then "tune ups" as needed over a 5 month period. The left hand picture is two weeks after injury, before any laser - you can see the pastern joint subluxing forward, and the fetlock would hit the ground if horse stood fully on that limb. Picture on the right was taken one month later, with almost full-weight-bearing for short periods of time. Please note that this case was on vet referral, with vet direction during the therapy and recovery. The owners were extremely diligent in wrapping properly and following all directions, to make sure this guy healed well! It takes a team!
I came across some videos from several years ago, of Simon the donkey. He resided at The PrimRose Donkey Sanctuary. His tail had been broken at some point (probably from being loaded onto a trailer). In the video, I say it was broken for about two years, but it was actually more like five! Because of the damage, Simon could not move his tail at all to swish flies, or lift it to clear his manure, and his rear end, legs and tail had to be washed daily by volunteers. We were determined to get some movement back, at least so he could clear his manure and not have a messy hind end. We used a combination of massage, chiropractic and Ttouch (Feldenkrais) methods to help connect brain to body. Lots of stroking from brain, along the spine to the end of his tail, then stimulating the muscles that lift the tail. We had success!! By the end of his therapies, he could lift his tail enough to clear most of his manure, and could swish a bit at flies. His tail moved more like a clock pendulum, but it moved!!
Do I massage large breed dogs? Nope - just small lap dogs like Teddy here - lol. He was the sweetest, most gentle boy. Gemma in the background supervising.
Finally getting around to updating my FB business page - lol. I've been going through some old photos and cases, and will be posting some stories each day on some interesting ones. Stay tuned!
Attention Omemee area clients. I have an opening out your way on Tues 28th - 4:30pm-ish. Pm if your animal is in need.
Hello All! I'll be away in AB from June 30th to July 13th. If your animal is needing bodywork before then, please pm me - spots are filling up. Thanks!
Hello all. I'll be heading off to Alberta from Dec 14th to Dec 30th. If you would like your animals done before then, or right after I'm back, please pm me, as spots are filling up. I thank you all for your support and understanding over this last year. You all lift me up.❤
Omemee area clients! I have an opening at 11:45am tomorrow if any of your animals are in need. Please pm me.
Tucker enjoying some bodywork today. He's sometimes a tough nut to release, but after a very surprised look and some processing, he had a good one.
Do dogs enjoy laser? Just ask Jack Russell Flora. She is in the zone! So still and quiet.
Sadie chillin' during her massage and laser session. Sweet girl!
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When doing bodywork, it is very important to pay attention to the animal, step back, and give them time to process what is going on in their bodies. You can see how Becky is tuned into herself, has some little blinks, then a big release at the end.
I came across some videos from several years ago, of Simon the donkey. He resided at The PrimRose Donkey Sanctuary. His tail had been broken at some point (probably from being loaded onto a trailer). In the video, I say it was broken for about two years, but it was actually more like five! Because of the damage, Simon could not move his tail at all to swish flies, or lift it to clear his manure, and his rear end, legs and tail had to be washed daily by volunteers. We were determined to get some movement back, at least so he could clear his manure and not have a messy hind end. We used a combination of massage, chiropractic and Ttouch (Feldenkrais) methods to help connect brain to body. Lots of stroking from brain, along the spine to the end of his tail, then stimulating the muscles that lift the tail. We had success!! By the end of his therapies, he could lift his tail enough to clear most of his manure, and could swish a bit at flies. His tail moved more like a clock pendulum, but it moved!!
Tucker enjoying some bodywork today. He's sometimes a tough nut to release, but after a very surprised look and some processing, he had a good one.
Flora during her massage yesterday. Very Zen and quiet...
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