A Plus Equine Bodywork

12/26/2025

Today’s gratitude moment is a deeply personal one.

Take a few quiet minutes to write a short letter to your horse.

Thank them for what they’ve taught you, for the patience they’ve offered, and for the partnership you continue to build together.

You don’t need perfect words.
Just honesty, presence, and appreciation.
This letter isn’t for anyone else. It’s a chance to pause, reflect, and acknowledge the relationship you share.

If you feel comfortable, you’re welcome to share a line from your letter in the comments.

If not, let it be just for you and your horse. 🐴💛

12/24/2025

Today’s gratitude moment is about reflecting on the memories you’ve created with your horse.

Take a moment to look back at a photo or memory that brings a sense of warmth or pride, like a quiet barn moment, a milestone you worked toward, or a simple day that meant more than you realized at the time.

These memories remind us that progress isn’t always loud or linear.
It’s built in consistent care, shared experiences, and time spent together.

What memory with your horse are you feeling grateful for today? 🐴💛

12/21/2025

This!! 👇

Winter Hoof Growth

Here in Massachusetts, winter came earlier than usual this year. Inevitably with it come the questions about winter hoofcare cycles -
“how long do you think they can go between trims now that their growth has slowed?”

“They don’t really need another trim in 5 weeks do they?”

Now I’ll try to make this short and sweet. As a hoofcare provider, I am fighting for my life to get horses’ hooves in a better spot all spring, summer, and fall- often fighting against metabolic concerns, grass intake, excessive growth, distortion even on a regular schedule, etc.

But for all the horsekeeping issues we deal with in winter, at least for many horses winter gives us a little reprieve in their excessive growth and potential distortion. This is the time we can get ahead of hoof issues- when we can address the flare before it starts, when we can work on correcting angles without doing too much all at once, when we can get heels to come back under the limb and get breakover in a good spot, and we can get the entire horse moving and feeling better.

Although it’s tempting to want to stretch out a horse‘s hoofcare cycle in winter, and while for some that may be an okay option, I am most excited when l can stick to the same cycle year round and make even better progress all winter and set the feet up to be healthier when the spring growth hits.

Our job as hoofcare providers isn’t just removing excess. It’s addressing hoof balance, supporting the feet for proper movement and comfort, and addressing issues before they become pathological or chronic.

If your hoofcare provider is asking to stay on the same cycle this winter, trust that they’re trying to make sure the feet don’t get into a spot you have to rehab from next summer.

12/21/2025

Today’s gratitude focus is on the quiet end-of-day moments with our horses.

An extra check before you leave.
A longer pause at the stall door.
Making sure they’re comfortable, settled, and supported for the night.

These moments often go unnoticed, but they matter. They’re part of the consistency and care that helps horses feel safe and regulated, especially during colder, darker days.

Take a moment this evening to appreciate the role you play in your horse’s comfort. Sometimes gratitude lives in simply showing up. 🐴💛

12/19/2025

More stock clean out!

Pure Sole Hoof Wax

I have two containers up for grabs. $40 each.

This 100% natural wax works great for horses that need an antimicrobial packing. This soothing, protective wax helps treat and manage issues such as hoof wall separation, deep cracks and crevices, white line disease. It can also be applied over nail holes after shoeing or to fill in holes when shoes have been pulled.

12/18/2025

Friendly reminder to please reach out and let me know if your horse is sick or if there is a sick horse at your barn so we can plan and reschedule accordingly!

The upper respiratory disease commonly referred to as strangles is caused by Streptococcus equi subsp equi. Strangles is spread from horse to horse through direct contact. Horses can also contract the disease by coming into contact with contaminated surfaces. The disease is highly infectious.

12/18/2025

❤️TWELVE DAYS OF GIVING: DAY SEVEN❤️
A Plus Equine Bodywork
We would like to take the time to thank Ashley for the positive impact she makes on the equine community! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Love all of us at Sunset Acres!🎄🐴

12/18/2025

Today’s gratitude moment is about movement. Not how it looks, but what it allows you and your horse to share.

Maybe it’s a quiet trail ride.
Maybe it’s a balanced transition.
Maybe it’s relaxed groundwork or a calm walk together.

Whatever it is, take a moment to appreciate what your horse’s body can do today.

Movement is communication, adaptation, and partnership and it changes over time.

Pause, notice, and offer gratitude for the experience of moving together, exactly as you are today. 🐴💛

12/17/2025

This morning I had a question posted in my Equine Functional Posture Course and I thought it would be good to post here as it is an important question

“My horse has been cleared by the vet to be ridden… but when is the right time to actually start riding?”

This is such an important question!!

Being cleared by the Vet means tissues have healed enough to tolerate load.
But healing and readiness are not the same thing.

Before we climb back into the saddle, it’s worth asking a deeper question:
👉 Is my horse’s body prepared and able to carry me well - physically, posturally, and emotionally?

True readiness is about function, not just timeframes.

I look for signs like:
• Can they maintain balanced posture at rest?
- Limb alignment and positions
- Head and neck position - braced or relaxed?

• Do they have mobility and strength through the thoracic sling to enable lift at the base of the wither and maintain balance and weight off the forehand

• Is the core able to support the spine, or does movement collapse under load?
- Is there mobility of the spine in a belly lift?
- When they trot is the back well supported or is it dropping downwards with a disconnect to the pelvis

• Are they moving with ease, confidence, and symmetry or guarding and compensating?

• How do they respond to light requests - calmly and softly, or with tension and resistance?

🐴Riding too early doesn’t always look dramatic.
Often it shows up quietly:
– Loss of balance
– Subtle resistance
– Changes in behaviour
– Tension, stiffness, or reluctance
– Patterns that become “training problems” later on

💡 The ideal time to start riding is when your horse can carry themselves before they carry you.

This is where groundwork, posture work, controlled loading, and progressive reintroduction to movement become acts of welfare, not delays.

Because of the horse…
we owe them the time to rebuild balance, strength and confidence in their body not just return to work.

If you’re unsure, listen to what the body is telling you.
Posture and behaviour are always communicating - we just need to learn how to hear them.

💜🐴

12/17/2025

12/17/2025

Today’s gratitude moment is about something we often only notice when there’s a problem: your horse’s hooves.

Those hooves support every step, every landing, every transition, and every moment of balance.
They influence how your horse moves, how they carry themselves, and how comfortable their body feels overall.

Take a moment today to really look at your horse’s feet.

Notice their shape, their growth, their wear.
Offer a quiet thank you for everything they do to support your horse from the ground up.

Strong, supported hooves matter and today, we appreciate them. 🐴💛