Kate Thornton Equine Sports & Remedial Bodywork Norfolk

30/11/2025

The 3 Days • 3 Weeks • 3 Months Rule

How Training, Conditioning, and Massage Therapy Support a New Horse’s Adjustment

When a horse arrives in a new home, their body and brain go through predictable stages of stress, recalibration, and integration. Understanding these stages helps set fair expectations for training, conditioning, and bodywork — and ensures the horse feels safe enough to truly learn.

First 3 Days — Survival Mode

What’s happening in the horse:

• Elevated cortisol & adrenaline

• Hypervigilance, scanning for
safety

• Tight fascia, shortened stride

• Limited sleep, digestive changes

• Polite or shut-down behavior

• Not ready for new demands

Training Implications:

• Keep it minimal. Think familiarization, not training.

• Introduce routines gently: turnout, feeding, leading.

• Avoid high expectations — they’re not mentally available yet.

• Don’t correct “weird behavior”; it’s stress physiology, not defiance.

Physical Conditioning:

• No conditioning work yet.

• Allow grazing, walking, and movement at liberty.

• Let the horse decompress before analyzing gait or posture.

How Massage Therapy Helps:

• Supports parasympathetic activation (“rest + digest”)

• Loosens protective tension in the poll, neck, TMJ, ribcage

• Improves breathing and vagal tone
• Helps the horse recover from travel stress

Goal of this phase:

Establish safety, lower stress, restore baseline physiology.

First 3 Weeks — Adjustment & Testing Phase

What’s happening in the horse:

• Nervous system begins stabilizing

• Sleep improves

• True personality begins to emerge

• Herd dynamics are being negotiated

• Fascial patterns surface (bracing, crookedness, restrictions)

Training Implications:

• Start light, simple, consistent training

• Focus on boundaries, manners, basic communication

• Expect some testing — this is normal

• Introduce new tasks slowly

• Reward relaxation and curiosity

Physical Conditioning:

• Begin low-stress conditioning:

• In-hand work

• Hill walking

• Long-and-low

• Ground poles

• Evaluate natural asymmetries, stride length, and posture

• Avoid hard cardio or heavy schooling

How Massage Therapy Helps:

• Identifies tension patterns formed from travel, past training, or stress

• Releases compensations as the horse begins doing more

• Improves thoracic sling mobility and ribcage elasticity

• Supports better saddle fit as musculature shifts

• Enhances proprioception during early training

Goal of this phase:

Build trust, establish boundaries, begin reshaping movement.

First 3 Months — Integration & True Conditioning

What’s happening in the horse:

• Herd social structure established

• Full neurobiological regulation

• Digestive system normalized

• True posture, habits, and movement patterns appear

• Genuine learning and bonding accelerate

Training Implications:

• The horse is now mentally available for real training

• Can handle consistency, new challenges, and progressive demands

• Trust is present → training becomes safer and clearer

• Complex concepts (lateral work, transitions, softness) begin to stick

Physical Conditioning:

• Begin structured strength-building:

• Raised poles

• Cavaletti

• Lateral work

• Hill work

• Engagement and core work

• Monitor soreness as new muscles develop

• Expect posture changes as the horse remaps its body

How Massage Therapy Helps:

Massage and MFR are most impactful at this stage:

• Supports remodeling of fascia as new movement patterns develop

• Helps muscles adapt to conditioning without overload

• Prevents old compensations from returning

• Enhances stride length, symmetry, and thoracic sling function

• Keeps joints decompressed as the horse gains strength

• Creates better balance between sympathetic and parasympathetic tone

• Improves overall body awareness → smoother training progress

Goal of this phase:

True integration, real conditioning, and long-term partnership.

A horse’s nervous system, fascia, and biomechanics need time to recalibrate after any major change. The 3 Days • 3 Weeks • 3 Months framework reflects how their body integrates safety, movement, and new information. Training and conditioning shape new patterns, while massage and myofascial work support the neuromuscular system as it reorganizes. Together, these pieces create lasting change — and a horse truly ready to thrive.

https://koperequine.com/the-power-of-slow-why-slow-work-is-beneficial-for-horses/

20/11/2025

As some of you know if I've seen/spoken to you recently, I've been watching the 'Webinars with Wendy' on YouTube over the last few weeks - every day while I eat breakfast, so don't get through a whole one each day!!

Firstly, a massive shout out to Wendy Murdoch for the time she has put into way over 300 (yes, I know!!) webinar chats. What an immense wealth of knowledge in one channel - sooo many fascinating discussions, I learn so much from them. I've now watched 2 webinars with Jillian Kreinbring , and the latest one (not sure I did it in order) was called "The Sacral Connection". OMG. I'm absolutely hooked!! But I just wanted to share something I found super interesting - the variation in the cranial articular processes of the sacrum.

The sacrum has 7 articulating surfaces, but the most medial (and they are cranial) articulate with the last lumbar vertebrae (the 6th). Jillian has so many bone specimens, so when she is explaining this, it's so clear to see - I urge you to tune in, link at the end.... During some of her research years ago, she discovered that prehistoric horse (although precise era wasn't mentioned), had a variation in these articular processes, in that when viewed ventrally (or dorsally), they are slightly angled when compared to modern day horse, which are more or less parallel. But why?

Well, as she explains, early horses were more forest dwelling (within and on the periphery) than more modern day horses. So, in contrast to the horses we know, who in ethological settings would be found in larger open spaces, such as plains, the early horse had to be able to negotiate obstacles (trees/flora) in order to escape predation. The relationship to the shape of the articular processes of the sacrum? These angled processes allowed for different planes of movement - simply put, a more 'side to side' action suited to a slalom as well as flexion/extension on a sagittal plane. Later horses need huge propulsion, and the ability to bring their hind quarters underneath to create effective 'push off' in straighter lines - so more parallel processes facilitate this.

I'm not sure the particular research Jillian was referring to but just like the White Rabbit that I am (often a bit late and always down a rabbit hole), I went searching. I did find research by Dr. Kate Jones (2016) which examines the morphology of the lumbar vertebrae of the horse comparing different eras in history and how evolution has preserved and created the most effective and efficient movement. In summary, although evolution has meant that a large proportion of the spine has gradually become stiffer to support longer distances of fast movement, the lumbosacral joint has maintained good range of motion (just perhaps in slightly different ways).

This mobility is crucial because the lumbosacral region acts like a hinge or spring that helps the horse: push from behind, use the pelvis effectively, and coordinate breathing with movement during fast gaits (respiratory locomotor coupling). This means prehistoric horses, which were smaller and more agile, likely had slightly different facet joint shapes that allowed slightly different movement in this area. Modern horses look different in many ways, but the functionally important mobility of the lumbosacral joint on the needs of the animal has been maintained (although 'tweaked'!) throughout evolution.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAG_PMX-a0o

Jones, K.E., et al. (2016) — New insights on equid locomotor evolution from the lumbar region of fossil horses (PeerJ / PubMed Central

18/11/2025

In the absence of anything from me, i share this insightful article co-written by Désirée Braganza of Bodhi Horse Practice 🙏🙏

Robert Anderson first contacted me after reading one of our Everyday Ethology articles. A physicist scientist by education, Robert had the rare experience of closely encountering orcas at SeaWorld San Diego between 1979 and 1980. He also has a long-standing relationship with horses, beginning on a r

14/11/2025

Sometimes when I’m working with a horse, it looks as though I’m not doing very much 😮 My hands are still and from the outside it might seem like nothing’s happening.

But under my hands, there’s often a lot going on. I might be using Muscle Energy Technique (MET) — where I gently engage a muscle for just a few seconds, and then release it. That small effort followed by release helps the Golgi tendon organs (tiny sensory receptors within the muscle) signal the body that it’s safe to let go of excess tension. Often, around seven seconds of soft engagement is enough to begin that shift.

It doesn’t look dramatic, but you can feel the difference — the tissue softens, the breath deepens, and the horse begins to let go.

I don’t talk much during these moments. Staying quiet helps me focus, listen with my hands, and give the horse space to experience what they’re feeling.

It might look like stillness — but that stillness is where change often begins. 💛

14/11/2025

Here we go! 🐎🌧🌧🌧☔🌬

13/11/2025

OK, I hadn't ever appreciated that I have Rocky Mountain hair, but Trooper's human was chuckling to herself secretly filming her observation 😆😆🐎I am honoured (natch 😉)

On a different note, what am I doing? Limb Unwinding 😁

This is a gentle, intuitive technique that helps release tension and restriction in a horse’s limbs. By allowing the limb to move freely in small, natural motions, we invite the fascia, muscles, and the nervous system to let go of holding patterns. This not only improves range of motion and circulation, but also enhances proprioception — the horse’s awareness of where their body is in space. 🐎✨ This is useful for Trooper, who also regularly uses balance pads, as he is hypermobile.

Hypermobile horses often have extra flexibility in their joints, which can make them appear loose or “floaty” — but it can also mean they struggle with stability and body awareness. Improving proprioception can help them with coordination, and control of movement. 🐴💫

I will do a video some day where you can see the limb and my hands, but that was obviously not the aim this time 😂😂

12/11/2025

It's almost time!! Nicky Donohue , Lynda Davey and I are looking ahead to 2026 for our next run of LyNK residential courses!

We are always evolving and learning as we go with how best to tailor our courses to our clients and their horses. With this in mind, we have streamlined the booking system and will be using My Riding Life & My Show Secretary 😁 Just a couple more admin bits to do in the setup of this and then we'll be able to release the dates for booking (It can be tricky to find times when our diaries align so we can sit down and get our heads in the laptop but almost there!!). We'll contact those of you who have attended our courses to offer you the dates first, before releasing them to the wider equestrian community (We will contact you directly).

Meanwhile, we have updated the website with a tweak to our offerings - 6 events in 2026 - 3.5 and 2.5 day options 📅🐎

Can you spot yourselves in our refreshed courses page? www.equicode.horse/courses

11/11/2025

All the men and women who have fought for us
horses, elephants, mules, donkeys, camels who have carried for us dogs who have scouted, guarded and rescued for us
cats who have controlled disease and provided companionship
Any other being who has been involved in war efforts throughout time....
We thank you 💪🙏🙏🙏

06/11/2025

Sorry that my page is so lame recently - I don't seem to get chance to sit down and post much 😿but this is worth posting - my Purple Poppy badges arrived this morning, thanks to Murphy's Army Purple Poppy Campaign 🥰👏I will, of course, be buying my red poppy as well - thank you to ALL who have served and are serving 🙏

❤️

03/11/2025

It was a pleasure to be asked to discuss the smell of 💩 last year (!) as part of a brainstorm with Bodhi Horse Practice and two insightful veterinary professionals.

Have you checked out the particular smell of your horse’s poo lately/frequently? Interested in your thoughts! 💭

Explore how observing horse manure - its smell, shape, and texture - can offer early signs of gut health issues. A sensory-based guide for curious equestrians.

26/10/2025

morning I was SO proud. So proud to know an amazing 12 year old equestrian who has such a keen interest in her horse 🐎 just check out what she’d taken it upon herself to do….. she had studied a video online on the equine skeleton and then drew it on her pony. Her interest in how her horse functions just heartened me. 🥰

Well done Florence - more than happy to have a bone naming session any time you like 🙌

Posted with kind permission.

Nb in the summer we had a camp that Florence and her pony attended. As part of that she drew some patches on him and he showed zero signs of compromise and it was very easily washed after 👍