Fully Involved Equine

30/11/2024

Improper saddle fit is one of the leading issues in horses! Make sure your fit is correct, these tips are great ways for horse owners to double and triple check their saddle fit!

Your Horse's Lumps & Bumps

28/11/2024

Happy Thanksgiving!! 🍁🦃

I am so blessed to continue rehabbing horses and having such an awesome support system! My clients are my favorite people!

Thank you to everyone who makes it possible 🤍

28/11/2024

How familiar are you with Muscle Pain?🤔

Chronic muscle pain is often the result of unresolved issues due to a previous injury or illness. It is often assumed that when an acute muscle injury occurs that it’s healed up after all pain and/or swelling is resolved; however, this is not always the case.

When an injury does occur, the body immediately reacts by guarding the injury and causes the injured muscle to tighten. During the healing process, these muscles often remain short and tight and more often than not, they don’t returning to their normal length.

Also keep in mind, pain does NOT always point to the problem!

A painful area may not be the actual problem. Our growing knowledge of body function is allowing better understanding of muscle compensation. Treating the symptoms with pain medications, muscle relaxers, or injections will not help restore muscle balance. They simply MASK the symptoms. I call them a bandaid fix.
(We don’t like those!🤫)

This is why we look a the horse as a whole and not in sections! Taking in the full picture treats the root of every problem and doesn’t just create a bandaid fix.

Having a ✨good massage therapist✨ take a look at your horse regularly is vital to their overall health and performance. A trained eye can see how your horse can improve and treat the areas to get them back into performance faster than any machine ever can. 🤩

Reach out if you’re in need of an equine massage therapist to come take a lot for you!

25/11/2024

This handsome fella has been keeping me busy the last few weeks! 🤩

“Rango”🐴
2021 Mustang Gelding
Jackson Mountains, NV

It’s not too often I find a training project that is just so honest, but this guy is truly a diamond in the rough!💎

Rango can:

•Halter (when he wants time be caught😉) and walks respectfully on a lead rope.
•Lunges well
•Picks up all 4 feet nicely
•Let some touch him in all of his places
•Walks over tarps and carried them on his back

What I have learned about Rango thus far:

•Babies can be so dang sassy!!🤣

Stay tuned for more of our progress over the next few weeks!😁

22/11/2024

Here’s a great visual for saddle fit!

Saddle Fit for Horse and Rider

21/11/2024

This is why I do what I do!

Getting the privilege to help a horse feel relief is the most incredible feeling in the world and knowing that my work makes a difference means the absolute world to me. 🤍

I love learning more very day, seeing more, studying more, and making a difference every single time I lay my hands on a horse! I could never stop pursing the beautiful career or stand by when I know I can help someone and their horse.

Today marks the 5 year anniversary of my original certification as a CESMT.

What began as just a personal endeavor to further understand and support my 2 mares at the time has since lead me down the long roads of ethology, pain & movement science and functional biomechanics... to today being fully self employed and typing this post out in a hotel room at the heart of the Horse Capital of the World, 2 years into my education to becoming an Equine Osteopath (EDO).

My career as a bodyworker has been incredibly rewarding and I wouldn't trade it for the world.
The places I've gone, the horses I've worked on and helped, the deep friendships that I've cultivated -- all priceless.

But in furthering my education and passing through numerous barns, classrooms and making connections with other industry professionals, there are so many things I wish I could unsee and unhear.
Things I constantly look back on and wish I had a chance to do-over with my own horses. Even now I fall short at times.

The thing that they don't tell you when you get into this industry is that once your eyes have been opened, you can no longer shut them.

That the muscle patterns on every horse will tell you a story. Whether you want to see it or not.
That the 'naughty' behavior or reluctance to perform is no longer an act of defiance, but of self protection.
That the industry standard for equine management, across all levels, is at best species inappropriate and at worst downright inhumane. Yet completely normalized.
That you'll come across people whose horse is there for the sole purpose of lifting their own ego and nothing more.
That the 'grumpy mare' who is constantly dismissed, ridiculed even, is begging to be listened to.
That human emotion will routinely be valued over equine welfare.
That the training practices we employ, be it due to tradition, lack of understanding, indifference or greed, are permanently damaging these animals on a psychological and physiological level.
And it is systematically encouraged... rewarded even.

What they won't tell you is that sometimes you are going to be the horses only advocate, and that their management may rely solely on how well you can articulate their needs for them.
And that often times, it will fall on deaf ears anyways.
That there will be some you see once, know you can help, and then never see again.
That there will be some you cannot help, due to damage done, lack of resources, or pure lack of education, as no one has all the answers.

And let me tell you, it's heavy.
You'll carry all of it.
The frustration, the sadness and sometimes pure anger.
Not from a place of ego, but in wanting to help the animal, and sometimes not being the practitioner that can.

It has been a wonderful, beautiful and sometimes sad 5 years.
We discover more about these animals every day. And the more I learn, the less I feel I know.
To my clients, know nothing brings me more purpose in life than helping your horses. And I will continue, relentlessly, to pursue the knowledge to help them. 🤍

14/11/2024

How cool is this?! 😎

Taping has helped so many of the horses I work on! What’s keeping you from trying it? 🤔

11/11/2024

“The soldier's heart, the soldier's spirit, the soldier's soul, are everything.”
-George Marshall
Happy Veterans Day from Fully Involved Equine! 🇺🇸
Veterans Day is not only a day to remember those who didn’t make it home, but a day to thank those who sacrificed so much to protect our rights as Americans. Often it can be easy to forget just how lucky we are to have the rights we have. Take a moment today to thank our local military families for everything they have done for us and remember how incredible this nation is! 🤍🇺🇸

10/11/2024

Why Equine Massage Therapy?🤔

Simple! Massage therapy can help to improve your horse's overall well-being and enhance their quality of life no matter what level of activity they’re at. Horses don't need to be in heavy work to benefit from massage, just like humans😉, horses have their own aches and pains that come throughout their lives.

Massage Therapy promotes healing by improving circulation and reducing inflammation, improves joint mobility, and can really bring your horse a great deal of relief. 😮‍💨

Danielle B. Cannistraci, CESMT has dedicated her life to the study of horses 🐴 and has researched various techniques to offer you and your horse the best plan possible to benefit your horse’s road to healing.

Danielle can be reached through Facebook at Fully Involved Equine or by sending a message to 814-404-0648.

📞Contact Danielle today to book a free consultation!

07/11/2024

As I settle home for the evening, I am so thankful for the opportunity to attend the conference in College Station this past weekend. I learned so much and am so excited to bring new services to you all very soon!

31/10/2024

A great visual on saddle fit! 🏇

31/10/2024

Bodywork is the utmost important thing you can do for your equines!

No body, no horse! Let’s chat about getting your horses on the books and helping them reach top notch performance!

I'm resharing this one as the show season picks up here in the south. 𝑻𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒔 😉

Riding horses is a privilege, a hobby. I think that I speak for all equestrians when I say that this hobby is one of the most expensive! As much as we want to provide the best care, sometimes the "extras" like bodywork, just don't work within the budget. That's okay! Focus on your non-negotiable vet and farrier bills.

But... if you can afford to take your horse to shows, and expect them to compete and perform like athletes, then you can afford bodywork.

In fact, you can't afford NOT to prioritize bodywork. Prehab (preventive rehab) is so much easier and more affordable than the alternative of waiting until there is a major, potentially career-ending injury. If you expect your horse to be an athlete, then you better treat them like one!

22/10/2024

What better gift to your favorite equine friend than a nice little massage?? 😍

Gift certificates are now available through the end of December!

Message for details on how to claim yours today!

01/01/2024

Happy New Year! 🥂

I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday season! May 2024 bring you everything you want and more🥰