Certified Equiscope Technician servicing Northern Minnesota for improved equine health and wellness.
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This is such a powerful vision of what happens to the horseβs body when the face is constantly held behind the vertical. This is not limited to simply one or a few disciplines but is seen across the board! Not only is work behind the vertical damaging to the horseβs skeletal structure, it also significantly impacts the horseβs ability to breathe.
It never fails to amaze me watching inflammation dissolve before your eyes! π€©
If you reach out to me to have work done on your horse, chances are youβll hear or have already heard me ask if their teeth have been addressed FIRST!
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OTTB presenting with trouble cantering under saddle, headshaking, former EPM & one-sided movement restrictions. The owner has been working VERY hard to rehabilitate his body and feet.
Peeling the layers off restrictions is a process and takes time! By addressing diet, body, feet and teeth this horse will continue to change.
While we see imperfections in the mouth, the horse deserves to be understood and given the chance to show βusβ exactly what is the most comfortable place to be in HIS body. We cannot assume just because something doesnβt βlook aesthetically correctβ that it needs to be taken away.
The way this horse needs to move to be the most FUNCTIONAL as an individual supersedes any theory or method, we as humans impose.
This was the first round of changes to his teeth. More to come!
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We will be set up at the Itasca Sunset Saddle Club, Inc. June show Friday night and Saturday!
We love seeing these awesome before and after results of Equiscope clients dealing with injuries!!
For all of my clients that have been interested in purchasing their own ProSix, hereβs the sale youβve been waiting for!
Itβs finally SPRING! Time to get our ponies moving with new activewear from ProSix. Save $30 off each ProSix Equine in any of 5 sizes with code Spring30 at checkout. Add 2 liners to your order and save $40 with code Spring40.
"What's the value of 'Yes' if 'No' isn't even an option?"
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Last year, I burned out. I was on the road all the time, I didn't exercise, I didn't nourish myself, I didn't make time for myself.
I started to feel pretty awful - emotionally and physically.
I'd planned to have December off and when that month came around, my goodness the wheels thoroughly fell off. Low mood and then eventually, raging illness.
And I knew that it would be hard, but I had to find a little glimmer of starting to gently rebuild myself and relaying foundations [whilst also promising to never let my self care fall by the wayside again]
I've always been active and I've always trained at the gym and/or practiced yoga and so I wasn't prepared for what I would feel like when I started a bit of yoga again.
I kept the intensity very low, mostly stretch poses on the floor - I wanted to step back into my body, not punish it.
So I was horrified when those very gentle poses made me feel physically sick - I hadn't even raised my heart rate, why was I so nauseous?
I later learned, after some reading, that this is in fact a safety mechanism from the body - when you've been chronically stressed, you're body sees movement patterns outside of the norm as a threat, which results in an upregulation in your sympathetic nervous system.
A stress response to movement.
It took me about 4 weeks of gentle consistency to stop feeling like that. And some days I would stop because I felt too terrible.
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Through a bodywork lens, when you look at a horse and see their respective muscular restrictions and tensional patterns, you can get caught in a cycle of 'doing to' the horse, not 'working with' the horse -
You see the 'lack' or the problem to be fixed, not the fact there is a whole being there who has a fully embodied experience of their tensional patterns.
The patterns that kept them safe and served them exceptionally well until they manifested in chronic strain and overuse.
The temptation (and admittedly the initial training) is to bodywork the horse to get rid of the tension and then this is followed by an expection to put together a programme of exercises to get the horse nice and strong so it doesn't happen again.
What increasingly no longer sits well with me is that when you give out directives for what someone should do with their horse, it can stop the horse from being seen.
They become the list of exercises to tick off, irrespective of how those exercises make them or their body feel.
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Every horse that I work woth teaches me something, but my goodness this horse absolutely deals the lessons in an incredibly beautiful way...
He absolutely commanded to be the curator of his experience and his human was absolutely listening.
This meant that I could say "hey, this is what I would like you to work towards" and it would be integrated into his plan, gently. To his tolerance.
He gets to say Yes and equally, he gets to say No. Both of these are fine.
Likewise from a bodywork perspective, I thought that I was soft and gentle, but he taught me that I can always be softer and more gentle. And equally just because it's soft and gentle doesn't mean it's tolerable.
10 months between the photos and we're just getting started β€οΈβ¨οΈ
If you want the resultsβ¦ do the work β€οΈ
For those of you that Iβve talked posture with and how it relates to your horseβs mental state this is a great further explanation of sensory and security and how building good posture also helps create confidence!
Yes!!! When we start teaching and practicing correct posture square legs follow easily and naturally!
β-The long awaited In Hand Course is here!! See the comments for a link to sign upβ-
How do you make a horse stand square?
Itβs something I get asked often.
The problem I see with a lot of work is the teaching of βthingsβ and less attention to principles. Teaching a horse to stand square, or the arrangement of legs in a pleasing manner to the eye, doesnβt inherently change the arrangement of the body, or the nervous system. You can stuff legs here and there, but if you change the mind, and organize the body- well, then you have a body that squares itself.
Itβs the difference between the stuffed-up, tight aesthetic posture we learned to ride with as kids: shoulders back, eyes up, heels down- with a tight back and poor breathing, vs- actually having functional breathing and movement that gives you a straight appearance.
So how do you teach the horse to stand square? Balance their mind and body, and watch them square themselves in their own time.
Tongues out Tuesday anyone? π€ͺ
This guy said that his favorite session of the week was this simple two plate protocol to work on a suspensory injury! It always amazes me that sometimes the animals truly respond better to the most simple of protocols than they do to the more complex ones with various plate and probe placements!
Did you know that our horses show us pain signals long before actual lameness occurs?
Dr. Sue Dyson has done extensive research on the pain signals given by the ridden horse and interestingly enough I see these same signals in horses on the ground all of the time!! This video doesnβt do justice to just how much research has gone into this topic but itβs a great start!
When we start paying better attention to the small signs horses give us and we start giving the proper attention and care at these times, the horse becomes much less likely to become full on βlameβ, they become much more willing because they are comfortable, and we as owners spend much less money in the long run on vet (and sometimes even hospital) bills!
Never stop questioning βwhyβ a horse is exhibiting a behavior because more times than not it IS related to pain not to training or behavioral issues. Just because something doesnβt show up in an X-Ray, ultrasound, or blood test doesnβt mean there isnβt pain there.
Musculoskeletal pain often goes undiagnosed by conventional veterinary testing methods but that doesnβt discredit the fact that pain or discomfort is still occurring!
If your back hurts and you go to the doctor for back pain they may recommend you to a physical therapist - not because the doctor is uneducated but because in the tests and assessments they have been trained to use you showed up clear. Once you see a physical therapist, a massage therapist, a chiropractor, or an acupuncturist they may start asking different questions or putting you through different assessments that help you find and resolve the root of the problem! Not all pain stems from joint dysfunction or something that can be seen from medical imaging technology and quite honestly a lot of times joint dysfunction is stemming from a musculoskeletal imbalance or pain that pulls joints into dysfunction!
Never stop asking questions and seeking more opinions. When we discredit small changes or βweird behaviorsβ and only treat symptoms rather than enlisting the help of various professionals to find the root causes of a problem, horse and rider both suffer the consequences.
The 24 Behaviors of the Ridden Horse in Pain is a film that dares to challenge the way we look at "badly behaving" horses, and promotes the notion that lamen...
Thank you Josh for being the absolute BEST help today and for drawing our winner!
Congratulations to Clara! Tami Limberg
Thank you to everyone who stopped by to say hi, ask questions, and who bought from us at the Sand Creek Ranch tack swap today!!
We will be drawing for the prize later tonight so stay tuned for when we announce the winner!!
On the topic of the thoracic sling, activating the core, and releasing neck tension - Here is a really great video that helps explain the biomechanics and compensation patterns that are created from dysfunction!
Equitopia www.EquitopiaCenter.com talks with veterinarians and body workers to explain the phenomenon known as "Topline Syndrome." A horse with a weak, under...
THIS ππ» All of this. The body canβt do its job properly when the brain and body are not communicating fully. Adding proprioceptive strengthening exercises to your horseβs routine and practicing good posture will change the way your horse feels, looks, and works.
Plus, adding proprioceptive strengthening excercises to your own daily routine will change the way you ride, feel, and communicate with your horse!
Any injury in equines or canines, whether orthopedic or neurological in nature, will result in changes in the nervous system, both peripherally at the site of the injury and within the spinal cord and brain. There are a variety of ways in which we can address these changes to the nervous system as vet rehab therapists and physiotherapists, to ensure full rehabilitation.
https://onlinepethealth.com/overlooked-pathways-of-communication-equine-neuroplasticity-and-neurodynamics/
Grand Rapids, MN
55744
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Usually one of my most stoic regular clients, even Clyde canβt hold back from showing off how good a TMJ release feels π₯°
Our ProSix is here !!!
