Mirror Image Equine Wellness

10/23/2024

What I love about tape is that we can use it to create connection in areas of disconnect. Tensegrity is the concept that all of the pieces that make up the whole body function as one unit, meaning restriction in one area can create discord in another.

After a long trailer haul, Tilley lost a lot of spinal mobility and i could feel a lost connection between mid-back and hind end. Having to brace and stabilize in a trailer for 8+ hours is hard on any horse, even fit competition horses, and the body will rush to compensate in any situation. We used a bilateral circulation application to ‘connect’ her lower thoracic and lumbar spine back to her pelvis and restore blood and lymphatic flow to the stressed tissues. Once her hind end was back online, she was a happy gal!

10/09/2024

There are still a few spots left! This is such an incredible opportunity to learn how to better support your horse. Come hang with me and 1st Choice Equine Therapy, LLC and tons of other incredible practitioners and take home knowledge you can implement with all your horses!

There’s still spots left! Join us this weekend for an amazing event to support Hawke in his healing journey after falling through the bottom of a trailer during the Alexander Mountain Fire.

These are incredible individuals specializing in top notch all around horse care from nose to toes.

Sit with me and Mirror Image Equine Wellness Sunday afternoon to learn easy massage techniques to support your horses in all phases of life and training!

There will also be food, amazing auction items and tons of love and support from the equine community!

09/04/2024

I’ve had the privilege of adding a few new modalities to my practice, my favorite being kinesiology taping!

I crafted this combo circulation and edema application for Odin to target a few different pathologies. Odin has a vet-diagnosed condition called fibrotic myopathy in the right hind. This condition causes the disruption of muscle tissue over time turning it into stringy fibrous tissue that can create restriction and instability. The vet also noted some somewhat anomalous edema in the right hock.

The upper portion of this application targets the fibrotic myopathy, spreading the tissue layers apart to allow healthy lymphatic fluid to flow into the dense fibrous areas. Hydrating the fascia and surrounding tissue also reduces compression on blood vessels and allows blood to bring healing cells and oxygen back into the tissue. The lower portion of the application channels edema (swelling) up the right hind leg and links with a lympho-center to circulate that fluid back into the body’s systems! Over time, what I hope to see in this leg is increased range of motion and more stability for Odin. Increasing circulation increases proprioception and therefore helps create healthy movement patterns!

The science behind tape and what it can do for our equine friends is absolutely fascinating and I have already seen some pretty incredible differences in horses already on my regular schedule. I am so blessed to do what I do.
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01/08/2024

I really love working on pregnant mares. My work almost always gets baby moving, and it’s really neat to feel the little fist bumps from inside as I get mama’s tissues back to where they need to be. Restoration of blood flow to once stagnant areas sends a surge of oxygenated fluid and endorphins through mama’s body and release of ribcage and flank fascia allows mama to breathe deeper and give baby more space! I would want to be active too!

Caring for and treating your pregnant/lactating mamas as if they are in heavy work (because they ARE) allows for faster postpartum recovery. A high quality diet balancer, free choice hay, light exercise, and supportive soft tissue work are excellent ways to ensure a healthy baby and a comfy, happy mama.

12/21/2023

✨Rome wasn’t built in a day✨

I use this phrase CONSTANTLY with my clients. This mare’s mom has been SO patient and trusting as we work slowly through some major postural and mental changes. Cali came from a home that was not very knowledgeable about biomechanics or tack fit, so every session we unearth more reverb from her previous life. The progress has been minimal each session, but profound over time!

Most importantly, we’ve gotten this mare out of fight or flight, and into rest and digest, so she’s been able to put on weight and come back into work with a far more functional posture! Recreating functional posture and creating healthy locomotion patterns will not and cannot happen in one session. This type of rehabilitation is intensive, you’re literally rebuilding neuro-pathways and undoing years of bad habits that are ingrained into the horse’s innate ability to compensate for injury. It takes dedication to your horse, and takes willingness to learn and change your methods to fit your horse’s needs. Thank you for your faith in me!

12/14/2023

I snapped this picture mid-session, which I don’t often do. What I loved in this moment was the balance we achieved after just opening this mare up and working in her thoracic sling. Bodywork is a team effort and it really shows when the horse is willing and open, and your energy is on point 🤌🏼

11/30/2023

I hear often from fellow horsemen and women that during the winter, their horses get a “vacation.” I understand the desire to curl under a blanket with a good book during these dark winter months, however I encourage you to NOT give your horses a vacation this winter.

Tendons, ligaments and muscle tissues are all a “use it or lose it” situation. If you let your horses sit, they will lose the strength and tone of these tissues that you worked so hard to put there! Keeping your horses in shape during the winter is not as difficult as it seems. Walking exercises on the ground (or under saddle) are more than sufficient to keep the soft tissues stable and strong through the cold winter months.

My personal favorite way to keep a horse legged up during the off-season is the use of ground poles and cavalettis. The act of raising the forelegs to clear an elevated pole places the horse in a position to round through the wither and back and engage the hind end. Your horse will have abs of steel by the time the weather breaks, and you won’t be frustrated that they aren’t exactly where you left them in the fall. Before starting, make sure to have your horse evaluated by an equine professional to determine if they possess the mental and physical capacity to begin these exercises!

11/07/2023

Big or small, I can help them all 🫶🏼 I had the pleasure of working on Peter this evening. He is a 21 year old Belgian draft that is starting to age so his mom called me out to give him some TLC and get him ready for winter.

I’ve found that the most important thing you can do for your older horses is continue to exercise them! Muscle tissue is a “use it or lose it” situation and especially for an older horse, it is a lot harder to get one back in shape at an advanced age than it is to keep them in shape.

After my work today we’re starting Peter on a light exercise program (walking to the mailbox and back💞) to get his soft tissue strong and healthy before winter weather blows in. Shoot me a message if you have an old horse and want to know how to help them live their best retired life!

10/03/2023

This guy was a team effort and all the pieces finally came together! It truly helps to have such a solid feed program pinned down. Thunderbird Equine, 1st Choice Equine Therapy and I are pretty good at what we do! ((Couldn’t do it without Stride))

One more Stride Animal Health/Bluebonnet Feeds transformation!

Trooper was an excellent candidate for Equilene Pro Care and an extra dose of ADR. He came in with very inconsistent stool and was very flighty/reactive. After 90 days in the program and a feed regimen change his owner has this to say

"That grain and the time he spent with you really made a difference inside and out!"

Thank you Laura for trusting me with Trooper again 💙

Thank you to Mirror Image Equine Wellness and 1st Choice Equine Therapy for helping me keep his mind and body prepped for learning.

09/23/2023

Charlie gets the gold star this week! What a huge shift, and in just one session! I can’t wait to get this guy feeling better. His mom has the BEST relationship with him and it makes me so happy to help people get their ponies back. Charlie hadn’t been able to lay down and roll in a long while, and after finishing up his mom sent me a video of him having the best roll of his life. I love what I do ❣️

09/03/2023

This!!! No hoof, no horse! Your horse’s soft tissue NEEDS proper trimming!

Propping vs Building (click to expand full image)

These drawings show why I believe steel shoes, wedges, and DIM are only short term fixes, and that they prolong and cause more damage, making it harder to heal the horse in the future:

- The top drawing shows a fully live and well developed hoof capsule that is undeviated from its origins at the coffin bone. The horn tubules are all parallel from the dorsal wall to the heels and the growth rings are all parallel to a properly arched coronary band. These lines form a perfect grid that should be seen, but not felt. This indicates perfect P3/Hoof Capsule alignment.

- The second drawing down shows the soft tissue ( outlined in pink ) with the digital cushion ( shaded in pink with arrow ) supporting the coffin bone naturally from within.

- The 3rd drawing down shows a hoof capsule with a common type of distortion from improper, infrequent trimming or inadequate wear. It’s easy to tell by the disorganized horn tubules and growth rings that the hoof capsule has deviated from its origins at the coffin bone.

- The bottom drawing shows a commonly used “solution.” The problem with this is that it’s only addressing the symptoms of distortion rather than the cause. Worse than that, I believe this causes more damage and distortion. The wedge pad ( dark gray shaded area with gray arrow) is placed externally where it can only superficially change the angles and hold the DIM in place, which only artificially props up the digital cushion. The reason that it is such a common practice is that it can temporarily relieve pain and keep a horse performing in the owner’s preferred discipline. The same applies for non working or companion horses, it can also temporarily relieve the owner of worry, but it does not heal the feet.

Trimming and shoeing in this manner artificially props up the foot and causes the majority of the weight to be distributed in front of the widest part of the foot. Excess toe loading causes pedal osteitis ( bone erosion ) and live sole depletion. The natural response from the foot is to retain and compress dead sole. This can be perceived as improved “sole” thickness to the untrained eye, whether they’re a professional or not. It’s very difficult to tell the difference between live sole, insensitive live sole, and retained dead sole on a radiograph. To further complicate the situation, over loading the sole allows the heel horn to gain height. This can even “stand the horn tubules up” more vertically in the beginning. If the horse gets a chance to go bare foot again after this, the retained sole is likely to exfoliate ( usually after wet weather followed by a dry period ) leaving the thin live sole exposed and the horn tubules typically collapse again.

Once you learn to read the hoof and see what’s actually going on inside…you can’t unsee it.

Soft tissue is very regenerative and thrives on consistent proper form and function, which means that the horse’s feet have to be worn and/or trimmed in a way that works for them,instead of against them, in order to continually build/heal their feet and the rest of their body.

It comes down to the sustainable cure of rolling and building a living, moving, working system vs the short term “fix”
of treating the hoof like a stationary object with flattening, buttressing, and propping.

I'm always open to being proven wrong, but I have never seen any long term proof that the set up in the bottom diagram will make real, sustainable positive change. It will not build the hoof into what I've shown in the top diagram. We do not want a band aid fix and an angle change using artificial support, but a fully regenerated, self supported hoof.

08/16/2023

Starting a correction on a sub-luxated sacrum! This big fella had an injury that resulted in some scar tissue surrounding the ventral part of his sacrum resulting in what is commonly dubbed a “hunter’s bump” or “roach back.”

Note the softness through mid-back to tailhead and if you zoom in you can even see the change in the angle of his ribs. We got this guy’s topline a lot more leveled out, and showed him that he can now comfortably engage his core. This is step one for rehab for him, and he has a mom that is SO dedicated to his comfort and care. I cannot wait to see where we can get this guy in a few weeks!

08/10/2023

My books are open, and I am ready to help you and your horse develop a stronger partnership! Bodywork is an important part of routine care, especially for performance horses!

Message me to get on my schedule! As of right now, I am currently booking 1-2 weeks out. I can sometimes squeeze in rush appointments or emergencies depending on location.
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08/03/2023

One of my goals as a practitioner is to help as many horse owners as I can understand that soft tissue support and chiropractic adjustments should be part of routine care. As routine as good hoof care. For performance horse, more routine.

I hear a lot of people say..”my horse is so spoiled, he’s getting a massage!”…Allowing me to help your horse exist pain free is spoiling them? Preventing catastrophic injury is coddling them? Correcting micro-lameness and preventing career ending discomfort is babying them?

Owning horses is not cheap. That being said, I price my sessions lower than some other bodyworkers because I would rather see a horse twice in one month and help the owner see the benefits of my work, than see a horse once and price the owner out of having me back out again. I need to make a living, but more than anything I care about the well-being of your horse and the strength of your partnership.
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08/01/2023

I added this horse to my personal feed bill about a week ago..I decided to take him on as my first postural and gut health rehab project. He’s a 4 year old registered APHA gelding, descending from some pretty incredible performance lines.

With the help of and .feeds this horse has done a complete 180 in just 1 week. He’s brighter, more alert, softer, and allowing me to address some deeply ingrained soft tissue restrictions that we believe have been caused by gut imbalance. I cannot wait to see where we can take this guy in the next 30 days! Keep a look out for his sale ad, this horse has a very bright future ⭐️

07/29/2023

Merlin was all smiles after his session this morning 🫶🏼 this gelding is one of my favorite horses on my regular schedule. His mom works really hard to make sure he’s comfortable and happy in his well-earned retirement. ((Plus he smiles on command🤩))

07/22/2023

Long time no see! For those of you that don’t know me, my name is Christie and I’m an equine bodyworker based out of Northeastern Colorado. I’m a recent graduate from Rocky Mountain School of Animal Acupressure and Massage and starting to prepare to take my practice to the next level.

I have a lot of goals for the next 6 months to continue my education and be the best practitioner I can possibly be for your horses. I’m passionate about functional mobility, and the correction and prevention of micro-lameness in performance horses. Have you ever had bodywork done on your horse? If the answer is no, shoot me a message! I would love to help you develop a better partnership with your equine pal.
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