Emily Carolyn Equine

04/15/2024

Absolutely love this analogy about how KT tape can help “shine a light” on targeted areas of application!

Tape is like a flashlight.

I could walk through a room in the dark avoiding obstacles and legos, but it would be more efficient with a flashlight.

The flashlight alone didn’t protect your feet from the Lego’s, but it made the efforts more effective.

The tape shines a light on areas of the body so that the nervous system, blood system, and lymph system can do what they do best: heal.

Tape helps:
relax muscles
engage muscles
promote fluid movement
tap into what is hard for the horse to find

Doing manual work?
Physical exercise? Down training? Strength training?
Tape magnifies all of the efforts.

It’s an asset to anyone’s program.

11/28/2022

A fellow practitioner found this great research about kinesiology tape! The link for the article is in the comments 💜

11/04/2022

Day 26 💜
An absolutely gorgeous day today!
This evening we went for out for a short ride. Before saddling I noticed that Kats Trapezius muscle seemed to feel a little tense.

I had an idea of a different application I wanted to demonstrate, but when the horse tells me they need an application in a certain area instead that’s what we roll with. 💜
After placing the shorter piece of tape I decided to place a longer piece down the Supraspinatus.

Kat chewed, licked, and was very relaxed on our ride 🥰💜 we are the best advocates for our horses, which is why it’s so important to take note of changes you may notice in behavior, movement, or how they feel under your hands. 🙌🏻

11/02/2022

Day 25 💜 taping along the Omotransversarius

This application can help relax the Omotransversarius muscle along the neck. This muscle lays along the cervical vertebrae. It’s job is to raise the scapula which helps the limb with forward motion. *I’ve added a photo of this muscle that I captured from the Horse Anatomy app.* When the body is not in motion this muscle aids with lateral movement of the neck.
Taping this muscle can help with pain relief, proprioception, and relax the muscle by decompressing tissue and increasing circulation.
To place this application I had Kat turn her head away from me. Neck and shoulder applications have SO much movement to take into consideration. In a few of her model pictures 🙃 you can see wrinkles in the application, completely normal and great! The application is sticking properly and lifting the hair, it’s able to adapt to her turning her head side to side (laterally) without popping off.
To target a few other muscles that also play large roles in shoulder and scapula movement you could use the wider 4” tape. Anchors at the top and bottom of the application can also aid with the longevity of placement.

11/02/2022

Days 23 & 24 💜 lumbar & thoracic spine support

I usually really love pairing these particular applications with the Longissimus dorsi application, to help relax the entire back, but I wanted to show what they would look like if placed alone. 🙂
The lumbar support is wonderful for relieving tension and pain just before the sacrum. Around the area where the end of a western saddle pad would sit. The tape backing is broke in the center of the piece so when it is placed on the body the direction of recoil decompresses the tissue from the middle of the application. This can help relieve pain, help with proprioception for fluid body movement, and help with circulation within the muscles the application is placed on.
The thoracic support application has the same benefits and job as the lumbar application it is just placed up along the thoracic vertebrae. This area can get sore from poor equipment fitting and also from poor movement in the shoulder and chest.

11/02/2022

I apologize for the slight pause in our 30 days of tape! 💜 we had some pretty big things happening!
Everyone is settled in and VERY happy! 💜🐴

11/02/2022

Days 21 & 22 💜circulation taping examples

The first application with overlapping tentacles can be used to target certain areas on the body where the horse has slight swelling from possibly a bite ir kick from another horse or if they have a muscle that is seeming particularly tense. The overlapping tentacles can help increase circulation, decompress tissue, and relieve pain.
The second circulation application shown is a simple wave. Similar to a fascia wave application, this can help relax the muscles its placed on. It will also increase circulation, aid in more fluid muscle movement, help with proprioception, and also help with pain relief.
Each of those applications could be placed at various places on the body.

10/28/2022

Day 20 💜 taping for Edema or swelling in the lower limb
Taping in straight lines down the limb with swelling can aid in fluid movement and help bring swelling down. The application starts up on the shoulder or about hip height in the hind end in order to include the lymph node “hub”. More anchors can be placed down the leg to help keep the application in place while the horse moves. Doing circulation taping on the lower leg could possibly bring some swelling down a bit, but I have found with one of my personal horses that this method worked wonderfully! Lightly massaging the limb before laying the tape application can help get fluid moving as well!

10/27/2022

Day 18 & 19 💜 fascia braid and taping part of the front limb fascia lines
Fascia is a key player in muscles functioning the way they should. The fascia encases each muscle, like a web. If the fascia is sticky or not functioning as it should, the muscle it surrounds cannot expand or move in the manner it’s supposed to making movements restrictive.
The fascia braid can keep horses who are in performance feeling their best as well as horses who are just at pasture.
Taping the front limb fascia line can be beneficial for horses who seem like they are “Peggy” on their front end. With this application I laid a piece of tape on part of each line. If their movement seems short strided and stiff. It will help with proprioception, pain relief, and can also help the fascia around the muscles in the thoracic sling glide more smoothly. Remember healthy gliding fascia keeps muscles moving how they were meant to!

10/27/2022

Day 15’s application is still in place! Even with the rain and mud 🌧
In most cases, as long as the application is placed on a clean dry area it should stay in place for about a week (sometimes longer if the horse has a thicker coat).

10/24/2022

Day 17 💜 taping the oblique

This application is can be helpful for horses who are reactive at their oblique muscles. Taping this area can help support the muscles as it decompresses the tissue, which can help relieve pain and relax the horse.
Although you might think of oblique as the core, like we do with our own human body, this application doesn’t give the same type of lifting support for the top line as the core application does.

10/23/2022

Day 15 & 16 💜💜 Suspensory and Fetlock support combo & Tensor Fascia Latae

The Suspensory and Fetlock support combo is a great addition while performing and can be worn under sport boots. It helps with your horses proprioception, support, and decreases fatigue. The applications do provide some mechanical support BUT because the tape works directly with the nervous system it helps your horse improve/create its own support by increasing stability through proprioception (body awareness).
This combo application can also be helpful for horses who have been compensating on any limb. The extra proprioception and support can help them stay more comfortable as they recover.
💜 This is application combo definitely falls in my top 3 favorites!💜

The Tensor Fascia Latae application can help with muscle fatigue, proprioception, pain and recovery from performance. This application somewhat frames in the Tensor Fascia Latae but also touch parts of the Gluteus Superficialis and the Biceps Femoris, all incredibly important for hind end motion.

10/21/2022

Days 13 & 14 💜 two applications that can help calm the trigemenal nerve and TMJ joint

The application with tentacles is great to help decompress and calm the trigemenal nerve that runs down the side of the horses face. Lifting the hair, decompressing the underlying tissue, and creating added circulation can help some horses who are very sensitive in this area or are head shakers get some pain relief and help them relax.

The decompression star can be helpful for horses who are reactive at the TMJ joint area. Some examples of being reactive could include pulling away when you run/press your fingers at the joint, headshy when tacking up or grooming, and sometimes even refusing to eat because of pain near the joint. The way the tape is laid for the decompression star will lift the hair and tissue directly at the center of the star. Decompression stars can also be used on other areas of the body as well.

10/19/2022

Kat might be the only one happy and enjoying the snow. Before I took the pictures of her she was trying to get the other two girls to run and play with her. 😂🥰

10/19/2022

Day 12 💜 stifle support!

This is a great application for horses who need a little extra support and proprioception for their hind end. I really like to use this application in addition to the SI/Sacrum application for horses who hold tension or are reactive in the SI/Sacrum area along their spine. The stifle support will also help the horse be more aware of its hind end movement.
Part of this application also touches the Gracilis muscle (upper inside of the hind leg); because it also touches that muscle it can help relieve pain, decompress tissue, and increase circulation in that area.

10/18/2022

Day 11 💜 simple fetlock support

Fetlock support is one of my favorite applications! This will help with proprioception, support, and with pain. This is a great application to use during performance, long trailer hauls, or for long periods of being stalled.

10/17/2022

Day 10 💜🐴 medial and lateral hock support

This application is great to use with horses who seem to have a lot of side to side shifting or movement in their hock. There is a slight difference in the before an after video (only about 10 minutes apart) with my 🌟 golden pony, I will try to get another video tomorrow.
The medial and lateral support will help with proprioception and body awareness, as well as helping with pain.