Qigong has become an important part of my daily practice and I love to play with the energy around the horses !! #dragonswayqigong #grandmasternanlu
THE WELL ADJUSTED HORSE COLLABORATIVE CLASSROOM
CASE FOR FRIDAY MARCH 7
"CHARGER" 8 yr old gelding - Prior owner had him with cow horse trainer - history since 3 of bilateral locking patellas which is much improved now
This is going to be one of those nuanced cases where most folks would tell you to just go on with the horse there's nothing wrong.
But there is something wrong.
Sometimes he upward fixates his patella or has a 'hitch' in his gait behind. Neither of these things occur because 'nothing' is wrong.
I can only imagine what that must feel like and its so common we think it's hind end weakness so we tell people to go one with their horses. Which makes no sense, because this is a stability issue at the JOINT.
You actually really shouldn't train muscles to get stability at the joint. It makes for compressed joints, loss of range of motion and suspension and well, it doesn't really solve the problem. That's the usual strategy and what was tried with this horse.
You stabilize joints by training joints AND the nervous system. Which is what we will do in class.
As it turns out there were lots of other little things that could also be better.
This Friday, Dr Marthe Wildsmith and I will go over this lovely gelding and talk about what's going on and how to support this horse's body and move forward.
Below is a clip of the video the owner, Terri Lynn sent in and my feedback as well as her presenting complaint. As you can see, she is not buying the 'weak hind end as the only thing going on' narrative either !!
"Struggles with hind end weakness/mild upper patella fixation which I think stems from weak thoracic sling but just started BTMM. Marthe Wildsmith DVM did a nerve release case study on him, and it made a huge improvement in his brace/softness but still trying to achieve more, and build stability."
Want to come to class ???
90 minute session
30 minute Q and A
Each week we will have a different case and may focus on certain topics for a month
Do you love watching the relationships play out in your herd ? What always amazes me is the changes in health and vitality that reflect effective and joyful husbandry. We spend so much time with ‘doctors’ when sometimes what we really need is a friend. My thoroughbred, Louie, shuns and bullies my mule, Gabriel. But since G has friended Philippe, he has lost weight and is softer in his body and behavior. He is so tender as a friend I can’t help but think there is more healing going on that I cannot see. I hold out hope that this will strengthen his sense of safety and help him feel less defensive about life🥰
Abduction
On a loop
Louie’s dancing 🤣🤣❤️
#lookinggood
#doingnothing
#spiritoakranch
#rewildretreatrehab
My turkey Cadbury gets regular body work as well!! If you have ‘feel’ you can help all kinds of vertebrates 😊😊 In this video I talk about how I ‘listen’ for the bodies pathology with my hands.❤️#listenwithyourhands #feelwthyoureyes #veterinary #turkey #chiropractic
Shockwave Treatment of the withers
There are so many unconventional areas I have been dreaming about shock waving that I can now put into practice with my new machine. The fascial restrictions around the withers is a huge ‘ money spot’ for me but super hard to resolve. I have injected between the long spinous processes with good results but the horses don’t enjoy that procedure so I don’t either !! This is so much better and I can totally target the waves to go in between the bones creating space and freedom. The changes created here will create space at the vertebral level and help mobility at the base of the neck. Louie not only enjoyed his treatment but afterward showed some nice telescoping at the base of his neck creating a more beautiful profile when extended.
As always I watch the horse carefully for his reactions as I move the probe / nice release at the end / good boy Lou 💕💫
Don’t let fear get in the way of your desire for change. Got questions about the path you and your horse are on ? Check out my new website www.heartequine.com
Do you know when your animals need help ? All my animals know I can help them feel better with my hands and will periodically ask for help. They do this in different ways, the dogs pushing their butts into my hands, the horse demanding to be close to me and the cats will have just a slightly unusual look of need. Today my turkey Cadbury was being way more friendly and attentive. You wouldn’t know by watching this video that she pretty much never lets me touch her and if she does it’s at night. When she first jumped on the fence I thought maybe she had missed me until I felt her back 🤣🤣 Turkeys are big strong birds and their spines easily feel like a small dogs - she had a big detour right in the middle of her back that she was determined to get me to resolve - too much fun !! 😊😊❤️💫🦃🦃🦃
Travels to Gili
Our fearless leader Bec Caslick has arrived on Gili island. Hearing how emotional coming here makes her fills my heart as I’m sure I will feel the same after this experience.
CONTEST TIME
CONTEST TIME !!!
Free T shirt for the first person that can tell me what’s undesirable about this departure off the pad, why it’s wrong and how to help !!!
What other problems might a horse with this abnormality also be dealing with - would they go away if this was corrected ??
Is there something more nefarious underlying this gait pattern that we REALLY should be paying attention to ??
You all are killing it !!
Closing comments at 11:59 pm 12/31/2024
Announcements tomorrow
THANK YOU EVERYONE for all the great answers and engagement!!
I gave you a short video with part of horse to highlight one of the common pathologic ways I see horses step off pads with the hind legs.
For me this INDICATES there is an issue with your horse - If you read the comments you can see that there are many clinical problems that could be associated with a horse that walks off the pad this way
My answers were as follows -
for the record this horse does have a history of diagnosis of fibrotic myopathy but not always clinical and therefore was a dramatic example of dysfunctional hind end biomechanics -whether this gait is SOLELY caused by this is not clear
This horse is moving the leg off the pad before contacting the ground with the heel
This is incorrect hind limb biomechanics the horse should contact the ground and push back before bringing the leg forward underneath his body and flexing the hocks and stifles in the process
I use a variety of ground work exercises and manual therapy to release the stuck tissue and use exercises with the pads to restore and activate neurologic connections - this can be combinations of work such as BTMM / Nerve release also Chiropractic/ Acupuncture and proprioceptive work - but as mentioned by a few of you its very important to work on the whole horse and for me this is ALWAYS associated with a weak or dysfunctional thoracic sling
Horses with dysfunctional hind ends will often also have kissing spine, back pain, SI problem and so o
Whole horse rehabilitation - Mind Body Spirit 
