Belle Cheval Therapy

16/11/2023

Tammy and cochise at after their bodywork sessions today.

15/07/2023

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13/07/2023

05/07/2023

Have you ever noticed, when looking at the fascial lines, that the front legs seem to be doing their own thing? Most of the fascial lines described by Elbrønd and Schultz connect the hind end with the front of the body, but the front leg lines seem to be separate. This is very likely connected to the fact that there is no bony connection between the front legs and the spine, so in terms of bony anatomy, the spine and the hind legs are one unit, and the front legs are another unit. Perhaps we need to rethink our understanding of how the horse's body functions. We like to think of the body as divided into three units: the front end, the back and the hind end. But perhaps it makes more sense to think about it as two units: the hind legs and spine as one and the front legs as the other. And what connects the two? The thoracic sling! By changing our understanding of the body in this way it becomes much clearer just how important the thoracic sling is – it is the bridge between two functional units that need to work together to create healthy movement. And if the bridge isn't functional, communication is lost and the units are working against each other instead of with each other.

26/06/2023

25/05/2023

Ande enjoying his BEMER session!

03/05/2023

What cool pictures of the spinal cord!

14/04/2023

Chance approving of my tape application to help with her hyperlordosis.

11/04/2023

It would appear the art of fitting a noseband has been lost. My Facebook is constantly flooded with nosebands sat so far down on the nose that they would be restricting the airways and causing pain. But obviously if people are posting these images, proud as punch, they have no idea what damage is be...

08/04/2023

On my way back to Colorado with some new products to demo!!

28/03/2023

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈𝐬 𝐇𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠…

I’ve never seen a more misunderstood animal more than 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈𝐬 𝐇𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠.

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞…

I’ve been trying to tell you that I am in pain, but you don’t seem to listen.

I show you that I’m in pain by not being willing to work but you just call me 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐛𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 or 𝐥𝐚𝐳𝐲. Instead of helping me, you just 𝐤𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫.

I show you that I’m in pain by rearing when you try to ride me, but you enjoy showing people you can sit to a rear. Instead of getting off and listening, you just say “𝐇𝐞’𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬, 𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐞 𝐚 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐭!”

I show you that I’m in pain by throwing my head in the air, but you just say it’s one of 𝐦𝐲 𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬. Instead of helping me, you just buy 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐬 so that I can no longer 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐢𝐫.

I show you that I’m in pain by bolting, but you just get scared and decide I’m not the one for you. You sell me and I still remain as 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈𝐬 𝐇𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠.

It’s our responsibility as animal owners to do right by them, horses can’t speak, they communicate through their actions. So we need to listen!

9/10 times “negative behaviour” is caused my pain, the rest is learnt behaviour. Either way I always check for pain first.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈𝐬 𝐇𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠, deserves the world. The amount of tolerance, loyalty, patience and trust the hurting horse has, is something I can only dream of having.

Written by - 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐑𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫

Artist - Ruby Campbell

07/03/2023

Getting some study time in before my last week of my saddle fit and repair program!

27/02/2023

https://thehorse.com/1120149/bio-electromagnetic-blanket-can-help-horses-with-back-pain/

Researcher: The BEMER blanket technology provides a medication-free solution for reducing pain in the croup and saddle area.

11/12/2022

Guess what new skills/education I’m adding to my resume.

07/12/2022

New helmet ratings.

The Virgina Tech Helmet Lab has released its much-anticipated equestrian helmet ratings. Taking the top spot in the rankings is the $460 Champion Revolve X-Air MIPS helmet, but in good news for riders who are both frugal and safety conscious, the re...

29/11/2022

Another one of my favorites.

Did you know that many horses are not skeletataly developed till almost 6 years of age.

When do you start your horse and why?

21/11/2022

Lifting the back - the holy grail of training!

The area from the withers to the pelvis is called the thoracolumbar spine and we place our saddle on part of this area from the withers/shoulder blades, to the end of the thoracic spine and ribcage.

When the thoracolumbar spine moves in the direction of the vertical green arrow and lifts up, this is termed flexion. The pelvis can then rotate, tilt backwards/tuck/sit (green curved arrow) and then the hind leg is more able to step forwards under the body, called engagement (horizontal green arrow).

This green arrow movement of spinal flexion and hindquarter engagement is one of the main goals of training a horse to be capable of carrying a rider.

The blue arrows represent spinal extension, a forward tilt of the pelvis and the hindlegs more likely to be trailing out behind the body. This is the likely response to a horse not prepared sufficiently or not comfortable carrying a rider.

It is our responsibility to ensure our horses are prepared to carry us, both physically and mentally.

27/10/2022

Grateful for this opportunity. What an amazing group!

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=562271919233447&id=100063519311502

17/10/2022

One of my favorites!

03/10/2022

Worth the read. Hadn’t thought about the influence on blanketing and hormones before.

09/09/2022

Guess what’s I’m working on!!!

05/09/2022

So true! The more you know the more you don’t know!

03/09/2022

It’s been awhile since I’ve been on such a green horse, and it’s been awhile since I’ve really been riding. But this amazing girl was wonderful and I had a blast getting to ride her!

02/09/2022

I Love how expressive he is. So much fun to work on!