wbryant8887

18/07/2024

My friends cat is missing in Northampton MA. If anyone sees him please call the number in the picture. They are devastated

18/02/2024

09/11/2023

San Juan ❤️

09/10/2023

Washing on a beautiful day.

04/10/2023

My first time to the Quabbin Reservoir. Thank Jon & Frank

31/08/2023

Blue moon tonight

29/08/2023

17/02/2023

This is how we do it!!!

20/10/2022

Did you know most horses chew and hold their jaw towards the side of their more sound front leg?

The right front heel here is lower and more sound. The left front heel is higher, more contracted and sore. Easy to see, right!?

Now, peek at the jaw position to the horse's right, with slight overgrowth of the horse's upper left and lower right incisors. This is super common, and should not be allowed to get worse! It will end up in a vicious downward spiral over time.

Second teeth picture is after adjustments = better jaw AND BODY balance.

It's always a work in progress getting feet and teeth better balanced--lots of bodywork helps, but providing for more movement is #1 in my book. There are some interesting exceptions to this pattern that I discuss in my book.

It's ALL connected. This page also has more on this...scroll back!

**www.insighttoequus.com** under construction 🤠

28/12/2021

Merry Christmas 🎄

29/10/2021

Let's talk about the "crooked" limb; it is often confused with conformation or a congenital disability, and postural problems aren't even considered the problem. To clear the confusion, we first need to distinguish between Conformation, Posture, and a Congenital disability.
Conformation: is the shape or structure of something, especially an animal.
When talking about the horses' conformation, that would include how many hands it is. Does it have a short neck or a long neck? Does it have a short back or a long back, as a few examples?

Posture: the position in which someone (in this case, the horse) holds their Body when standing. Standing straight up or slumped over is a good example.

Congenital disability is a physical or biochemical abnormality present at birth and may be inherited or the result of environmental influence.

With over 10 million horses in America alone, the number of congenital disabilities wouldn't even register for this topic. Yet, they and the miss understood concept of conformation are the excuses for most "crooked" limbs. They are postural problems that, if addressed, can be restored to proper balance.
Taking congenital disabilities out of the equation using toed in or toed out, cow hocked, base narrow or base wide are just a few examples of postural issues and not conformational faults.
Regarding the hoof, we see postural imbalances causing the high/low hooves, the upright hooves (or paint cans), the slipper hoof, and many other hoof imbalances
When it comes to movement, we all can agree that muscles were responsible; why?
Because the muscles' job is to move bones, now assuming you agree with this statement, in that case, you can understand how muscles can also move bones into an unnatural postural state. Thereby creating the crooked limb, the base narrowed horse, the cow hocked horse, camped under, camped out, the ewe necked horse, and the other postural problems that many believe to be conformational faults.
The concept of Hoof and Body is based on the understanding and application of proper Biomechanics to restore posture and balance to the whole horse, which would undoubtedly include the hooves.

14/05/2021

Q: How often should I get my horse’s teeth done?

A: Contrary to the commonly-quoted 12 months, most horses will have sharp dental overgrowths months beforehand. The photo shows a horse’s cheek ulceration caused by sharp overgrowths at 12 months since the last dental appointment. Sharp overgrowths cause discomfort to all horses (not just ridden ones) often without any obvious signs; horses are very good at disguising dental pain.

The teeth of a younger horse, up to around 12 years old, erupt and become sharp relatively rapidly. 2, 3 and 4-year-olds are losing their deciduous teeth (baby teeth/ caps). Older horses (20 onwards) may have age-related diseases. These horses are best checked every 6 months.

9 months is just right for most middle-aged (12-20 year horses) with no ongoing dental disease concerns

Of course every horse is an individual and doesn’t necessarily fit into a category- we will advise on what we believe is best based on your horse’s mouth and history. However frequently they are rasped, remember that a thorough dental examination with a headtorch and mirror is an absolute necessity to ensuring that dental disease isn’t missed- there is a lot more to teeth than sharp points!

25/04/2020

14/02/2020

Balance the incisors first!!

09/01/2020

Circles and more circles

15/12/2019

Ski day with these great friends at Mount Snow💗

15/12/2019

This mornings sunrise 😍

05/12/2019

A day of balancing teeth. How are your horses incisors?

01/12/2019

Today's morning sunrise before the storm comes.