Equine massage therapy can help your horse in so many ways, ask me how I might be able to help your
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Hey everyone we had a last minute cancellation! This clinic is next weekend! Please share and spread the word! This clinic will give you all the tools to get your horse in his best posture, develop correctly AND build a relationship so you have a happy, healthy partner. Auditors welcome! If you would like to audit please bring a chair, sack lunch and $30. Clinic starts at 9am each day.
Some beautiful transformations over the winter 🥰❤️ These horses get regular body work and now have more comfortable feet to stand on. What a difference it makes. Thanks to Crystal, we were able to team up and help these horses with composite shoes. The feet are fascinating. "No hoof no horse". Proof is in the pudding.
We are teaming up to give you and your horse the tools for success this summer! You don't want to miss this!
This girl is on fire! 🔥🔥🔥 Shelby is the fastest twelve year old I know. Her boys Dexter, Wally and Leroy get regular massages from me to keep them in tip top shape for racing. They are fast and fit! Thank you Shelby, it is truly an honor sponsoring you and being a part of your horses' care. You put them first and it shows 💙 And I can't forget about the queen 👑 but she deserves her own post 🥰
Thank you for having me Royal Creek Farms in Springfield, Ohio! It was truly an honor to help your horses and I hope to see you again soon! Thank you to my sister Kaitlyn Hoover for coordinating everything. 💕🐴
Let me just say...horses are amazing. The horse I was working on was a bit worried so his pasture mate thought I could use some help lol He showed me where his friend likes touch and gave his friend the comfort he needed to stay. It was a special moment. I haven't experienced this since the Brent Graef clinic in Texas when his older gelding did this to help us put first touches on the colts. Warning, your heart may explode, I will never forget it. The horse will show you because they can't tell you. Something to think about. They are truly incredible. This was the first of two times my heart exploded today. ❤️ Thank you for the special day with your special horses Meghan 🥰
Hello everyone! I wanted to say hello and remind you as you get back into riding and working with your horses to keep me in mind! Here is a list of everything I offer. Please message me for pricing as it varies based on location.
Equine and Cattle massage and bodywork
Equine and Rider Kinesiology Taping
Basic Saddle Fitting
Thermal Imaging (helps pin point lameness)
Lessons in ground work, riding and bodywork
Training- very limited and on a case to case basis
Happy Spring! Get out there an ENJOY your horse! they are too expensive not to 🤣 🙈❤️🦄
On my quest to learn more about the horse's hooves I have come to find that most horses I come across, including my own, look like 1,3,6 and 8. Its very disheartening. I love this post because it gives you a visual comparison from the outside of the hoof. Something to think about 🧐
If you played the “Guess which ones were lame on anything but sand,” game, here are the answers.
I’ve circled the ones who were sound even on rock.
Now, it’s important to note, sound as in short term, AND long term.
Short term soundness is often about mass.
Long-term soundness is generally about alignment, and we can see both at play here…
Not only can overtrimming of the heels, or caudal failure, result in present lameness, it can be insidious, and not get noticed, until it finally causes enough structural damage down the road.
I had someone ask, “If it's so obvious which is the sound horse then why are there so many lame horses out there? Then why are these trimming styles still popular if they're destroying horses?”
I don’t have an answer for that, but I will say, after originally posting this last year, I notice more people got the answers right this year, so I do think our collective ‘eye for balance’ is improving!
What makes a hoofcare professional worth their weight in gold is not only knowing what to trim, but what NOT to trim.
It’s also important to understanding the limitations of trimming, where we can only take away. Sometimes we have to add.
Transformation Friday! This beautiful black mare has been massaged monthly for over a year now. She was not being ridden much during that time. The body work she received regularly was helping her but it became clearer over time that she was usually tight or sore in the same areas and something more was going on. I have been learning more about the feet and had a hunch it was at least part of the problem. Her amazing owner filled me in about how sensitive her front feet are. All the signs pointed to possibly being NPA in her hind feet as well. Jade is far too sensitive for shoes to be nailed on so we decided to try glue on composite shoes. And this is how the Horse Fairies began! haha its amazing how comfortable she became right away. Her posture changed immediately.
The hooves are part of the body, the most important part. I can guarentee if your horse has a problem in the body there is a problem in the feet and a problem in the feet causes a problem in the body. Listen to your horse. They will find a way to tell you.
Long story short, Jade is a much happier horse and so is her owner.
It is my job to help horses and I have a lot to learn about their feet but luckily I have a cool farrier friend to help me in the mean time.
In the first photo, the top is before the shoes, bottom photo one hour ish later. Last photo is after her second set and a massage session with me. I will post the videos in another post.
My old man Cam is happy after a short session working on his poll 🤣💙🐴
Finally got some time for my own this week. Photos of my boys letting me practice Kinesiology taping after a nice bodywork session. Kinesiology tape is a great tool to use with massage. Its a way to help a problem area for days to even a week after a session. I will be offering this very soon!
Release the tension and release restriction. This barrel racer has to be at the top of his game to keep up with his owner 😘 This is about ten minutes apart. Top photo is before some very slow fascia work, bottom photo after. Good job Potato!
Horse owner "Your hands must be freezing!"
Me.... "Nope!" 🤣😅🙈😬🤷♀️
Your horse can't escape ground reaction forces -
When moving across the ground, your horse's hooves impart force into the ground to propel themselves along.
Not only that, but the floor also imparts force onto the horse's body.
This is Newtonian Law - for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
The way your horse interacts with the ground and as such, the force generated back at the horse, will influence your horse's muscular development hugely.
If your horse's toes are long, you are increasing the duration that their limb retractor muscles are under load - and this is going to have huge consequences for their posture.
Your horse will have tension around their shoulders, their back will bias towards extension and you're going to irritate their suspensories and flexor tendons.
And you can prescribe a million and one exercises to remedy this -
But if you don't remedy the hoof balance you are making life a lot harder for your horse - as well as possibly creating more tendon and ligament irritation!
-
3 months between photos for this lovely horse:
Notice how his back has lifted?
How his shoulder angle is not as steep as it was?
How angulation at the base of his wither has neutralised?
Notice how his pelvis looks rounder?
The primary change in this horse's management? His hoof balance was significantly altered.
❤️
Happy New Year to all my amazing clients! This is a new year for learning new things! Here are some sneak peeks! Stay tuned! Also I will be running a new year special, I just need a goodnights sleep so my brain can muster up something exciting 😂 Seriously though thank you all for helping me live my dream ❤️ Couldn't do it without you!
Another great day making EVERYONE feel good 🥰 Thanks to my partner in crime Crystal Clavier-Hass
I just wanted to reach out and let all my amazing clients know that my babies and I have been battling RSV. It has been hell to be completely honest. So please bare with me, we are still fighting it. As soon as I can I will reach out and get my schedule back on track. I am very sorry! 💕
𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝑭𝒂𝒄𝒆
“How can I tell if my horse is in pain?”
Horses are very expressive creatures and have a variety of nonverbal ways to communicate with us. Although not always obvious, the equine face holds lots of different expressions, one of which has been deemed the “pain face”.
𝑬𝒂𝒓𝒔
A horse in pain will hold its ears lowered and backwards (not pinned). In this position the forehead will appear wide, with the base of the ears spread apart.
𝑬𝒚𝒆𝒔
Probably the most distinctive feature, the area around the eyes will appear triangular in shape. This is due to tension in the muscle above the eye. In addition, the eye may have a worried expression and in some cases the whites of the eye will be more visible.
𝑵𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒍𝒔
The nostrils may be dilated and wide or in some cases drawn upwards and elongated.
𝑴𝒖𝒛𝒛𝒍𝒆
A horse that is in pain will press its lips and chin tight. This gives the appearance of an edgy, squared muzzle.
𝑴𝒖𝒔𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒔
The muscles in both the face and neck will appear tense and uncomfortable, especially around the throat latch.
Same horse, flat chested to start (left). On the right you can see how much more pronounced her pectorals became. These muscles are so important for the proper function of the thoracic sling.
Top photo is before massage, bottom is after. Check out her expression!! She went from tight lips, crinkled nose, worried eye to soft eye, relaxed mouth and nose. Very tight neck muscles, tension lines where the neck meets the shoulders. I could go on but essentially her whole body softened.
Yes!
𝑷𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏
In the wise words of Benjamin Franklin “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
I’ve been asked a lot of questions lately about which horses can benefit from bodywork. I can truthfully say that in my three years of bodywork, I have yet to meet a single horse who has not benefited from regular bodywork sessions. A few of the many benefits include:
- Improving posture
- Improving muscle function
- Increasing flexibility
- Releasing tension
- Reducing pain
All of these benefits will ultimately reduce the risk of injury and improve the chances of a long and happy career.
This horse has Sweeney shoulder which is when the muscle is atrophied in the shoulder area from nerve damage. Here I took a photo before I worked on her and then after. Thermal imaging is a great way to see if your horse has any areas of concern. Ask me about including photos with your horses next massage!
Another happy customer! 🐴🥰
I’m the worst picture taker but you get the drift. Check out the difference in his pectorals and wider stance. I love this work!
Did you do your downward horse today? I mean dog 🤣 I teach horses yoga now too!
My first day back to work and all the feel good vibes were in the air. Now scheduling! Your horse worked hard for you all summer and deserves some TLC.
My clients come in all sizes! This pint size peanut was in rough shape when I met her. Unfortunately I did not document the very beginning (mom brain) but she has been the worst case of muscle tightness I’ve encountered so far. I have been massaging this pony weekly for a month now. She has just started walking around again this week. The first photo is her posture when I arrive. It has gotten much better but her hind legs are reaching underneath herself so far that her back appears roached. The muscles on her back have overdeveloped to compensate for pain. After I finish one side of the body you can see in the second photo she is starting to relax her back and even bring one hind leg back out behind her a bit. The last photo is when I was finished with both sides. She is not standing square but her back (and the rest of her body) finally relaxes and she can stretch her hind legs back to a more natural position. I suspect her pelvis was locked. She has made huge improvements and will hopefully be taking her kids to school again soon. I’m still learning, and I’m no expert but two things I am certain of is massage works wonders and I love helping horses feel better 💕
Before massage. After massage.
Releasing tension and tight shoulders so this pretty girl can run fast! I love helping horses feel their best!
I have been meaning to share this for a little while now and well...I just keep forgetting! I’m excited to announce that I can offer thermal imaging with a massage. The images can therefore help identify areas of heat, infection, inflammation, cold and reduced blood flow in the muscular, vascular skeletal and nervous systems. Stay tuned for examples as I experiment more and more 🙂
It’s that time of year!! Not sure what to get your horse lover for Christmas? Check this out! Offer good from today until Black Friday! BUY 2 GET 1 FREE MASSAGE! This is a steal! Your certificate will not expire! Private message me to purchase!
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Let me just say...horses are amazing. The horse I was working on was a bit worried so his pasture mate thought I could use some help lol He showed me where his friend likes touch and gave his friend the comfort he needed to stay. It was a special moment. I haven't experienced this since the Brent Graef clinic in Texas when his older gelding did this to help us put first touches on the colts. Warning, your heart may explode, I will never forget it. The horse will show you because they can't tell you. Something to think about. They are truly incredible. This was the first of two times my heart exploded today. ❤️ Thank you for the special day with your special horses Meghan 🥰
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