From Head To Tail Equine Therapies & Rehabilitation

Wow. This horse sure is a giant.

Meet "sampson," the world's strongest and biggest horse, born in 1799 on a farm in Alberta, Canada. sampson is a Shire horse, a breed known for their impressive size and strength. From a young age, sampson stood out from the rest, with a voracious appetite and an insatiable desire to grow.

As he matured, sampson's incredible strength became apparent. He could pull loads of over 5,000 pounds and run at speeds of up to 30 miles per hour. His massive size - he stood at an astonishing 20.3 hands (68 inches or 173 cm) tall and weighed over 2,000 pounds - made him a gentle giant, with a heart to match.

sampson's fame spread far and wide, with appearances at horse shows, parades, and even film and television productions. He became a beloved celebrity, known for his intelligence, kindness, and unwavering strength.

When you just can’t get enough of the healing energy you just sneak on into your paddock mates session.

Merry Christmas and a very prosperous New Year to everyone who has supported me this year.

📸 Look at this post on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/share/p/B2piqksndXySuBC4/?mibextid=WC7FNe

Another general committee member is

Tanya Hind From Head to Tail Equine Therapy and Rehabilitation
Craniosacral therapy, accupressure, reiki, equine iridology

Had the best time learning new skills and techniques to add into my equine services last weekend in Tamworth with Mel Rowe of MELT.
Equine Manual Lymphatic Drainage now available Taping also available

Gorgeous fascia.

Who knows what this is and what it’s job is?

SHE HAS TURNED INTO A WHOLE NEW HORSE
Is the comment that I got on Saturday at Tottenham Horse Sports from a client who had her daughters horse treated not even two weeks ago.
It was great to see that every muscle and other tissues that was released during Willows session has remained allowing her body to move freely to catch her little rider on top if she lost her balance
A great child’s horse will manoeuvre their bodies as best they can to catch (be underneath the child when they come back down in the saddle) and by having the supple and balanced it enables them to do this without having to strain themselves or go through any pain to do so.
It also helps the young rider on board gain confidence and master control when their horse isn’t trying to evade pain or past trauma from past injuries with head tossing, pig rooting, bucking, biting, inability to bend or tripping on the flat ground.
Go Liv and Willow

Exactly. Things don’t just happen suddenly for no reason. Have your horse looked at by a qualified body worker such as myself Find out what is going on within the horses body. There is always a reason for the behaviour

"Suddenly"

We hear a lot of riders say their horse "suddenly" started bucking or refusing jumps, or some other variation of "suddenly started [insert unwanted behavior]". The thing is, a lot of times there are many subtle signs that something is amiss that tend to fall on deaf ears, and not from malice but rather just ignorance. We don't know what we don't know, and while that may excuse some of what we dismiss, it also acts as an excuse for inaction. You may not know what exactly it is you're looking for, but following the simple rule of "riding shouldn't be a battle" should clue you in on certain things.

If your horse is resistant, remember that they have no ability to 'take the p**s' as some would say. They don't decide "today, I will spook at the far right corner because the Moon is full and I don't like the weather". Everything horses do is either a means of communicating that something is wrong or a fight/flight reaction at that given moment. Neither is cause for an argument or "showing the horse who is boss" because all that does is tell your horse he can't trust you, and can't depend on you to help him in his times of need.

So when we hear "suddenly", we approach cautiously and do our best to educate owners on the more subtle cues they may have missed. No one is vilified or chastised, because in the end they made the conscious choice to seek out help, and the least we can do is help them in a gentle, encouraging way so that they may in turn help their own horses in a gentle, encouraging way.

I just love it when I see the amazing results that are made after having craniosacral therapy.
This mare was lame and after owner had multiple investigations and treatments with vets she wasn’t making any progress
Her anxiety was just through the roof, which subsided after one session
Just look at her now after 3 craniosacral sessions. Back competing without any signs of lameness not to mention the overall bio mechanical balance and behavioural changes

Precious

This photo is too beautiful not to be seen by everyone 🙌🏻🥰

This is so true a combination of western and eastern medicine/practices works very well together. Just a shame that more professionals are not willing to work together. It shouldn’t be about prestige it should be about the animal and it’s quality of life

Worth a read. Please don’t be offended by the comments made

Another day Another bloody 3 year old off the flat with kissing spine....

I am so sick of seeing these beautiful horses ruined before they have had a chance in life.

This lad is a big 3 year old who ran at 2 and was clearly weak and backwards.

Is it hereditary? Possibly.

Do we cause it training young horses too hard before they're mature, with bad fitting saddles and poor riding? Undoubtedly.

Something needs to be done. However there is so much money in running horses at 2 and 3 why would they stop it?

EDIT

Wow I am amazed at the response this post has received. I thought I would just add a few thoughts to share with you.

On the whole trainers love their horses, but some are misguided in their approach.

Racing has become cut throat and disposable. We start training on the whole, because we love these beautiful animals, however love doesn't pay the rent.

The pressure to get results has increased exponentially over the past 10 years, with prize money decreasing, which leads to trainers behaving somewhat immorally in certain situations.

There is no excuse where the welfare of the horse is concerned. However as someone pointed out to me, quite viciously a couple of weeks ago, I don't understand how hard it is as I have it so easy...Seriously he actually said that...

Desperate men take desperate measures and whilst there is a thriving gambling industry and owners who want results quickly, who don't want to pay vast training fees and get no return mean horse welfare will always suffer. The sick, lame and the sorry will be discarded, the lucky ones will find their way to people like me and some of you.

What can we do? Well we can bloody well start to educate owners to understand that pushing horses too early causes these issues.

We can stop breeding from lines that have the genetic predisposition.

We can educate trainers about the damage half tree exercise saddles do.

We can help teach staff and trainers how to ride their horses to give them the best chance to stay sound, how to go in a way they engage the topline, strengthen the lumbar and stop them being crooked.

To learn to change their diagonal, to learn to not ride off their hands, to help the horses who are weak and struggling, to make sure horses can canter on both legs equally...(sounds simple doesn't it??).

Stop the staff hoiking their stirrups up by their ears, putting all the weight on one small area on young backs.

To stop tying heads down with ridiculously tight bungees because this builds "top line"...

Sorry I shouldn't rant but in the end I train horses because I love them, obviously I want winners but I want them more for the horse than I do me...

Racing will be around a lot longer than I will so all I can hope is we can evolve as an industry for the better.

The base of the neck / thoracic sling area is a very complex, and extremely important area for the soundness of our horses. If we want them moving well, everything in this region must be functioning properly. Here is a (very simplified) visual to help understand the different layers that make up this complex region.

I totally agree with this article by the functional horse.

Further signs of pain.

I always tell my clients how important the tongue is for the horse
This article explains the neurological importance of the tongue.

THE NEUROLOGY OF THE HORSE’S TONGUE AND IMPORTANCE IN PERFORMANCE

The tongue - we rarely see or think it but it is one of the most integral parts of the horse.

My work with people has put this into stark perspective - because we and our horses are mammals and have very similar central nervous systems we can take huge lessons from our own tongues.

The tongue has a part several functions - tasting, licking, chewing, swallowing but it has a whole other mechanism that we use daily but never give a thought to.

THE TONGUE IS ONE OF THE MAJOR COMPENSATORS IN THE BODY along with the jaw, hyoid and ankles (in a human).

What is a compensation?

A mechanism that the brain uses to strengthen the body’s pre-existing weaknesses due to physical and emotional trauma.

We may see our horses having issues with it’s tongue with symptoms such as:

These symptoms could indicate a horse is experiencing tongue pain or discomfort:
Dropping feed/hay
Not eating
Hyper-salivation
Bad breath
Bleeding from the mouth
Swelling in tongue and/or cheeks
Standing with head outstretched
Resistance to the bit or to handling of the head
Tongue hanging from mouth
Discolouration (a healthy tongue should be pink and moist)
Explosive reaction from nerve impingement

What is especially important to consider in horses?

Physical trauma in the body means that hey need their tongue to make that area stronger. Who we strap their mouth shut, we remove this ability to compensate, making weak muscles work, causing pain and risking injury.

When we put bits in mouth that do not have room for the horse’s individual tongue or use straight bar bits we risk compressing the tongue which causes trauma to the tongue and affects the horse’s ability to compensate.

When we pull straight back on the reins at a low level this nutcrackers and pinches the tongue causing pain and trauma.

Is there trauma in their body or emotions that the tongue is compensating for?

Iridology is a fantastic tool for locating areas of past trauma and I have found it very useful to consider when looking of the root cause of any compensation in the body.

When we see the horse eliciting their symptoms - what are they doing? If ridden, is it all the time/ lateral movements/right rein/left rein/walk/trot/canter/loose rein/tight rein/on a corner/on the straight/transitions - by seeing what muscles they *should* be using at that moment and what they are doing instead with their body, it can lead us towards the cause.

So much pain is hidden in our horse - as prey animals they are masters of disguise and it is only when our horses are really in pain do we actually see them as ‘lame’. There are so many signs before that. Looking at all these signs allows us to build a picture of what is going on within the horse and find it’s hidden pain.

The tongue muscles themselves tell a story.

The sternohyoideus and sternothyroideus muscles directly connect the horse’s tongue and mouth to the chest of the horse. This fascial and muscular connection carries on through the pectoral muscles along the ventral aspect of the horse, along the abdominal muscles and into the pelvis.

The tongue (via the hyoid) is connected to the shoulder, poll and head directly and to the hind limb indirectly via the facia - so tongue problems are who body problems and vice versa.

So what can you do to delve deeper into why your horse needs to use it’s tongue as a compensation?

First, look for something that can changes what you see in the tongue or the body - better or worse is always a good sign because it gives you clues. I would recommend slow motion filming at walk for comparison.

Change the bit (material/height/width/joints), take the bridle off, ride from the head collar, take the saddle off ride with the bit, change rider, weight the right side of the horse in your stirrup, weight the left side of the horse in your stirrup, put your body weight forward and backing the saddle, put varying degrees of pressure on the reins, halt and walk on with no/little/steady contact, lateral work with the shoulder leading and the hind end leading.

Each movement will give you clues and now you can start to look a t your horse’s history and piece together what you see.

For example -

Horse sticks tongue out during left shoulder in and right hand corners and has a profits thumb/scar on the right shoulder would lead me towards the injury that caused the scar, the scar itself and the physical and emotional trauma that the brain is still compensating for before I would be led towards direct tongue trauma.

Sometimes we see symptoms cascade - it starts with just a little tongue poke and then the tongue is out all the time - especially at competitions - as the stress levels rise and the capacity that the horse has at home, when he is relaxed, diminishes.

It is a truly fascinating way to approach management of our horses and it offers so much freedom from the norm when we are able to give the vet a host of relevant information to help them help us and our horses in the highest way possible.

https://onlinepethealth.com/the-role-of-the-tongue-and-hyoid-in-movement/

Article also available in at www.painlessequestrian.co.uk/blog

The Hyoid!!!
So important and once relaxed the results are mind blowing.

All horse owners should be able to recognise these signs or posture that tell you the horse is in pain or discomfort.
Body work is great for relieving pain and discomfort that has built up in the horses muscles and other body tissues.
If pain continues then a vet should be called in to assess other more serious issues that may be involved with the horses body.