Equines in balance

I’m now taking a relaxing week break all messages will be replied to once I’m back.

Finally it was my horses turn for a massage therapy session she has been training really hard behind the scenes with trips out hacking and for lessons so this was well deserved. She will now enjoy a week off relaxing in the field with her friends. Boo holds tension through her back,lumber and glutes so after I released of her muscles I applied the k-tape to continue the fascia release, support the muscles, improve circulation and help with lymphatic flow.

Been a busy sunny weekend seeing some lovely horses and ponies who all have enjoyed their massage therapy. Lovely to see improvements and be part of the journey. Bellow we have the lovely Maggie May (1st pic) then pretty Penny and lastly my helper Jasmine who is keeping an eye on the reports I’m writing to send out from this weekend.

Busy day learning all things Fascia and how to use the Fascialedge tool at Rose Holistic Therapies and Training to complement the fascia work i already do. Was also lovely meeting other therapists was lovely meeting and working alongside

Lovely to see Luna and Sassy this afternoon. Both really enjoyed their massage therapy and was lovely to see how they both responded within their bodies. They both ended their sessions with nice soft muscles and relaxed happy faces

Such a well written article from Equi-Flex about the struggles we face from working alone and imposture syndrome. It can be a lonely working for yourself and something I know a lot of other therapists have also found.

🛻Shelley Mannion, Certified Equine Sports Massage and Rehabilitation Therapist shares her story about coping with working alone and imposter syndrome.

📖Read Shelley's blog here: https://ridersminds.org/2024/06/30/equine-massage-therapists-exploring-the-challenges-of-lone-working-and-imposter-syndrome/

💜𝙄𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩
🌍Live webchat: https://ridersminds.org/
🇬🇧Live text support: 07480 488 103
🇬🇧Call the helpline: 0800 088 2073

Managed to fit in my own horse this morning she really appreciated her massage and had lots of lovely releases and stretching herself. July is looking to be a busy month if you feel your horse could benefit from equine massage therapy then please get in touch.

Lovely Leda couldn’t stop yawning in her session today. This was my second visit and she really relaxed and released all that tension away.

Yesterday was a very busy day massaging some lovely horses on the IOW. Saw some great improvements in the horses I saw on my previous trip and was lovely meeting new clients. Looking forward to next month’s trip. Think the dogs enjoyed the day l

The lovely Luna enjoying her massage therapy this afternoon. Luna had quite a bit of tension over her back and lumber and needed some support so after her massage I applied the k-tape to help support and bring blood flow to the area.

Huge congratulations to this combination who I had the pleasure of meeting last weekend. So pleased Portia was feeling fabulous after her massage therapy to put her best hoof forward in the show ring 🏆🏆 well done Megan and Portia

Great tips from Horses Inside Out

TUESDAY TIP - STRAIGHTNESS

A key pillar of training
👉 Walk is the most effective pace to see how straight your horse is because it’s the slowest and gives you the time to watch and make assessments.

👉 Observing your horse as he walks towards and away from you is an effective way of evaluating symmetry and soundness.

👉 A horse that’s straight, sound and symmetrical should move on two tracks with his head and neck aligned with the middle of his chest.

👉 As your horse walks towards you look at the alignment of his joints starting at the hoof and working upwards.

CANTER is the most difficult pace to ride straight as this gait is asymmetrical.

🐎 Riding your horse in a slight shoulder-fore position in canter will help to straighten, strengthen and balance him.

If you want to learn more about how your horse moves from the the anatomical perspective read ANATOMY IN ACTION - https://www.horsesinsideout.com/aia

or watch the on-demand webinar Striving for Straightness - https://www.horsesinsideout.com/about-webinars/straightness

My availability for June. Why not get in contact to see how massage therapy can benefit your horse.

Lovely sunny Sunday morning seeing the lovely Sassy and . Sassy is off to Badminton tomorrow and she was feeling tense over her back. Sassy felt very restricted through her shoulders,back and glutes after her massage I applied the k-tape this helps de compress the muscle and improve blood flow. As Sassy has a long journey tomorrow I wanted to make sure her muscles stayed as relaxed as possible ready for a long week ahead. 💞

Absolutely fantastic explanation of craniosacral therapy. As you know I have recently been on a CPD around this and honestly the feeling you get is just amazing

Living stethoscopes

In light of the recent events that have made it more exciting than I prefer around here, I thought I’d share a bit about one of the modalities I practice and adore, which is craniosacral therapy.

Craniosacral therapy was discovered and developed by Dr. John E Upledger after extensive scientific studies from 1075 to 1983 at Michigan State University, where he served as a clinical researcher and professor of biomechanics.

Craniosacral therapy is gentle yet profound.
Using light pressure (generally about 5 grams or the weight of a nickel), practitioners are taught to evaluate and enhance the function of the craniosacral system, which is comprised of the membranes and cerebrospinal fluid that are responsible for maintaining and protecting the entire central nervous system. It works like a partially closed hydraulic system, pumping spinal fluid around the brain and spinal cord and back again.

By improving the function of the craniosacral system (and the central nervous system in turn) and facilitating the body’s innate healing processes, it can help with a myriad of issues, from deep tension patterns to chronic pain and motor-coordination impairments, PTSD, spinal cord injuries, immune problems, digestive problems, sleep issues and more.

Our hands can work like stethoscopes, listening closely to what’s happening within the body. How the spinal fluid is moving, how the blood is flowing, how the nerves are humming, how the organs are swinging.

The tide that’s created by the spinal fluid flows head to tail in singular bones such as vertebrae and out away from the center line and back for paired bones.

Did you know that many of the horse’s cranial bones are paired?
Take a look at this picture I admittedly pulled from Duck Duck Go, but it’s accurate enough all the same.
So, if we’re looking at the horse head on, there should be a subtle flow out away from the center of the head and back again with each cycle of the spinal fluid. As do shoulders, ribs and more distally.

There should be abundant, even motility throughout the whole head and body in a vital, open horse with a gentle oscillation that is easily palpable if you are attuned to it—and it is a learnable skill.
That is often not the case, but typically quite achievable.

But the more pressure we use, the less we can “hear”.

We’re so conditioned to believe that unless something is a big production that it can’t possibly be effective, so the idea that we can be a conduit for such deep work when it’s so physically light can be hard to wrap our mind around.

I get it.
I would’ve thought it was crazy, too, once upon a time.

This is not to say that firmer or more direct modalities can’t also be of great help to horses, but because I specialize in craniosacral therapy and functional indirect osteopathy, I thought it would be best to share what I know about.

For an excellent resource of biomechanics, biodynamics, anatomy and stunning illustrations she does herself that I myself find helpful and informative, Tami Elkayam Equine Bodywork is a fabulous page to visit.

Another fabulous page to visit is that of my mentor, Tom Mayes.
Visit Integrated Equine Therapies for more of the really insightful posts.💛

Why not get in contact to see how massage therapy can help your horse.

Lovely to see Siena today. I’ve been massaging Siena since she was a case study when I was training and the change in her over that time has been really good to see and she has the kindest eye.

Pleased to say i am a full member of the International Association of Animal Therapists

Just got home from a fantastic two days at Rose Holistic Therapies and Training with Louise Mauferon Vernet - Equine Osteopath learning about visceral and cranial techniques for the equine manual therapist. My mind is blown and I can’t wait to get practicing. I just love learning even better got to spend a few days with Kate Thornton Equine Sports & Remedial Massage Norfolk who came with me

People are going to love you, and people are going to hate you. Actually very little of it has to do with you-

Often people project all kinds of things onto others. They may build you up in their minds to be something bigger or different than you are, and the illusion being crushed at some point, as it will, can create outrage or disallusionment. In the entire time, it’s possible you were just going about your business, while an entire emotional roller coaster was ridden without your knowledge or involvement.

You can be misinterpreted, overblown, undervalued, or over valued-

To be loved or hated isn’t really about us- it says more about the person doing the loving or the hating. Life goes on!

As spring is upon us. Yes I know hard to believe with all this rain. Here are some important tips to help your horses for this spring grass growth

TAKE CARE TURNING HORSES OUT ON GOOD GRASS - GRADUAL IS THE KEY

All dietary changes should be made gradually, especially changes in forage.

Spring grass can cause gut disturbance due to the rapid change in nutrients the horse's gut is exposed to when they're turned out onto fresh fields of good grass.

It's not sugar getting into the caecum that causes this - sugar is thoroughly digested in the small intestine before the caecum. Sugar always seems to get the blame!!

What causes the problem is the rapid change to a different type of forage which is high in fructan (a highly fermentable carb) and much lower in cellulose (structural fibre) than hay. Both these can cause rapid changes in the gut microbiome, which can lead to large intestine acidosis, gas, and digestive disturbance.

There's no need to get your horse's faeces tested (it's quite clear what the problem is so don't waste £100s to be told what you already know), to panic about ulcers or indeed panic about anything else (that's not good for you or your horse):

1. Introduce new grass growth gradually and maintain hay intake as you change over
2. If you haven't done this, take a step back and readjust (you may need to strip graze, use a grazing muzzle or share a turnout plan with friends)
3. Consider feeding a good gut supporting supplement but ONLY after you've altered the diet back to closer to how it was and started more gradual change
4. Understand that your horse may be tight/irritable just as would be expected from a gut disturbance
5. Speak to your vet if you suspect a medical issue with your horse such as ulcers or gut inflammation (please don't self- or social-media-diagnose or treat because you may miss something important or get it wrong)
6. Don't believe everything you read on social media 😊

Feel free to share; thank you 🐴🍏

Why not get in contact to see how massage therapy can help your horse.

Equines in balance Fully certified & insured equine massage & remedial therapist covering Surrey & surrounding counties

Lovely Arthur enjoyed his MSK therapy today. This is the second time I’ve seen this lovely boy and he really relaxed into the session today so much so he couldn’t keep his eyes open.

Lovely afternoon seeing the gorgeous Siena. Siena had a lot of tension through the ribs and lumber so applied some k-tape to help continue the benefit’s of the fascia release work that I applied.

Very well written post about the use of lunging aids. True balance and correct muscle development comes from working a horse correctly and not in a fixed frame, all your doing is creating tense muscles which are incorrectly developed and not engaging the muscles that need to work to help strengthen the horse.

🧠EQUINE TRIVIA ANSWER🧠
This may cause some controversy, but it’s important that you know there are ZERO 👌 benefits to using these restrictive aids. Here’s just a few reasons why:
1: Backwards pressure on the head will compress the neck and the horse looses their power from behind. The horse needs the hindend to move straight.
2: The horse falls onto the front end creating choppy steps and compromising their balance, vision and breathing.
3: Posture is dynamic. Meaning a horse should not be forced into a frame. Even the best looking posture with ruin a body if the horse cannot move or relax their muscles. A fixed headset does not build fitness. It builds stiffness.
4: The head and neck are communicating what is happening in the body. When the body is in balance the head and neck will follow. But micro-managing the head will only create tension and make the horse brace, making you fight harder with the body.
5: The horse will build muscle, yes. But not in the areas we desire. It will make for an overdeveloped neck and no engagement through the thoracic sling. This can lead to issues such as; kissing spine, tendon injuries, hock and stifle pain, nerve compression, and so much more.
There are no quick fixes! Only correct training. Headset should not be focused on too deeply. Ride and work with the body and the head and neck will fall into place.