Falconwood Equine Spa

Muscle: Quadricep Femoris

The quadriceps femoris is a powerful muscle in the hindquarters. The quadriceps femoris muscle, inserting to the patella, serves to extend the stifle joint. It may assist in keeping the patella in locked position. The direction of pull of its three main portions, the vastus medialis, re**us femoris and vastus lateralis.

Function:

All four of the quadricep femoris muscles have a similar function. They protract the hindlimb (bring it forward) by extending the stifle (knee) joint. Let's take a closer look at each quadricep muscle.

Three of the quadricep muscles are very similar. The Vastus Medialis is the most medial (inside) of the vastus muscles. The vastus lateralis is the middle quadricep and is the most lateral (outside). All three of these muscles extend and stabilize the stifle joint.

The Re**us Femoris is a little different. This muscle originates on the illum (pelvis), meaning that in addition to extending and stabilizing the stifle, it can also flex the hip joint.

All of the quadriceps femoris muscles have different origins, but merge together into a single insertion point just above the intermediate patellar ligament.

Semimembranosus:

The semimembranosus is the most medial of the hamstring muscles & is found on the inner thigh of the horse. It is a superficial muscle that is easy to see & palpate.

𝑭𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏
Similar to the other hamstring muscles the biceps femoris & semitendinosus, the semimembranosus works to retract the hindlimb. It does this by extending the hip joint. In addition the semimembranosus is able to adduct & internally rotate the hindlimb.

Congratulations to Leoni Van Der Burgh on the purchase of her new stunning red Instant Cryo and Thermal imaging Machine.

Christmas has come early! We are running a Christmas special on the fabulous cryo machine and thermal camera. R285 000 ex Vat. We also offer financing through Wesbank. 083 083 391 9258 or [email protected]

Biceps Femoris:

This week we will be taking a look at one of the most powerful and complex muscles of the hindquarters, the biceps femoris. The Biceps Femoris is one of three hamstring muscles. Out of the three hamstrings, the biceps femoris is the largest & most lateral (farthest from the midline).

Biceps - A muscle with two points of attachment.

Femoris - Latin for femur. The long bone in the upper leg.

This means that the biceps femoris is a muscle with two points of attachment and is closely tied to the femur bone.

Funtion:

The biceps femoris has two origins. The first origin is along the sacral & caudal vertebrae, as well as the gluteal fascia and sacrotuberous ligament. The second origin is on the ischial tuberosity, which is the back part of the pelvis.

Moving down from the origins, the biceps femoris splits into three parts which are easily visible on many horses. These three parts include many insertion points including the patella (stifle), patella ligaments, tibia, achilles tendon and all of the surrounding crural fascia. One of the insertion points even goes down to the calcaneus, which is the bone at the back of the hock.

Because of the Biceps Femoris complexity, it has a wide array of functions. This is one of the few muscles that is able to both extend & flex a joint, in this case the stifle. It is also able to extend the hip and hock as well as abduct the limb (pull away from midline).

Just look at these stunning cryo machines in various colours. You can now choose from a variety of colours. Contact us for more info, sales. We offer financing. 083 083 391 9258 or [email protected]

𝙃𝙄𝙉𝘿𝙇𝙄𝙈𝘽 𝙋𝙍𝙊𝙏𝙍𝘼𝘾𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉 - 𝙛𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙠𝙚𝙮 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙘𝙡𝙚 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙥𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙙

When the hindlimb is brought forward into a protraction stretch the following muscle groups are stretched:

• Hamstring muscle group — semitendinosus, semimembranosus, gracilis
• Bicep femoris
• Gluteals - superficial and accessory
• Longissimus dorsi - lumbar portion

𝙃𝙄𝙉𝘿𝙇𝙄𝙈𝘽 𝙍𝙀𝙏𝙍𝘼𝘾𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉 𝙎𝙏𝙍𝙀𝙏𝘾𝙃 𝙆𝙚𝙮 𝘼𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙈𝙪𝙨𝙘𝙡𝙚 𝙂𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙥𝙨

• Longissimus dorsi (lumbar portion)
• Tensor Fascia Lata
• Quadriceps Femoris
• Bicep Femoris
• Gluteals
• Gracilis

𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐑 & 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐈𝐂 𝐒𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐒𝐘𝐌𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐑𝐘

Asymmetry through the shoulders incorporates so many aspects.

• Scapulohumeral joint dysfunction
• Thoracic sling dysfunction - pectoral muscles, Serratus ventralis, trapezius…
• Hoof conformation
• Cervical vertebrae pathology
• Pelvic asymmetry
• Distal limb pathology
• Rider asymmetry…

When there are shoulders in misalignment, it often means there is a spiral of dysfunction throughout the body as well.

The use of very targeted exercises and deep release techniques can correct and address this problem.

This can be an undervalued perspective, so at your next opportunity, try taking a photo of your horse from this angle and see how symmetrical they are.

The Thoracic Sling:

Did you know that horses don’t have a collarbone?

This means that the only way a horse’s front legs connect to the rest of the body is through soft tissue. We call this connection the thoracic sling. True shoulder problems are pretty uncommon in horses, however it is very common for the soft tissues of the thoracic sling to become tight and sore.

Exercises involving poles particularly walking over poles are one of my favourite exercises. Walking horses over poles on the ground or slightly raised have so many benefits including encouraging the horse to lower his head, lift his thorax and stimulating the thoracic sling muscles.

Bodywork is also a fantastic tool for releasing tension in the thoracic sling!

MUSCLE ATROPHY (VISIBLE DIP) AT THE WITHERS.

Muscle atrophy can occur when an un-balanced saddle puts too much pressure on a particular area. The horse tries to avoid the pressure, goes onto “defensive mode” by contracting the particular muscle and surrounding muscles, and can even alter his gaits.

An atrophy of Trapezius Cervicus usually shows in a dip in front of the wither and is usually well recognized. It can be caused by poor training practises such as a rider holding the reins or putting the horse's neck in a forced position. The Nuchal ligament might also be compromized.

The nuchal ligament limits forward flexion of the head and the cervical spine. It also serves as the attachment for some major muscles.

Clinical signs include permanent resistance against the reins, with difficulty or unwillingness to lower and flex the head and neck when ridden and poor flexion at the poll. In contrast to horses with back pain, hindlimb impulsion is usually good. The horse may have a tendency to rear or shake its head aswell but not always.

Horse Blankets: 🐴

How much damage can they do?
When blanketing our horses during cold winter months or the summer rain season or for insect protection, we have the best intention of keeping them warm and protected from the elements and insects. But the design and fit of many blankets can potentially harm your horse and in extreme cases cause major structural problems. A first sign that the edge of your blanket is cutting into the crest and the nuchal ligament of the horse, is the so called ‘blanket-dip’, an indentation right in front of the withers.

A first sign that something is not quite right, is usually a slight indentation right in front of the withers, often coupled with hairloss, coldness to touch (lack of circulation) and possibly stiffness and soreness in the horse. It’s hard to put two and two together. We blanket our horse to keep him warm and protected from the elements and often don’t think that such a relatively light piece of equipment such as a blanket can do damage to our horse.

But indeed, most blankets even though available in many different sizes are still not customized enough to fit every horse. The blanket pulls down on the front edge and causes the so called ‘blanket-dip’.

What this means to the horse’s anatomy:

The blanket edge presses on the fatty tissue of the crest and the underlying nuchal ligament. The nuchal ligament starts at the poll and attaches at the withers, making it an elementary component of equine biomechanics. This ligament together with the supraspinous ligament serves as the ‘string’ in the ‘suspension bridge’ of the horse’s back.

When the horse stretches his neck forward, the nuchal ligament is put in traction, pulling on the
withers’ spinous processes, causing them to rise. This effect extends all along the horse’s back – the traction is transmitted to the tendon-like supraspinous ligament, which, as a direct continuation of the nuchal ligament, connects all of the back’s
spinous processes.” And it is mainly the nuchal ligament that helps the horse lift his back by stretching it forward.”

Impeding or even damaging this important ligament can lead to anything from minor discomfort and restriction to major loss of soundness, requiring lengthy rehabilitation. Stiffness, choppy strides, disjointed movement can be first pointers that something is causing damage or restriction to this ligament.

If you are blanketing your horse, investigate carefully whether the blanket is restricting the nuchal ligament. If you find a dip, coldness to touch or loss of hair, you will want to make changes. Having a knowledgeable tailor make custom changes to your blanket or buying a blanket that has a different design, such as the “Rambo Wug” or “Rhino Wug” by Horseware Ireland may be a good idea, if your horse cannot go without blanket.

What Are Carrot Stretches?

A carrot stretch is a active stretch that is often done with a treat to encourage your animal to soften, stretch and bend.

Active Stretching vs. Passive Stretching
Passive stretches are those that remain in a position for a length of time, allowing it to deepen and using a tool or partner. For example, a tail stretch would be considered a passive stretch. It cannot be done without a partner (you) and is held for a longer period of time.

An active stretch is one where the horse is activating their own muscles without the use of tools or a partner. For best results and to avoid risk of injury, this type of stretch should be used when muscles are already warmed up from a ride or a professional massage session, but NOT grooming. There are a lot of pros when it comes to active stretches, however, there is also the biggest risk of injury.

Can carrot stretches hurt your horse.Yes they can if done INCORRECTLY!

Stretches must be precise or they are problematic. On the left: a proper bow technique with an experienced horse. Note the straight head and extended neck. If not guided into the correct position, this could result in compression, herniated disks, tight muscles, and much more.
Most people have no idea what they are doing and either ask for a stretch that is not healthy for their animal, a stretch past the horse’s abilities, stretching a cold muscle, or not listening when their horse says it hurts. After all, the horse is going to try their best to do what you ask because, hello TREAT.

If done incorrectly, carrot stretches can:

Cause a pulled muscle.
Create herniated disks in the poll or neck.
Form incorrect patterns in the spine, muscle, or ligaments/tendons that later become problematic and result in conformation that is unhealthy.

Capped hock

🐴 Assess the Wither 🐴

When we approach strength in the horses body, the neck, hindquarters & the back are the main areas that are discussed.

But the withers can be a great indicator of if your horse is building muscle & how it is building muscles.

And that is super important as muscle should be developing to enhance your horses body, not to support its compensations. And often when the withers are not showing signs of functioning at optimum biomechanically level it can be a sign that your horse may not be building strength & muscle correctly.

The characteristic of atrophy & compression of the thoracic trapezius, dip in front of the wither and over-recruitment of the nuchal ligament as a supporting lever, over-development of the underside of the neck and reduced ability to flex the neck either side or maintain a consistent contact are an accumulation of signs potentially indicating wither dysfunction.

Congratulations to Kristina Plattner on the purchase of her new ECB Instant Cryo machine.

Suspensory Desmitis

It is an increasingly common injury within sports horses of many disciplines.
The rigueurs of training and competition take their toll on many regions of the horse not just on the joints but on the surrounding soft tissue including the ligaments.

ANATOMY:
A suspensory ligament is found on each of the front and hind legs.
In the forelimb it runs behind the leg from behind the knee, down the back of the cannon, then splits and runs around the sides of the fetlock and attaches to the front of the pastern.
In the hind limb it runs in the same way but starts behind the lower aspect of the hock.

ROLE:
One of the roles of the suspensory ligament is to prevent over extension (dropping) of the fetlock.
The other role is to act like a rubber band to store and release kinetic energy during motion.

INJURY:
The suspensory ligament can be damaged in the fore and hindlimbs. The latter is often with a worse prognosis.
Damage can be a result of one off injuries such as falls. It can also be through repetitive strain.
Injuries are hard to protect against but some of the factors causing repetitive strains are possible to change.

CAUSES:
Some of the factors for repetitive suspensory ligament strains are:
• straight limb conformation
• poor hoof balance
• incorrect training methods
• overly soft exercise surface

It is my opinion that any issue that could result in reduced mobility of the limbs could put undue strain on the suspensory ligaments.
Therefore on this list you would also consider:
• reduced mobility of the lumbar sacral region
• stifle and hock problems
• poll/jaw/neck tension
• chronic saddle issues
and more....

TREATMENT:
Hydrotherapy/Cryo Therapy
Vibration plate, supportive shoeing
Specialised rehab program after treatment

We have a secondhand hydro spa for sale. R800 000 ex Vat. Exellent condition. 083 391 9258 or [email protected]

It takes a village to do a hydro treatment. 🤪

The Thoracic Trapezius Muscle:

How do you know if it is healthy or dysfunctional?

The Trapezius originates along the dorsal side of the neck near the poll, inserts on the spine of the scapula. Includes the trapezius cervicalis (originates along the cervical vertebrae) and trapezius thoracis (originates along the thoracic vertebrae).
It is a muscle that commonly falls prey to atrophy from compensatory movement or poor saddle fitting issues.

Spotting problems:

Tension, spasm, under development or tears within the trapezius muscle may cause a reduction in stride length, scapula control and forelimb asymmetry and perhaps even lameness.
Another sign of a horse with issues in the trapezius muscle would be a visible ‘dip’ just below the withers behind the shoulder. When palpating I would expect the area to feel fibrous, tight and dehydrated with a possible spasm over the area. The horse may also show some objections to the area being touched as it will be sore.

In areas of atrophy, fascial tension or hypertonicity, the muscle will be unable to ripple underneath the hand. The skin may feel “stuck” over the surface, or it may feel like there is too little muscle to achieve this feeling.

Raised pole work in both walk and trot is an effective way of increasing the strength of the trapezius, because greater scapula stability is required as the limbs are lifted higher over the poles. All lateral exercises are useful for engaging, strengthening and conditioning the trapezius muscle. Shoulder-in is particularly useful for a jumper as this will improve his ability to lift his scapula, thus enhancing forelimb technique.

Why do you need to stretch your horse slowly and hold stretches for atleast 5-15sec?

When a muscle is stretched too quickly and not held for long enough, a myotatic reflex occurs.

What does this mean?

Muscle spindles located in the muscles are stretched. They record changes in muscle length, sending this information to the central nervous system (CNS). If the length and rate of muscle lengthening exceeds its preset physiological threshold, then the CNS triggers the myotatic reflex in order to protect from injury. This causes the contraction of the muscle. This can be seen when an animal quickly pulls back away from a stretch.

Through stretching, an aim is to achieve an inverse myotatic reflex response. Holding a stretch for between 5 and 15 seconds depending on the fitness of the animal enables the muscle spindles to habituate, reducing its signalling to the CNS to protect the muscle and enabling relaxation instead. As the muscle is stretched slowly the golgi tendon organs located at the musculotendinous junction records changes in muscle tension and the rate of change to send to the central nervous system. It is the overpowering signalling of the golgi tendon organs over that of the muscle spindles which instigates this reaction. This is the inverse myotatic reflex which encourages the development of increased muscle extensibility and flexibility.

In all, when stretching your animal the body is undergoing its own retraining processes and we need to give the muscles time to re adapt.

Who is the lucky new owner of this stunning mobile Cryo machine in stunning Pink?! 🤩

The iliopsoas:
Poor performance and back pain often stem from weakness or restriction of the iliopsoas, a group of muscles that originate at the last thoracic and first lumbar vertebra, running through the pelvis and attaching at the femur. It is responsible for hindlimb protraction. A horse with a near hind iliopsoas strain will show these subtle signs

-Dropping of the near hind
-Stiff to the right
-Over bend on the left
-Stiffness in jaw on the off side
-Uneven trot on the left diagonal, may be felt as a twist of the riders back when rising
-Leg yield to the right more difficult
-Difficulty picking up right lead canter
-Lacks impulsion and forward movement
-Lacks flexibility behind the saddle

Vibration therapy and Transeva treatments are good treatments to assist with this condition. Physio and good stretching program.
Contact us for more info or to book your horses treatment.

The iliopsoas:

Poor performance and back pain often stem from weakness or restriction of the iliopsoas, a group of muscles that originate at the last thoracic and first lumbar vertebra, running through the pelvis and attaching at the femur. It is responsible for hindlimb protraction. A horse with a near hind iliopsoas strain will show these subtle signs

-Dropping of the near hind
-Stiff to the right
-Over bend on the left
-Stiffness in jaw on the off side
-Uneven trot on the left diagonal, may be felt as a twist of the riders back when rising
-Leg yield to the right more difficult
-Difficulty picking up right lead canter
-Lacks impulsion and forward movement
-Lacks flexibility behind the saddle

Cryotherapy, Solarium, vibration and Transeva treatments are good treatments to assist with this condition.
Contact us for more info or to book your horses treatment. 083 391 9258 or [email protected]

This week's superhint: The anatomical term 'joint' is a union between 2 or more bones. In the equine sacroiliac joint ligaments are the primary binding tissue. This joint is not designed to move. It has barely any range of motion. Its function is to attach the pelvis and powerful hind limbs to the spine.

Ligaments are tough fibrous cords - passive tissues in the main - they don't contract, they have very little elasticity and poor blood supply which means they are very slow to heal when damaged. Unlike muscles, we certainly don't have any voluntary control over them. The degree of leverage exerted on them will determine whether or not they fail. Unlike bone, they don't regenerate. These properties make them highly vulnerable.

The joint space in the equine sacroiliac joint is large - the bones are relatively distant to each other, therefore the greater the distance, the more vulnerable the structures supporting it are. Thankfully ligaments have a rich nerve supply and they communicate postural changes to muscles which are under voluntary control and which can contract/relax to alter posture to keep joints working within their normal range of motion. If you fail to develop your horse's muscles they will fail to protect the sacroiliac joint when it is levered beyond safe limits for anything beyond light ridden work. If you work the muscles to fatigue they cannot support and protect the ligaments. If you strain the muscles they will not function correctly and they will in turn fail to protect ligaments.

This is why correct, progressive, training and conditioning of all body tissues is essential.

The Equine back

Horses with kissing spine (overriding dorsal spinous processes) are often discussed but it’s rare that cases with quite the opposite issue is discussed.

A horse, with the complaint that he wasn’t pushing from behind as much and just didn’t feel quite right. He often felt sore in his back and was tense under saddle, he was also seen to be dragging both toes on the hind feet and was reactive upon back palpation.

Radiograph of his back was taken to look for any evidence of kissing spine and showed quite the opposite, he had huge spaces between his spinous processes.
A horse with spaces like this, although seemingly quite desirable, is more often prone to back issues due to the flexibility that it has in this region.

It’s important to stress how regular maintenance treatments, rehabilitation and a good exercise and stretching programme can work with horses like this, without the need for veterinary treatment.

Riding work 3-4 days per week with a variety of work. Hacking is very important as it improves the proprioception which in turn will reduce the likelihood of injury. A good warm up and cool down is also just as important. When horses become tired their muscles tire. This means that the overall limb stability is affected as the muscles can no longer hold everything in the correct position and injuries will occur.

Horses don’t need to be in the arena going around and around in circles for an hour at a time. They are designed to go in straight lines and on a variety of terrain. Riding in the light seat during warm up and cooling down will allow the horses back to warm up properly it is especially useful for horses like this. Lastly stretching exercises are very important. Working the horse long and low, not pulling the horses head in, but teaching them to search for the bit and not to be afraid of it, will go a long way at eliminating tension and help to create a supple healthy horse.

This machine is just amazing. Taking the temp on a splint from 33 degrees to 3.2 degrees in just 60sec.

Contact us to own your own Mobile CO2 Cryo machine and veterinary thermal camera.

We have sawdust at R18.50 per bag, weighs about 10 to 12kg per bag.
Freshly baled eragrostis 1.5 bales at R450 per bale ex transport. 083 391 9258