Therapy for Horses & how as owners you can help the most!!!!
When we work our horses correctly with an understanding of how to create shapes properly and work within each individual horse’s needs, the work becomes therapy. All horses need help with their posture and movement patterns. Some need a lot more help than others but just like us, we all have something in our bodies niggle at us that we must work on continually.
Not only is it physical therapy but it is also psychological therapy. When we can help show the horse how to organise and use their bodies correctly the chaos in the horses’ body eases and therefore so does the chaos in the mind. It is very much like yoga or Pilates for people. If we work on organising our own bodies to function correctly as one united mass, then through the shapes and motions we find ourselves in state of meditation and relaxation.
I am often asked what I do to rehabilitate a horse, what exercises do I do?
There are no magic tricks or ‘special’ exercises that ‘fix’ your horse. We have to look at the horse as a whole as well as individual parts to asses what is happening in the horses body and help the horse find correct functional movement rather than allowing a dysfunctional movement pattern to continue to occur creating issues in the rest of the horses body. There is no one set exercise for this. What might be beneficial for one horse could be damaging for a different horse.
It depends on the individual horse and what dysfunctional movement pattern they’re making. It depends on what restrictions they have in the body, is the horse is hypermobile? There are lots of factors that influence how we approach each horse. Exercises such as backing up or cavaletti poles are exercises that can be extremely damaging to many horses and are the easy ‘go to’ exercises that are suggested too often which leave horses in more pain than they began in. For body workers or coaches that are invested in professional development we discover through more study as well as attending dissections and clinics held by world renowned rehabilitation coaches, we discover that these easy ‘go to’ exercises are not particularly safe for a horse biomechanically, especially for a horse with weaknesses or injuries.
So, what do I look for first? I look at spinal alignment through movement. How the spine moves through movement. How the horse wants to hold themselves together. How it wants to ‘cheat’ and compensate in the body. Then through movement we ask the horse to make more correct spinal alignment and shape in the body which asks the horse to find better posture. This is something that can be done on the ground in hand which is a great way for the person on the ground to see what their horse does without having to worry about their position in the saddle.
🌟As
the owner of the horse you are in the position to help your horse the most!!!
🌟You
can help your horse find harmony both physically and mentally.
🌟You
can help their body issues by learning what is functional and what is
dysfunctional movement.
🌟You
can help your horses’ body by riding them in a way that supports their
suspension system.
🌟You
can help your horses’ body by riding them in a way that supports their skeletal
system and prevent arthritis.
🌟You
can empower yourself with knowledge and the skillset to help your horse!!!
Does this mean that you will no longer need body workers?
Not entirely. But what it does mean is that your horse will improve, rather than the therapist releasing the same restrictions every time they visit. A good body worker will compliment your work and help both of you keep moving in the right direction. The body worker will be able to work on new areas that they haven’t been able to previously as the horse will be ready and willing to work through those more difficult restrictions in the body.
Your horses body worker will be super impressed with your horses’ progress and your horse will absolutely love you for it! We cannot expect body workers to ‘fix’ a horse if the horse is moving or being worked in a dysfunctional manner.
I am very fortunate that through my work I meet very talented and knowledgeable Equine Body workers that understand biomechanics and that the horse needs to be moving functionally for the horse to improve.
I will be sharing their pages below for anyone that is looking for a body worker.
If you would like to learn how you can help your horse, please PM me to find the clinics in your area. If you would be interested in hosting a clinic in your area, please PM me 😀💜
💟 Maggie Ashley – Located at Kingaroy but travels South East Queensland and Northern NSW. https://www.facebook.com/equinefunctionaltherapy/
💟 Sabrina Stephens –
Located Beaudesert and travels surrounding areas.
https://www.facebook.com/Hands-On-Equine-Sports-Massage-and-Therapy-1258855324207093/
💟 Tam Young –
Located at Murwillumbah but travels South East Queensland and Northern NSW.
https://www.facebook.com/tamyoung.ridestrong
💟 Evelyn Brereton –
Located Hobart, TAS area but travels North Tassie.
https://www.facebook.com/Evelyn-Brereton-Evs-Equine-Services-1178589525491254/?ref=br_rs
💟 Ros Maindok –
Located Perth WA
https://www.facebook.com/RosMaindokEquestricare
#therapyforhorses #therapyinmotion #Equinetherapy #functionalmovement #biomechanics #schoolingforsoundness #classicaldressage #dressage #happyhorses #yogaforhorses
