Central Alberta Equine Rehab & Wellness Centre

06/10/2026

A day in the life at C.A.E.R 🐴

No two days look the same here, but we wouldn't have it any other way.

06/09/2026

06/09/2026

The “Stifle Lameness” That Wasn’t: A Story About Referred Pain

I once had a client who told me about a horse that developed an odd, on-again off-again hind-end lameness that no one could quite pin down. Some days the horse looked off behind, as if his stifle was sore; other days he moved completely normally. Nothing about it followed the usual patterns. Things that should have made a stifle issue worse didn’t seem to, and things that “should have” helped it, didn’t.

We were all very confused.

One day, the vet happened to be on the property with a brand-new scope and offered to scope several horses for gastric ulcers — partly to familiarize themselves with the equipment. When they scoped this particular horse, they found significant stomach ulcers.

The horse was placed on a veterinarian-directed ulcer-care plan, and within a few weeks, something unexpected happened:
the ulcers healed, and the mysterious “stifle lameness” vanished along with them.

It turned out the stifle itself had never been the problem. The horse had been expressing ulcer-related visceral pain as stifle discomfort — a classic example of referred pain.

Why Ulcers Can Look Like Hind-End or Stifle Issues

This situation is a great illustration of how the equine body handles pain. Signals from the internal organs and the limbs travel through overlapping pathways in the spinal cord.

Here’s what science tells us:

1. Visceral nerves and musculoskeletal nerves converge.

The stomach and the hindquarters share overlapping spinal segments, especially through the thoracolumbar region. When the stomach is irritated, the brain can misinterpret those signals as coming from the back, pelvis, or stifle.

2. Fascia connects everything.

The deep fascial membranes link the viscera to the musculoskeletal system. When the gut is irritated, the horse may brace through the abdomen and back, altering pelvic motion and limb loading.

3. Protective guarding changes movement patterns.

A horse in visceral discomfort often holds tension through the core, diaphragm, and back. This can create subtle gait irregularities that look orthopedic but aren’t.

When the gastric discomfort resolved under the veterinarian’s care, the nervous system stopped sending those distress signals — and the hind-end “lameness” disappeared.

Why This Matters

Not every hind-end irregularity originates in a limb. Sometimes the body is expressing visceral discomfort through movement changes.

This story is a reminder of how important it is to work closely with a wonderful veterinarian, and to consider the whole horse — inside and out.

https://koperequine.com/dermatomes-myotomes-and-fasciatomes-in-the-horse/

06/04/2026

4 words that will change your life

I. Do. It. Anyways.

Scared as hell?
Do it anyways.

Tired?
Do it anyways.

Not sure if you're making the right decision?
Do it anyways.

Because progress doesn’t always show up looking like motivation. Sometimes it looks like early mornings, muddy boots, long days, hard rides, careful rehab plans, and showing up for the horse in front of you.

Growth happens in the moments nobody sees — the conditioning ride when energy is low, the water treadmill session that builds strength one step at a time, the rehabilitation work that takes patience and trust.

Not every day feels powerful.
But consistency creates powerful results.

Keep showing up. Keep moving forward.
Do it anyways. ✨

06/03/2026

PEMF is an integral part of our conditioning and rehabilitation programs and we trust no one else but Solar Wellness !

We have been busy with the Magnawave PEMF machine lately! 🌟

What we have worked on recently:

🐎 Restricted shoulders - deltoid, triceps
🐴 🐕 Lumbar and thoracic back pain
🐎 Arthritic changes - hocks, ringbone, navicular
🐴 Suspensory tear
🐎 🐕 Regular maintenance sessions for comfort

And a couple of unique human cases!

Now servicing the Calgary area. Message us to book your session for yourself, your horses and your dogs!

06/03/2026

🐾 Hi friends!

My power-pup Mage would like to ask a favour... 💕

We REALLY need more sign-ups for the following clinics:

🐴 Lone Butte, BC - July 9
🐴 Courtenay, BC - July 16
🐴 Duncan, BC - July 23
🐴 Chilliwack, BC - August 6
🐴 Kelowna, BC - August 13
🐴 Balgonie, SK - August 20

If you know someone who might be interested in attending ANY PART of one of our clinics (the days must be attended in order), would you please tag them in the comments or share this post with them? 🙏🙏🙏

Every share helps us reach more horse owners who want to learn about hoof health, trimming, anatomy, and hoof care.

For clinic details and registration:
hoofgeeks.ca/upcoming-clinics

(IG friends: Link in bio!)

Thank you for helping us spread the word!

🐴 Christine & Francine
Hoof Geeks

05/27/2026

Most horses are under-conditioned for the level of sport they are expected to perform.

Equine sports science continues to show that many performance horses lack the cardiovascular fitness, muscular strength, and postural stability needed to truly support the demands of their discipline.

Our conditioning programs are designed to develop the horse as a complete athlete — building aerobic fitness, strength, coordination, and recovery while providing both physical and mental cross-training. By strengthening the supporting musculature and improving overall biomechanics, we help horses move better, perform better, and reduce injury risk over time.

Because long-term soundness starts with proper conditioning.

05/26/2026

Get ready with us. CAER style.

05/24/2026

Follow along as we do an intake assessment on rehab horse, Rikki.

She came to CAER after veterinary clearance, to look at her intermittent lameness issues and work on her fitness.

Rikki was diagnosed EMS (Equine Metabolic Syndrome) last year and her overly qualified owner has done a wonderful job managing her diet accordingly. She has had issues under saddle that included cross-firing/lead swapping in the lope, "peg-legged" movement in the lope, shortness and stiffness in her left shoulder amongst other things. They tried other modalities including acupuncture and shockwave but nothing seemed to make a lasting difference.

During our assessments, we start at the bottom. No hoof, no horse. And with Ricki's history of EMS, then watching her move, we immediately suspected possible "metabolic/endocrine laminitis". To put it simply, EMS can cause inflammatory responses in the body that can also affect the laminae of the foot (the finger-like structures that hold the inside and outside to each other).

The application of a hoof boot provides a cushion that helps us immediately rule out if there is any concern, whether laminitis, fracture, arthritis, rotation and a plethora of other hoof related issues. We watch them move as is, apply the boots (often with a small cushioning pad), and see if there are any notable and positive changes in the horse. If there are, then we make a plan moving forward to help support the comfort from the ground up.

When there is any type of pain, the body compensates and the appropriate posture and biomechanics are thrown off. Behavior is altered when the horse is asked to do things they simply cannot comfortably do.

That's where we come in. We look at the whole horse. Heck, we'll even call your vet/farrier/body worker and ask them as many questions as possible to get the WHOLE picture to the best of our abilities. We'll use the things you've tried, gather knowledge and insight from other professionals involved in your horses well-being and help find the root of the issue instead of simply treating the symptom.

Follow along for more of Ricki's story.

05/22/2026

Prove Me Wrong.

Horses don’t “misbehave” out of spite. Most unwanted behaviour comes from one of two places:

1. Pain, discomfort, or physical dysfunction
2. Confusion, stress, or lack of understanding

Horses behaviour is communication, not manipulation. What people often label as “bad behaviour” is frequently the horse trying to cope, compensate, or communicate something we’re missing. "He's just a brat" or "She always does that".

Research in equine welfare continues to link behaviour issues with pain — ulcers, poor saddle fit, dental discomfort, lameness, muscular compensation, and restriction in the body can all change how a horse responds.

At the same time, equine learning theory shows us that horses learn through timing, consistency, pressure and release, and association. If our cues are unclear or overwhelming, the horse cannot confidently find the right answer. What looks like defiance is often confusion or nervous system overload.

A horse having a moment of expression or excitement is very different from a horse reacting from pain, fear, panic, or complete misunderstanding. Context matters. Escalation matters. Sudden behaviour changes matter.

Not every buck means something is wrong.
But not every explosion should be dismissed as “being naughty” either.

Good horsemanship starts when we stop asking, “How do I shut this down?” and start asking, “Why is this happening?”

Because horses are always communicating.
The question is whether we’re listening.