03/09/2026
The bad, the ugly and the good…
The truth is, not all rehabilitation is pretty. I’ve been working with this mare for around 11 months now and there have been many levels of adjustment for her.
Initially, situational behaviour and anxiety were the pressing issues to deal with, through no fault of the mare or her owner. Some of this was, in my opinion, heightened by pain. She struggles with a club foot and sweetitch, but I also believe that she uses itching like a vice such as cribbing.
As we progressed, I worked with a focus on her nutrition, movement, hoof & dental balance, postural function and balance including muscular wastage, fascial adhesion and nervous system function & regulation. We have sacrificed the loss of some mane and tail hair, for the benefit of moving freely without the restriction of a rug 24/7. Initially, she had a few rubs on her shoulders including one that was caused by a rug seam and then exacerbated by her rubbing on a haynet. However, since this she has only rubbed minorly and I’ve been able to keep on top of her itching through topical oitments, nutrition, low sugar intake, stress & anxiety reduction and gentle bodywork to reduce the pain spiral. The hair will grow back, at the end of the day.
We are still on this journey, I’m sure there will still be some highs and lows to come, but the progress she is making is brilliant.
Currently, her posture is much better supported by developing muscle strength, she is in better balance overall and her emotional state is very calm and positive making spending time with her so enjoyable.
Hopefully I can continue to assist her, there is a lot more I’d like to do with her, although I am very aware of her limits too x
