Connect the Spots

05/29/2026

Have We Accidentally Bred Horses More Susceptible to Ulcers?

When people think about equine gastric ulcers, the conversation usually focuses on management:
diet, turnout, feeding frequency, stress, travel, confinement, and training intensity.

And rightly so. These factors absolutely matter.

But research showing gastric lesions even in pre-weaning foals raises an interesting question:

Could some horses be inherently more susceptible to ulcers than others?

One study found that prior to weaning, 21% of foals already had gastric ulcers. Following weaning, lesion prevalence increased dramatically to 98%.

Weaning itself is clearly a major physiological stressor. But the pre-weaning numbers are particularly interesting because these foals were still nursing, living socially, and had not yet experienced separation from the mare.

So why were ulcers already present?

The answer is likely complex.

Ulcer development probably involves an interaction between:

* management
* stress physiology
* temperament
* nervous system sensitivity
* feeding behavior
* microbiome health
* inflammation
* genetics
* and individual resilience

Some horses naturally appear more stress-reactive, vigilant, sensitive, or sympathetic-driven than others. These same horses may also show tendencies toward:

* chronic muscle tension
* anxiety
* difficulty maintaining weight
* stereotypic behaviors
* body tension
* or recurrent digestive issues

Selective breeding has already shaped many traits in modern horses:
speed, athleticism, responsiveness, sensitivity, flexibility, reactivity, and even connective tissue characteristics.

So it may be worth asking whether some physiological traits associated with performance and sensitivity could also indirectly influence ulcer susceptibility.

That does not mean ulcers are “genetic” in a simple sense.
And it certainly does not mean management is unimportant.

Ulcers are probably best understood as a multifactorial condition where biology and environment constantly interact.

Wild horses likely experience ulcers too. Life in the wild includes predators, drought, injury, competition, and environmental stress.

But horses also evolved under conditions of:

* near-constant forage intake
* continuous movement
* stable social structures
* and freedom to regulate behavior naturally

Modern horses may experience fewer survival threats overall, but often face a very different kind of stress:
confinement, intermittent feeding, transport, social disruption, training pressure, and chronic low-grade sympathetic activation.

Perhaps the better question is not:
“Do humans cause ulcers?”

But rather:
“How do genetics, nervous system regulation, evolution, and modern management interact to influence which horses become ulcer-prone?”

In case you think foals are too young to develop digestive issues:

“Prior to weaning, 21% of foals had gastric ulcers, with 9% glandular and 7% squamous lesions. Following weaning, 98% of foals had gastric lesions with 97% squamous and 59% glandular. Severity of lesions was more pronounced after weaning.”
— Nancy S. Loving, DVM

Even young horses who have “never had a stressful day in their life” can develop ulcers.

Talk with your veterinarian about ways to help support your foals gut health during the weaning process.

https://equimanagement.com/articles/blood-sucrose-as-a-diagnostic-tool-for-foal-gastric-ulcer-syndrome

https://koperequine.com/groundbreaking-study-links-gut-bacteria-in-foals-to-long-term-health-performance/

https://koperequine.com/a-guide-to-understanding-biotics-prebiotics-probiotics-and-postbiotics/

.

05/13/2026

Miss Spirit offered a beautiful stretch during her session! I was lucky enough to get some of it on camera and her owner captured some fabulous yawns! ❤️

05/11/2026

7 Reasons Chiropractic Alone Is Often Not Enough for Horses

Chiropractic work can absolutely help horses.

Improving joint mobility, reducing restriction, and influencing nervous system input can create meaningful changes in comfort and movement quality.

But many horses continue to struggle even after repeated adjustments.

Why?

Because movement problems are rarely caused by joints alone.

The body functions as an integrated system involving fascia, muscle tone, coordination, balance, proprioception, behavior, compensation patterns, and nervous system regulation.

Adjusting the joints without addressing the rest of the system is often incomplete.

Here’s why.

1. Fascia Connects the Entire Body

Fascia is a continuous connective tissue network that surrounds and integrates muscles, joints, nerves, organs, and movement chains.

Restriction in one region can influence movement somewhere else entirely.

A horse may receive a successful adjustment, but if surrounding fascial tension patterns remain unchanged, the body may continue pulling the horse back into the same compensation strategy.

The joint changed.
The system did not.

2. Hypertonic Muscle Can Pull the Body Back Into Compensation

Many horses develop chronic muscular guarding and hypertonicity.

Importantly, hypertonic does not mean strong.

Often these muscles are:

* protective
* compensating
* overworking
* poorly coordinated
* or responding to instability elsewhere

If excessive muscular tension is not addressed, the horse may temporarily improve after chiropractic work but gradually return to the same posture and movement patterns.

3. The Nervous System Controls Movement

Movement is not controlled by bones alone.

The nervous system constantly regulates:

* muscle tone
* coordination
* posture
* movement variability
* balance
* protective responses

If the nervous system still perceives instability, discomfort, overload, or lack of safety, the body may continue using the same movement strategies regardless of joint position.

This is one reason some horses seem to “need constant adjustments.”

4. Restriction Is Often a Whole-Body Pattern

A horse protecting one area rarely compensates in only one place.

For example:

* thoracic sling dysfunction may affect the neck, ribs, lumbar region, and hindquarters
* pelvic restriction may alter trunk stabilization and forelimb loading
* poll tension may connect into broader fascial and postural chains

Massage and myofascial approaches can help address broader tension patterns that may not be fully resolved through localized joint work alone.

5. Proprioception and Coordination Matter

Many horses do not simply lack mobility.

They lack efficient control of mobility.

A horse may have enough range of motion physically but still move poorly because of:

* weak proprioception
* poor coordination
* instability
* reduced body awareness
* compensation patterns

Improving movement quality often requires helping the horse reorganize movement patterns, not simply increasing motion in individual joints.

6. Stress and Emotional State Affect the Body

Horses carry stress physically.

Emotional arousal, anxiety, hypervigilance, environmental pressure, pain anticipation, and chronic stress can all increase muscular and fascial tension.

A horse in a chronically protective nervous system state may struggle to maintain physical changes because the body continues prioritizing protection over fluid movement.

Massage and fascial work may help influence parasympathetic regulation and reduce excessive guarding behaviors.

7. Lasting Change Usually Requires Systemic Change

The horses that improve the most long term are usually not the ones receiving only one type of therapy.

They are often the horses whose overall system improves through:

* movement quality
* strength and coordination
* recovery
* balance
* conditioning
* appropriate loading
* body awareness
* stress reduction
* and improved movement experiences

Chiropractic can be an important piece of that puzzle.

But rarely is it the entire puzzle.

Final Thought

This is not about chiropractic versus massage or fascia therapy.

It is about recognizing that horses are complex adaptive systems.

No single modality addresses every part of movement, compensation, posture, coordination, and nervous system regulation.

The more completely we understand the system,
the more effectively we can help the horse.

https://koperequine.com/compensation-is-strategy-until-it-isnt/

05/05/2026

It was so good to see Alice Long with Time For Me To Fly Equine Performance Bodywork when she came up to teach a Masterson Method weekend course at Shiloh Manor! She is always so much fun to teach with and Shiloh Manor was a fantastic host! Their horse first approach really shines through!

The students all did an amazing job, and the horses think so too! Nearly every horse that participated ended up laying down at some point. And a couple even took long naps!

04/30/2026

Last chance! If you’ve been thinking about it now is the time! One spot open due to cancellation!

Join us for an in-person course, with hands on hands instruction, learning The Masterson Method Techniques found in the Beyond Horse Massage Book and Video. Location: Shiloh Manor 17250 Jutland Rd St. Inigoes, MD 20684 If you have questions regarding this course, please contact courses@mastersonm....

04/27/2026

Stanley finds his bodywork sessions so relaxing he falls asleep during them! 😴

04/26/2026

As always, I had a fantastic time with Boundless Equine Bodywork for a Masterson Method five day course in NC! The students did great and the horses loved it! I love getting to meet new people and see what drew them to Masterson Method too!

04/09/2026

Exactly right! This is why we recommend give your horse the day off following bodywork!

Why Some Horses Feel “Different” or Slightly Uncoordinated the Day After a Massage

It is common for a horse to feel a little loose, wiggly, or not quite put together the day after a massage. This is not a setback. It is a normal phase in which the body and nervous system are integrating new freedom and reorganizing movement patterns.

Riders may describe this as mild uncoordination, extra bendiness, or a horse that feels freer but temporarily less organized. These sensations are typically short-lived—and they are often signs that meaningful change has occurred.
Why This Happens

The Brain–Body Map Has Just Changed
Massage and myofascial work alter the sensory information sent to the brain. When restrictions release, the body suddenly moves differently, and the nervous system must update its internal map of posture, balance, and coordination.
This may show up as:

A different sense of balance
A new shape under saddle
More movement than the horse can immediately organize

This integration process typically settles within 24–48 hours.

Fascia Is Hydrating and Reorganizing

Following myofascial release, fascial layers often regain elasticity and glide. Fascia continues adapting over the next day or so, which can temporarily create a feeling of looseness or instability as tension patterns reorganize across the body.

The horse is adjusting to a body that moves differently.

Muscle Tone Drops Before It Rebalances

Massage temporarily lowers resting muscle tone as protective tension releases. Before postural and stabilizing muscles - https://koperequine.com/some-horses-feel-different-or-slightly-uncoordinated-the-day-after-a-massage/