Healing Hands Equine Sports Massage

11/06/2022

Stretching the Back vs SI

Photo 1: Neutral position before asking for any stretch.

Photo 2: Stretching the back muscles by running fingertips along abdomen. Notice the back is rounded which has naturally lowered the neck. The stretch starts near the withers and works down the vertebrae as you progress along the abdomen. This is similar to a cow pose in yoga. It’s very beneficial to stretch the back muscles, which typically carry the riders weight and tend to hold tension.

Photo 3: This stretch is from putting pressure between the point of hip and point of buttock. Notice the rounding of the top line is more towards the lower back, or the SI joint (where the horse’s back and pelvis connect). It’s important not to forget to stretch these muscles that surround the SI joint, as this is where the horse’s hindquarter engagement comes from. The more they are able to step under themselves, the more they’ll naturally round the back and lower the neck. Remember your “frame” starts from the hindquarters; you can’t fake it from forcing a neck carriage.

04/02/2022

Here is this week's Friday Freebie!

🐴 The Pulley Rein

Every rider should learn how to do the pulley rein. It's the ultimate in emergency brake, as if done correctly, it will stop any horse quickly. And it is a great tool to use as a back up aid for riders whose horses get strong.

Click on the link below to learn how to do it 👇

https://www.myvirtualeventingcoach.com/articles/the_pulley_rein

08/03/2021

Mounting.

Mounting is something not many riders tend to think about, other than the side in which they mount. However, mounting alone can be the cause of many issues with the back, and can even twist the saddle tree.

The photo is the rib of a horse who was consistently mounted from the ground.

Even when mounting from a block or elevated surface, if you constantly pull on the pommel or are too low that you're having to push off the stirrup, you risk causing injury to your horse that is so easily avoided.

06/09/2021

“The horse just has a little arthritis in his left hock, it doesn’t seem to bother him too much.”

Horses are great compensators, and they will create alternative locomotive patterns to continue movement.

So, say this little bit of osteoarthritis causes a reduced range of motion of the tarsal joint. In an attempt to maintain stride length and hide this dysfunction to potential predators (because you never know when a lion could be waiting around the corner... or a flapping plastic bag!) the tarsal joint is rotated medially (inwards) during the swing phase of the stride. This results in asymmetrical & medial weight bearing through the digit. This places additional stress through medial hamstring muscles, resulting in muscle tension and trigger points. And this is all something that is potentially going on in just the affected hindlimb.

A hip hike/drop can occur at corresponding phases of the stride, placing the sacroiliac joint under stress, resulting in paraspinal and asymmetrical gluteal tone/pain.

Decreased impulsion from the left hindlimb leads to increased weight bearing through the right forelimb diagonal. This can create tension and hypertrophy to the right pectoral muscles and related fascial planes.

The spiral of compensation could continue on further, affecting cervical muscles that become hypertonic as a result of weight shifting, digit shape and size, TMJ pain, head tiling, hyoid dysfunction, asymmetric tail holding...

Often it can be the case where I see a horse that is a chronic stage of compensation and it can be difficult to find the true cause especially when the horse may appear just overall “stiff”.

I liken the rehabilitation of chronic cases to peeling the layers off an onion; one layer at a time and piece by piece to unravel and rewind the compensation spiral. 🐴

** Note after recieving a lot of messages, if you feel you require help with anything I have mentioned in this post, please drop me a message and I will try to get back to you but it may take me a while as I receive multiple a day! I am based in Surrey and cover most of the South East, so if you’d like a treatment & plan for your horse I would be more than happy. ♥️

03/11/2021

Horse Weight Calculator

03/07/2021

02/25/2021

Ten Things You Can Do To Develop A Better Partnership Today:

1- ask your horse to soften his head downward and toward you when you halter

2- listen to his footfalls as you lead in the barn and notice. How do they sound? Are they light, heavy, rhythmic, quick, slow, uneven?

3- listen to your horse’s breathing and check in with their expression while you groom. Where do they like you to brush? Where don’t they like you to brush? What speed and firmness makes them soften, and what makes them fidget or flinch?

4- see how it feels to pick a foot up with intention. Slide your hand down their leg and wait with as little pressure as you can, and see what happens. If your horse is used to this being a fight or a place of force, you may be surprised.

5- saddle with mindfulness. How do you place the pad on? How smoothly can you set the saddle on? How smoothly can you cinch up? How does your horse feel about all these things? How can you do it better to relax them further?

6- ask your horse to soften and tip their head toward you for bridling. Use tact and care when inserting the bit and placing the bridle over their ears. Listen to their concerns and objections as their way of saying the feel is offensive, and change to suit their needs.

7- take some deep breaths when you get in the saddle, then take some more. Listen to your horse’s breathing, then take even more breaths.

8- listen to your horse’s footfalls while you warm up. Do they sound the same as when leading to groom, or different?

9- notice your body. Are there any areas of tension, tightness, pain, restriction? Are there areas that feel fantastic?

10- notice your horse’s body. Are there areas of tension, pain, restriction? Work to relieve those. Are there areas that feel fantastic ? Appreciate and improve them.

These are simple things you can do on a daily basis that have a shockingly dramatic impact on the quality of your ride. Here’s one of my students having a dreamy ride after a mindful warmup.

09/18/2020

I will be in the St. Johnsbury area tomorrow morning and have openings. If you would like to schedule something please send me a message!

09/02/2020