Underdog Performance Therapy

Underdog Performance Therapy UD-P Therapy
now offering massage, red-light, tape, farrier services. more coming soon
Educational content My name is Heather Herring, owner of UD-P Therapy.

I first got involved in horses back in 2019 when I met a little cart horse morgan and began barrel racing. I became dedicating to educating and training for the next few years purchasing rescues and even doing some resales. That is, until meeting my main horse. He wasn't just a typical retraining and building calories, he had a severe muscle issue making him unrideable which stemmed from a dental

problem. That is how I got introduced to massage therapy, and decided to learn how to do it myself to best help him. My business started from listening to my horse, and now I dedicate my career to listening to every horse. I have continued my education the best I can, dedicating myself to other certifications including my BWFA farrier certification. It is my number 1 priority to improve your horses health, so please PM to schedule.

After nearly 5 years with Stormy he leaves for his new home this weekend💜🖤 everyone wish him luck on his newest journey,...
08/29/2026

After nearly 5 years with Stormy he leaves for his new home this weekend💜🖤 everyone wish him luck on his newest journey, I am so excited to watch him grow with a youth rider

This photo shows different strides in movements well so I wanted to shareAddison Schultz photo credit!The mini, Beast B...
08/28/2026

This photo shows different strides in movements well so I wanted to share
Addison Schultz photo credit!

The mini, Beast Boy, you can see one foot landing which is a heel first landing - ideal movement in a horse.

The morgan, Velvet, you can see her point of breakover. Breakover is defined as the physical phase of the stride where the horse's heel lifts and the hoof rolls forward over the toe just before leaving the ground. So the part of the hoof that pushes off the ground is the point of breakover, which timing is incredibly important on hence why you have many farriers attempting to roll or square the toe, correct with shoes, etc to increase breakover effectiveness.

Not how they land heel to toe, then push off the heel before lifting off that toe into the air. This is most effective movement vs having a horse land toe first which will of course affect breakover in turn.

A heel first landing is ideal for shock absorption, it will also pump blood through the frog and in turn the rest of the foot as the horse moves.

Toe first landings are usually a sign of heel pain or in severe cases of thrush. There are rare cases where a toe first landing is done in an attempt to safety up such as over slick, muddy ground or steep rocky hills. A toe first landing will not allow energy to transfer equally through the foot, and lead to all shock going to that coffin bone. It can also strain the tendon and in severe cases lead to navicular.

A toe first landing is often seen with a shorter stride.

-- Ways to correct?

Cavellettis (raised ground poles) set correctly will be your best friend, these encourage correct movement.

KT tape applied correctly can aid recovery.

Proper farrier care.

I wasnt able to get the best photos due to keeping her contained to 1 area but here is an update on Arrow, the little re...
08/28/2026

I wasnt able to get the best photos due to keeping her contained to 1 area but here is an update on Arrow, the little rescue mare I picked up a few weeks back (2? 3?) The same one that striked when you picked up her hind feey from fear and was stubborn on her fronts. These are before and after photos.

Last week I sedated her for the 1st front foot and tied it with a rope for more leverage - however she still fought a tad bit and I didnt want to fight so I called it quits.

After working with her a few more days we tried again today. Starting with the untouched foot, she pulled back a few times because she felt trapped being tied. I managed to finish the first foot tied up, though I worked with her a little bit and did it 1 handed instead of between my knees until I have a chance to work on it - she doesnt like feeling trapped. I did the other front foot ground tying as a reward for tying good eventually and she stood perfect and we were able to finish that other front. Not perfect, but more functional than before.

Her hinds I was very unsure id get done with how bad she striked when you went to pick them up, but I wanted to at least try. She picked the first hind right up and held it the whole time without pulling back once, and we were able to get a pretty solid trim on it. The other hind got a little inflamed from a cut, but she still held it up very nice and only lightly pulling back once and didnt even rip it out of my hand just had to stretch it before giving it back to me. Both hinds were so easy to complete! So for her first trim it what couldve been 4 months or over a year - I have no clue - id say she did crazy good!

She has very solid feet, shes slightly run forward and lower heels than id like but otherwise not the worst ive seen. Some rings im keeping an eye on, but shes had a lot of stress recently so it's understandable from moving homes, new training, new diet, new people, etc.

I have some videos on my tik tok, im not sharing here because I did my routine completely out of order and it's making me nit pick everything lol (typical farrier brain) so if you want the video track down my tik tok. May share down the road but I need to edit it if I do so if you want most of the raw footage it is on there and you can see how perfect she was

08/27/2026

Facebook is gonna mute the good music so fast
Thank you Claire McManus Photography

The last set of photos before I share videosClaire McManus Photography Velvet and Johnny
08/27/2026

The last set of photos before I share videos
Claire McManus Photography
Velvet and Johnny

Little miss Velvet's turn, here we have a swayback senior mare (dont tell her I said that she still thinks shes young an...
08/27/2026

Little miss Velvet's turn, here we have a swayback senior mare (dont tell her I said that she still thinks shes young and spry)
Claire McManus Photography

Rocket's turn. Still have more to post after my past set of clientsClaire McManus Photography Click each photo for more ...
08/27/2026

Rocket's turn. Still have more to post after my past set of clients
Claire McManus Photography
Click each photo for more info

Fun fact - horses stalled while another horse is given a massage often release with the chosen horse. This is because th...
08/27/2026

Fun fact - horses stalled while another horse is given a massage often release with the chosen horse. This is because the good energy gets transferred throughout the barn to create relaxation.

Note my horses buck teeth
Claire McManus Photography

Johnny's massage ❤️ starting to work through the amazing photos from Claire McManus Photography Click on each photo for ...
08/27/2026

Johnny's massage ❤️ starting to work through the amazing photos from Claire McManus Photography
Click on each photo for a description, may learn something new!

Nico Di Angelo our resident donkey is very good for his trims ❤️ donkeys feet are a little different from horses but sti...
08/27/2026

Nico Di Angelo our resident donkey is very good for his trims ❤️ donkeys feet are a little different from horses but still so fun to trim!
Claire McManus Photography

Address

Van Buren Charter Township, MI

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 10pm
Tuesday 9am - 10pm
Wednesday 9am - 10pm
Thursday 9am - 10pm
Friday 9am - 10pm
Saturday 9am - 10pm
Sunday 9am - 10pm

Telephone

+17343418869

Website

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