Falconwood Equine Spa

20/08/2026

A dip in front of the withers can be one sign that the thoracic sling is not giving enough lift through the front of the body.

That matters because the shoulders do not move alone.

The scapula has to glide over the ribcage, while the thoracic sling helps support and organise that movement.

When the area is tight, guarded or underactive, the horse may lose freedom through the shoulders and ribcage.

20/08/2026

Kyphosis (Roach Back)

Roach backs are caused by excessive flexion of the lumbar spine & sometimes the thoracic spine. Roach backs can be congenital or functional.

Functional Kyphosis is caused by a musculoskeletal dysfuntion. The lumbar spine is a vulnerable region. The thoracic spine is supported by the rib cage & sternum & the sacrum is supported by the pelvis. The lumbar spine is the connection between these 2 regions.
There are 6 lumbar vertebrae in the horse and a robust network of muscular, tendinous, ligamentous & facial support.

If there is a dysfuntion within the lumbar spine itself or in front or behind it, the lumbar spine will adopt the position where it is the strongest. This is in flexion otherwise known as Kyphosis.

A horse who is compensating for a musculoskeletal problem by flexing through their lumbar spine will find activities like collected work & jumping difficult. Not only are they compensating for discomfort or injury elsewhere but a permantly flexed lumbar spine also means they will lack power.

The lumbar spine in walk and canter should funtion like a spring. It compresses & lengthens when it is biomechanically funtioning correctly. If there is lumbosacral joint restriction the spring action of the lumbar spine decreases or stops completely as the strained muscles & fascia restrict normal movement. This will decrease the horses ability to balance & collect.

The primary source of the dysfuntion should be located and assessed. Treatments like physio, bodywork & stretching with suppleness exercises and treatments like transeva, vibration therapy & solarium is vital.

07/08/2026

WOBBLERS SYNDROME:

• Cervical Vertebrae Myelopathy (CVM) or wobblers as it’s commonly known as. Wobblers Syndrome is estimated to occur in around 2-3% of Thoroughbreds.

• CVM is characterized by an abnormal gait in the front and/or hind limbs with a varying degree of incoordination and weakness.

• The onset of clinical signs is typically between six months to three years, although mature horses can also become affected.

So what actually is it?

CVM is a condition in which the spinal cord becomes compressed because of a narrowing or instability affecting one or more vertebrae. In doing so, the compression causes inflammation and reduces the spinal cord’s ability to transmit and receive messages to the limbs. It makes the unable to walk correctly or efficiently perform basic mobility tasks and so causes the somewhat darkly humoured ‘wobblers syndrome’ or ‘wobblers’. In young horses, CVM is found in males more often than females and may be related to fast growth spurts in large, heavy youngsters. Thoroughbreds, Quarter Horses, and Warmbloods are affected more frequently than some other breeds.

Horses with CVM demonstrate three characteristic clinical signs: Symmetrical ataxia (lack of ability to knowingly place their feet on the ground in a correct sequence), Spasticity and weakness behind with possible involvement of the forelimbs.

Often the first apparent clinical signs in a horse with CVSM will come about either during ridden work or walking. These signs consist of stumbling and toe dragging, which are a result of weakness. An affected horse at rest may have a base-wide stance and delayed corrective response when its limbs are positioned in abnormal locations. Horses with spinal ataxia can have a truncal sway at walk.Tight circling reveals both circumduction (swinging the outer hind limbs very wide) and pivoting on the inside limb, known as posting.

Other horses may present with a stiff neck, show reluctance to rise and fall easily and may just appear lazy. It is graded upon examination as per the image attached.

So, surgery, surely?

There are two main surgeries to opt for, one more serious than the other. Cervical stabilisation surgery is achieved with the surgical insertion of implants such as plates, screws and cages, that attach to damaged vertebrae and provide structure and stabilisation by pushing or pulling them off the impinged tissue and so relieving the problem. The surgical procedure to insert these implants and affect repair of damaged vertebra is performed by a veterinarian under general anesthetic.

The dorsal laminectomy is a more serious option as it involves actually removing portions of bone from the spine to relieve the compression causing the signal blockage. This procedure is generally an option only if the lesion (the compression site) is static. In other words, it’s if the cord remains pinched no matter what position the neck is in.

If the syndrome is diagnosed before a young horse is a year old or the problem is mild, anti-inflammatory medications and steroids can often limit damage to the spinal cord. Affected horses have a fair chance of going on to useful lives if they are diagnosed and treated from an early age or early diagnosis.

THE CONSERVATIVE ROUTE:
If your horse requires conservative treatment plan, Anti-inflammatory therapy with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, osteooarthritic injections and steroids. Implementation of a careful exercise plan. Supportive therapies such as Transeva, cryotherapy and physiotherapy treatments. Horses under conservative management can live happy and successful lives in the right hands!

06/08/2026

Hill work can be both a full body workout and a mental change of pace for your horse.

Hill work is great way to improve cardiovascular fitness, strength, topline, balance, coordination, suppleness, range of motion and leg stability.

Be sure to introduce hill work slowly starting with a gentle slope at a walk and increase the challenge mindfully as your combined ability improves.

Choose your line with intention - going up a hill requires extra push and wind, going down a hill requires careful weight control and challenges your horse’s longitudinal balance.

27/07/2026

The Thoracic Trapezius Muscle:

How do you know if it is healthy or dysfunctional?

The Trapezius originates along the dorsal side of the neck near the poll, inserts on the spine of the scapula. Includes the trapezius cervicalis (originates along the cervical vertebrae) and trapezius thoracis (originates along the thoracic vertebrae).
It is a muscle that commonly falls prey to atrophy from compensatory movement or poor saddle fitting issues.

Spotting problems:

Tension, spasm, under development or tears within the trapezius muscle may cause a reduction in stride length, scapula control and forelimb asymmetry and perhaps even lameness.
Another sign of a horse with issues in the trapezius muscle would be a visible ‘dip’ just below the withers behind the shoulder. When palpating I would expect the area to feel fibrous, tight and dehydrated with a possible spasm over the area. The horse may also show some objections to the area being touched as it will be sore.

In areas of atrophy, fascial tension or hypertonicity, the muscle will be unable to ripple underneath the hand. The skin may feel “stuck” over the surface, or it may feel like there is too little muscle to achieve this feeling.

Raised pole work in both walk and trot is an effective way of increasing the strength of the trapezius, because greater scapula stability is required as the limbs are lifted higher over the poles. All lateral exercises are useful for engaging, strengthening and conditioning the trapezius muscle. Shoulder-in is particularly useful for a jumper as this will improve his ability to lift his scapula, thus enhancing forelimb technique.

21/07/2026

Spinal manipulation - how does it work?

There is significant misunderstanding of spinal manipulative techniques (SMT)

Joints don’t go out. Joints can be restricted within their normal range of movement & in some cases the joint can get so tense that it doesn’t move at all. This is literally the opposite of out. It’s effectively "stuck in".

Dislocation is when a joint is actually out of place & if your horses spine has dislocated, the prognosis is unfavourable.

Skeletal joints can preform certain range of motion. Flexion, extension, side-bending, rotation & translation. A joint can get restricted in one or a combination of these movements. Once restricted the joint can typically only go further towards the restricted pattern. If a joint is restricted in flexion & side-bending to the left, then it can move further into flexion & left side-bending. It will struggle to extend or side-bend to the right.

A horse whose upper neck is restricted on the left should still be able to bend left - they will typically struggle to bend to the right.

When the joint is stressed (from a fall, hyperextension, incorrect biomechanics, trauma, stress, chronic muscular tension etc), the neuromuscular spindle & golgi tendon spindle reflexes engage to prevent further stress or damage to the joint. They do this by telling the surrounding musculature to tighten & protect the joint. In most cases, this reflex will do its job, protecting the joint from injury & then it switches off & the muscular tension returns to normal. Sometimes this neuromuscular reflex becomes stuck & this causes the joint stiffness & restriction/dysfunction. This is what is commonly referred to as the joint being "out".

When your horse has a spinal manipulation, we are not putting the spine back in place, it wasn't out in the first place. We cannot & will not move a vertebra. What is happening is we are short-circuiting this neuromuscular feedback loop that is causing the joint to remain restricted.

This happens by way of delivering a shock/fright to the restricted joint and associated musculature to switch off the neuromuscular feedback loop that is preventing the joint from moving. Because of the idea that the joint is ‘out’ & we need to put it back ‘in’, some practitioners try & use excessive force to achieve this - this is not necessary.

A horse with chronic muscular tension driven by poor posture, incorrect hoofcare, bad saddle or bridle fit, incorrect riding, systemic (internal) issues, rider asymmetry etc, will continually develop joint tension - you can use SMT as much as you want with this horse, it will not last unless all the factors contributing to muscle tension are addressed. It’s the same in reverse, if there is a joint that needs manipulation & only the muscular system is addressed, the joint will continually tell the surrounding muscle to tense back up again.

Joint restriction leads to muscle tension. Long term muscle tension leads to joint restriction. Both aspects of the musculoskeletal system must be addressed for the horses body to return to & remain tension/painfree.

We need to be able to look at every aspect of the horse & treatment modalities need to be involved in returning the horse back to 100%.

16/07/2026

26/06/2026

Did you know our ECB Salt Water Treadmill has built-in scales?

Monitoring a horse's weight throughout rehabilitation and conditioning provides valuable information that can influence workload, recovery and overall health.

Small changes can often tell a much bigger story.

Combined with heart rate monitoring and individual fitness plans, it allows us to make informed decisions every step of the way.

Because guessing has never been part of good horse management.

Contact us for more info on the ECB aqua treadmill. It runs both wet and dry.
0833919258
[email protected]

07/06/2026

ECB Equine Aqua Treadmill installation at a
clients private yard

06/06/2026

Just another day at the office... Aqua Treadmill installation