"Getting to the Heart of the Matter"

HORSES

Horses are one of the most beautiful and graceful animals to watch. And for those of us who are listening - one of the most sensitive and one of the most abused! 

The stresses and strains of being kept in an unnatural environment and living alongside humans puts a lot of pressure on the horse both physically and mentally. Their bodies were not designed to be ridden and they were not meant to live most of their lives in a 12' by 12' stable.

But to whatever lengths we might go to to try to provide a more natural way of living and to endeavor to prevent discomfort from poorly fitted tack, rugs or gadgets and improve our training and handling skills,  horses can and DO develop muscular  / postural imbalances and experience mental trauma.

We all get the vet out for vaccinations, the dentist for the teeth check and the farrier for the foot care. Yet the bulk of the horse is the bits in-between - the muscles! We expect great performance yet pay little attention to the horses body, we expect great behaviour yet pay little attention to the horse's mind.  

"I have met many horses who have mentally or physically switched off to the pain or stress in their lives to such an extent that their eyes look far away and "dead" and they behave only automatically to the requests of riders and trainers due to having their physical issues repeatedly missed, ignored, misunderstood, or abused."

Equine Muscular Release Therapy is not just needed when a horse becomes lame or being very difficult to ride, it should be an intrinsic and regular part of your horse's care routine as things can go wrong quickly ...or ...slowly.

Healing has many uses and works very deeply. It may also be of great use  to enhance performance and well being on a  regular basis rather than just when things go wrong.

Surely we owe it to our horses and to ourselves, to make sure that nothing is being missed. Surely it is wise to explore complementary methods that would help the animal further and help prevent the build up of physical and mental pain.

Equine Muscle Release Therapy and Healing both have a proven valid part to play in the health of your horse. These methods work very differently than conventional means and address the problems Holistically. They may reduce the need for drugs or surgery and save you time and money!!


  

PHYSICAL STRESS - Physical muscular asymmetry can occur during mating, pregnancy, castration, giving birth, from 1 day old until death, being caste, playing, sparring, slipping, falling, pulling back when tied up, loading and unloading, getting up and down, spinning round, jumping, hard ground, soft ground, too much or too little excercise etc.......! And that's BEFORE we start to do anything with them . Then of course there are the more subtle effects from internal pain and discomfort from various conditions and diseases they may acquire.

Horses are physically very sensitive (much more than humans) and are much more tuned into their bodies than we are. They are also very instinctive despite all the years they have been around us. They have strong fight or flight responses to many things we don't see the need to get worried about.

MENTAL /  EMOTIONAL STRESS - Over a horse's lifetime there may unfortunately be many events which can build up and create a great deal of mental stress which can affest behaviour in general and attitudes to work and humans. This is largely due to the human reasons for breeding and keeping horses in the first place. Mares and foals being separated before they are ready (repeatedly if they are used primarily for breeding), stallions kept isolated and in unnatural conditions, losing a close bond with a companion if they change hands or yards, grieving for a special human after being sold on, having to adapt many times to different environments, owners, routines, new pecking orders in the field and methods of training.

More than all this, they are very intuitive and instinctive animals and are very sensitive to emotions and moods in other animals and people. They can sense and respond in very subtle ways to our own feelings or pain as some of my clients will testify!

And last but not least - NOT HAVING THEIR PAIN RECOGNISED FOR WHAT IT IS - PAIN!

All these factors are now understood to possibly affect the physical well being of a horse. This may lead to muscular tension, loss of symmetry and performance, to internal complaints e.g. digestive disturbances, colic, kidney function and reduction inefficiency of the immune system.

e.g. There has been found to be a high correlation of stress in race horses to digestive ulcers due to the way they are kept. Stress is also recognised as a factor in the development of laminitis in some cases. Many vices and poor behaviour starts out as physical or mental stress but progresses because no one can see the problem the horse is experiencing. There are more instances where science have proved the stress/physical connection but there are undoubtedly many many more that are still not acknowledged.