This week I saw one of my local client who was concerned about her horse's behaviour and saddle slip.
Her concerns were:
* Behaviour changes when grooming, particularly around his hamstrings.
* The farrier had noticed that he was stiff when being trimmed behind
* The saddle had started slipping to right quite significantly.
Can you relate to any of the above?
If YOU do relate and have noticed these changes, I need to say WELL DONE! Your awareness and ability to assess your horse is better than most and this is the FIRST step to helping your horse.
What did I do?
A big part of what I do when I assess any horse or dog, is listen and observe.
Listening to YOU, the owner, who knows your horse better than anyone!
Observing the horse in the stable, field and arena is other part important skill do before speaking or making a suggestion. Only then, and sometimes, I will perform a few adjustments and actually stand back and reassess the horse. This is sometimes where the real magic and transformation happens!
In this particular client's assessment, I noticed the following:
* Contracted posture throughout the right side of the body
* Pelvic asymmetry right (dropped right)
* Signs of discomfort in the arena on the right right compared to the left
* Reactive on palpation throughout the extensor chain
* Shoulder girdle dysfunction left
What does this all mean?
The body is INCREDIBLE and it has this innate ability to constantly heal itself. What tends to happen with horse's is that we add the additional pressure of tack and rider which can cause compensations throughout the body. These compensations can manifest into bigger areas of pressure leading to discomfort if the horse's body is struggling to heal in relation to all these external pressures. Another KEY factor adding to pressure and discomfort in the body is pre-existing conditions in the body such as arthritis.
My role is to understand why the body is moving the way it is, taking into consideration all of the factors I mentioned above. This is where it gets exciting and I tend to follow this pattern of treatment:
* Listen
* Observe
* Understand
* Adjust
* Repeat
There is no magic recipe when it comes to helping your horse and or dog! The number ONE rule is to listen! Our horse's are constantly communicating with us.
Did you find this helpful?
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.
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With love, Nika