Uncategorized - April Love – Holistic Horse Works, LLC

Stetson’s Transformation: What Aggressive Horses May Be Trying to Tell You

Gill Brooks — Tue, 19 May 2026 18:15:25 +0000

Aggressive horse behavior is often treated like a training problem.

Pinned ears. Biting. Kicking. Sensitivity to touch. Explosive reactions.

But during a recent Holistic Horseworks live session, April Love and horse owner Tia shared a very different perspective.

Sometimes the horse is not being “bad.”

Sometimes the horse is in pain.

The live session focused on Stetson, a horse who had become extremely reactive and difficult to handle before Tia began following the Holistic Horseworks program.

When Horses Become Reactive and Defensive

During the Q&A section of the live session, a viewer described a young horse who:

Did not want to be touched
Pinned ears constantly
Swished the tail aggressively
Attempted to bite and kick
Became reactive during bodywork

April immediately connected those symptoms to Stetson’s story.

“That was exactly the Tia horse,” she explained.

According to April, many horses displaying aggressive behavior may actually be experiencing significant physical discomfort, nervous system stress, hoof pain, viral burden, or chronic body tension.

Watch the live session here:

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Aggressive Horse or Horse in Pain? What Stetson’s Story Revealed by April Love

Do you have an aggressive Horse or Horse in Pain?

Read on Substack

Click here to join the next free live session in June

The Symptoms Tia Was Seeing in Stetson

Before beginning the program, Tia had already completed:

The Holistic Horseworks home study program
An eight-page distance reading report
Initial holistic support protocols

During the session, April explained that Tia had been actively working through the recommended steps before appearing live on the show. fileciteturn10file17L50-L57

The goal of the session was not simply to “fix behavior.”

The goal was to understand what Stetson’s body was communicating.

Why Holistic Horse Care Looks Beyond Symptoms

One of the core teachings inside Holistic Horseworks is that symptoms are often signals.

Instead of suppressing the reaction, the work focuses on identifying:

Nervous system overload
Pain patterns
Cranial compression
Hoof imbalance
Digestive stress
Viral burden
Musculoskeletal tension
Environmental stressors

According to April, many horses that resist bodywork or react aggressively are physically overwhelmed.

“So there’s really not feeling so good in their body that they don’t want bodywork,” she explained during the session

That shift in perspective changes how many owners approach rehabilitation.

The Holistic Horseworks Starting Point for Sensitive Horses

When horses become too reactive or painful for direct bodywork, Holistic Horseworks often begins with gentler support methods first.

April explained that horses like Stetson frequently start with:

Craniosacral support
Hot oil spine treatments
Hoof support and hoof soaps
Distance readings
Nervous system calming
Nutritional balancing
Digestive support

“We usually start with cranial sacral, hot oil spine treatment, treating the hooves, and then getting into the body,” April shared.

This approach helps reduce stress inside the horse’s system before introducing deeper bodywork.

The Connection Between Horse Health and Behavior

One of the most important conversations from the Stetson session was the relationship between physical discomfort and horse behavior.

Many horse owners spend months or years trying to train away symptoms that may actually be rooted in:

Chronic soreness
Poor hoof health
Inflammation
Nervous system stress
Digestive imbalance
Viral stress
Structural compensation patterns

When the horse finally begins feeling safer and more comfortable physically, behavior often changes naturally.

That does not mean training is unimportant.

It means the horse’s body may need support before the horse can fully participate mentally and emotionally.

Looking at the Whole Horse

Holistic Horseworks encourages horse owners to evaluate the entire picture instead of isolating one symptom.

That includes:

Environment
Water quality
Nutrition
Stress load
Hoof condition
Saddle fit
Cranial tension
Body pain patterns
Emotional stress

During the session, April also discussed how viral stress patterns and environmental factors may affect sensitive horses and potentially contribute to chronic health issues.

For owners dealing with horses that seem reactive, shut down, explosive, or resistant, Stetson’s story offers an important reminder:

Behavior is communication.

Learn More About Holistic Horseworks

Holistic Horseworks provides educational resources for horse owners looking to better understand:

Horse body pain
Holistic horse health
Equine craniosacral therapy
Horse behavior and nervous system stress
Distance readings
Natural horse wellness support
Equine bodywork education

The Holistic Horseworks Remedies App, online courses, and educational programs are designed to help owners recognize early signs of imbalance before they become bigger problems.

If your horse is showing behavioral changes, sensitivity, resistance, or chronic soreness, it may be time to look deeper into what the body is trying to communicate.

Tags: Aggressive horse behavior, horse body pain, holistic horse care, horse behavior problems, craniosacral therapy for horses, horse bodywork, horse nervous system support, sore horse treatment, equine wellness, EPM symptoms in horses, horse rehabilitation, holistic horse healing

Excerpt:
Pinned ears, biting, kicking, and explosive reactions are often labeled as behavior problems, but what if the horse is actually in pain? In this Holistic Horseworks session, April Love and Tia discuss Stetson’s transformation and why nervous system stress, hoof pain, and physical discomfort may be driving behavior many horse owners misunderstand.

Mystac Mag Interview: Unwinding the Secrets of Equine Performance, April Love’s Journey to Holistic Healing

April Love — Mon, 02 Sep 2024 16:36:02 +0000

Mystac Mag Interview: Unwinding the Secrets of Equine Performance, April Love’s Journey to Holistic Healing

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Read the Original Article on the Mystic Mag Website

April Love, the visionary behind Holistic Horseworks LLC and the creator of the International Institute for Complementary Therapists (IICT), has always been captivated by the grace and power of horses in motion.

Her journey began with a simple observation: some horses move more fluidly than others. This curiosity led her to uncover the deeper physical and emotional challenges faced by these majestic creatures, particularly those labeled as “problem horses.” As a trainer and equine musculoskeletal release specialist, April developed a groundbreaking technique of equine musculoskeletal unwinding, which addresses the root causes of discomfort, transforming troubled horses into willing and capable partners.

Her dedication to holistic care extends beyond training, as she continually asks the crucial “why’s” behind injuries that often sideline equine athletes. April’s commitment to her horses, exemplified by her endurance riding successes, particularly with her horse Tiki, showcases the remarkable results of her innovative approach.

Join Mystic Mag and read more.

You’ve mentioned that your passion for horses began with observing their movement. How did this initial fascination evolve into a career focused on their physical and emotional well-being?

My passion was endurance, riding 50 miles in a day, and you always had to do bodywork. When you’re watching horses trot out in the vet line, you start wondering: why is one tracking sideways? Why is another bobbing it’s head? Why is one reluctant to trot out? Watching these 50-60 horses, you can’t help but wonder what’s different, what’s going on underneath causing these moods, the pinning ears, the swishing tail when asked to trot or circle. I’d ask the vets, and they’d just say, “That’s his gait, that’s his attitude.” But I knew there had to be more creating these symptoms or behaviors.

That was my journey—to understand why one horse has a 14-mile-an-hour trot, why another tracks sideways, why one bunny hops at the canter. Where do all these things come from? When your horse is diagnosed as grade two or three lame and you ask, “Where is it? What do I treat?” They’d say, “I don’t know, give them a couple of weeks off, maybe it’ll get better”—and it often didn’t.

So I started asking questions everywhere I could and taking every course I could find to learn more about what’s really going on with horses. It was mind-blowing. I realized there was so much more happening beneath the surface of these beautiful animals I love riding.

When I developed my program, Equine Musculoskeletal Unwinding, it was because I kept taking courses—$2,000 for a five-day equine musculoskeletal unwinding course, plus the cost of flying to Washington to study with Dr. Regan Golob and Kelly Mills, and another $1,000 to go to Santa Cruz for a cranial sacral unwinding course with Maureen Rogers. But each course seemed to miss something I had learned elsewhere. For instance, you can’t effectively do cranial sacral work if the atlas and axis are out of alignment, because the dural tube gets compressed, cutting off energy to the hind end.

After spending $19,000 on various courses, I realized they were all thorough in one area but lacked a holistic approach to the whole horse. That’s why I chose the term ‘musculoskeletal unwinding’—it conveys a softer, more comprehensive movement that addresses both the skeleton and muscles. My goal was to develop terminology that communicates that we’re working on the whole horse, not just focusing on chiropractic, massage, acupressure, or cranial sacral unwinding in isolation.

I also want people to understand that when horses exhibit behavioral issues, like bucking at the canter, it’s not because they feel good. It’s often because something is wrong, like a kissing spine or pinched nerves. By looking deeper into the horse’s body and addressing these issues, you’ll end up with a better horse that lasts longer. People often come to me after spending a lot of money on vets and diagnostics—sometimes after an $8,000 vet bill—and their horse still isn’t better. That’s when they find my program, after trying everything their friends recommended.

I’m really trying to encourage people to start using my program sooner, ideally when their horses are around six months old, so they can have a horse that’s still rideable in its 30s by addressing the whole package from the start.

As an Equine Musculoskeletal Unwinding practitioner, how does this modality specifically benefit horses, and what transformations have you witnessed in your clients’ equine partners?

It was always the feedback that gave me the biggest aha moments. After doing all this bodywork, people would ask, “How do I keep my horse like this?” That’s when I realized I needed to develop something so they could maintain these results themselves.

Suddenly, their horses were taller, longer, and moving better. I’d get feedback like, “The farrier has always struggled with the hooves, but now they’re just right—he can trim them easily, pick up the hind foot without getting kicked, and the crushed heels are starting to spread.”

That was amazing to hear, knowing that a one-hour session I did on a horse was making such significant changes.

Clients would tell me their horses were running barrels faster, finally placing in the money, jumping higher, or completing 100-mile endurance rides over rough terrain and high altitudes in record time and getting best condition awards from the vets. Running 100 miles in nine and a half hours is phenomenal.

All the feedback from my clients over the past—what is it, 15 or 16 years now?—has been incredibly empowering. It drives me to keep learning and sharing more with my clients so we can continue to elevate our horses to higher levels of competition, vitality, health, and wellness.

What type of services do you offer?

When I do a one-on-one bodywork session with a horse and owner, it takes about an hour. I blend techniques such as balancing the chakras and energy meridians, and opening the kidney meridians to aid detoxification. I also address body movements. Dr. Bradey Nelson’s emotion codes are also a big part of my work. I explain to the horse owner that if the horse isn’t moving as it should, it can affect its performance under saddle—for example, it might not want to take a right lead canter or struggle with a tight barrel turn to the left. Owners often confirm that these issues match their horse’s behavior. I aim to show them how these physical issues translate to the rider’s experience.

Other body workers might simply say a horse is ‘tight and sore,’ but if they haven’t ridden competitively or experienced these issues firsthand, they can’t always pinpoint why a horse might avoid certain movements, like a right lead or descending hills due to hind end engagement issues.

This understanding motivated me to create a home study program, so people can address these issues themselves. Relying on a chiropractor once a month for $150 and then seeing the horse go out of alignment again within days doesn’t address the root cause. My program includes personal services when I’m traveling or here on Maui.

I offer long-distance readings where clients send me pictures of their horse from different angles, and I provide an eight-page report detailing bacterial and viral issues, atlas and axis alignment, ribs, withers, and more, along with a step-by-step program for improvement.

My home study programs include Level 1: Equine Musculoskeeltal Unwinding, which focuses on the skeleton, and Level 2: Cranio Sacral unwinding & Advanced Applied Kinesiology, which covers fascia, cranial sacral unwinding, and issues like cranial sacral compression caused by knotted rope halters. This compression has been linked to conditions like Cushing’s and uveitis, and I help people address these problems.

I offer support via Skype and Zoom, including live Zoom training where clients can have someone hold their phone or tablet while I correct their techniques in real-time. This is especially helpful for those with many animals or children who can’t leave home but want to care for their horses and reduce vet bills.

Additionally, I provide services for people and dogs, and I’ve published books on Amazon and produce a podcast to continue sharing this information and support ongoing learning.

Our hands-on horse bodywork clinics teach people how to perform these techniques themselves. We offer these clinics globally—across Australia, Europe, Canada, Costa Rica, Ireland, the US, and more. Each class is small and private, with just six students, ensuring quality, hands-on time with the instructor over a three-day course.

Your practice includes a wide range of therapies, from Bio-Energy to Nutritional Therapy. How do you integrate these different techniques to create a comprehensive treatment plan for an equine athlete?

That’s the program I put together. Every time I took a class, I would apply the techniques to my endurance horse, experimenting with what he liked and how he responded. Using advanced applied kinesiology, I figured out the best sequence for treatments. For instance, you wouldn’t want to do cranial sacral work before releasing the atlas, axis, and ribs. It’s more effective to first address the bodywork, and then cranial sacral techniques can help bring the rest of the body into balance.

Emotion coding, for example, has been incredible for horses. If a horse is pacing and unsettled, clearing a few trapped emotions can often calm them down. We sometimes need to adjust the order of treatments based on the horse’s needs that day.

For ongoing care, I offer a $70 monthly plan, which allows for progressive treatments. At the beginning of each session, I use a Healy microcurrent device to scan the horse for their specific needs, like detoxing or addressing issues such as microbacteria, eye problems, or skin issues. This device helps identify concerns that might not be visible and provides a tailored program for support.

Balancing the energetic system of a horse is a crucial part of your work. How do you assess and correct imbalances, and what are the most common energetic issues you encounter?

When using the release spray, we always start with the horse’s head because cranial sacral energy, which pulses six to fourteen times per minute, needs to flow through the entire body. During the release, we open the kidney meridian, the governing meridian, and the conception meridian. We assess where the energy feels blocked or stuck, aiming to activate the horse’s natural healing abilities before we perform manual skeletal adjustments.

You’ll notice a significant difference in the horses. Their eyes soften, and they exhibit subtle signs of relaxation. When we clear trapped emotions, the horse often visibly responds, indicating relief. It’s fascinating because horses tend to absorb and reflect their owners’ emotions, often mimicking their owners’ issues. This connection highlights their sensitivity and deep empathy.

Owners frequently observe and appreciate the positive changes in their horses, asking about the techniques used. For instance, bladder meridian sweeps help align and balance all the organs. If one side of the horse feels clearer than the other, I’ll focus on additional sweeps on the less clear side until it matches the other side’s balance. This thorough approach ensures even and effective treatment across the horse’s body.

Level 1: Equine Musculoskeletal Unwinding

Equine Musculoskeletal Unwinding is a therapeutic bodywork technique for horses that focuses on gently releasing tension in the skeleton, muscles, and joints. It’s designed to be easy to perform, making it accessible for all horse owners and equine practitioners.

Enroll Now

About the Author

Katarina Todorovic
Writer at Mystic Mag

Katarina is a Reiki practitioner who believes in spiritual healing, self-consciousness, healing with music. Mystical things inspire her to always look for deeper answers. She enjoys to be in nature, meditation, discover new things every day.

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The Hyoid and First Rib Connection

April Love — Wed, 25 Oct 2023 20:40:31 +0000

The Hyoid and First Rib Connection

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Before we get started, let’s establish some basics. What is the hyoid? The hyoid apparatus is a collection of bones and muscles in the horse’s head and controls the balance, coordination, and movement of your horse. It’s suspended from the temporal bones, which are located just under the horse’s ears, and you can actually feel the horse’s hyoid in the soft hollow in the horse’s mandible.

Many people talk about the hyoid as the cause of an issue. The equine industry has established that the hyoid is connected not only directly to the tongue, forelimb, and poll but also indirectly to the hindquarter. Therefore, a restriction, pain or any dysfunction in the hyoid may have a direct impact on the mobility of the horse, leading to a shortened or stilted gait.

However, looking at this from a holistic perspective, it is also important to consider what else the hyoid is affected by. The prominent first rib misalignment, as we talk about so often here at Holistic Horseworks, will not only impact the front end of the horse but also bacl to the hind end and even all the way up to the hyoid. And so our vicious cycle ofimbalance and misalignment continues in a never ending feedback loop.

To understand how the hyoid works together with the rest of the body so that it can all be brought back into balance, let’s take a closer look at the three important connections.

The sternohyoid muscle is the first connection: it connects the horse’s tongue & mouth to the chest of the horse. From here the fascia connections and muscular connections carry through the pectoral muscles along the lower inside of the horse, together with the abdominal muscles, and into the pelvis. This is often referred to as the bottom connection of the horse.

The omohyoid muscle is the second connection: it connects to the shoulder joint, linking into the fascial connection that runs from the head, along the lower inside of the neck, middle of the shoulder, and all the way to the toe on the hindlimb.

The occipitohyoid muscle is the third connection: it connects the hyoid to the poll, creating a direct connection from the shoulder through the hyoid to the poll, and from there through the nuchal ligament, the dorsal muscular connection. Back to the hindquarters. This is commonly known as the top line of the horse.

At Holistic Horseworks, all of our students understand the impact of the first rib on the totality of the horse, and with Equine Musculoskeletal Unwinding we learn how to release the first rib. With all of this information, we can also understand the impact of a misaligned first rib on the hyoid, its connection, and linkages.

When a misaligned first rib impedes the movement of the shoulder and through the second connection the omohyoid, then it also extends to affect all three connections including the sternohyoid and the occipitohyoid.

It is important to take a holistic view to treat the entire body as it is all interconnected from the hind to the front and tongue through the top line and the bottom line and all those all so intricate connections.

In Holistic Horseworks classes from level 1 all the way through to level 3 we teach our students how to address all aspects impacting on the Hyoid. And ultimately your horse’s ability to perform at its best and in total comfort with joy and ease up into its 30’s. A horse should not need joint injections or be retired early if everything in the horse’s body is working correctly and efficiently. We invite you to join us in learning all about this at our next hands-on horse bodywork clinic.

HOLISTIC HORSEWORKS GLOBAL CLINICS

Holistic Horseworks has a team of global instructors who teach hands-on horse bodywork clinics all over the world! Head on over to our schedule page to see the Level 1: Equine Musculoskeletal Unwinding, Level 2: Cranio Sacral Unwinding and Advanced Applied Kinesiology, and Level 3: Equine Cranial Decompression clinics coming soon.

See the Schedule

Author and Holistic Horseworks Instructor
Marisa Levitt
Magic Hands Horseworks

Horse rider since childhood. Had a break from horses. When I came back to horses in 2013, I bought a little mare that was in trouble. She stole my heart. She is the reason I went down the equine practitioner path. Once I was introduced to the Holistic Horseworks Level one workshop there was no stopping. I went on to qualify in the human side of things too as I soon realised through my own experience that the rider and the horse can impact the balance of each other.

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April’s Interview on Bookish Talk

April Love — Thu, 16 Feb 2023 20:54:17 +0000

Although I spend a lot of time caring for horses, I really care about people, too. I believe that by helping the owner, in turn you are helping the horse!

A lot of the techniques in my equine courses and offerings rely on sensitive energy work, but when we are bogged down by so many burdens, old traumas, or shame, we’re often not sensitive enough to feel these energies.

Clearing your own energy and believing in yourself is one of the best things you can do not only for yourself, but your horse, too. (And anyone else in your life for that mater.)

That’s why I wrote, “If I Can Do It, You Can Too!: Breaking Free From Your Limitations For An Amazing, Purpose-Driven and Fulfilling Life.”

Learn more about this book as my other popular publications in my latest interview on Bookish Talk with The Thriving Women Network.

If I Can Do It, You Can Too!: Breaking Free From Your Limitations For An Amazing, Purpose-Driven And Fulfilling Life

Not living the life you want to be living?

This book will show you how to upgrade to the life you want to be living. In this book, you will get all the practical steps you can follow daily in order to boost your self-confidence!

Get it on Amazon

Author, April Love

Owner of Holistic Horseworks LLC, April Love empowers horse lovers to take healing into their own hands in order to keep their horses healthy, happy, and rideable throught their 30’s while saving thousands of dollars on vet care.

She has created a unique IICT (International Institute for Complementary Therapists) approved methodology that she teaches through in-person, hands-on clinics as well as virtual home study courses. April has also trained and vetted many instructors who share this practice worldwide.

Your horse is wounded! Quick, what do you do?

April Love — Tue, 07 Feb 2023 20:59:25 +0000

What’s the first thing you would do to treat a wound? How about the second?

First, I wash it out using a washcloth dipped in hot water mixed with a few drops of Tea Tree oil and some Dynamite liquid trace minerals. Some call this hot packing the wound.

The worst thing we can do is to hose out the wound with cold water! Since our bodies are saline, cold hosing only creates more edema and swelling the next day.

Dynamite Liquid Trace Minerals

This unique healing agent contains the full spectrum of trace minerals in a highly concentrated form. Use it topically to help stop bleeding.

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Why not the “normal” things we were taught, like alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, or iodine? I have learned that although these help kill germs, they seem to inhibit the skin cells from healing naturally while causing more scar tissue and adhesions, which is what we want to avoid.

In my personal experience of training horses for 20+ years I’ve found a better and less expensive way of healing most wounds fast and without scarring.

How does it work?

The Tea Tree oil helps to take the sting out so that the horse settles down. Whereas the other products mentioned (alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, iodine, etc.) cause stinging and burning. When a horse knows you are here to take away the pain, instead of causing more pain, he will stand quietly and calmly while being treated.

After cleaning the wound, I then apply Dynamite liquid trace minerals directly on it a couple of times a day afterward. Just add it to filtered water to spray on the wound. Not only does this support healthy skin cell regeneration, THE FLIES HATE IT and will leave the wound alone.
The wound will turn dark to almost black and turn into a scab 10 times faster than all of the other aforementioned products— and it only costs $33!

Check out this healing process that only took 21 days…

Original Wound

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

I always carry the liquid trace minerals in my fanny pack when riding. I’ve used it to stop bleeding out on the trail on people and horses no matter how deep the wound it. It’s my first go-to.

It even helped stop bleeding of a nicked carotid artery on a 6-week-old foal. When my vet arrived 5 hours later, he said, “How did you ever stop the bleeding? This foal should have bled out and died hours ago!”

I told him. “It’s those magic drops I’m always telling you about!

I’ve also used the liquid trace minerals after a gelding procedure. I just put drops in the incision site before the horse woke up. Voila! No swelling, drainage, or infection the next day.

Again, hosing the wound with contaminated water from a garden hose is NOT the best choice. The incisions will be infected longer, with more pus and drainage. I have experienced this on one of my horses. The scar tissue at the gelding site resulted in loss of power and performance from his hind end.

Horse 102: Holistic Alternatives

All this information and so much more is in my book Horse 102 Holistic Alternatives. Get yours now and never be without it.

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