If you knew your horse was in pain, what would you do?

If you knew your horse was in pain the entire time you were riding your horse, would you be enthused to learn how to fix it? Unfortunately, most people do not realize they are riding a crooked horse and that makes me sad. Good news, it does not have to be that way! You believe that you are doing everything you can to keep your horse in the best possible health… If your horse has issues that need to be corrected, a riding clinic may be the best option. If your horse is uncomfortable with its current saddle, trying bringing your horse to a saddle fit clinic. In the mean time, let’s take a look at what may be going on with your horse.

To begin, stand up on a bucket behind your horse and look at the hips, back, shoulders and withers. Do you see nothing symmetrical as you look down its back? My guess is that your response is a resounding “YES!” Yet you are putting a firm, straight tree’d saddle on that crooked back which makes it sore, and tighten the girth. This forces the horse to conform to the saddle while they are working. What is amazing is that our horses continue working for us while in pain. However, your crooked horse needs intervention and you need to learn how to realize how easy it is to do little moves to correct all this instead of paying someone else once a month/year to fix it for you.

Thermograph of an average horse pulled out of the pasture.

In the thermograph to above, the horse — an average horse pulled out of the pasture — has a red area resulting from 1st rib out under left shoulder — every horse has this issue beginning at 7 months of age. This is typical of 90 percent of horses  — this is why you have bucking and/or saddle fit issues, training issues and more with your horse. Eventually, when at the walk the saddle will keep sliding to the left and the left ribs cannot yield to the rider’s leg pressure. The left front hoof is going to have the high heel and right front is going to be the compensating side-tighter bigger shoulder-low heel bigger hoof. Visualize that you are putting a straight-treed saddle on a horse with a crooked back. Believe it or not, this can be fixed in just 30 minutes with what you will learn in my classes.

By the time a rider has given a leg cue, they have asked the horse 3 times to do something.

• First time when they thought about it and envisioned it
• Second time when they shifted their body getting ready to ask the horse
• Third time when they have to resort to pressure to do so

Now if you fix the horse, most of the issues go away and then the horse can willingly move and yield to riders cues. Notice that the red, painful area in this image is gone after just five minutes of doing releases.

Notice that the red, painful area in this image is gone after just five minutes of simple, easy body releases that anyone can do after my Level One class or viewing our DVD.

I have found that most foals are like this by the time they are 7 months old; starting the ‘club foot’ look as well as leg turning out and being labelled a left- or right-sided horse. This creates most training and behavioural issues. Fix this, and a willing, athletic and sound horse will emerge.

Would you like to eliminate the expense of horse chiropractors or massage to work on the issues that never seem to go away? The Level 1 Equine Musculoskeletal Unwinding hands-on clinic is the place to learn how to help your horse be a freer moving and more willing partner. If you want to host a clinic please contact me through the link on the page.

There is a home study course as well and you can find that course and others here Holistic HorseWorks Store.

My YouTube channel has a lot of videos that will show you what is going on with your horse and what happens when you adjust your horse. Holistic HorseWorks YouTube Channel

April Love, Founder — Holistic Horseworks

Certified Instructor Equine Musculoskeletal Unwinding, CranioSacral Therapy, and Applied Kinesiology
April travels internationally teaching a variety of classes to interested horse lovers all of which are designed which will dramatically change the relationship between horse and owner while improving the overall wellness of both the owner and the horse.

Have questions? I am always happy to help.   Be sure to like my page Holistic Horseworks on Facebook and connect with me on Linkedin.

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