Today I wanted to share with you a little bit about how horses sleep 💤
They are very different to humans and other animal such as dogs and cats 🐕 🐈⬛
Most people know that horses can sleep standing up, thanks to a special combination of bones, tendons and ligaments in their body known as the ‘stay apparatus’
Read MoreOne of my clients this week, who incidentally has been around horse for more than half a century, mentioned to me that for the first time when watching the horse racing, and thanks to the wonders of slow-mo, they had noticed that as the horses were galloping their fetlock joints were almost touching the floor 😳
Read MoreAs horse owners and lovers I think one of the things that attracts us to them is their huge beautiful eyes 👀
People often refer to horses as having a ‘kind’ eye and most of us know that seeing the ‘whites’ of the eye means a horse may be frightened or scared.
But how much do you really know about your horse’s eyes❓
Read MoreToday I wanted to share a little about the horse’s skin and some of the reasons it is important to me as an Equine Massage Therapist.
The skin can tell me a lot about your horse. I will consider several factors when treating including:
▪️Look ▪️ Pliability ▪️ Texture ▪️ Temperature ▪️ Thickness ▪️ Hair Damage ▪️ Scar Tissue ▪️ Swelling
Read MoreDid you know…….. your horse has 7 Cervical Vertebrae just like we do as a humans❓
Dogs and cats also have Cervical Vertebrae and all of us have much shorter necks than the horse 🐶 🐱
Cervical Vertebrae are the bones that make up the length of the neck.
The horse has huge individual bones with thin fibrous discs in-between ⭕️
Read MoreMy goal as an equine therapist is not only to assess your horse, detect soft tissue restrictions and treat them, but also to help YOU as an owner/rider/trainer by empowering you with the knowledge and some of the skills you need to help your horse be the best versions of themselves they can be.
Read MoreMost joints in the horses body are able to work independently from one another.
However in the hind limb there is a special arrangement of muscles, tendons and ligaments which mean that the Stifle and Hock move together, mirroring one another 🔁
This is called the Reciprocal system.
Read MoreThe feet in the images belong to my 3 year old Welsh D gelding Eric 🐴
They were taken today, just before his regular 6 weekly trim ⚒
🧐If you look closely you can see a line around each hoof around 1cm from the bottom edge.
This line is called a Growth Ring…
Read MoreTravelling our horses is something many of us do on a regular basis 🚛
There are a number of considerations when travelling our horses
But how may of us consider our horse’s musculoskeletal health and fitness and how it might affect their ability to travel and perform?
Read Morefter a long day of work, taking care of general household duties, caring for your dependants (horses 🐴 dogs 🐶 children 🙈 etc.) the last thing many of us want to do is then think about cleaning our tack! 💤
All those buckles to undo, leather to clean and oil, saddle cloths to wash, bits to clean, the list goes on….. 🥱
But cleaning your tack is a key part in the welfare of your horse and also your own safety ⚠️
Read MoreA fun fact for you today…..did you know that your horse can only breathe through their nose and not their mouth too like humans can❓
Have you ever seen your horse curl his top lip like the pony in the image 😝
It might look funny but there is good reason for it❗️
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