Tips For Proactive Horse Care: Establishing A Bodywork Baseline For Your Horse
By touching your horse from head to tail every time you visit them you develop a sense of what is normal for your horse. When you are familiar with how your horse feels and acts on a daily basis, it is much easier to take charge of your horse care before major problems arise.
Whether you have an equine bodyworker check your horse regularly, or you do it yourself, it could mean the difference between giving your horse a couple of days off active duty and months of recovery time from a serious injury that you didn’t know about until it was too late.
How often do you scan your horse from head to tail? Do you see your horse every day…once a week…twice a month? When you go see your horse, do you feed, brush and ride? Or do you spend a few minutes to scan your horse, running your hands over them and looking for changes from your previous visits?
As an equine massage therapist, there have been several occasions that I was the first line of defense for my equine clients. I am trained to make note of subtle differences in muscle tone and slight imbalances in a horse’s body. I can often detect the tell-tale signs of a very recent strain that may become more serious if it is not addressed.
My clients know they can count on me to let them know if I find anything unusual with their equine partners. Don’t leave your horse care to chance. There is no reason why every horse owner can’t learn to identify these subtle changes in their horses as well.
It is simply a matter of paying attention to detail and setting aside about 2 minutes each time you visit your horse to just run your hands and eyes over them. Really soak in what your are seeing and feeling. Notice the lumps and bumps, the slightly tighter muscle on side versus another.
Notice differences in temperature at the different areas of the body. Make mental notes of all the things you find each time and whether they are still there on your follow up visits. This is they key to early detection of problems and proactive horse care.
Know what is normal for your horse and familiarize yourself with basic equine first aide. If you notice something strange going on in your horse’s body or behaviors, don’t hesitate to contact your veterinarian.
Veterinarians are much more tolerant of the caring horse owner that is being proactive with their horse’s health than you might think. They are usually happy to talk to you about any concerns you might have with your horse and anything unusual you might be concerned with about your horse.
They’d rather get the call from you early on and nip problems in the bud. So the next time you are out at the barn visiting your horse ask yourself, “Did I touch my horse today?”.
Lisa Carter is a Certified Equine Massage Therapist (CEMT), with multiple certifications from several different equine bodywork schools. She incorporates her knowledge and experience with Parelli Natural Horsemanship, equine bodywork and as a veterinary technician to provide her clients with the resources they need to make informed decisions for their horses. She encourages and facilitates network building between equine health care professionals, working together to find the best combination of therapies to meet the needs of the “whole horse”.
Are you ready to get better results with your horse? Put your equine health care team to work so you and your horse can be doing what you were meant to. Click here to get started!
While training horses, I came across a pony who I was supposed to groundwork with and ride. This pony had been ridden before, but no one noticed the muscle atrophy and tension on this little pony. Because I have educated myself (and still educating myself) with how a normal horse should look, I was able to show the owner just how sore her pony was and give her some of the Prescriptions for Parelli to help lift his back. After a week of the owner doing their homework and me coming out 3 times, Jack is beginning to free up his gait and overall is just a much happier pony! Thanks Lisa!
-DeAnna Fitzgerald
Naturally Connected Horse Training
nchorsetraining@gmail.com
Thanks DeAnna for sharing your wonderful success story! Keep up the good work. It’s so important to be an informed horse owner and really take note of any asymmetrical muscle tone. It provides you with valuable clues to what’s going on in your horse’s body. I came up with “A Prescription For Parelli” series specifically for situations like the one you just described.
I agree totally and really enjoyed this article!
Thank you Lisa!
Great post! This part is very important – Know what is normal for your horse and familiarize yourself with basic equine first aide. If you notice something strange going on in your horse's body or behaviors, don't hesitate to contact your veterinarian. Thanks for sharing your tips with us.
Lisa, I can't begin to tell you how happy I am that you have taken your services to the level which you have. Keep up the great work and the sharing:)
Thanks so much Dino, you are very kind in saying so! You have been a great inspiration to me and I’m glad to have you as a teacher and mentor.