Whole Horse Balance Hoof Care and Services

06/10/2023

https://fb.watch/l46yQI72pZ/?mibextid=CDWPTG

05/31/2023

This right here 👇👇👇 We need to start listening before we start *fixing*.

https://www.facebook.com/100092343051933/posts/136799749408126/?mibextid=CDWPTG

Student question, remind me…
The reason we do not palpate the horse?

I know I am going to have to explain to people why. The equine business might not be ready for this method, so I believe I need to have a lot of answers ready ….

At every class we reach the point where I talk about how I stopped palpating horses prior to treatment and why I came up with the assessment method I teach.

The reasons to not palpate are as follows 👇🏻

When you come and elicit a series of painful responses you set the tone for the conversation with the nervous system and the horse. This is probably not a good place to start if we want cooperation and relaxation.
Once you have triggered every alarm in the building i.e the horses body it will take a long time to convince the horse and the nervous system to relax and trust. This is wasted therapy time as the nervous system can only pay attention to our touch for so long.

Inorder to effect good tissue change and somatosensory reintegration the brain needs to be interested in our touch, needs to pay attention to what we are doing and needs to actively engage in introspection. None of that will happen if the first interaction is a negative pain inducing one, the brain will tune out and so will the horse. The opportunity for deep seated change will be lost.

Many horses suffer from chronic pain which really means the pain circuits in the brain are never turned off. Many horses have contextual pain as in their state of mind and previous experiences trigger pain even when there is no tissue damage.
Many horses have learned to anticipate the pain and give a response regardless of tissue damage.
So basically many of the responses we believe to be painful and a reflection of tissue issues could be false and vague and inaccurate.

So really what's the point ? Why not start off the conversation with the horse, the nervous system and the tissue from a place of listening. Get the brain to pay attention to be interested, get the horse to actively engage in introspection and maybe you stand a chance and turn off the pain circuit and create somatic integration.

05/26/2023

https://www.facebook.com/100063555284147/posts/721873319941171/?mibextid=CDWPTG

02/16/2023

https://ker.com/equinews/ppid-research-probing-dopamine-brain-receptors-in-horses/

To better understand the role of dopamine and brain receptors in PPID, researchers took a closer look at the pituitary gland.

12/12/2022

https://wellnessready.com/

Wellness Ready

11/07/2022

09/09/2022

"Wow, you didn't even have to use your nippers! I guess that he didn't really need a trim yet, huh?"

As the summer winds down and we enter fall in this part of the world, we may see a slowdown in hoof growth and these kinds of comments come up every so often. The misconception is that a trim is simply to remove excess growth on the hoof - but that's actually not the case.

Our goal as hoofcare providers is to keep the horse comfortable and sound. We want to work to get the foot to function at its best, so the joints, tendons and ligaments up the limb can stay healthy for years to come. Our trim is about balance, equilibrium, and hoof health, not just removing gross length.

The last thing we want is to wait until the hoof growth is causing detrimental effects to the internal structures to try to remedy it; instead, if we can keep the foot at its optimal balance, then we can get ahead of issues before they start.

That means that often, our trims should even look fairly minimal. Finding a cycle length that allows us to do "less" actually allows for more targeted changes to the hoof capsule. Big changes don't just make for a nice looking before and after photo, they can have knock-on effects every cycle as the horse adjusts to new angles with the adjustments.

I always say one of my favorite things about hoof rehab is "suggesting" to the foot where I want it to be. If every cycle I'm doing two nipper runs to get the foot back to baseline, I'm probably not making much progress over time.

So next time you feel there wasn't much that needed to be done to the foot, consider whether it was truly because the hoof didn't need it, or whether it is actually simply keeping the foot comfortable and in balance with where it will function best. It's not about what we trim, but often about knowing what NOT to trim.

08/16/2022

When you get a blood work report from a diagnostic laboratory you will see tests listed in a column on the left, followed by the test results (sometimes with an asterisk or a H = high, L = low) and…