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Articles: Body Talk for Thoughtful Owners

All articles on this site are listed below – most recent first. Happy reading!

 

Introducing Common Saddle Fit Problems in Arabian Horses

Introducing Common Saddle Fit Problems in Arabian Horses

Achieving good saddle fit with Arabian horses can be challenging on account of some breed-typical features that make their backs somewhat complicated. You can correct ...
Physio at Feed Time: Using Food to Mobilize Your Horse's Body

Physio at Feed Time: Using Food to Mobilize Your Horse’s Body

In this guest post, Tanja Kraus introduces variable feeding positions, which bring musculoskeletal benefits while also enriching your horse's day. As an equine educator from ...
BEMER And Bodywork: What I'm Seeing And Why I'm Hooked

BEMER And Bodywork: What I’m Seeing And Why I’m Hooked

As a bodyworker, I’ve been using hands-on therapies to help horses for nearly 20 years. Only recently, I came across BEMER and decided to add ...
How to Create Better Before And After Photos of Horses (and Spot Misleading Ones)

How to Create Better Before And After Photos of Horses (and Spot Misleading Ones)

Bodyworkers love before and after photos. Done correctly, they can show great results of our work, making them powerful promotional tools. Equally, if done incorrectly, ...
All About That White Lacing On Your Horse’s Back

All About That White Lacing On Your Horse’s Back

White lacing patterns on either side of the horse’s spine: it’s amazing how many different explanations there are for this interesting coat change. Even in ...
When Half Breed Saddles Fit The Rider But Not The Horse

When Half Breed Saddles Fit The Rider But Not The Horse

Although hugely popular, the Half Breed saddle is harder to fit to horses than its simple appearance seems to suggest. As the love child of ...
More Than a Blemish: How a Knocked Down Hip Can Affect Horses

More Than a Blemish: How a Knocked Down Hip Can Affect Horses

‘Knocked down hip’ is a common name for a fracture of the tuber coxae (point of hip). This is usually the result of a horse ...
10 Equine Bodywork Responses That Tell Us Heaps About Horses

10 Equine Bodywork Responses That Tell Us Heaps About Horses

In an equine bodywork session, having a feel for the horse’s mental and emotional state is important. It helps us to understand where they're at, ...
Swaying Opinion: Can Ataxia Cause Hind Hoof Rings?

Swaying Opinion: Can Ataxia Cause Hind Hoof Rings?

Did laminitis, trauma, nutrition, disease, or something else cause these hind hoof rings? Recently I came across hoof rehab specialist Daisy Bicking's view as to ...
10 Tips for the Risk-Free Use of Equine Massage Guns

10 Tips for the Risk-Free Use of Equine Massage Guns

Wait - you didn't know there could be risks to your horse when using an equine massage gun? Then you'd best read on. First, there ...
Introducing Common Saddle Fit Problems in Quarter Horses

Introducing Common Saddle Fit Problems in Quarter Horses

Are certain saddle fit problems related to conformation in Quarter Horses? My goal with this article is to help you look at your Quarter Horse's ...
Learn Equine Osteopathy to Restore Function and Health to Horses

Learn Equine Osteopathy to Restore Function and Health to Horses

This Diploma is open to experienced equine therapists, physiotherapists and chiropractors and animal care professionals such as trainers, vet techs, breeders, trainers, and farriers. The past ...
Beyond Sidebone: Pastern Pain and the Lateral Cartilage

Beyond Sidebone: Pastern Pain and the Lateral Cartilage

It's a problem of a pressing nature. In some horses with upright, contracted and sheared heels, I’ve seen first hand how the lateral cartilage can ...
Here’s a Round Up of My Premature and Dysmature Foal Research

Here’s a Round Up of My Premature and Dysmature Foal Research

Here are abstracts, downloads and links for my research into the ongoing effects or premature or dysmature birth in horses. These are the publicly available ...
transitional vertebrae

Yes, We Can Image for Transitional Vertebrae in Horses

It’s been a question of mine for a while. Can diagnostic imaging show the presence of transitional vertebrae? We're seeing many bone samples from dissections, ...
10 Rehab Tips for Horses with High-Low or Upright Hooves

10 Rehab Tips for Horses with High-Low or Upright Hooves

Sorting out that high-low hooves situation. It's the farrier's job, isn't it? Well yes, they're clearly the primary professional. But there are plenty of things ...
Cost of Survival: The Lifelong Problems of Premature and Dysmature Foals

Cost of Survival: The Lifelong Problems of Premature and Dysmature Foals

Were you around when your horse was born? If so, you’ll know about their neonatal health. If you weren’t, then understandably you don’t. Your horse ...
All About Crooked Legs: Angular Limb Deformities in Horses and Foals

All About Crooked Legs: Angular Limb Deformities in Horses and Foals

Angular Limb Deformities: it's the technical term for crooked leg problems. The term sounds alarming, but how bad are they and exactly how common?    ...
'The Size of a Walnut' - Does Equine Brain Size Matter?

‘The Size of a Walnut’ – Does Equine Brain Size Matter?

There seem to be quite a few social media posts about the equine brain of late - and that's no bad thing.  In some ways, ...
"Scientists Are So Dumb" - Hey, It's Not Them, Could Be You

“Scientists Are So Dumb” – Hey, It’s Not Them, Could Be You

"DUH!!! Scientists are SOOOOO behind the rest of us!" I read this today and for once, couldn't just scroll past and forget. Perhaps it's because ...
The Crazy Logic of Saddle Fitting That You Probably Haven't Thought About

The Crazy Logic of Saddle Fitting That You Probably Haven’t Thought About

There's a basic premise of saddle fitting that hasn't occurred to a lot of people. It can't have done, not if the tack they're riding ...
Not Quite Classical... Better Lungeing for the Rest of Us

Not Quite Classical… Better Lungeing for the Rest of Us

Thinking as a bodyworker, if there were one thing I could change in the training of ridden horses, it would be the way that many ...
The Very Big Problem of Dwarfism in Horses

The Very Big Problem of Dwarfism in Horses

In this guest post, Dr. Sonja Dominik describes equine dwarfism and what the latest tests mean for horse breeders. Sonja is a Research Scientist in Quantitative ...
All You Need to Know About the New Biological War on Worms

All You Need to Know About the New Biological War on Worms

Australia has declared a new war on worms – and this time it’s biological. You may already have read about this wonder from Down Under, ...
An Unwelcome Side Effect: Transitional Vertebrae in Horses

An Unwelcome Side Effect: Transitional Vertebrae in Horses

They can lead to scoliosis, spinal arthritis, flexion and straightness problems, saddle fit issues, secondary lameness, hoof problems and soft tissue trauma. So, what on ...
All You Need to Know About the Hidden C6-C7 Malformation That's Bringing Horses Down

All You Need to Know About the Hidden C6-C7 Malformation That’s Bringing Horses Down

What if you were to learn that your horse is living with a hidden malformation? A skeletal abnormality that could be affecting it every day, ...
How Much Do You CAIR What’s In Your Saddle?

How Much Do You CAIR What’s In Your Saddle?

How curious are you as a horse owner? Do you want to know how things work, what they look on the inside, and if they're ...
5 Ways Your Seat Can Screw Up Your Horse Without You Even Noticing

5 Ways Your Seat Can Screw Up Your Horse Without You Even Noticing

In this Guest Post, the UK's 'Classical Seat' trainer Heather Moffett looks at how the rider's seat can make movement harder for the horse. It's something ...
Meet Spinalis, the Forgotten Muscle in Saddle Fitting

Meet Spinalis, the Forgotten Muscle in Saddle Fitting

It's barely mentioned in saddle fit or anatomy books, yet the muscle Spinalis cervicis can hugely impact on the spinal health and movement of the ...
How Well Are We Doing? Why Some Horses Thrive While Others Just Get By

How Well Are We Doing? Why Some Horses Thrive While Others Just Get By

Look at the horses around you. Do you believe that they’re thriving? Are their lives the healthiest, richest and most fulfilling they could be – ...
Why It Matters To 112 Million Working Equines That You Read This Post

Why It Matters To 112 Million Working Equines That You Read This Post

Most of us have a good idea of what animal welfare means and why it’s important. But in developing nations, cultural and economic concerns can ...
Is Your Mare Having a First or a Third World Pregnancy?

Is Your Mare Having a First or a Third World Pregnancy?

When foals are born prematurely, many people tend to think it's just one of those things. Causes such as placentitis (inflammation of the uterus) are ...
What This Pony’s Tail Tells Us About Owners Who Abandon Their Horses

What This Pony’s Tail Tells Us About Owners Who Abandon Their Horses

I’ve been thinking about horses and abandonment recently. By abandonment, I mean a situation where a treasured or most favored horse has suffered an irreparable  injury ...
8 Golden Rules For Helping Your Thoroughbred Get Right Off The Track

8 Golden Rules For Helping Your Thoroughbred Get Right Off The Track

In this guest post, Kerry Warren Couch responds to the article on this site about ex-racehorses by stating, clearly and simply, how she has helped ...
How The Anatomy Books (Unintentionally) Fail Us Over The Nuchal Ligament

How The Anatomy Books (Unintentionally) Fail Us Over The Nuchal Ligament

The nuchal ligament is a soft tissue structure that is widely discussed in dressage circles. Unsurprisingly, given its deep location, relatively few of us get ...
Debunked: The Lie That's Told About Adjustable Gullet Saddles

Debunked: The Lie That’s Told About Adjustable Gullet Saddles

One of the best innovations in the world of saddle making has been the interchangeable gullet plate in the synthetic saddle tree. I mean, there’s ...
Why Thinking About Neck Threadworms Still Leaves Us Scratching Our Heads

Why Thinking About Neck Threadworms Still Leaves Us Scratching Our Heads

Less than 12 months ago, I wrote about neck threadworms and how they might be behind many horses’ frantic itching. The uptake on that article ...
Buying an Ex-Racehorse: Can You Spot the Major Physical Issues?

Buying an Ex-Racehorse: Can You Spot the Major Physical Issues?

The ex-racehorse: a huge heart, a strong work ethic, great athleticism, wonderful sensitivity... and, potentially, a host of physical issues. Are you able to identify ...
Revealed: the Common Equine Arthritis You Won’t Read About in Textbooks

Revealed: the Common Equine Arthritis You Won’t Read About in Textbooks

Sometimes, a person from outside a profession successfully identifies something that has been unnoticed, overlooked or wrongly assessed for a long, long time. Coming from ...
10 Ways to Seriously Mess Up When Buying a New Saddle

10 Ways to Seriously Mess Up When Buying a New Saddle

Not long ago, I was having a think about the reasons that people buy saddles that so obviously don’t fit their horses. This is a ...
How to Fight the Big Fight against Neck Threadworms

How to Fight the Big Fight against Neck Threadworms

This follow-up to 'The Disturbing Truth About Neck Threadworms and your Itchy Horse' discusses how to manage the parasites, once you know your horse has ...
The Disturbing Truth About Neck Threadworms and Your Itchy Horse

The Disturbing Truth About Neck Threadworms and Your Itchy Horse

Look on any ivermectin or moxidectin-based wormer packet and you’ll see a long list of parasites. Tucked in neatly at the end – it’s nearly ...
Scabbed, Scalded and Sore - Wet Weather and Your Horse's Skin

Scabbed, Scalded and Sore – Wet Weather and Your Horse’s Skin

It's not much fun being hit by a years’ worth (or more) of rainfall in a few days, as dwellers on Australia's east coast are ...

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