Balanced Horse Services | Professional service
Balanced Horse Services
Phone: +61 447 672 523
Reviews
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25.01.2022 Are horses here to heal us? A well written piece about the risks of projecting too much onto horses in a therapy - or any other - situation.
25.01.2022 Non-invasive and EFFECTIVE angular limb deformity intervention!! Our treatment options have just gotten a whole lot more effective, and a whole lot kinder..., with Solange Mikail's findings on the use of kinesiotape to treat these cases! Listen to the full podcast to learn more about treating angular limb deformities in foals. https://podcasts.apple.com//angular-limb-def/id1277186348 You can also watch her webinar on this topic in the Equine Members portal, find out more here if you are not yet a member: https://onlinepethealth-info.com/memberships/
23.01.2022 Here's the latest post on my blog, The Horse's Back. This is a common problem and I can't believe it's taken me 8 years to write about it! https://thehorsesback.com/the-blown-out-pelvis-or-the-spru/
22.01.2022 2-day equine clinic in Uralla, NSW Do you want to better understand the connections between body and hoof issues in horses - and in your own horse in particular? If so, I'm pleased to announce that we are running a 'Balance Lines' clinic in Uralla on 7-8 November. This will be led by myself, Jane Clothier, PhD, bodyworker and hoof rehab expert Megan Matters of Hoofmatters. Feedback on the very first clinic in Grafton was fantastic -->... "This was an awsome, amazing weekend at Grafton I'm still licking and chewing " "Thank you Jane Clothier and Megan Matters for your collaboration of body-hoof connections. Very interesting, and great to be able to learn with my own horse, as well as assess the other horses at the clinic. Lovely group of people. Great learning experience. Fantastic week end." "It was a great weekend can’t wait to see what you put together next " " your head will swim!" Here are the event details. Earlybird fee is $400 for the weekend. For registration details, please email jane @ balancedhorse.com.au (remove spaces) https://www.facebook.com/events/329805691427339/
21.01.2022 Malformations of the caudal cervical vertebrae (6th and 7th vertebrae of the neck) can cause a wide range of problems. Those involved in regular equine dissecti...ons encounter this frequently. I have a few examples here at home, from equine dissections conducted here in Armidale by Sharon May-Davis, as well as bones I've picked up from the ground. This new website explains all. https://www.ecvmallbreeds.com/
19.01.2022 My local bodywork practice is in NSW, Australia. I provide gently effective muscle and joint work, with sessions involving horse assessment, subtle spinal work, relieving muscular tension, mobilising joints and restoring range of motion, as well as assessing saddle fit and hoof balance, which have strong effects on the body. My specialist areas are OTTBs, and young horse development, particularly relating to birth issues. Please contact me if you'd like to talk about a session for your horse - Dr Jane Clothier PS. this link leads to both my practice and my blog, The Horse's Back https://thehorsesback.com/balanced-horse-services/
18.01.2022 When you first look at a horse, what do you see? Is the horse before you a collection of parts head, neck, forequarters, back, hindquarters, legs, hooves, pretty mane and tail or do you see a story, part history and part work in progress? This two-day workshop in Uralla, NSW, aims to help you read that story. It is designed with hoofcare and bodywork practitioners in mind, plus any equine professional or horse owner with an interest in understanding how hoof problems affect the body, and vice versa. There are still a few places left - email jane@ balanced horse.com.au for more information!
18.01.2022 My next workshop is a collaboration with Tanja Kraus :-)
17.01.2022 Do you use fecal tests to decide which horses in your herd to worm?
16.01.2022 Can you imagine? Instead of Amazon and FEDEX, lol. Marshall Field's Delivery Wagons ~ 1897 Chicago
15.01.2022 Wow. The power of Equus!
14.01.2022 Reposting. I love these images
14.01.2022 Little did I know that there’s a statue of Sleipnir, the eight-legged steed of Norse god Odin, deep in the Black Country industrial heartland of England! It’s absolutely magnificent, but can anyone tell me why it is there? https://images.app.goo.gl/7ZrVwswQBFaUMGnMA
14.01.2022 Where does it start - in front or behind? Understanding the horse’s posture can be like solving a puzzle.
13.01.2022 Gasp... so much to see.
13.01.2022 Thanks to everyone who came to the Physical Focus clinic with Tanja Kraus (Tanja Kraus Horsemanship) and myself in Glenreagh, NSW this weekend. It was a blast, with a full house of 10 people doing a 'deep dive' into their horses' physical abilities and restrictions. I was impressed by everyone’s ability to switch modes between learning about horses in general, observing (and learning) about their own horses, and working (and learning) with their own horses. It was great to se...e how many equine postures and overall balance changed after just a few hours of focused exercises. I was also fascinated by how many horses went into what I term ‘the therapy space’ once owners started to touch and explore their bodies in such a thoughtful and meaningful way. They know when they are truly ‘seen’. It’s an ethos that is part of both Tanja’s and my work - bring it on! I owe a huge thank you to Tanja for the idea and for making this happen. See more
12.01.2022 How do you look after your emotional health as a bodyworker? This is from my regional NSW practice page. This is why I am committed to practicing, writing and teaching at a grass roots level. https://www.facebook.com//a.1203896296048/231449435165566/
11.01.2022 HELP FOR LAMINITIC HORSES NEW ENGLAND, NSW Summer rain: it’s a dream for our paddocks, but a nightmare for those of us with easy keepers. Are you balancing on... a knife edge with your horse when it comes to laminitis? By the time your horse gets tender-footed with a bounding digital pulse, laminitis has already set in and you need to call the vet. Next, you need to make sure your horse has excellent hoof care, without long toes that cause mechanical stress on the feet. Hoof boots can help a lot. Dietary and paddock management are key, as well as measures such as using a grazing muzzle. For laminitics and borderline horses, I add bodywork to the mix. Firstly, it improves blood flow by reducing tension and improving vasodilation. In plain speak, that means it relaxes the smooth muscle cells within the walls of large veins and arteries, plus smaller vessels. If your horse has good hoof trimming that isn’t already stressing the hoof walls, this helps maintain a healthy blood supply and minimises constriction and starvation of the delicate laminar tissue in the hooves. Then there are all the secondary body issues. Laminitic horses attempt to take weight off their painful hooves (usually but not always the fores), so hold themselves very differently as a result. This leads to bracing and tension from base of the neck to the poll, as well as in the lumbar muscles. In fact, few areas of their bodies don’t become tense. *This is happening even if you don't notice it. This also leads to painful, restricted joints not surprisingly, this is worse in the forelegs. If one hoof is worse than another, the horse can add asymmetry to the mix too. In chronic cases where the horse has foundered and is recovering from rotation of the pedal bones, this can lead to ringbone, DJD and spinal issues too. I’m now adding acupuncture to my bodywork practice. This helps to relieve pain and tension, reducing lameness in chronic cases and easing spinal restriction caused by muscular tension around vertebral joints. Based in Armidale, I can support you and liaise with your other equine professionals in helping your horse to recover soundness. For more information, contact Dr Jane Clothier on 0447 672 523, email jane@ equinehealthworks . com
10.01.2022 Limb structure in horses is critical to soundness. https://thehorsesback.com/crooked-legs-angular-limb-deform/
09.01.2022 My new educational venture took off this weekend with a new workshop, Balance Lines.
08.01.2022 Love it! The greater our awareness of anatomy, the better informed are our choices with horses in riding and training, and the lesser the impact on our horses. It’s never too early and never too late to start learning - there’s no need to be a body worker, trainer or expert in anything to learn enough to keep your horse’s life fabulous
08.01.2022 TIGHT NOSEBANDS MAY CAUSE BONE DAMAGE Does your horse have concavity or a bony lump on their nasal bone or lower jaw? If so, it could be the result of how you f...asten your bridle. A new study has found that bony changes may be caused by the use of tight nosebands. The researchers have been very careful to say that because the changes seen (both externally and via X-ray) are at the site of a noseband it doesn't mean that the noseband itself is necessarily causing the damage. However, I have witnessed these changes in a number of horses who have been ridden in tight nosebands over several years and I certainly believe that their use does damage bone and tissue. It is just scary to think that the use of a tight noseband for perhaps an hour of exercise five or six times a week can cause such disfigurement. This study is another brilliant and very necessary examination into the worrying trend for extreme noseband tightness. Previous research by vet Orla Doherty found that competition horses of all disciplines often have their nosebands fastened tighter than is recommended for a human tourniquet. A horse with a specific oral training issue, such as opening his mouth or putting his tongue over the bit, has a problem with what is being asked of him or is trying to avoid pain. If the horse is performing the behaviour to avoid pain or discomfort from the bit, then using a noseband that tightens around the mouth will prevent him from opening his mouth and mask the symptom, rather than address the cause. The pressure can also cause the teeth to cut into the inside of the cheek. Of course, trying to open their mouth against a tight band will also be painful for the horse. At minimum, you should be able to fit two fingers easily underneath the noseband at the front of the horse's face on the nasal bone not at the side where the tissue is soft. Once again this study raises questions about the Fédération Equestre Internationale's reluctance to address and monitor noseband use effectively. There should be evidence-based protocols in place at all competitions to check noseband tightness and ensure the horse's welfare is not compromised. Using the International Society for Equitation Science noseband taper gauge as standard would be a great start. Why this is not happening is beyond me. The study: Distribution of Lesions in the Nasal Bones and Mandibles of a Sample of 144 Riding Horses. Animals 2020, 10, 1661 can be read here: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/9/1661/htm
07.01.2022 I love what Tanja is doing here, building facilities that instil proprioceptive change opportunities in her own horses and others visiting for training. Large rubber mats and variable feeding positions are standard for all horses.
07.01.2022 I’ve been asked about Hi/Lo, or Asymmetrical feet a lot of late. Here is a post on the subject I wrote a cple months ago. Hi/Lo or Asymmetrical Feet I get aske...d about hi/lo feet quite a lot & the problems associated with it. I also occasionally get asked/told, that someone’s farrier was the cause. Personally, I don’t see how a farrier can cause true hi/lo in horses. What I do see a lot are owners with young horses telling me the horse wasn’t born with the upright foot, so it must be the farrier! It’s important to understand that hi/lo is caused by, we think anyway, pain &/or a disparity in the limbs or similar, which is then exacerbated by disproportionate loading to the feet once the horse is born. These horses with congenital hi/lo also tend to have a difference in coffin bone angle. In the womb there is no load on the limb, & as such no pain/discomfort. And limb disparity is irrelevant as there is no disproportionate loading, so foals are not born with club feet. ** Not that I’m aware of anyway! Once on the ground though, the asymmetry begins for one of the above reasons. ** Although much of the chiropractic association believe it has to do with the foal coming through the birthing canal & compression of the wither area. But the fact remains that the club foot, or asymmetric feet, begin to change once the horse is on the ground due to disproportionate loading, with the low foot becoming more dominant. The other reason I feel farriers sometimes get blamed is when taking over from another farriers work. I often see farriers trying to match the feet by leaving more toe on the upright foot, which is something I do not recommend at all. Then the nxt farrier treats the feet as individuals & the difference in the feet becomes more noticeable. But IMO this is the correct way to manage these feet. There are plenty of exercises you can do to try & alter the dominance of the low foot & engage the hi foot, but if there is discomfort or pain to the horse you have little chance of changing things IMO Renate Weller stated at a farriers conference that she believed all horses with asymmetrical feet have a lameness, the cause of the asymmetry. From a ridden point, the horses will tend to lower the shoulder towards the low front foot. This will cause the horse to fall in or out towards that foot when doing circles. They will have a preferred canter lead, which will generally be in the direction of the low foot ie if the low foot is the LF, the horse will prefer the left canter lead Some will also have a preferred trot diagonal & will bounce u onto the other diagonal. Straightness is not the friend of these horses either. We have consulted on a number of gallopers running poorly with asymmetrical front feet, only to recommend sending them to NSW where they run the opposite direction. Having the low foot to the inside of the track tends to stop them hanging or running wide on the be bends. The feedback had been excellent! When grazing or standing these horses have the low/dominant foot forward 90% of the time, further exacerbating the disproportionate loading, **It’s recommended to feed these horses off the ground & constantly correct the stance. These horses all have body asymmetries also, which makes saddle fitting & rider straightness difficult. Most find the back of their saddle constantly sliding towards the hi foot. And remember, you can’t fit a symmetrical saddle to an asymmetrical horse. When it comes to the feet & farriery, most often we see the low foot with low PA & broken back alignment, & the high foot better aligned with a higher PA, but suffering from bone loss at the tip of P3 & less than ideal sole depth. I have found the upright foot really likes a leather pad & a rolled toe shoe, or even a low grade roller. Whilst these horses can be managed, & I know some beautiful horses with asymmetrical feet, I personally would not recommend a client of mind purchase a hi/lo horse.
07.01.2022 More great photos of a full weekend.
06.01.2022 This weekend saw another successful Balance Lines clinic, looking at the hoof-body connections in horses. This clinic was led by Megan Matters of Hoofmatters and myself. We are VERY fortunate to be able to continue working in our neck of the woods. If you'd like to host this 2-day training event (which is acredited by the International Association of Professional Farriers) in 2021, please do get in touch.
05.01.2022 My NSW dates are falling into place.
03.01.2022 Mind blowing. Just wish we could have heard the sound of them approaching too.
02.01.2022 ECVM Equine Complex Malformation Is it hype or is it a reality? Is it something new or has it been around for a long time? In the Webinar on October 1 at 8 p.m.... Dutch time 3 trainers and owners of their own horse will explain what it all details. Having and daily grooming and training a horse with a neck problem. Is it actually a problem? Then what is the problem? In this webinar they talk about their experiences: Stephanie Groet Animal Physiotherapist, Chiropractor and Osteopath io. Tamara Dorrestein Trainer and Management Expert and Thirza Hendriks Rehabilitation Trainer and Biomechanics Expert They all have in common one or more horses with complex neck problems called ECVM. "When I asked them "What does it cost you daily and what does it bring you", They gave me their short answer, intense and with a lot of love" Stephanie Groet: What does it cost me of my life ... It goes without saying that it is no fun if your own horse has ECVM. It costs you a lot of money in vet costs. But besides that, I paid another price. It has given me sleepless nights. You want to do it right, but it doesn't work, what are you overlooking. It has also completely taken away the fun in horse riding and having horses for many periods. It makes you insecure because there are so many people who say that you should not complain, that there is nothing wrong. And yet your gut says something different. Fortunately, it has also brought me something. Much more knowledge and insight into the problem. I will now recognize it much sooner and thus be able to help other horses sooner. From the moment I have been diagnosed, it also gives me peace of mind. A little confirmation that I'm not crazy after all. And the best thing, because of this new knowledge, I am better able to train the horses. Thirza Hendriks: Ooh, what a nice question. What it costs me: Knowing that it is waiting for an inevitable decline - that it is a time bomb - and having to watch that and often cannot do anything to really fix it, but just try to manage the horse with that question in mind all the time: how far can this go and when do I have to make that difficult choice to save the horse from pain and to protect the environment - both humans and other horses - from potentially dangerous situations. Because that turnaround will come. It can come after 1 year, it can come after 5 years, it can come after 15 years, but it happens once and when it happens it happens quickly and it's really hard. It must be seen that the horse no longer understands life and no longer has control over the body, but is still trying so hard to survive and keep up. The horse was giving so intensely and well that it can now suddenly become dangerous because it is predictably unpredictable. That is very difficult and takes an intense amount of energy. How it has enriched my life: they are very special horses. They are handicapped horses from birth that normally do not participate in the survival of the fittest in nature but now adapt to the environment in which we have placed them. These horses are actually so incredibly strong to get through life with such a handicap. To give people so much, also in the form of performance, while the body is actually not suitable for that because of that handicap. These horses are top performers and in fact, run the Olympic Games every day. After my many years of experience worldwide with more than 50 horses with this condition, I have gained so much more admiration for the creature horse, but I hope that through these webinars we can hopefully finally take steps in the right direction not to breed with this disability Tamara Dorrestein: It is elusive and unpredictable. It takes resilience, time, and a lot of patience. Every day they teach you that nothing can be taken for granted, and they challenge you time and again to go back to what is now. What could be so different tomorrow? Do you also want to follow this Webinar or Webinar series? Then click on this link? https://www.equinestudies.nl//horse-stories-all-parts-tog/ See you soon Greetings Zefanja Vermeulen Equine studies
02.01.2022 Here's why joining me on The Horse's Back Patreon is a good idea. Latest posts include: * Is This One of the Worst Nuchal Ligaments Ever? * When a Sound is Worth More Than 1000 Words * Now Why Would a Horse Stand on Tiptoe?... Edited: this is an English language page, despite what the link is showing!! https://www.patreon.com/thehorsesback
01.01.2022 Masks are available from redbubble.com :-) Yes you'll get stared at in the supermarket.
01.01.2022 PELVIC ASYMMETRY: distortion can be caused by an opened pubic (or pelvic) symphysis. This is more common that you might think, being associated with a heavy fal...l at a young age, or constant over-exertion before completion of skeletal development in the pelvis at around 5-6 years of age. I've just found this old descriptive image I made in 2014 but never posted, which precedes my recent blog post of Nov 2020. (I've made a small text amendment - always learning!) If you want to see the full article, you can read it here: https://thehorsesback.com/the-blown-out-pelvis-or-the-spru/ Based in Armidale NSW, I am running workshops and providing bodywork services for horses in the region.
