HorseP.T-MI

31/10/2026

🐴📋 INFORMATION FOR HORSE OWNERS 🩺🐎

What to Expect When Your Horse Has a Lameness Examination

Has your horse gone lame? 🐴

Lameness can be worrying for horse owners, and understanding what happens during a veterinary lameness examination can help you feel more informed and prepared.

🩺 Our EVA Young Member Group (YMG) NSW Representative, Dr Lachie Dawes, has put together this informative infographic explaining what to expect when your veterinarian examines a lame horse.

💙 Take a look and learn more about the steps involved in investigating lameness and helping your horse get back on track!

19/10/2026

📚 THE 2027 HEAD START
DAY EIGHTEEN – Muscle Snippet No. 8! 🐴

We’re now onto our eighth Muscle Snippet, and today we’re moving up to the horse’s head to look at a muscle that I think is particularly interesting from an equine massage perspective – the masseter muscle!

Over the last few days, we’ve explored muscles involved in movement, stability and even breathing. But today, we’re looking at a muscle that the horse uses for something rather different – chewing!

The masseter is a large, powerful muscle found on either side of the horse’s jaw. It runs from the zygomatic arch (cheekbone) down to the mandible (lower jaw).

But why is this muscle so important?

Well, the masseter is one of the main muscles responsible for closing the jaw, working alongside other muscles such as the temporalis and pterygoids to help the horse chew and grind its food.

When you think about how many hours a horse can spend grazing and chewing forage every day, you can start to appreciate just how much work this muscle actually does!

But there’s more to the masseter than simply chewing.

Like any muscle, it can develop areas of tension or sensitivity, and this is something worth being aware of when we’re assessing and massaging horses.

For example, some horses may show sensitivity around the cheeks or jaw, reluctance to accept contact around the head, or changes in the way they chew.

Of course, there can be several reasons for these observations, particularly dental problems, so we should never automatically assume that muscular tension is responsible.

This is where things become interesting from a massage perspective!

The masseter is a relatively accessible muscle, which means we can gently palpate the area and assess how the horse responds to touch.

Some horses really enjoy gentle, slow massage around the masseter, particularly using light finger-pad circles or small kneading movements over the fleshy part of the muscle.

However, the jaw is a sensitive area, so we always need to be mindful of our pressure and the horse’s response.

Something else worth remembering is that the muscles of the jaw don’t work in isolation. They function alongside other structures involved in chewing and jaw movement, including the temporomandibular joint (TMJ).

Here’s a little something I’d like you to try next time you’re with your horse.

Stand quietly beside your horse while they’re eating some hay and watch the movement of the jaw. You’ll notice how the lower jaw moves as the horse chews, and you may even be able to see the masseter contracting and relaxing beneath the skin!

It’s such a simple observation, but a lovely way to start connecting what you’re learning about anatomy to the horse standing in front of you.

Thats exactly what I hope you’re getting from these little Muscle Snippets – a better understanding of the muscles, where they’re found, what they do and why that knowledge is so useful when working with horses.

Only two more Muscle Snippets to go before we reach Day 20!

Another small head start towards 2027! 📚🐴

🐴🙌 2027

Don’t forget to like the post and leave your 🐴🙌 2027 below to keep taking part in our October prize draw.

17/10/2026

17/10/2026

🐴 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗛𝗢𝗥𝗦𝗘'𝗦 𝗝𝗔𝗪 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗕𝗟𝗘𝗠 𝗠𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗥𝗧 𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗝𝗔𝗪!

Does your horse…

🐴 Fuss with the contact or brace through the jaw?

🐴 Struggle to step underneath behind or feel stiff through the hindquarters?

🐴 Feel tight through the ribs or uncomfortable when being girthed?

🐴 Improve after treatment, only to return to exactly the same movement pattern?

You might think you're looking at four completely separate problems.

𝗕𝗨𝗧 𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗜𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗬'𝗥𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗘𝗗?

Look at this horse. 👇

Researchers Elbrønd and Schultz described an extraordinary anatomical pathway connecting the hind hoof all the way to the jaw.

It's called the Deep Ventral Line.

This interconnected chain of muscles and fascia travels through the inner hindlimb, pelvis, deep lumbar muscles, diaphragm, neck and eventually towards the hyoid apparatus and jaw.

Yes, your horse's hind feet and jaw are anatomically connected through a continuous myofascial pathway!

But here's where things become REALLY interesting.

𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘'𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗠𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝗣𝗘𝗢𝗣𝗟𝗘 𝗠𝗜𝗦𝗦…

Think about the pelvic floor, the deep hip flexors and the diaphragm.

These structures don't work independently.

Changes in pelvic position and muscular tension can influence the lumbar spine, how the rib cage moves and how the diaphragm manages breathing and pressure within the trunk.

Now consider a horse that's guarding through its pelvis, holding tension around the tail and perineum, and struggling to move freely through its back.

Could that protective pattern also be influencing the rib cage, breathing mechanics and even the way the horse carries its neck and jaw?

This is why I look beyond the area where the horse first shows discomfort.

𝗜𝗧'𝗦 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗝𝗨𝗦𝗧 𝗔𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗙𝗔𝗦𝗖𝗜𝗔.

Your horse doesn't move through fascia alone.

Joints, muscles, nerves, connective tissues, breathing mechanics and proprioception (the body's awareness of its position) all contribute to how movement is controlled.

And this is where my osteopathic reasoning comes in.

There are several important regions I assess when looking at how the horse is functioning as a whole.

🦴 The sacrum and pelvis — where forces from the hindlimbs transfer through the lumbosacral junction (where the lower back meets the pelvis).

🫁 The diaphragm and rib cage — where breathing mechanics and trunk stability work together.

🔑 The first ribs and thoracic inlet (entrance to the chest) — an important junction between the trunk, forelimbs and neck.

👅 The OAA, hyoid and TMJ (upper neck, tongue-supporting bones and jaw joints) — where head movement, tongue function and neuromuscular control interact.

Now imagine your horse develops discomfort or restriction in one of these regions.

The nervous system responds by changing how the horse moves to protect that area.

Perhaps the horse begins loading one hindlimb differently.

Perhaps the pelvis and lower back become less mobile.

Perhaps the trunk stiffens, the neck compensates or the jaw begins to brace.

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗢𝗗𝗬 𝗔𝗗𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗦.

And because these regions work together, changes in one area can influence movement elsewhere.

The relationship works both ways, too.

Even the way a horse loads its hooves can influence movement higher up the body, while changes in posture and movement can alter how those hooves are loaded.

Over time, the horse may become so accustomed to compensating that the protective movement pattern becomes its normal way of moving.

𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘'𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗕𝗟𝗘𝗠…

You can improve a restriction.

You can reduce muscular tension.

You can create better movement through a joint.

But what happens if the horse's nervous system continues using the same protective movement pattern?

The horse may simply return to moving in the way it has learned.

And this is something I believe deserves much more attention when we're discussing rehabilitation.

𝗦𝗢 𝗪𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘 𝗗𝗢𝗘𝗦 𝗦𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗢-𝗢𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗢𝗣𝗔𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗖 𝗥𝗘-𝗘𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗙𝗜𝗧 𝗜𝗡?

I've developed my own integration of osteopathic and somatic movement principles into a specific equine therapeutic approach.

Rather than treating restrictions and movement re-education as two separate processes, I bring them together.

Osteopathic reasoning helps me understand the mechanical relationships, restrictions and compensations influencing the horse.

Somatic movement principles then help guide neuromuscular re-education (helping the nervous system learn different movement patterns).

The aim is to move away from habitual protective responses and towards more comfortable, coordinated and efficient movement.

It's not simply about stretching fascia.

It's not just about releasing a tight muscle.

And it's certainly not about adding more strengthening exercises to a movement pattern that's already compensating.

𝗜𝗧'𝗦 𝗔𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗚𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗛𝗢𝗪 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗪𝗛𝗢𝗟𝗘 𝗕𝗢𝗗𝗬 𝗢𝗥𝗚𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗦𝗘𝗦 𝗠𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧.

𝗕𝗘𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗘 𝗪𝗘 𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗚𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗡, 𝗪𝗘 𝗡𝗘𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗢 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗚𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗢𝗗𝗬 𝗜𝗦 𝗛𝗔𝗩𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗔𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗠𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧.

💻 I'm developing an online course exploring Somato-Osteopathic Re-Education and its practical application to horses.

👍🤘👌Comment CHAIN below if you'd like the link to join the course mailing list.

And for fellow practitioners, I'd love to know:

Have you ever improved movement in one region of a horse and noticed a change somewhere completely different?

🔎 UNDERSTANDING THE IMAGE

🔴 Red markings (solid and dotted): The Deep Ventral Line (DVL), connecting the hindlimb through the deeper structures of the pelvis, trunk and neck towards the head.

🟣 Purple line: The Deep Dorsal Line (DDL), following the deeper musculature along the vertebral column, from the tail towards the head.

Image: Elbrønd & Schultz (2021), Deep Myofascial Kinetic Lines in Horses, Figure 1(a). CC BY 4.0.

16/10/2026

THE 2027 HEAD START
DAY TWELVE 📚

Muscle Snippet No. 2 — Biceps Femoris

Yesterday we started our little run of Muscle Snippets with the gluteals, and today we’re moving slightly further down the hindquarter to the biceps femoris.

This is one of those lovely big muscles that, once you know where it is, becomes much easier to recognise on the horse.

The biceps femoris sits on the outside of the thigh and contributes to several different movements. It helps extend the hip, flex the stifle and contributes to the power needed to propel the horse forwards, particularly during faster work such as canter and gallop.

But remember, muscles don’t work in isolation. The biceps femoris works alongside the other muscles of the hindquarter to help create balanced, coordinated movement.

For our future bodyworkers, this is exactly why learning anatomy matters. When your hands are on the horse, you want to understand what lies underneath them and how that tissue contributes to movement.

One muscle at a time… we’re building that knowledge before 2027 even begins. 📚

And don’t forget, if you’re enjoying our Muscle Snippets and want to keep building your anatomy knowledge, our Equine Anatomy Book is a brilliant companion to have alongside your learning. 📖🐴

Easy to dip into, visual and designed to make equine anatomy feel a little less overwhelming.

I’ll pop the link below if you’d like to get your copy 👇
https://woldsequinemassage.co.uk/resources

09/10/2026

What if the tension you’re feeling along the back is only part of the picture?

For this week’s Meridian Feature Thursday, we’re looking at the Bladder Meridian which is one of the longest meridian pathways in the body and one that practitioners encounter constantly when working around the back, neck and hindquarters.

It would be easy to look at this pathway purely from a musculoskeletal perspective.

There’s tension through the topline.
The lumbar region feels restricted.
The horse is tight through the neck or hindquarters.

But learning the Bladder Meridian teaches us to look beyond simply asking, “Where is it tight?”

In East Asian & commonly known Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Bladder Meridian has relationships that extend far beyond the muscles underneath its pathway. Along the back are the Back-Shu points, which are traditionally associated with the internal organ systems and give practitioners another way to consider the patterns they are observing throughout the animal.

Suddenly, learning the pathway isn’t simply about memorizing a line running down the body.

It becomes understanding how the meridian relates to physical tension, internal patterns, energy, recovery and the overall presentation of the animal.

And that is why practitioner-level acupressure education goes so much further than learning individual points.

You need to understand:
*where the meridian actually travels
*how points relate to one another along the pathway
*what you’re observing in the animal
*how those observations influence point selection
*and how to build a thoughtful session instead of simply reaching for a memorized protocol

Knowing a point is useful. Understanding the system it belongs to changes how you use it.

That’s also why our acupressure student packages include physical study resources students can continually return to while learning.

Our Foundational Acupressure students receive an anatomy textbook and laminated meridian charts for the species they’re studying.

Students entering our Advanced Acupressure pathway receive an anatomy textbook, laminated meridian charts, our Meridian Practitioner Guide, a laser acutorch and enrollment in our Laser Acupuncture training.

They aren’t temporary bonuses. They’re part of how we support students in actually learning and applying the material.

And tomorrow, our Thanksgiving thank-you officially begins.

15% off all Animal Acupressure Academy courses : October 9–12
Comprehensive student study packages included with select certifications

If you’ve been wanting to move beyond memorizing acupoints and start understanding how the entire system fits together, this weekend might be a great time to begin. We hope to see you in the Academy!

02/10/2026

Colic Symptoms

02/10/2026

GIRTHINESS DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY MEAN ULCERS

One of the most frequently repeated assumptions is:

“The horse has suddenly become girthy, therefore it must have ulcers.”

It isn’t that straightforward.

Girthiness is a sign of discomfort, but it does not identify where that discomfort originates.

Gastric ulceration can be involved, but there are many other potential contributors, including gastrointestinal irritation, inflammation, fascial tension, musculoskeletal restriction, saddle pressure and changes in autonomic nervous system regulation.

The hyoid and fascial connection

The structures around the throat, chest and sternum are interconnected through muscles and fascia.

The hyoid apparatus, including muscles such as the sternohyoideus and omohyoideus, forms part of this interconnected system.

Fascia does not function as a collection of isolated pieces. Tension or altered sensory input in one area can influence movement and tension elsewhere through the body’s interconnected mechanical and neurological systems.

The autonomic nervous system is also constantly receiving information from the body.

The vagus nerve forms an important part of the communication between the visceral organs and the brain.

Where there is ongoing gastrointestinal irritation, inflammation, altered gut function or physiological stress, the nervous system continues to receive signals that something is not quite right.

This can influence muscle tone, sensitivity, movement and fascial tension.

The stomach is not the whole GI tract

This is why simply assuming that girthiness means gastric ulcers — and then addressing only the stomach — can overlook the bigger picture.

The horse is one interconnected system:

stomach → small intestine → hindgut microbiota → intestinal function → liver → autonomic nervous system → vagal signalling → fascia → biomechanics

The aim is therefore not simply to ask:

“Which ulcer supplement should be used?”

The more useful question is:

“What could be contributing to this horse’s discomfort?”

And this is particularly important in horses already showing signs of broader metabolic or gastrointestinal imbalance.

😍 Fascial relationships matter

The fascial relationships associated with the stomach do not simply map onto the area where the girth sits.

The traditionally described fascial line associated with the stomach extends towards the left hindlimb/stifle region, rather than ending at the girth area.

Therefore:

Girthiness ≠ proof of active gastric ulceration.

A horse can have gastrointestinal dysfunction without girthiness, and a girthy horse does not automatically have active gastric ulceration.

The important point is to look at the whole horse rather than attaching one symptom to one diagnosis.

A symptom is information — not a diagnosis.

Understanding the communication between the gastrointestinal system, autonomic nervous system, fascia and biomechanics provides a much broader picture of what may be happening within the horse.

If you need help to link up the dots give me a message 🌿

01/10/2026

The NEW 2027 WDAA Tests are LIVE! 🎉

Head here to check them out: https://www.westerndressageassociation.org/wdaa-tests

These tests will be used in shows beginning December 1st, 2026, and remain in effect for at least 4 years from the Title Year printed on each Test.

Start training now so you're ready when they hit the show ring!

10/06/2026