Renewal Equine Therapy

06/02/2026

It’s been a busy couple of weeks, with great people, horses, and views.

05/22/2026

I’m headed to the Grand Cache area this Sunday May 24th, with some space left in the schedule for the day.
Please call/text
(587) 873-5680 or message the page for available slots.

05/09/2026

Sunshine and good horses, couldn’t ask for a better day.

04/25/2026

Progress precedes perfection.

What this means to me, in the context of bodywork, is to take the horse where they are at, throw out the thoughts of where I want them to get to, and focus on what I can change in the moment for them. For some, it will be to make a large change quickly to avoid the possibility of future damage. For others, like this gelding, it will be to assess what can change in his body vs what he needs to be comfortable.

This gelding is 27 years old, and has lived a full life. Some of his compensation patterns are new, and some have been set in him over years, potentially decades of his life. My job is to take in the whole horse, everything from what his body is showing me to where and how he lives and eats. It wouldn’t be fair to step in, throw his body into what feels like disorder to him, and change his set routines all at once. My task becomes addressing what can’t be left alone, aiding his comfort so he can use more of his body’s potential, and supporting the horse and owner in finding the new normal together.

Shown here is a progressive example of his session, going from pretty serious compensation, stiffness, and slight front end lameness, to coming closer to balance, being able to sit straighter and deeper in his hindquarters, offloading his front end, and releasing the toll of compensation from his shoulders.

I drew the red line from dock to poll to highlight the bend in his body, and the blue line between his iliums to show his pelvis evening out.

12/10/2025

It always amazes me how quickly bodywork can level up a horse’s condition when they’re also supported with proper nutrition and exercise.
This 2 year old stud c**t started off with major imbalances and restrictions in his body, and started to really show the stellar care he was receiving at the trainer’s once he was able to use his body properly and get better movement theough his fascia.

08/17/2025

I wanted to share this case, as it is a great example of how imbalanced a horse can be, and still be functionally sound.

This mare is in consistent use, enjoys her job and works pretty well at it. She might be a bit body sore some mornings, may take a little bit of warmup, and might not cleanly complete her strides 100% of the time, but to the average eye, she’s a solid horse. This probably describes most horses in moderate non-performance based work. It is when we take a step back and assess the body as a whole, as well as each section, that we start to notice compensation and body imbalance.

One of the easiest imbalances we can see in this mare is her left shoulder. The scapula looks like it is being pulled down and away from the wither, creating the bulge that we can see. When we look closer, however, we notice that the right shoulder is doing the opposite. The right scapula is actually being held up near the wither, and pushing into it. (I highlighted the rough location of the dorsal border of the scapula/scapular cartilage in purple). We can also see a curve in the wither (highlighted in red), with the curve following what we see with the shoulders.

Once we examine her further, what can only be found by physical assessment tells us more about her. We can see patterns of compensation continuing to travel through her body. Her C1 was rotated to the right, which would have made her want to tip her nose to the left; her cervical vertebrae were starting to misalign, especially in her C4-7 range; her T14-15 and L3-4 were also misaligned, in opposite directions (shown on the picture); finally, and more easily seen from a side view, her pelvis was stuck in bilateral ventral outflare, which means that the pelvis was much lower in the front than it should sit, contributing to a sagging stomach, flared ribcage, and a very flat croup.

What can cause this? Honestly, there are many things that can happen to cause these imbalances, anything from a slip in the pasture to an imbalanced rider, or an injury causing compensation. In this mare’s case, there could be multiple things working together, but my working theory after finding some scar tissue in her left triceps is an injury at some point in her life, leading to a change in gait, imbalance in how she holds her shoulder (the triceps connects the scapula to the humerus and ulna or elbow bone), which led to the scapula twisting away from the wither as she moved instead of staying aligned. This over time, along with other compensation, could lead to the imbalance we see in her right shoulder and wither as well. This would eventually affect her entire body as time went on.

05/22/2025

I love when horses come pre-marked, it makes it so much easier to see changes in their back and overall body balance.

05/21/2025

A little before and after of a gelding myself and a classmate worked on yesterday in class.

04/26/2025

04/25/2025

Come by for a visit or a show exclusive deal on treatment gift certificates! We’re here all weekend 😊