JW Equine Remedial & Holistic Massage

02/12/2024

I wanted to share this, communication is such an important part of understanding Horses. Please keep this in mind when working with your Horses. Massage and emotional work can support your Horse and you 🩷

28/06/2024

I feel strongly about the lack of information given to owners that are taking on an OTTB. Every ex racer I have ever seen has significant issues. Lining pockets and not giving new owners all the information seems to be the drive and I cant abide it. If you are having issues with your OTTB, look at the statistics in this article.

10/06/2024

When you are off duty and buying a hay steamer and you end up working with two horses and identifying issues the owner has been struggling to get to the bottom of. The intuition never switches off! Healing is 24/7 🦄🩷

08/05/2024

I wouldn’t want to be a saddle fitter, but the body never lies about saddle fit. There is no excuse for not having checks very regularly ( 3-6 months ). The long term damage that could happen is more costly to your horse than a saddle check by an experienced saddler thats qualified and hopefully has long standing training in body/ muscles/ movement 🦄

19/04/2024

This is something worse considering. It’s cruel to tie a head down and also, it’s just out right cruel!

Rehab and training programs are best worked with a professional person ( like me ) 😊

If anyone, anywhere tells you to pull the horses head down (or uses leverage and gadgets to do so) they have no knowledge of healthy horse biomechanics or of correct training.
The horse's nose must always lead, with the poll highest and the gullet open. The base of the ears mustn't be lower than the withers. The jaw must be mobile. If the horse cannot chew and swallow, the hindlegs cannot operate correctly. If the hindlegs cannot operate correctly, the horse will not be able to jump, or stay off the forehand, or stay sound.
"Don’t be obsessed with the head and neck, learn to feel what the hindquarters are doing." ~ Glenys Shandley

02/03/2024

When you go to do your one massage and end up communicating with 12 horses and putting all 12 horses into a relaxing sleep and bringing complete silence to a busy yard. Sharing some of their past traumas, issues and feelings with the yard owner, bursting into tears 5 times and feeling sick due to the amount of worry in some. Just your ‘average’ massage therapist here 😇❣️🧙🦄
** none of the concerns were from the current yard owner, this is historical stuff.
There is no mechanical massage here… everything is intuitively worked on 🙏🏻

13/02/2024

A really useful post from a professional I follow and I believe is the reason you get different responses from horses with different professionals. Qualifications are of course important, but energy is something of self awareness that cannot be taught in a class or with a curriculum.
I bring energy, crystals, emotional readings and visions to my massage and that is a different level to the physical massage 🧙‍♀️❣️🦄

Mirror neurons - they are incredible things that we have in our brains, but more importantly horses have in abundance in their brains.

Their prime purpose is to make us like each other – that is why we mirror people that we like – mirror neurons are the bit inside our brain that want and help us to like each other.

They help foster understanding and empathy, but also can work against us, by fostering irritation, discontent and worry if that is the emotion we are holding.

This is why it is so important to clear your mind, intentions and expectations before you spend time around your horse, because your horse is literally reading your mind and mirroring what is going on in their right back to you.

We get what we are, not what we want – so be who you want your horse to be and do what you want your horse to do.

I spend a great deal of time around my horses using self-regulating breathing, blinking, yawning ad licking my lips – the way a horse shows it is relaxing, accepting and processing information, because that is what I want it to do.

This allows for the horse to feel comfortable and safe to do these things, to be vulnerable and let go of past trauma that it may be holding.

When I work with horses I do not know, it is extremely common for them to start processing and releasing before I have even touched it because I give them a safe space to be in.

This works over zoom as well, because energy is infinite and in all places, it does not matter that we are on opposite sides of the world, they know that my energy is there for them and can sense it immediately, and this is genuinely one of my favourite parts of working with others horses, seeing that connection take place.

We know so little about energy, how it moves and how horses sense it, but it is undeniable that e-motions are energy in motion and that there is an invisible link between us all.

07/02/2024

A great post and something i feel passionate about! These are times when awful things are coming to light. Humans ruin horses, if they follow trends and ego and cultures not aimed at the welfare and well-being of Horses.

🧠EQUINE TRIVIA ANSWER🧠
This may cause some controversy, but it’s important that you know there are ZERO 👌 benefits to using these restrictive aids. Here’s just a few reasons why:
1: Backwards pressure on the head will compress the neck and the horse looses their power from behind. The horse needs the hindend to move straight.
2: The horse falls onto the front end creating choppy steps and compromising their balance, vision and breathing.
3: Posture is dynamic. Meaning a horse should not be forced into a frame. Even the best looking posture with ruin a body if the horse cannot move or relax their muscles. A fixed headset does not build fitness. It builds stiffness.
4: The head and neck are communicating what is happening in the body. When the body is in balance the head and neck will follow. But micro-managing the head will only create tension and make the horse brace, making you fight harder with the body.
5: The horse will build muscle, yes. But not in the areas we desire. It will make for an overdeveloped neck and no engagement through the thoracic sling. This can lead to issues such as; kissing spine, tendon injuries, hock and stifle pain, nerve compression, and so much more.
There are no quick fixes! Only correct training. Headset should not be focused on too deeply. Ride and work with the body and the head and neck will fall into place.

05/02/2024

04/12/2023

Thanks to one of my customers, I have some photos of me working on two regular customers.
It shows a variety of techniques I use, and the non planned smiles I get from the work I do 🥰🐴🦄❣️

07/11/2023

Something that I feel so passionate about, I can feel myself getting worked up just thinking about how often I see this and how it is brushed off as ‘ they are just being lazy/difficult/naughty’.

One of these is too many!!! We need to accept that our Horses are communicating in the only ways they can, to help us, help them!

Let’s change the acceptance levels, for our wonderful Horses 🦄💓 they deserve more from us!!

20/10/2023

This needs to be the conclusion, not that they are being naughty.
Horses dont do things just to annoy us, they just are not built that way!!
My horses and I work on a whisper concept. Everything we ask of eachother is a whisper if we can 💓🦄

The horse gets louder when you don’t listen

That behavior you ignored when it was mild… well now it’s a lot more aggressive.

The solution to ‘problem’ behavior is not:

‘They’re just grumpy’
‘They just need more rides, more work, they have too much energy’
‘They’re testing you, ride them through it..’

The horse is actually saying:

‘Ouch I’m hurting’
‘Hey this is too much for me’
‘I’m confused’
‘We’re going too fast’
‘This is scary’

👆This is what that behavior you’re so inclined to ignore is telling you.

We need to stop making justifications for things that are actually plain as day.

The horse DOES TALK we just need to listen.