Sam Naylor Equine Bodywork

02/11/2025

31/10/2025

Safe spaces 😊

29/10/2025

I’m writing this as up at 4.30am worrying about my little herd this morning .
FIREWORKS 💥 💥💥💥💥💥💥!
I was informed last week that my direct neighbour was again setting off fireworks last year was horrible and I’m not looking forward to the next onslaught of the rest of the village 😫and surrounding rural areas
My horses live out but for the last week I have been bringing in on to a hard standing my most effected and un effected horses trying to make it a normal routine so they have less to deal with for the next week ahead I have also been putting on a really load radio guidance says sometimes this can help .I’m also investing in calmers etc
Last year was a bit different I was totally unprepared and just had to open everything up and luckily after a complete sympathetic breakdown my guys went into freeze mode.
I have informed my neighbour that the horses are really not ok with fireworks but they are still going ahead 😡🥵
Why isn’t there a law that isn’t so grey ?
Yes the neighbour has informed me and yes I have definitely made them aware of my worries.
It just isn’t right !!!!
The law needs to protect everyone people ,horses ,dogs,livestock wildlife …….why can’t we just have quiet fireworks why why why all the bangs

26/10/2025

There is some super scary stuff being said over the internet at the moment laminitis can occur for different reasons and foot balance yes is so important but all factors should be considered!
I myself with my own horses have experienced mechanical laminitis due to injury but also have super sensitive grass effected ponies and my only hope with them is managing their diet 🐎

There is a very dangerous and misleading statement being made on the internet.

Quote
“Laminitis is not caused by diet”

I urge you to use caution if you choose to believe this.

I am a student of the hoof for the past 10 years and I am mentored by Prof Chris Pollitt, the pioneer who discovered the insulin relationship to laminitis. I beg you to be very careful with what you hear out there being touted by lay people.

Horses will die unnecessary painful excruciating deaths if you follow this misinformation.

By ignoring the well understood relationship between high insulin and laminitis you may be inclined to turn out your ponies onto the rich grass. Apparently it’s said that a balanced trim is the key- which I do not totally agree with.

Once the genie is out of the bottle and the laminae are failing due to high insulin stretching and snapping the laminar attachments of bone to inner hoof wall then good luck getting it back.

Is it worth the risk?

Have you seen laminitis appear in the spring when the grass starts to grow. Or after a long hot summer, when the rains start, and boom, laminitis rears its head. Why is that?

Why do many horses suffer laminitis after getting into the grain shed and gourged themselves? Is it the grain or the trim?

Trimming is important, but you cannot trim your way into preventing or treating laminitis without looking far deeper into the cause. Diet and insulin go hand in hand.

Do you think that these lay people that come up with such crazy and dangerous statements that are said as if they are fact have actually been in the lab and done any research?

These are frightening times my friends.

Anyone can say anything and mislead us.

Maybe it is intentional, it just feeds the algorithm and everyone comments and argues and shouts and the ones dropping bombshell dangerous statements just rub their hands in glee at the carnage.

It’s sick.
It’s dangerous
I follow the science.

This is my position statement.

19/10/2025

Picking up legs for the farrier

Jelly (my warmblood) used to have a lot of trouble picking up his hindlimbs for the farrier or any exercises and it created a lot of anxiety for him.

It was a product of lumbar sacral pelvic discomfort including lumbosacral disease, Sacroliliac changes including liganent damage, iliopsoas dysfunction and an underlying muscle disorder (myofibrillar myopathy).

He was not just being naughty or difficult.

When a horse is struggling, refusing or reacting to having their limbs picked up - we need to ask WHY?

Join me in my FREE MASTERCLASS to gain an insight into the potential WHY!

Register now - https://www.integratedvettherapeutics.com/pbmc-oct25

Thursday 23rd October

19/10/2025

Another gem to add to the give it a go list the sacrum float

17/10/2025

Leg down and back so simple but effective in releasing tension

12/10/2025

The connection between Posture and Behaviour was evident at a recent clinic I instructed.

This lovely mare came in on the first day unable to hold a straight line, full of anxiety and the owner was constantly concerned she would be pushed or stepped on.

She was unable to stand still and was constantly on high alert with an inability to balance and stabilise.

For a horse this feels totally unsafe. They are not able to respond appropriately to the handler or their environment as they do not have enough control or awareness of their body so therefore they must stay on high alert and be ready to protect themselves.

We utilised a TTouch figure 8 wrap and focused on alignment through squares and other gentle exercises, gradually slowing everything down and showing her how to create a 4 point balanced stance.

🐴The transformation was amazing - she became calm, centred and able to hold herself in balance including just standing. The owner felt much safer in working with her too!

In the Before image you can see her wide stance, weight on the forehand, braced head and neck, dropped core and facial tension.

In the After image you can see a much more balanced stance, lifted core and base of the neck and softer face 💗

Her willingness to load on the float was hugely improved.

A horses safety is in their balance and stability - this means they can respond appropriately to their environment including the handler and creates a calm, relaxed horse.

If you would like to know more about the links between Posture and Behaviour please join me in my Masterclass - Is Your Horse Misbehaving - Or Communicating?

Thursday 23rd October
https://www.integratedvettherapeutics.com/pbmc-oct25

27/08/2025

Discover how understanding the horse's brain functions can lead to anatomical changes and improved training. Dr. Steven Peters shares surprising facts that c...

27/08/2025

You have a horse that is objecting to being ridden.. what do you do?????

Is it just the riding or did the objection begin a long time before

Can't catch the horse
Uncomfortable being groomed
Head in the corner of the stable
Having to tie the rope a little shorter to avoid teeth
Ears back when the saddle appears
Biting when doing the grith
Tying up to get on
Refusing to stand still at the mounting block
Refusing to move forward
Rushing
Zoning out
Worried expression round as you move around the horse

So why is the horse is objecting so violently to having a rider on its back, did we miss all the signs that led upto the loud objection??? Now remember horses wants an easy life they would rather put up and shut up, their responses are so subtle that we may not even notice till the horse has escalated their response to usually a buck or a rear or worse a flip over, because now we feel uneasy and maybe even in danger with their actions.

We ignore so many signals, a tail swishing, ears back as we girth up a wobble as we sit in the saddle, a reluctance to move forward or a rushing to get it over with ,,we demonise these behaviours and use the words naughty, taking the mick, mareish, stubborn, lazy, fizzy, pyscho, (interesting we have more words for a horse that may not want to work than does) and funnily enough those of us who say "hey your horse may be uncomfortable " often get labelled as bunny hugger, to soft, crazy, and yep psycho!!!

If your horse feels unsafe on the ground then usually it means stay on the ground until it does feel safe, calm, relaxed, happy, and if it can't then investigate and keep investigating because what may be going on may be hidden from view.

We are programmed from a young age to stay on no matter what, we ooh and ahh at the riders ability yet forget to ask how the horse is coping, like we always go on about a partnership yet are both happy because I would imagine in that moment neither partner is.

It doesn't take a smart rider to stay on a bucking horse it takes a rider who can stay on, and horses will not fight something they can't shake off for long their bodies are not designed for it they will realise pretty quickly that there is no point, now what does the horse feel at this point does it feel relaxed, safe, happy or does it feel there is no way out no matter what it does.

Would you trust the problem has gone away or has it been shut down and waiting to resurface at some point...

And if your horse is putting up that much of a fight then you need to ask the question what is in it for the horse,,,we always seem to be amazed at the riders ability and maybe we are so mesmerised at we forget to actually look at the animal beneath,
When the fight stops what has the horse taken away from the experience for future rides??

If a horse is at a point of not even caring what happens to its own body then maybe its time to stop.