Emily Kearney Equine Sports Massage

15/03/2024

Is there anything more satisfying than a post Winter spruce up?! Anyone else feeling like Spring might finally be here?!

15/03/2024

I have such a soft spot for horses with Cushing’s disease 🫶🏼 They struggle to regulate their own temperature so it’s best to get the majority of their coat off as the weather warms up so they don’t overheat. This handsome chap will likely have the rest taken off once we’re sure Spring really is here 🫣

23/01/2024

🤓🤓

** FACTUAL FRIDAY **
Cervical spine - The Neck

Here are some things you might find interesting about your equine friend:
🐴 Their cervical spine consists of 7 vertebrae - the same number as us!
🐴 The first one C1 follows on from the skull and is also known as the Atlas and allows the horses head to nod up and down in a ‘yes’ motion.
🐴 The second vertebrae is C2 and is better known as the Axis, this allows the horse to turn left and right in a ‘no’ motion.
🐴 The cervical spine doesn’t run along the top line as you might expect but instead travels in an s shape through the neck to meet the thoracic spine behind the scapula (shoulder).
🐴 The neck is supported by a combination of muscles, tendons, ligaments and fascia.
🐴 The horse has an incredibly clever energy saving mechanism called the nuchal ligament which starts from the top of their head and runs along the top of their neck to the withers where it becomes the supra spinous ligament and continues to their sacrum. More to come on this next week but fair to say it’s an important part of the cervical spine!
🐴 Positioning of the head and neck during ridden work has a huge impact on how the rest of the body performs so we’ll be bringing you more facts on this area in the not to distant future too!

12/11/2023

The Horse ♥️

Credit to Lacey Messick

After making the little girl, God said:

“You’ll need something to lean on. Something with substance that will teach you the value of hard work, perseverance, and to never give up. A thing that won’t cast judgment when you mess up in life. Because you will often, it’s just part of growing up and becoming a decent human."

"You’ll need something whose impressive physical presence must be respected at all times. A being who could break your bones in a whisper but will never break your heart. A creature who will be there for you when you cry for hours after someone you love lets you down. An unspeaking breathing being that will teach you to check all the noise in your head and completely listen to what he is saying."

“Sometimes in life you need to let go and just hang on. I call this trust. The terrifying ability to follow something blindly out of the conviction of only your heart. It will keep you centered and restore your faith when life happens. When you realize that you are forgettable to the world you won’t be to this creature."

"Something that will keep you truly humbled yet teach you how to fly!"

“You need to understand the painful reality of death. Sometimes it’s ok to let go. That kindness will always be rewarded before the use of force. And that courage means trusting him to get you safely to the other side."

“Something to get you out of bed in the trying times. When you feel like you have nothing he will remind you that you are still wanted. Something to give you perspective about what’s really important in life."

“You’ll need a best friend. Do not take this relationship lightly. It just might save your life someday when you see no out. Treasure it always I’m trusting it to you to take care of for a reason."

“A creature who will restore your faith about all of the goodness in the world even when you are so broken down that you cast Me aside."

“In turn with time and healing he will bring you back to Me. Know that your struggle won’t be made alone, and don’t forget to enjoy the ride."

"So I will make a horse.”

07/11/2023

Arnie is looking particularly handsome in the sun this morning after a clip and trim up 😍

24/09/2023

If you get stressed about rugging give this guy a follow, I find all his studies incredibly helpful to be fair. If you sign up to his site too there are endless studies on various things in the equine industry and makes for a lot of interesting reading!

*** FOCUS ON RUGGING ***

Continuing our focus on rugging, this figure illustrates quite nicely what happens if we "over-rug". The image shows the air temperature in blue on a fairly typical autumn day similar to those many of us are experiencing now.

The horse has a 50g turnout rug on and the horse is clipped. The morning starts cool but it warms up to between 15°C and 20°C for much of the day. We can see that the horses's surface temperature measured under the rug follows a similar pattern BUT by 11:00 in the morning the temperature under the rug is already above the horses upper limit of its thermoneutral or "comfort" zone. And it stays above the 25°C line until later afternoon when the sun starts to get lower in the sky and the temperature starts to drop.

So once again, the message ISN'T DON'T RUG, the message IS DON'T RUG TOO EARLY, DON'T RUG ACCORDING TO HOW YOU FEEL & DON'T OVER-RUG.

Your horse covered in hair, is ~7 times larger than you but only has 2-3 times more skin surface. Most heat is lost at the skin surface. Your horse loses heat much more slowly than you. They won't feel the cold when we do.

In this example, this horse would likely benefit from a 100g rug overnight but doesn't really need one during the day if it stays dry.

For more information and resources on rugging, including rug testing and rug user surveys, please check out our website https://drdavidmarlin.com/rugging-round-up/

12/08/2023

The best way to spend a Saturday morning 🥰