Hannah's Equine Bodywork Services

04/07/2023

Love this 💛

When we feel like our horse is "misbehaving" or "difficult," what we may actually be experiencing is a lack of understanding of their needs and preferences.

By observing and listening to our horses with openness and curiosity, we can learn to read their signals more effectively.

Unsolved issues with our horse can actually act as a roadmap for further exploration and learning.

03/29/2023

Let’s talk shoulder health.

From horses you see in person, to advertisements, to Breyer horses, I’m sure you’ve seen these lines. It’s something we see regularly, and most of us have accepted it as normal. I did.

When there is scapular definition, what you are really seeing is muscular atrophy and fascial tension. The range of motion is hindered. The shoulder angle is changed. The balance of the hoof is affected. Tendons and ligaments are stretched and loaded more heavily; they’re far more prone to injury. The horse’s center of balance is completely off.

The top two pictures are the before and after of this mare’s first bodywork session. The bottom two are the before and after of the second session.

Two bodywork sessions have decompressed this mare’s shoulder, completely relaxed her posture, and allowed her to find a great deal of comfort in her body.

At first her mind matched her body. She was worried; very much on the verge of flight mode.

By the end of the second session she was relaxed, playful, and happily exploring her body and range of motion. She went from being too scared to express herself to openly communicating with me.

Rarely is there any intention to cause a horse to internalize what they feel. They will willingly work through so much discomfort, and oftentimes that discomfort goes unnoticed. When asked to work through it, they do, and they bottle the emotions that go along with it.

The best part of this work isn’t the physical change, it’s the mental change. The only way to get the former, and to make it last is to get the latter. These changes require the horse’s trust and willing participation.

03/28/2023

"In order for the body to heal, we have to take it out of the environment it became sick in"

I spend a lot of time telling people to stop riding their horses. And I really get that this can be down right fu***ng inconvenient.

But I'm an optimiser.

And when I'm looking at helping a horse's posture to neutralise, quite frankly it can be quicker, easier and far more ethical to teach a horse to find postural neutral without a rider and then teach the rider to maintain that, than it is to teach a rider to fix the posture under saddle.

Particularly when the horses crappy posture developed because of unsympathetic riding, a saddle that wasn't designed to fit any horse, let alone that one, or an instructor who has no understanding that to safeguard a horse's performance, they might need to know how their bodies truly work rather than have committed the FEI rulebook to heart.

I'm totally not saying there aren't people skilled enough to rehabilitate horses whilst riding them, but I would really like to invite you to consider that just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

Because though you might enjoy it, doesn't mean your horse does.

And "it'll be good for you in the long run" doesn't mean it's fair on your horse in the moment.

So if we can do it more simply, in a way that sees the horse for more than just what we can do to their bodies and what they can do for us...

Why don't we?

03/24/2023

Well it’s official! I received an email late last night that I’ve got a spot in Celeste Lazaris’ first ever Nerve Release course!

Out of 263 applicants, 17 being veterinarians from other countries, and only 30 students being accepted, I am beyond grateful to be given this opportunity.

I have seen so many horses make incredible changes in their bodies using her technique. I cannot wait to be able to offer this work to my clients. 💛

03/10/2023

Making some good changes today. 💛

03/09/2023

I had a great time working with Tommy today! Here is a before and after with and without mark ups.

Ruthann has a great lesson and vaulting program in Holland. All of her horses have regular bodywork and the best of care. 🐴

03/08/2023

03/03/2023

This is a before and after that I hope can become a decent educational piece.

If you look at the before, you see a restricted scapula and shoulder. The spine is at a negative angle, ‘jamming’ down into the wither. The legs are camped under, and the front legs are behind at the knee. You can see a raise in the lower lumbar area where the psoas muscles are tense. Closer to the head, there is considerable tension around C1 and C2, the first couple vertebrae of the neck. You can see the brachiocephalicus (low neck) is taught as well. Overall the posture is very braced. Some of it could be written off as conformational, but when you see the after shot it’s clearly postural.

In the after you can see C1 and 2 have started to soften, but still have a lot more to go. The shoulder has smoothed over a bit, you don’t see the lines that indicate a restricted scapula. The trapezius (upside down triangle shape over the wither) has softened. The relaxed sling muscles have allowed the chest to deepen, the wither to raise and the barrel to decompress. The spine is closer to a neutral angle, the lower lumbar tension has begun to relax, allowing the pelvis to free up a bit and not cause compression in the lower lumbar. The overall stance is considerably less camped under, and she’s less over at the knee.

This is what one to two hours of bodywork can do. I will be following up several times with this mare, and hopefully can provide an even better after shot after those sessions.

03/02/2023

I may not be able to get as many horses in with having to bring Nora along, but the ones I do get to work with truly remind me why I love doing what I do.

11/07/2022

Not every horse can be barefoot, and in no way at I referring to the ones that are shod for a good reason. For the ones that can be barefoot this is a great visual of how shoeing can change the structure of the hoof and heel bulb over time.

A contracted heel can cause a horse to avoid landing correctly, and instead land toe first. When a horse is not landing properly the blood does not pump a efficiently through the limb. The frog is not used correctly, so it atrophies and is much more prone to central sulcus thrush. The frog is what your horse uses for shock absorption. Without that support the chance of things like arthritis and pulled tensions raises. Traditional shoes cause more shock as well.

I’m a strong believer of shoe only when you need to, provided you have a knowledgeable trimmer/farrier.