Bristol Equine Therapy LLC

11/06/2025

Mr. Shamus enjoying his stretches after his session today. 🥰🥰

11/05/2025

I couldn’t agree more with this post — continuous learning is so important in our industry. I strive to always expand my knowledge to provide the best possible care for our equine partners. I live by the quote, “When you think you know everything, it’s time to hang up your spurs.”

Time.

These pictures are from 2015 when still in the infancy of my therapy career and stepping into the world of myofascial work, you could look at me now in the way I work and it looks similar yet everything has changed, from the application to the understanding I am on the surface the same therapist but deeper down completely different.

If I was struggling to figure stuff out, I would study further, I wanted to know what lay beneath my hands so I could understand what my hands were feeling, affecting and what felt good and what felt not so good, I attended a whole horse dissection which literally changed me as a working therapist not because of the structures I was looking at it just made me become aware of how much can go on on the inside and how little we can see from the outside.

The dissection made me a therapist that connected the dots, the horse struggling to pick up a forelimb may have a hindlimb issue, the hoof shape may tell a story of the hock, that fascia adapts to outside force, that how a check ligament problem is not isolated as it is the scaffolding for the tendons, and an anchor to the carpus. How melanomas are not just an unsightly bump from the outside but a deep internal issue aswell. But that didnt come from one dissection it came from 3 as the more my knowledge grew the more I understood when returning to the horse. If I was doubting my horse first approach before it solidified my the path I had chosen.

I remember the first time I felt a nuchal ligament flip and thought WTF is that 😃 its ok to not know for we can read and learn yet to feel is to understand, if we have never felt something before its ok to think jeez what was that.

I suppose time was easy but hard to learn for one you cant rush myofascial release so I had to learn patience and yes I felt like an idiot just standing there waiting for something because honestly in the beginning you are waiting for something you dont understand yet because it takes many horses and many hours to develope and I am not going to say feel I am going to say recognition because working with many horses brings a pattern you see and can start to develope a mental map of similarity between each horse.

When things got tough I didnt move on to another way of working I stuck with it, figured it out and often that is where I found new answers to old questions.

We can be mollycoddled when learning with horses that are used to many hands and stepping out into the real world dealing with horses who may object to helping hand is hard and can cast doubt on the feeling of confidence, none of us feel ecstatic when the horse is waving its front legs at you, and yes it happens to us all, those are the horses that make you think because how are we going to approach them.

The horse in the pic met me with pinned ears, was known to rear and yes I was like oh f**k, yet i never have a plan my go to is let's see what we can do and we will stop if they say no, yet she didnt and she changed my preconceived ideas about her and I changed hers about me.

Dont jump ship when it gets a little tough dont jump from modality to modality to early, learn your craft then build on that for we cannot be a forever student to the horse they need someone who is going to say to them I can help, also if you offer one way of working to the horse then next time you see them you have changed you may just be letting them down as you promised you were something one day then changed your mind the next they often when horses are in pain they need to know you are going to be predictable in the way you work

So give things time as that is the true way to develope as a therapist and let the change come naturally as your experience grows as then the horse will know where it stands when you next visit.
I never follow trends or popular I follow predictable xx

10/28/2025

Winter Weather is upon us! So how does that affect your horses muscles? ❄️❄️

Horses with good muscle development have an easier time generating heat thanks to increased muscle mass and improved circulation. They warm up faster, recover more efficiently, and are less prone to stiffness.

On the other hand, horses with less muscle development may struggle to maintain body heat effectively. That’s why proper warm-up and cool-down routines are so important—along with appropriate blanketing practices.

I always recommend incorporating stretching after workouts to help prevent stiffness and maintain suppleness. Regular massages can also be a great addition to your horse’s care routine, as they support muscle flexibility and promote healthy circulation—keeping your horse’s muscles (and body!) warm and comfortable all winter long.

10/15/2025

Food for thought today: Never underestimate the power of the walk. 🐎

So many riders overlook the walk when it comes to training — but it’s actually one of the most valuable tools we have, especially in rehab and topline development. It’s my favorite gait for building strength, balance, and connection without putting unnecessary strain on the horse.

Because the walk is low-intensity, it allows us to focus on proper movement patterns, alignment, and muscle activation. It also gives the horse time to process what we’re asking — mentally and physically.

One of the biggest benefits? Hind end engagement. At the walk, it’s much easier to isolate and encourage correct use of the hindquarters, helping the horse learn to push from behind and carry more weight evenly. This creates a strong foundation that transfers into every other gait.

So next time you ride, don’t rush through the walk — use it with intention. Your horse's body will thank you.

10/13/2025

Updated tongue picture xx

The Equine Tongue

So, I am slightly obsessed about the equine tongue, how it functions the relationship between the mind and how the position of the tongue is dictated by the emotional side of the horse and the mechanics of the relationship of the tongue and the rest of the body

Now we have many generic posts about connections throughout the body, but I am going to cover in a slightly unique way, we know of the connection through the body right through to the hind end, I personally tried to move the hindlimb and could feel the restriction and wether bitted or bitless they all have their own unique restriction

The tongue is made up of 12 muscles and that can conjure an image of one tongue made up of 12 parts and while the tongue does have specific muscles within it when we look at the 12 pairs this is the tongue and its connecting muscles, I will be honest I am the type of person that is not satisfied by just saying there are 12 I want to know what are they and what they do in relationship to the tongue, for we need to know right especially when thinking of how much we influence the tongue

So first of all I apologise to all the people I have messaged and bugged asking do they know every muscle because I knew of 8 but and only four of them originate and insert within the tongue the rest do not have both origin and insertion within it so (and I may be wrong) for me saying it's made up of 12 muscles could be misleading the layman to thinking they are 12 parts to the tongue, and I am not saying I am right and if anyone knows more then please educate me so I cannot wake up at 2am thinking about it lol, I want to thank Sharon May Davies for taking the time to answer my message and it prompted me to share this post again

So, with that I will tell you what I know about the tongue's anatomy

Although it is a muscle it is not like say a biceps think it more of a muscle that continually works but does not grow in size the more it is worked (for we know to build muscle we cause micro tears and movement does not do this in the tongue) its job is to aid in digestion, taste perception, respiratory function, the intrinsic muscles are within the tongue and the extrinsic muscles are connected via muscles to the hyoid, mandible, soft palate, pharynx, it has a healthy blood supply and is innervated by nerves such as the Hypoglossal, Vagus, Facial and Trigeminal

INTRINSIC MUSCLES

There are four pairs of intrinsic muscles which originate and insert back into the tongue, intrinsic means closer to the body and these muscles help with the shape of the tongue and positioning the tip of the tongue and work together with the extrinsic muscles for things like eating, swallowing etc

These four pairs are named the same just the directional term changes, so we have the SUPERIOR (shortens, widens, and curls the tongue upwards), INFERIOR (shortens, widens, and curls it downwards), TRANSVERSE (elongates) and VERITCAL (flattens) longitudinal muscles, they originate and insert into the structures within the tongue

EXTRINSIC MUSCLES

Extrinsic means further away from the main body and often the origin will be from outside the tongue, and they will insert into the tongue they are associated with more of the mechanical movement of the tongue (protruding, elevating, depressing, retracting), just a side note both intrinsic and extrinsic act together for correct function

STYLOGLOSSUS origin stylohyoid bone of the hyoid, action retracts and elevates the tongue

GENIOGLOSSUS origin incisive part of the mandible, action protrudes and depresses the tongue

HYOGLOSSUS origin basihyoid of the hyoid, action retracts and depresses the tongue

PALATOGLOSSAL, (GLOSSOPHARYNGEAL) This is a muscle of the soft palate and pharynx it assists in elevating the back portion of the tongue



MUSLCES AFFECTING THE FUNCTION OF THE TONGUE

THYROIDHYODEUS, this muscle will draw the tongue caudally by the attachments from the basihyoid

MYLOHYOID, this is a muscle which forms part of the floor of the mouth and the tongue sits in it like a cradle, with its links to the hyoid it affects movement with the tongue

GENIOHYOIDEUS, origin incisive part of the mandible, now even though this does not insert into the tongue it lies below it and inserts into the hyoid so when the hyoid comes forward it also affects the tongue and brings the tongue forward

OMOHYOIDEUS, origin subscapular fascia and even though it inserts onto the basihyoid bone that has a direct action on the tongue

STYLOHYOID the action of this results in the elevation of the base of the tongue

STERNOHYOID like the omohyoid it links the shoulder to the hyoid but also, we have the link between the hyoid and tongue

So, as you can see these are only a handful of muscles either in or surrounding or connecting the tongue to other structures

So why bother to know is not just easier to say there are 12 muscles of the tongue well like any muscle to know the action and how we may help or even how we may hinder we need to know the anatomy, for we may wiggle jiggle and do all sorts without knowing what we are influencing

We often talk about the connection of the tongue to the hind end or front end through lines, chains or any of the other connectins but it’s the freedom of choice for the horse as we know the tongue has a relationship with posture but it’s the brain which dictates the position of the tongue due to how the horse is feeling, we all know in humans we will place our tongue for helping maybe TMJ dysfunction but for anyone like me who suffers with TMJ pain or dysfunction trying to make it better with tongue exercises can actually cause us short term discomfort for the long term gain as dysfunction is our comfort zone, we often use the tongue as an avenue to effect something else without considering how important the tongue is in its own right

For me personally a happy horse has a still tongue, take a look at when we are working on horses the horses that are curling, fidgeting, or gurning with their tongue often tells us that there is pain or discomfort somewhere else yet we are often encouraged to see horses do all this with a bit in their mouth shouldn't an accepting mouth be a quiet mouth, we shut their mouths up to put a plaster over the issue and I cannot think of anything worse than when the horse is trying to find comfort in movement we then address the issue by shutting it up rather than asking why, when we think of respiration the tongue plays a crucial role, and where the tongue sits is so important so we have to be careful that we do not have an action that may affect this

In summary the mental well being of the horse affects the tongue which affects posture so as always we have to think of brain and body when approaching whole horse health

And if you are one of those people who want to know why and not just because it is then please if you know more muscles that I may of missed out I have no issue with being educated lol and you can join the long list of people I bug with weird questions about the horses body

We must always remember not just to manipulate a tongue or head position to get a "release" we need to ask was the horse simply avoiding pressure and because then the horse was simply releasing stress that our hands caused

I also apologise it for being so long this is the shortened version

09/30/2025

💁‍♀️ Let's Talk.... Secondary Issues vs. Primary Problem
▪️Pt.1

If we think of the body like it's the tree in this picture, I think it gives good imagery to understand the difference in secondary issues and "getting to the root" aka the primary problem. It's easy to realize that something is wrong with a tree if the leaves are discolored or fall off in early summer or if it makes minimal fruit... The problem is that when there is an issue in the root system it may take weeks to years before it is reflected in the part of the tree you can see. So by the time you notice the leaves are discolored, the system has been out of balance for a long time.

In my experience as a therapist, I find that secondary issues and compensatory pain tend to be the factors that bring people into the office to get worked on. When the body has run out of ways to compensate without you realizing, then you come in looking for a solution. The body has to get louder for you to listen.
👉 Same thing with horses. I find that those secondary issues and compensatory pain patterns cause a really LOUD response that will demand attention. Examples: Bucking, Rearing, Refusal, Performance Anxiety, Aggression... The body has to get loud enough that you will listen.

As a rehab therapist, it's part of my job to "pull back the lens" until I can look at the whole horse and start connecting the dots of compensation until it forms a pattern I recognize. Once I have a pattern, then we can start to create solutions.

Solutions might look like:
- Working with your vet, farrier, dentist
- Environmental or social changes
- Diet or exercise changes
- Tack or training aid changes ... Just to name a few things....

At the expense of making this post kind of a long read, I thought it would make a great multi-part series where I break down some common things that I see with some of the issues listed below.

❓ Would you be interested in a look through the lens of a biomechanics, bodywork, and eastern medicine explanation to common issues?
❓ Would it also be helpful if I did a TLDR (too long didn't read) video to accompany each post?

09/29/2025

We’re Live! 🐴✨
Our brand-new website is officially up and running! Discover how Bristol Equine is dedicated to helping horses feel their best—through expert care, personalized service, and a true passion for equine well-being.

🌐 Explore our services: bristolequine.com

Thank you for being part of the journey—we can’t wait to show you what’s ahead!