11/13/2025
A horse does not begin at the poll.
For a long time the head was often missed out as part of the horses therapy session and only then maybe the TMJ was considered and the odd tongue mobilisation in fact probably to this day those two areas are only addressed as the mainstream when addressing the head yet there is so much more and we can't forget the head houses the brain which will interpret what we do before we even begin touching the horse. So even before we touch the horse they may already be on alert and preparing to block us out. How we introduce ourselves matters, in fact it will probably dictate how the whole session will go.
How many videos do we see with the person poking behind the ears, the horse reacting yet maybe has to endure another 5 or 6 pokes to get that sensational video??? Is this horse first thinking?? Only to see in the next video a quiet no responsive horse, well my cynical view if the horse cant get away it will check out and you can only be poked so much before the area becomes unresponsive but still just as uncomfortable for the poked.
We often forget the the muscles that work together we see a hypertrophied temporalis yet forget they belong in the group of mastication muscles so do we work on one?? Do we address the group or is it the teeth or chewing that is the issue? Or something else, as it could always be something else
We place fingers in the mouth to mobilise the tongue to mobilise the hyoid without ever thinking how does the brain feel about the foreign object in the mouth, is the sensory system now on high alert to protect the horse from the danger of swallowing a foreign object, are your hands clean?? Are the taste receptors also putting a warning sign out??
If the hyoid is connected to the root of the tongue it would make sense to start at the connection from the outside.
How are the eyes, if the horse has one eye buying alcohol and the other buying cigs then how can the rest of body get that balance that we work hard for.
What about the teeth?? The masseter muscle can tell us how the horse teeth were floated. The incisors if they have a hook on the corner then how can the horse be flexible on both reins if one side is restricted, how can the jaw have freedom of movement if restricted in one of many directions, I can do all the bodywork in the world but I cant do a thorough job if the horse doesn't have good dental care, I will be just addressing the same issue over and over again.
Is the jaw clenched through stress, worry about what you are going to do or is their personality having a part to play everytime a jaw is clenched restriction sets in we need to work out have we which one it is and adjust our work to suit the horse.
Cheek sucked in?? Or is the buccinator nice and plump?? Does anyone even notice?? It is all information that tells us a story
We can begin at the head without beginning at the head, huh???
Many muscles and structures continue and connect past the poll, past the hyoid so why would we begin at a place of stress for the horse we can work our way up, heads are continually controlled by human hands so if the horse is wary then we can work our way towards the head from another place but we must check our work to make sure we have been affective
Look forward past the poll for you may get another chapter in the story of the horses body and some answers to the questions you ask.
Again i try my best with the pics but do get some things wrong sometimes as my head ends up spinning with all the names
I may need to unclench my jaw after doing this one 😃
