The Gentle Equine Touch,LLC

11/05/2025

11/03/2025

11/03/2025

Celebrating my 14th year on Facebook. Thank you for your continuing support. I could never have made it without you. 🙏🤗🎉

10/29/2025

10/25/2025

25 of the Most Interesting & Important Properties of Fascia

Fascia is a truly fascinating tissue that plays a central role in how the horse moves, feels, and functions.

Here are 25 of the most interesting and important properties of fascia

1. Fascia is a full-body communication network.
It connects every muscle, bone, organ, and nerve—literally a three-dimensional web that transmits mechanical, chemical, and electrical signals faster than nerves in some cases.

2. It’s a hydraulic system.
Fascia is made up largely of water, and its gel-like matrix allows for gliding, shock absorption, and pressure distribution. Movement and massage help keep this system hydrated and functional.

3. It has more sensory nerve endings than muscle.
Fascia is densely packed with mechanoreceptors (for pressure, tension, stretch) and nociceptors (pain sensors). It’s key in body awareness (proprioception), coordination, and even pain perception.

4. It transmits force across the body.
Muscles don’t work in isolation—fascia distributes force across chains of movement (like the deep front line or superficial back line) spreading forces both across joints and parallel to them through other tissues.

5. Fascia can contract independently of muscle.
Thanks to tiny contractile cells (myofibroblasts), fascia can hold tension on its own—even without conscious movement. This contributes to stiffness, guarding, or holding patterns.

6. It responds to emotion and stress.
Fascia tightens during physical or emotional stress as part of the body’s protective reflexes. Trauma, fear, and chronic stress can create lasting changes in fascia tone and texture.

7. It’s plastic, not elastic.
Fascia can be slowly reshaped through use or movement. Unlike muscle, which contracts and relaxes quickly, fascia responds best to slow, sustained work (like myofascial release).

8. Healthy fascia glides.
When fascia is well-hydrated and mobile, it allows tissues to slide smoothly over each other. When it’s restricted (due to injury, inflammation, or lack of movement), tissues get “sticky,” causing discomfort and dysfunction.

9. It adapts based on how your horse’s uses his body.
Fascia thickens and remodels based on your movement patterns—or lack of them. Repetitive motion, poor posture, or inactivity can lead to densification, adhesions, or restrictions.

10. Fascia has memory.
It “remembers” tension patterns from past injuries or compensations. That’s why old trauma can show up as tightness years later—and why bodywork often brings up emotional or physical releases.
Please click here to read the rest of this fascinating list - https://koperequine.com/25-of-the-most-interesting-important-properties-of-fascia/

10/23/2025

How to Recognize and Restore Thoracic Balance

Signs and Solutions: Recognizing Thoracic Collapse and Rebuilding Lift in the Horse

The thorax is the horse’s central suspension bridge — connecting the power of the hindquarters to the precision of the forehand. When this system loses integrity, the effects ripple through posture, gait, and even breathing. Recognizing the early signs and knowing how to restore lift can transform a tense, downhill mover into a light, elastic athlete.

Key Signs of Thoracic Collapse or Sternum Drop

1. Visual and Postural Changes

• Chest appears narrow or sunken between the front legs.

• Horse looks “downhill” in front, with the withers lower than the croup.

• Sternum feels hard, tight, or asymmetric when palpated.

• Elbows drawn inward or back toward the girth.

• Ribcage appears rigid, with minimal lateral or vertical motion during breathing.

2. Movement and Performance Clues

• Shortened forelimb stride and reduced shoulder freedom.

• Heavy contact or weight on the forehand.

• Inconsistent or one-sided lead changes.

• Uneven girth pressure or girth resistance.

• Saddle bridging or sliding forward.

• Shallow or stiff breathing, especially during transitions or collection.

3. Behavioral Indicators

• Girthiness or defensiveness during grooming near the sternum or ribs.

• Reluctance to stretch forward and down.

• Resistance when mounting or moving off.

• Fatigue or lack of enthusiasm for familiar work.

Restoring Thoracic Lift and Function

1. Manual Therapy for Release

Massage and myofascial release are powerful tools for restoring thoracic mobility and balance.

Focus areas:

• Deep and ascending pectorals: Free the sternum’s pull on the ribcage.

• Intercostals and thoracic sling muscles: Encourage rib spring and scapular glide.

• Re**us abdominis and obliques: Support upward lift through the ventral line.

• Back, wither, and neck musculature: Release restrictions that limit extension and lift.

• Medial shoulder and axillary region: Mobilize the inner shoulder muscles (subclavius, subscapularis, deep pectorals, and surrounding fascia), which often become tightly bound when the thorax collapses. Restriction here locks the horse into a downhill or braced posture.

• Related fascial lines: Address any adhesion or tension running through the chest, shoulder, or ribcage fascia.

Gentle myofascial work along the sternum, intercostals, pectorals, back, and shoulder fascia helps restore symmetrical rib motion and balance between the two sides of the sling, allowing the sternum to lift naturally.

2. Movement Therapy for Retraining

Once tissue restrictions are released, targeted movement retrains postural tone and neural coordination.

• Long walk warm-ups: Begin every session with at least 15–20 minutes of purposeful walking to lubricate fascia, warm connective tissues, and prepare the thoracic sling for lift.

• Terrain variety: Incorporate gentle inclines, uneven ground, and even variations in grass height or footing texture. These subtle shifts stimulate proprioception, engage stabilizers, and wake up the sling muscles.

• In-hand lateral work (shoulder-in, leg yields, ribcage bends) promotes thoracic rotation and sling engagement.

• Shoulder mobility exercises: Controlled protraction/retraction and small, slow circles emphasizing medial shoulder glide maintain freedom and prevent re-tightening.

• Micro-movements such as rocking, weight shifts, and core “wake-up” transitions improve body awareness and control.

• Carrot stretches toward the outside of the knees and ankles activate the oblique and ventral sling lines.

• Cavaletti and raised poles encourage dynamic sternum lift.

• Hill work develops coordinated hindquarter engagement and forward lift through the thorax.

• Transitions:
Halt → walk → halt.
Halt → walk → turn left → halt → walk → turn right.
Walk forward → halt → step sideways → halt → walk forward → halt → step opposite direction → halt → back → halt → step sideways → halt → repeat.
These slow, deliberate transitions build thoracic stability and encourage balanced engagement.

• Controlled stability work (straight-line backing, small circles, slow transitions) strengthens postural integrity.

3. Management and Daily Habits

• Maintain proper saddle fit and even girth pressure.

• Encourage free movement turnout to keep fascial tissues hydrated and responsive.

• Support fascial health through balanced nutrition and hydration.

• Incorporate breathing and rib mobility checks during grooming — observe how evenly the chest expands and the ribs swing.

• Include frequent walking on different footing throughout the week — sand, grass, gravel, and gentle hills all nourish thoracic resilience through low-impact variability.

Key Takeaways

• The thorax is a living suspension system — when it collapses, posture, breathing, and limb loading all suffer.
• Consistency is key — small, regular sessions build lasting postural change more effectively than occasional intensity.

• Slow walk work matters — deliberate, mindful walking restores fascial glide, joint hydration, and nervous system balance.

• Watch for asymmetry, shortened stride, girth sensitivity, and loss of lift as early red flags.

• Mobilizing the medial shoulder is critical to freeing the thoracic sling and restoring true forehand elasticity.

• Long walks and terrain variation are the horse’s natural tools for rehydrating fascia and retraining postural control.

• Combine manual release, movement retraining, and thoughtful management to restore functional lift.

• A supple, elevated thorax allows the spine to decompress, the sternum to align, and the horse to move with effortless lightness.

• Technique Matters: HOW your horse walks over poles, reaches for a stretch, steps sideways - these things all matter if you want your work to be effective.

https://koperequine.com/the-bow-the-string-and-the-corset-how-equine-ligaments-and-myofascial-systems-support-movement/

10/22/2025

Ahhhh!!!

The head of the horse is a beautifully designed architectural collection of bones of which all are connected by sutures! The sutures act like joints, which give the skull the ability to breathe and expand and contract with heat and cold , as well as with injury and trauma!

This AMAZING photo shows ..The intricate relationships the bones have with each other forming, sinuses, protecting the brain, forming the orbit of the eye, housing nerves and blood supply and being an anchor for muscles and fascia and can change with pressure.

Here in this photo, from my FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY COLLECTION “A CRANIAL PERSPECTIVE“we see clearly the TEMPORAL bone, of the horse, which makes up part of TMJ (TemporoMandibular Joint) and has two parts as seen below. The petrosal bone, home to the auditory canal were the ear attaches and the body of the temporal bone, which includes the zygomatic process or arch, where the condyle of the mandible articulates forming the TMJ!

Also, the hyoid bone articulates with the temporal bone at the styloid process by the auditory canal/ opening! (hyoid none is not in the photo)

The temporal bone articulates with the parietal bone by what is called a “lap“ suture as it laps over the parietal bone!

This is the suture that the father of Cranial Osteopathy William Garner Sutherland DO, said they were beveled “like the gills of a fish” made for respiratory motion.”, which is visible here in the photo!

The suture’s name is the “Squamous Suture“

One fact about this bone stated by Maureen Rogers, Founder of Equine CranioSacral Workshops is “The temporal bone in the horse is more much complex than in the human!“

Author Maureen Rogers Equine CranioSacral Workshops 2005

Food for thought….

Photo Copyright MAUREEN ROGERS “A Cranial Perspective“ FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY COLLECTION 2011 All rights reserved

THIS PHOTO IS PART OF A FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY COLLECTION AND PROTECTED BY INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT LAWS- and is not to be replicated, reprinted, or used without permission from the owner

10/20/2025

10/16/2025

Here is a transfixing image of the heart's spiral muscle fibers, built from MRI data. This shows us that to pump blood, the heart actually winds and unwinds itself. (Perhaps Shakespeare’s "mortal coil" was more accurate than he knew?)

When we look at other structures -- and the neural regulation of movements -- we see spiral forms everywhere.

Is it any wonder, then, that *semi-involuntary* spiraling turns out to be such a powerful therapeutic mode?

Perhaps the emergent undulations we see around our spinal midline could be a sort of regulatory mechanism? A way of priming and integrating not just locomotor actions, but also digestive and cardiac?

Sometimes during unwinding practice, I ask my patient “How would you move if your [heart] were yawning, stretching, finding a better fit?”

For me this is mainly a figurative suggestion… but something in our brains knows how to move in spirals. Using tactile and visual cues, we can help the body ‘dance’ its own twisting forms, and thereby seek a fuller equilibrium.

For more on this check out our exciting live and online class on Saturday, November 1st.

⚡ Embodied Anatomy: Unwinding & Becoming ⚡

Open to all practitioners of movement, somatics, mindfulness, and physical medicine.

Saturday November 1st from 10a-2p Pacific
4 CE hours • Cost: $75 USD

🐦 Saturday, October 25th is the last day for early bird pricing--$75 USD, and there afterward it goes up to $85 USD 🐦

In-person, online, or view in your own time
For more info & to sign up:
http://bit.ly/4e66pEB

Reference

Zhukov, Leonid & Barr, Alan. (2003). Heart-Muscle Fiber Reconstruction from Diffusion Tensor MRI. 10.1109/VISUAL.2003.1250425.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/2904527_HeartMuscle_Fiber_Reconstruction_from_Diffusion_Tensor_MRI

10/16/2025

10/14/2025

This time a year can be quite difficult for some horses with frequent temperature changes as it transitions into cooler weather. They may need more minerals and salt to keep them hydrated. Keep an eye out for Colic.