21/10/2025
Importance of Vertical Balance in your Horse – and yourself in been able to perform optimally and Why Scio assists this process.
We tend to look at the horse as a structure of bone and muscle but we place very little concentration on how the vision, and how the optic muscles and nerves tie into the structure of the body.
We talk about how the horse is compensating and find a mechanical fault to work on, but did we even consider how it could be related to the eye and natural balance of the horse, and how they are tilting a head or tossing a head to adjust the eye body balance, and how these responses can cause the poll pressure, TMJ discomfort and even lameness.
Scio looks at a horse or person as a whole unit, identifies the imbalanced or stressed area and sets about correcting the energetic imbalance for correction, we can assist these balances by using the correct body work techniques (Training, Chiro, physio, massage) and allow the horse or human to naturally balance connected to their vision.
Do we ever look at the connection between eye mobility and how it affects the gluts and abdominal muscles?
To get balance and lateral mobility of a horse, we need to first look at and understand that for the foundation of vertical stability and the ability to oscillate load while still maintaining vertical stability cannot happen if the body is not firstly balanced between brain, eye, ears, teeth and upper cervicals in relation to the placement of the feet.
What do I mean? Well if we change the angles of the feet do we even consider how it influences or causes compensation in the body and result in vestibular cervical deffecit?
Another thought, respiration starts in the nasal cavity and its shape (nasal flair strips and such) but what about how the ethmoid, cribriform plate, the conchae and the hard palate innervation can affect breathing. Do you know about the maxilla and floating facial bones? Horses only breathe through their nose, so these structures can cause breathing issues.
Posture and the emotional state are a result of the body’s ability to maintain vertical balance.
Breathing and swallowing comes first with regards to vertical balance, everything else happens much later.
Correcting and creating Vertical balance allows the horse, to perform at their utmost best, with least risk to other parts of the body.
If the two ends that matter most for balance and performance are in balance (head and pelvis), then in the body then there is vertical balance.
In the last couple of years dissections have become more popular which is great, as people are getting to see the inside of the horse and gain a deeper understanding of how it all works and links together including, joints, ligaments and tendons. But if we don’t understand the fundamental stabilizers of the horse are eyeballs and the TMJ, and the needs of the head come first, then we will not solve problems horses are struggling with performance. We will continue to look for compensatory patterns and fiddle with treatments, creating more challenges for vertical balance and performance of the horse.
Vertical balance is not something you can make the horse develop. It is the culmination of information that matches all the parts that have to work together in an internal process. When we talk about alignment we need to start thinking about alignment of information not just structures.
Horses don’t lie, they don’t fake an injury or illness to get out of work, they do not scheme and plan to dislodge a rider, and they are communicating some sort of imbalance, usually resulting in pain or discomfort if continual.
The Scio Biofeedback plays a crucial role in this process and by looking at the horse as a whole unit, it can identify areas of energetic imbalance and stress, which can lead to physical issues. By understanding and correcting the energetic imbalance, the Scio assists in achieving the necessary balance holistically and by achieving the necessary vertical stability, allows the horse to improve performance.
