SLBH Equine Bodywork

𝐔𝐧𝐩𝐨𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧: Your horse doesn’t need every modality available thrown at them in one session. 👀

I’ve seen a huge increase in equine therapists sharing all of the machines, tools and modalities they offer—and don’t get me wrong, I use many of them too.

I’m a huge believer that there is a time and place for every modality. PEMF, red light, cupping, scraping and other tools can all be incredibly beneficial.

𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐲:

𝐍𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬.

When it comes to horses, more isn’t always better. Stacking massage, PEMF and every tool available into one session doesn’t automatically mean better or faster results.

Sometimes the body needs less stimulation, more consistency, patience, and simply time to respond.

When you see me rubbing, pressing, holding an area—or even looking like I’m just “petting” your horse—my hands are listening.

I’m feeling changes in muscle tone, tension, sensitivity and restriction. I’m paying attention to the smallest responses and adjusting my pressure, technique and plan based on what that horse is telling me.

𝐀 𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲. 𝐈𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬.

Hands-on massage isn’t flashy. It isn’t the newest technology. It’s knowledge and feel developed through education, mentorship, research, trial and error, experience—and countless horses who have taught me along the way.

Sometimes that means adding another modality.

And sometimes the best thing I can do is leave the tools in my bag.

The tools are valuable, but they should 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 the hands-on work, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐭.

Because good bodywork isn’t about how many modalities we can use.

It’s about knowing when to do more, when to do less, and what the horse standing in front of us actually needs.

— Alyce Null | Top Tier Equine
CESMT • CEMRT • CEKT • CERT

https://toptierequine.square.site

These 3 beauties enjoyed their monthly massages today at Alt Dressage. Show season is winding down but they still receive a massage every month to keep them going well through the winter!

One of my sponsored riders, Kyla Sneddon-Vlach of Alt Dressage competed at CSD championships this last week! So proud of this team!!! And it’s an honor to work on the horses in her barn.

Yes!!

⚠️ This post may ruffle a few feathers, but it needs to be said.

I was talking with one of my students this morning about something that I think frustrates a lot of equine bodyworkers.

We can work with a horse multiple times. The owner sees the changes, praises the results, and tells us how much better the horse is moving or behaving.

Then suddenly, the horse presents with something new.

And instead of calling the bodyworker who already knows that horse’s body, movement patterns, restrictions, compensation patterns, and history, sometimes the bodyworker is completely left out of the conversation.

Why?

Let me make something VERY clear: I am not saying don't call your veterinarian.

⭐️ Veterinarians are absolutely necessary. They diagnose, treat disease and injury, prescribe medications, perform procedures, and handle things that are completely outside a bodyworker's scope of practice.⭐️

⭐️There are also veterinarians who have pursued extensive additional education in sports medicine, rehabilitation, and lameness, and I have tremendous respect for professionals who continue expanding their knowledge.⭐️

But different professionals bring different pieces to the puzzle.

You call your farrier for the feet.

You call your veterinarian for medical diagnosis and treatment.

You call your chiropractor for chiropractic care.

So why wouldn't you also call your qualified bodyworker when something changes in the horse's movement or body?

‼️A knowledgeable bodyworker isn't there to replace your veterinarian or diagnose a medical condition.‼️

‼️We ARE there to recognize changes in movement, muscle tension, asymmetry, compensation patterns, and how the horse's body feels compared with previous visits‼️

Sometimes what we see tells us, "I can work with this."

Sometimes it tells us, "This horse needs a veterinarian."

Sometimes it tells us, "We need the vet, farrier, trainer, and bodyworker communicating with each other."

THAT is how it should work.

The conversation this morning came from a situation involving one of my student's clients. The horse received an SI injection. Later, I was sent a video, and there were still movement concerns that appeared to involve the stifle area. Yet the owner didn't want the bodyworker involved because they had been told the horse was fine.

And that's what bothers me.

Not because I believe a bodyworker's opinion should override a veterinarian's diagnosis—it shouldn't.

It's because "the horse has been medically evaluated" and "the horse is moving normally" aren't necessarily the same conversation.

Bodywork is not just fluffy relaxation and making a horse feel good for an afternoon.

When properly trained and working within our scope, bodyworkers can be an important part of the horse's team.

We watch movement.

We feel changes.

We recognize compensation.

We follow patterns over time.

And because we may see the same horse repeatedly, sometimes we notice when something simply isn't moving or feeling the way it normally does.

I've spent years teaching my students to ask WHY.

🐎 Why is the horse compensating?

🐎 Why did this muscle change?

🐎 Why did the movement change?

🐎 What changed somewhere else in the body?

And most importantly—when is this something we can appropriately address, and when does this horse need to be referred to another professional?

So my question isn't, "Why call the vet?"
My question is:

Why do we call the vet for every little concern? When you can call the farrier for feet, chiropractic for adjustments and Massage Therapist/bodyworker for body compensation?

Why aren't we using the entire team?
Your veterinarian, farrier, bodyworker, chiropractor, trainer, saddle fitter, and other qualified professionals shouldn't have to compete with one another.

We should be communicating and putting the HORSE first.

FYI, most of my clients even they tell me that they rather do or communicate with me firat, because I safe them money from the vet coming out all the time ( when it pretains to biomechanics) . If I don't think I can help , guess what I tell them to contact the vet.

Hopefully, this makes sense. It's hard to put into words .

And yes... we'll talk about SI injections another day. 😉🐴

These 3 enjoyed their sessions this week!

The ever-terrifying words.

Soft tissue injury.

No matter the discipline, most of us have dealt with it or know someone who has.

Suspensories. Tendons. Sprains. Tears. Lesions.

Some carry a better prognosis than others. Some require months of rehabilitation. Some can absolutely affect a horse's career, however soft tissue injury does NOT automatically mean career-ending.

What matters is **WHAT structure is injured, WHERE the injury is located, HOW severe it is, how quickly it is diagnosed, and what happens during the months AFTER diagnosis.

What are the most common soft tissue injuries?

Superficial Digital Flexor Tendon (SDFT)
The classic "bowed tendon." These tendons handle tremendous forces during exercise and can develop anything from minor fiber damage to significant core lesions.

Suspensory Ligament
One of the most familiar injuries in performance horses. Injuries can involve the origin/proximal suspensory, body or branches. Location matters, a lot, and proximal hind suspensory injuries can be particularly frustrating.

Deep Digital Flexor Tendon (DDFT)
These can be especially challenging because part of the tendon travels inside the hoof capsule, where ultrasound has limitations and MRI may be necessary.

Check Ligament
The accessory ligament of the DDFT. These injuries can also require several months of structured rehabilitation.

Suspensory branch injuries, collateral ligaments, annular ligaments and tendon-sheath-associated injuries are also regularly seen. That's why saying a horse "has a suspensory injury" or "tore a tendon" really doesn't tell the whole story.

Location + severity + amount of fiber damage + chronicity + associated injuries all help determine prognosis.

So... what actually happens?

Healthy tendon and ligament fibers are highly organized to withstand tremendous load. When those fibers are damaged, the body repairs them, but the repaired tissue isn't automatically identical to the original. Every horse heals differently, some with more scar tissue than others. It's also important to note that a horse with a soft tissue injury can be sound before healing is complete, which is why it is so important to have rechecks with your veterinarian to monitor progress.

Cold therapy, appropriate compression/support, controlled confinement and veterinarian-directed anti-inflammatory treatment may be used during the initial inflammatory phase.

For diagnosis, most soft tissue injuries are diagnosed by ultrasound. MRI may be needed for structures inside the foot or injuries that can't be adequately evaluated otherwise.

During the initial visit and visits following, you and your vet may discuss regenerative options to aid in healing the injured tissue. PRP concentrates platelets and growth factors and can be injected directly into certain tendon or ligament lesions under ultrasound guidance. Stem-cell therapies may also be used with the goal of improving the quality of repair and potentially reducing re-injury risk.

Shockwave is also commonly incorporated into treatment for certain injuries to help break apart scar tissue and encourage the tissue to heal with better elasticity.

These are valuable tools, but none of them replace the most important part of treating a soft-tissue injury... rehabilitation.

Healing tissue needs controlled, progressively increasing load. Too much too soon, too little for too long, can all increase the risks of re-injury.

Depending on the injury and the horse, rehabilitation may progress from: Controlled confinement → hand walking → increasing walking → short periods of trotting → increasing workload → cantering → discipline-specific conditioning → full training.

Significant injuries can require 6, 9 or even 12+ months depending on the structure and severity. Rechecks during this time help evaluate how much time may be needed, when a horse may progress or need more time, etc.

The reason soft tissue injuries cause worry... because re-injury is indeed a risk. Repaired tissue isn't identical to the original tissue.

How can one set their horse up for success?

We can't prevent every soft-tissue injury. Horses are athletes, and injuries happen. Ground changes, one bad step, there's a million reasons it can happen, we can stack the deck in their favor though.

• Build fitness progressively instead of suddenly increasing workload.
• Condition horses for the job they're actually expected to perform.
• Pay attention to fatigue and recovery.
• Maintain appropriate hoof balance and involve your veterinarian and farrier when mechanics need attention.
• Pay attention to footing.
• Warm horses up properly.
• Maintain strength AND cardiovascular fitness.
• Know your horse's legs and what is normal for them.
• Don't ignore subtle changes in performance.

Early diagnosis matters. A small lesion caught today can be a very different situation than that same lesion after another week of hard work.

Blessed with amazing clients!! Thank you to all who allow me to chase this crazy dream and are along for the ride of crazy journey!

I did the first session of magnawave on a friend’s barrel horse last Thursday before they head to an association finals race over the weekend!

This is the text I received last night!