“Wow, it has been a very busy few months! First with a visit to the UK, attending Gatcombe, Hartpury and Blenheim Horse Trails and most recently WEG in Kentucky.  Watching high level competitions is exciting due to the athletic ability of the horses - and what they are capable of doing often in an imbalanced state! Having a balanced horse (both muscular and skeletal) can make all the difference to how they perform and is very important for these events!

I’ve been a bit delayed in getting my first blog out due to my recent hectic travel schedule; teaching equine craniosacral workshops, doing private consultations/treatments with craniosacral therapy and going to these events!

What is equine craniosacral therapy?

Craniosacral therapy is a hands-on therapy that focuses on bringing balance throughout the muscular and skeletal systems of the body, with specific focus given in treatment to the ‘cranium’ (head or skull) of the horse and spine or ‘sacrum’.

It is new to the equine industry, having come about eleven years ago. Craniosacral principles and practices are originally based on osteopathy. Craniosacral is unique as a therapy as it’s the only therapy that address the bones and soft tissue of the head/skull – (including the TMJ) of the horse in conjunction with the whole body. This is what makes this therapy highly affective and unique!

Why is treating the head of the horse important?

The two main areas where pressure is applied to the ridden horse are the back and the head. The head of the horse is actually exposed to more pressures on a regular day to day basis from common gadgets such as bits, headcollars, bridles, and nosebands. We also need to look at the pressures on the head from dentistry but I’ll save that for later! Then we add in the odd head trauma…which often gets ignored unless severe.

So looking at the skull of the horse: It is made up of about 26 individual bones, and the stresses and pressures on the head have an effect on the bones’ position and development. The cranial bones of the head are covered by skin, fascia and soft tissue. Nerves and blood supply weave throughout. The regular pressures exerted on the bones of the skull and or jaw affect and can distort the bone structure, and in doing so affect the horse’s posture, biomechanics, movement and overall performance.

Why would you need it?

A few signs that your horse could benefit from craniosacral are:

Hock or stifle issues

Gait issues- or inability to make transitions

Head shyness or spookiness

Low back pain or sacroiliac problems

Lameness

Headshaking

Feels flat in work

Imbalances in the TMJ (Temporomandibular joint)

DDSP or Roaring

When is the body out of balance?

When the horse’s body is out of balance this aids in the deterioration of the muscles, nerves, joints, and bone structure or skeletal system. Compensation patterns occur in both biomechanics/movement and posture hence we see issues like stifle/hock, lameness, low back issues, suspensory issues, etc.

Craniosacral is highly beneficial in bringing balance to the overall muscular/skeletal system which will attribute to healthy biomechanics, joints, muscles, ligaments, tendons and overall health. This is important for ANY horse but especially in the competition horse!

I treat horses all over the world and make it possible for these equine athletes to do their job in a balanced and comfortable state. What I find very exciting is there is nothing like watching these athletes perform, but watching them do it in a balanced state is FANTASTIC!

Often when you hear commentators saying things like ‘this horse is looking flat’ often they think its the horse’s lack of ability, but truly many times its just that the body is out of balance!”