Exactly
Well said and rationally (scientifically) explained, as usual. 
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I believe so. She didn’t do a chiropractic adjustment, I’ve seen those, and this was not it. This was soft tissue work.
I think the nomenclature thing comes from some (unnecessary) tension between body workers and some vets, as some body workers feel dismissed and some vets think they hold all the answers. They are trying to protect their findings. I don’t think that needs to be the case, we need DVMs for many issues, and we need physiotherapists and alternative modalities for others, and sometimes we need both.
But I agree that common terminology is important. It’s how we can speak intelligently to each other.
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I’m neither a bodyworker nor a DVM, but I have some thoughts as to why some vets may seem dismissive of bodywork (and why I’m honestly surprised so many vets seem to embrace chiropractic, which does not seem to have the same mainstream support from physicians on the human medicine side. Side note - if you’re a human that chooses to see a chiropractor, please don’t let them “crack” your neck).
It’s very reasonable that things like massage and soft tissue manipulation could help with muscle spasm, and in that way make horses more comfortable and symmetrical. But there are a lot of claims made by bodyworkers and chiropractors about horses having misaligned body parts which just … don’t have any evidence (evidence meaning actual data, not anecdotes) to support them, and don’t make anatomical sense: if a horse is so structurally unstable that a 130-lb human can pop things in and out of place on a stationary horse, you probably shouldn’t be riding that horse.
There is a reason that in humans, physical therapy has a lot more data to support it than chiropractic. PT tends to focus on dynamic exercises, strengthening opposing muscle groups, and the patient learning to use their body in a functional way, while chiropractic is much more commonly focused on manipulating a static patient and claims of an quick-but-temporary fix (not to mention the antivax quackery and claims of treating non-musculoskeletal issues via manipulation of the spine, which more ethical chiropractors don’t engage in but doesn’t seem to be actively discouraged by their overseeing organization).
Beyond relieving some muscle spasm … which is what it sounds like this “rib entrapment” is, I just don’t think there’s much use in manipulating the body of a horse while it’s standing in the cross ties. Proper “body work” involves dynamic exercise, but it seems like bodyworkers who work on the horse while it’s in motion are a very small minority of the whole.
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I agree that static bodywork doesn’t stick. But isn’t good training (proper dressage training, for example) sort of analogous to PT (not entirely)? Or maybe some of the work that Manolo Mendez does? Proper long-lining? Most body workers don’t have a training background, either. I know one here, and she incorporates a lot of dynamic movement into her program - in hand work, rail work, long-lining, finally riding. She is an outlier, though.
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Absolutely! And that is why IMO it’s much more beneficial than “typical” static bodywork and chiropractic adjustments.
It seems like BTMM tries to bill itself as similarly dynamic, but at the end of the day it doesn’t look it involves anything that will actually build strength and maintain/improve soundness.
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Re: body work on humans. For a long time I was prone to muscle spasms across my upper back and regular massage kept that in check. My massage therapist is gone now, haven’t had massage for 5 years, and I guess my strength and posture is now good enough from horses that this doesn’t happen any more
But once I got a rib out of whack. I noticed it in a riding lesson. Stabbing pain. My massage therapist fixed it. A horse with that amount of pain is not going to just look “a little off.”
I detest chiropractic on me, massage was more useful for my muscle spasms and no one is going to crack my neck!
Anyhow I have a regular body worker for the horse who has been useful in alerting me to issues.
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I’ll chime in on bodywork and PT, personal experience. Was rear ended in a car. whiplash and some other lovely stuff. After weeks of pain and poor treatment in chiro, finally went to a group practice that had massage therapist, PT, surgeons, all working as a team. You got what you needed, not what they were selling. Day One was so painful with the assessment and massage therapy. I was given some very simple PT exercises to do at home. Chiro made a very small adjustment to my lower back (none of the usual crack the neck and go from their BS, but what chiro should be). Six weeks later and I was nearly 100%. Massage therapist did some work, asked me how it felt, I said hurt a little but ok, and he said if he’d done that on Day One I would have literally killed him from the pain. He also did some electric stimulation. One thing I didn’t have were drugs, and no way was I doing surgery. He also said my fascia was completely frozen at the beginning; it was normal at the end. So don’t discount soft tissue work combined with correct movement. It works the same with horses and there are some people who teach and do very good massage, fascia work, and of course, physical movement that is balanced and correct, with the horse relaxed, not tense. Add in correct fitting tack, nutrition and correct hoof trimming to maintain the gains from all the other things. My horses LOVE bodywork and I’m glad I learned it. I never had chiro done that seemed to help them or was worth it. Horses are big beings made of bone, muscle, tendons, ligaments, fascia and nerves. Things can easily get out of whack – if it can happen to us, it happens to them, they just can’t tell us where it hurts. I also had a rib injured, not broken but bruised and it’s never gone back into place like it was before. All that said, I hate the BS stuff as it undermines the valid work that horses need and deserve – none of it is magical. And a lot of it can be learned by the owner, including how to balance the diet and trim the feet. I see it as our responsibility to do so.
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Yes to all! I have also done PT as well. Most recently my lower back was doing something new and I got an ergonomic orbisform car seat and some PT and it’s resolved. I kind of knew that car seat was a problem.
The thing with horses is that diagnosis is hard and even seeing more subtle issues is beyond many owners ability. I was lucky to spend some quality time with a good coach trimmer and mentor who pointed out a lot of things to me while watching other people ride. But many lesson programs with older horses keep stiff horses working (which isn’t always wrong) which means that people don’t develop a critical eye because they see mainly horses with a hitch or short stride or something.
I am also amazed at how many reasonably well educated people have enormous gaps in basic medical information and nutrition for themselves let alone their animals. The first charlatan that gets to them peddling snake oil when they don’t have the knowledge base to see through it, gets their cash.
Anyhow because many horse owners can’t really see short behind or stiff hocks or 1/5 lameness, or have trainers invested in just powering through, they don’t feel confident rejecting a charlatan that sees entirely imaginary things wrong.
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Here’s a good case study for someone. Be real interested to see what the TWH crowd would recommend for this bloke.
Horse was coming off the track in these stills.
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That sure looks like a horse with congenital lordosis which I associate with Saddlebred.
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TRUE – I’ve had to learn what I know the hard way – and it took a LONG time. Fortunately, I was able to trust my horse and my gut and reject crap trainers fairly early on, it was harder to see through the online ones and all the marketing, but finally got around that corner as well. Learned the rest through valid courses, clinics, books and putting in the hours. I can see how all the pieces fit together, I’m still learning as there is always more, and more nuanced ways of seeing things, or different aspects of applying the same general knowledge and adapting it to whatever is in front of my eyes. It does make me sad to see how easily people will go for the empty promises, and how others will promote those people. I saw one today that was particularly annoying – more magical stuff based on some kind of ancient knowledge, and of course I immediately go to the source and read up on it, and what’s being sold is just BS. Hopefully no horses will be hurt, or people, and that the only thing will be wasted time and money.
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I used to help a friend who bred Arabians, excellent bloodlines. She sent her Egyptian stallion to a trainer out of state (mistake - HUGE mistake). Six months later, the horse returns in poor health and with a ruined sway back. RUINED in six months! I never forgot this, and vowed to never ever ever let a horse of mine out of my sight. As for what to do with a horse like this, correct in-hand work to address posture, correct hoof trimming (the feet here, in shoes, are a mess), correct diet with hay testing and mineral balancing, add in the right amino acids, etc. in the diet so his body can repair as much as possible, and that would be a good start for this horse. Hard to say how much he could improve, but in the right hands he certainly could.
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Sway like the horse posted above is almost guaranteed to be genetic and not caused by six months of any kind of training. There will be no improving it - in fact it may not even bother that horse. If your friend’s Arab had a sway like that, he already had that lordosis in there.
But yes, muscle and proper hoof angles can help ANY horse be more comfortable in its body.!
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Was that a chestnut stallion from Wisconsin by chance?
It’s rare, but occasionally seen in TBs. Actually doesn’t seem to affect their racing performance as much as you would expect. The horses do not seem to be in pain or uncomfortable doing their job.
Yes the saddlebred I saw was freaky but was doing trails with the teen who rescued her
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I bet TTHW groupies would disagree. Some magickal carrot stretches and bingo! Fixed!
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Is there a video of this horse in motion? His hocks and stifles remind me of those post-legged halter quarter horses.
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there was a filly with lordosis racing at Assinboia downs last year - not a stakes winner but respectable enough to pay her bills. I have a draft x tb mare with lordosis - a pita for saddle fit but otherwise she’s fine and quite athletic
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Very true. Many years ago I followed a chestnut gelding who raced for a few years and earned enough money to pay his bills and keep his people more than happy. His back was easily as bad as the grey posted above - and yet it never seemed to hinder him. What he lacked in perfect conformation, he made up in character/personality. He was cherished on the backside.
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