TTouch for Clumsy OTTB?

[necryptonix]

Hey all, I was wondering if anyone has any experience with TTouch? I’m thinking about adding it to my OTTB’s daily stuff since I’ve heard it can help with clumsy horses, and my horse is the king of clumsy. He’s clumsy enough that I’ve begun to wonder if he has any depth perception at all (runs directly into the round pen panels when lunging, smacks head on doors/walls when walking and turning, trips a little about 50% of the time going into his stall, etc.), but my vet has told me that he doesn’t appear to have any neurological or eyesight issues. Just very clumsy and unfocused and seeming to have very little concern for his own well-being.

I know part of it is that he’s a 3 year old who just went through another growth spurt, but he’s really banging himself up and I’ve heard that TTouch can help keep him from coming out of his stall/turnout with new wounds every day. Can anyone tell me if they have had success with TTouch helping with this problem? If you have, what TTouches in particular did you use, and what was your regimen (daily, weekly, bi-weekly, etc.)?

Also feel free to share any other TTouch success stories for other horse problems! I just want to make sure I’m putting time and money into something that’s got a good track record. Thanks!

[IPEsq]

A friend of mine recently suggested the figure-8 TTouch body wrap technique to me for helping my horse use himself more evenly while we rehab his SI area. It’s supposed to also work on general proprioception and can be comforting to anxious horses, supposedly. There are some YouTube videos on it.

Otherwise, I’ve had TTouch manual therapy recommended to me for anxious and/or distracted/excitable horses, but not so much for clumsy horses. So, I can’t really comment on that.

[KittyinAus]

Can’t help you as regards the TTouch. You need to help him more. Guide him carefully through doorways, make sure that he doesn’t crash into things. If it was my horse, that’s what I would do.

[necryptonix]

@KittyinAus

Can’t help you as regards the TTouch. You need to help him more. Guide him carefully through doorways, make sure that he doesn’t crash into things. If it was my horse, that’s what I would do.

He’s much more careful of himself and I keep a close eye on him when I’m leading him. The problem is when he’s loose in his stall for instance, where he just keeps bumping into things/hitting his head on the door from walking too close to it, or when he’s turned out and will run directly into the fence or scrape his hindquarters. It seems like every time he comes in from turnout (whether or alone or with a group) he has a new wound of some kind, and of course not leaving him loose in his stall or in turn out isn’t option, nor is anyone babysitting him constantly :no: I’m just trying to find a way to reduce his injuries when there aren’t people around.

IPEsq: I’ll have to give the figure 8 a try. I definitely feel like part of it is him just forgetting how long his legs are/how big he’s gotten lately, and that might help remind him.

[pony_baloney]

I’ve been using a figure 8 wrap while handwalking during a suspensory rehab. Hopefully it’ll keep some muscle on my 32 yr. old while he’s recovering.

I think Ttouch will help quite a bit with proprioception. Using a wand (or dressage whip) and doing the exercises with groundpoles should make him more aware of his body.

[LookmaNohands]

Yes, definitely TTouch will help with this. The figure 8 wrap is helpful but so is stroking his body with a wand (stiff white dressage whip is what we use. Most dressage whips are too flexible. The TTouch wand is more stiff but sill has a bend. Use long strokes starting on his shoulder and going down to the floor on and then on all sides of his leg. Use enough pressure to keep a nice bend in the wand. Once he is used to this, stroke from his withers, along his ribcage, back to his hind leg, to the ground. Then start on the upper part of the side of his neck and stroke down his shoulder to the ground. You can go across his back and down the hind leg. Always end by stroking all the way down a leg to the ground.

Use the wand on both sides of your horse and all sides of his legs. Then you can tap the outside of his hooves with the lash end of the wand. If he is okay with this, tap with the “button” end of the wand. Do all four hooves. Try combining the stroking and hoof tapping with stepping over poles on the ground. We pile 4 poles up into “pick-up sticks” and lead the horse over those. Make them easy for your horse to negotiate at first then make them more challenging.

You can find more info at: www.touch.com or my website at: www.theexcellenthorse.com

[Gestalt]

LookmaNohands gave a great answer. I used ttouch on my 17h 3yo ottb. She would trot poles and hit every one, every time. Plus she was prone to stepping on things that other horses would step over or around. My holistic vet recommended ttouch and specifically the exercise of running your hands down your horses leg starting at the elbow all the way to the ground. She said this would help my horse understand where her foot was on the ground.

Gotta admit I thought it was hooey, but within a couple of weeks I noticed a difference and then soon she was acing trot poles. She was a big, young horse that was pushed into running before she even knew where her balance was. No surprise she was injured during race training. By the time she was five you could ride her anywhere, and I mean anywhere.

[luvmyhackney]

It does help. It sure couldn’t hurt.

[necryptonix]

@LookmaNohands

Yes, definitely TTouch will help with this. The figure 8 wrap is helpful but so is stroking his body with a wand (stiff white dressage whip is what we use. Most dressage whips are too flexible. The TTouch wand is more stiff but sill has a bend. Use long strokes starting on his shoulder and going down to the floor on and then on all sides of his leg. Use enough pressure to keep a nice bend in the wand. Once he is used to this, stroke from his withers, along his ribcage, back to his hind leg, to the ground. Then start on the upper part of the side of his neck and stroke down his shoulder to the ground. You can go across his back and down the hind leg. Always end by stroking all the way down a leg to the ground.

Use the wand on both sides of your horse and all sides of his legs. Then you can tap the outside of his hooves with the lash end of the wand. If he is okay with this, tap with the “button” end of the wand. Do all four hooves. Try combining the stroking and hoof tapping with stepping over poles on the ground. We pile 4 poles up into “pick-up sticks” and lead the horse over those. Make them easy for your horse to negotiate at first then make them more challenging.

You can find more info at: www.touch.com or my website at: www.theexcellenthorse.com

I will definitely try that!

Thank you everyone for the suggestions and the success stories!

[LookmaNohands]

There are plenty of other things you can do with a horse like this. I recommend LTJ’s book, “Th Ultimate Horse Behavior and Training Book.” I has nearly all of the TTouch work in it at a very reasonable price!