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What
I need to start with are the areas of comfort and
balance since these have proven to be the two most
influential points in determining how any animal
progresses through a training or fitness program. Anyone
can relate to the simple fact that when there is pain
involved there is a constant distraction and a lessened
rate of retention. In addition, when we are in any
degree of pain we tend to restrict and slow down the
speed of our movements not to mention that we don't even
want to consider any program that will have us doing any
type of strenuous exercise. Well, if that is true for us
and we know that bone is bone, soft tissue is soft
tissue and pain is pain as well as that it is all
relative and we feel and relate that way; why shouldn't
our horses feel and relate the same way? But, that is
what is asked of horses on a daily basis. We have all
experienced horses that have not progressed as far or as
quickly as we thought they should have, we have also
seen horses that have not been as attentive as we
thought they should have been. We have also seen what
has been explained as sore backs due to poor fitting
saddles, true in some cases, but in many more cases I
have seen horses that have this problem and it does not
come from poor fitting saddles. It comes from incorrect
trimming of the rear feet in relationship to the entire
body structure.
It all starts
at the ground level, OK so what do I mean. What I want you to
start to do is to look at the horse in a different manner than you
have most likely been taught to do. You need to start to look at
the horse in a way that has you starting to look at four of the
most important points on any horse and not how pretty the horse
might be. Start by looking at the four feet of the horse, one at a
time. Learn to compare each foot independently and then start to
be able to compare each and every foot against the other three
that are attached to the horse. Remember "No Foot No
Horse". We need to be able to look at each foot
independently, so let's start there. Look at the first
illustration of the foot below and see if you can notice anything
that might be out of balance or alignment. What you see id a front
foot, but the important point here is that it does not really
matter whether we are looking at a front foot or a rear foot the
principle is the same. What can happen to the front feet can also
happen to the rear feet and usually does. Just look at the foot in
the first picture and see if you can see any parts of the foot
that might be out of balance or alignment.
Ready to
proceed? I do hope that you have found at least one point that is
different from other parts of the foot. If you are good you have
found a number of points that are different and have made the
entire foot out of balance and that is what messes up the
alignment of the foot. OK what do I mean when I keep referring to
alignment? That is when the bones of the lower leg are in their
proper position and align to the proper point that they are
suppose to. Here is where I give the answers that I am having you
look for. There is a second photo that has lines drawn on it and
show you the specific areas that are out of alignment and have
thrown the foot out of balance and do not allow the foot to
operate in the manner that it was designed for.
So now that
we know that the foot is out of balance How can the foot being out
of balance affect the back of my horse? After all, that is what we
are trying to find out, right? believe it or not I am working to
that, I just need a bit of time and some patience from you and we
will go through the steps to fully explain the hows and whys of
the sore back that originates in the foot.
Let us start
with the fact that the foot that we are looking at is a rear foot
and it is out of balance as much as the picture that we have been
looking at. With that information we now know that the foot is out
of balance and the space between the joints is also out of
alignment or balance. The natural thing for the bone structure
within the leg to try to correct itself in a manner that starts a
reaction that not only continues the misalignment of the bones and
the joints but also magnifies the problem that starts at the
ground and works its way up the leg into the back through the back
then up the neck and finally settling in the poll of the horse.
Each and
every time that there is a joint or point of operation within the
skeletal structure of the horse the misalignment magnifies and
starts to increase in the separation factor between the joints
until it reaches the area of the hips and finally into the pelvis
itself. By the time that the misalignment separation factor is
determined at the pelvis a fact happens at this specific area of
the horse and what actually happens here is that one hip can be
seen to be higher than the other, here is where the sore back
starts to be realized. Mainly due to the fact that one side of the
pelvis is higher than the other and it then throws the pelvis and
the base of the backbone alignment out and will not allow for the
two to align themselves correctly. What happens is that the
backbone, or spine, has to rotate a certain number of degrees out
of alignment to have the two meet within the socket where the two
parts join.
With the
rotation of the spine in such a manner that will allow for the backbone
and the pelvis to meet then sends electrical impulses to the brain
telling the soft tissues, that are attached to the spinal parts,
that they are out of alignment and need to be put back into their
proper place.
Once that this information is received by the soft tissues it then
starts to pull and try to realign the spinal structure, but it can
not do the job that is needed since the entire lower skeletal
structure is also out of alignment.
A close look
at the above picture will allow you to see that the hip alignment
is quite a bit different and needs to be put back into its proper
place. A good equine chiropractor can correct this for you as
well, but unless you have the base or root of the problem
corrected (the imbalanced foot) the misalignment will return in
less than a week. Don't misunderstand what I am trying to get
across here, equine chiropractors do a lot of good and help a
great number of horses, but you have to correct the true problem
and not the symptom to give the horse the comfort that they are
searching for. When you find and treat the true problem, the
symptoms will go away. Remember, symptoms are paths to follow to
get to the true problem and give you the information that you need
to find the true problem and allow the horse to be corrected in a
manner that will give them the greatest comfort. I have looked to
many different areas and methods to try to help the horse fight
and control this type of pain, such things as ; massage,
deep-tissue massage, chiropractics and many other things as well,
but found that just about all of these areas addressed the
symptoms but never the true root of the problem. What was found
was that all of the above mentioned techniques and procedures do
have specific use and responses and were often successful in the
elimination and treatment of the specific pain, it is also been
shown that the results have been only temporary in nature when
used on their own.
To better
explain where I am going with this is that if there is a need to
treat, let's say, sore muscles there has to be another problem
that has caused the sore muscles to appear. What has been
accomplished is the treatment of the sore muscle that in many
cases lasts a limited time and the sore muscle will return and
then elevates to a chronic problem that needs attention on a
constant and reoccurring basis. What really needs to be
accomplished is the isolation of the problem that is the true
cause of the pain that is creating the side-effect or symptom that
you are constantly treating on that reoccurring basis. This will
then satisfy the main pain causing problem to be isolated and then
eliminated and never allow the secondary or symptom to reoccur.
This is all
part of what is referred to as "Balanced Shoeing" and how it
allows the horse a more natural way of going which then permits for the
natural and comfortable alignment of the entire skeletal structure
to operate correctly and comfortably.
These are not
new methods or techniques; they are the merging of old technology
and newly discovered facts that have proven that the work that has
been done for centuries is correct and best for the horse.
Getting back
to the problem at hand, we have found that the hips are out of
alignment and that the spine and the pelvis cannot align
themselves correctly. In addition, the soft tissue is trying to
pull everything back into its proper place without much positive
results. To continue, with the constant pressure created by the
soft tissue we will next start to get a swelling of the area that
is most affected by the misalignment and it will usually appear on
both sides of the spine. There is an additional picture below that
will show you the area that is affected in most of the times. It
has been my experience that there are three or four specific areas
that tend to be sore from this problem, those points then also
start a chain reaction that moves through the spine and then up
the neck (again affecting three to four specific points) and then
finally affecting the proper operation of the poll of the horse.
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The
hip as they should actually appear and after the proper
trimming of the rear feet to properly balance out the
pelvis of the horse.
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This brings
us to a very important point that needs to be covered at this time
and that is the ability of the horse to turn. Better yet, the
inability of the horse to not properly turn. When I have found
that when a horse's left hip is higher than their right hip it
affects their ability to turn to the right correctly. And when the
right hip is the higher hip it affects the horse ability to turn
to the left. It is all due to the inability of the horse to
properly use their poll to start the process of the turn. It is no
different than if you have a sore lower back or have had a cold
settle in your back and you try to turn your head. It will operate
very easily and completely one way but is greatly restricted when
you try to move it in the opposite direction. This is exactly what
the horse is going through and since all turns start at the poll
and the poll is not operating correctly, the horse will not turn
correctly. I have seen too many horses disciplined for not doing
is what is asked of them, it is not that they will not do what is
asked of them, they can't. All that is necessary is to trim the
rear feet correctly and the hips will then realign and go back to
their proper position, relaxing the pressure that is being created
by the constant pressure from the soft tissue tying to fix the
problem that they can't and even a smoothing out of the back due
to proper muscle operation as well as starting to be relaxed.
One of the
most important points that have to be discussed is that the
forward motion, or impulsion, does come from the rear of the horse
and this is one of the major controlling points of gaits. Again, I
refer to the human body and reaction since it is something that
each and everyone of us can relate to. When you have a sore lower
back, where your backbone meets your pelvis, due to back pain or
say a cold that has settled in that specific area of your body;
you have little control over the situation. In most cases you are
able to turn either to the left or to the right, but just try to
move in the opposite direction and the pain that is realized is so
great that it affects both your ability to move and the length of
your own stride. Again, if it is true for you ~ why not for your
horse. Pain or lack there of can greatly affect the ability of the
horse to perform turns, the various gaits and even determine the
attitude of the horse at that particular point in time.
The
next two pictures are inserted to allow you to analyze and compare
the before and after pictures of the results that are achieved
within the area of the back.
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This photo
shows the slope and the back of the average horse and the results
of the way most farriers are taught to trim the rear feet.
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This photo
shows the slope and the back of the same horse and the results
that was achieved by trimming the rear feet correctly.
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Once that the
back has been properly trimmed and allow all of the affected bones
to return to their proper placement and alignment the back does
become flatter and more correct and will reduce the effect of a
"sway backed" horse has been eliminated. This simple
correction will allow the saddle to fit correctly, be it of any discipline,
the horse to be more comfortable, more responsive and allow for an
attention rate to permit retention and progression. I have noticed
that even older horses (20 years +) that I have introduced to
these simple methods of shoeing thus allowing them to be useful,
have a purpose in life, be more comfortable to ride, easier to get
along with, not in as much pain as before, etc, etc, etc. This is
due to the fact that the proper alignment of the hips that will in
return allow the spine to return to its natural position and
finally the relaxing of the soft tissues that so that they release
the constant pressure that has caused the initial swelling and
tenderness.
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