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As
I have progressed through the development of my techniques and
methods I have been continually asked one question in particular;
and it is "What makes you so different?"
To
that I have tried to answer with many different answers over the
years always looking to project the same answer but each time in a
more educated and knowingly manner that showed that I knew what I
was talking about. But, only recently did I come up with the true
answer to that question that plagued me for so long and it is
answered with just two words “COMFORT” and
"COMPASSION".
I
have realized that my techniques and methods are centered on the
total comfort of the horse. It is having the concern for the proper
alignment and operation of as many of the working parts that make up
the horse and allow them to work the way that they do.
Discomfort
and Attention
In
order to compare pain and comfort in the horse it might be advisable
to be able to look at the two factors, as they would pertain to the
human being. First, we need top be able to break the most basic of
these two points down
to the
most general comparison factors and that being bone is bone, soft
tissue is soft tissue, pain is pain and comfort is comfort. Both
horse and man have all of these factors in their daily life. We both
have bone and bone is composed of the same elements, which is what
makes it bone. Soft tissue e
is still soft tissue: be it tendon, ligament or muscle and all soft
tissue is covered by a membrane that is connected to the nervous
system that will tense and relax according to the reaction of the
same nervous system. The soft tissue is then attached to some bone
in the skeletal structure of the creature we are looking at. How all
of these factors interact and work in unison is what has a major
controlling influence in the creation or elimination of pain that is
caused internally due to skeletal misalignment.
It
has been my experience that over eighty per cent of all muscle pain
and or structural changes within the horse has been caused by
misalignment of the skeletal structure. It has also been my
experience that over eighty per cent of problems that have been sent
to me, as a farrier, were correctable through the proper alignment
of the skeletal structure with correct and balanced shoeing
practices. Once that the horses were allowed to operate in their
correct manner, the pain of the misalignment was no longer present
and the horse was once again the horse that was known in the past.
In
order to simply this fact, let me explain. The misalignment starts
at the ground level and how the foot strikes the ground, this then
starts to throw the alignment of the various joints from the foot to
the shoulder
and
then in the neck and the back. In the case of the hind feet the
joints are out off alignment from the ground to the hip, which will
then misalign the pelvis and then allow for incorrect alignment of
the spine into the area where the pelvis and the spine meet. That
then throws out what I call the lower back of the horse and then
show up as swelling of the back muscles. Now that you know how the
problem is initially created and we can realize that the sore backed
horse is a secondary problem, or a symptom, of the initial problem
of skeletal misalignment we should realize that in order to treat
the sore back correctly we must eliminate the skeletal misalignment
first. We have to learn to look past the initial symptom and realize
that there is a more dramatic reason that the horse has a sore back.
How
does all of this happen from just the improper trimming of the
horse’s feet? Simple, once that the foot of the horse is
improperly trimmed and stress is placed on the area of the foot that
it should not be, it then starts to misalign all of the joints in
succession to a stopping point. The only difference is that the pain
will magnify as it travels from the starting point to the ending
point. Along with the misalignment and the pain that is created a
message is generated and then sent to the brain of the horse that
controls the nervous system. That signal then tries to correct the
problem that has been created through the improper trimming and
tense up the membrane that encases various soft tissues, that
tensing up of the covering membrane will then exert pressure to
the soft tissue that it covers and then the soft tissue will exert
pressure to the specific bone that it is attached to. This
combination of actions from the nervous system to the pulling of the
bone will then create the misalignment of the skeletal structure
where the affected bone is integrated into the entire structure of
the horse. The greatest areas that I have found to be affected by
this action are the area of the lower back of the horse, the hip
area and the entire neck. Again, just as in the human animal; when
there is lower back pain there is also neck pain. The horse will be
affected in the area of the poll when “lower” back pain is
realized and since all turns start at the poll the turning ability
of the horse will be affected.
It
has been discovered through many years of research of human
“biomechanics ”
that certain additional facts do happen when specific areas of the
body are misaligned. Through my own field work I have found that was
is true for humans is also true for horses. The foremost point that
was discovered was that when the area of the lower back is out of
its proper alignment there is additional misalignment in the area of
the neck. This was first realized in the human
 and
then that same information was taken
and applied to the
horse and found to be the same. Whenever I found the lower back of
the horse to be out of alignment there was also loss of flexibility
in the neck of the horse. When questions were put to the horse
owner/rider it was found that the horse would be easier to turn one
way more than the other. The owner/rider just put this off as the
horse may did not like turning in that particular direction. I found
that once the neck was realigned to its proper position that the
horse then turned easily in both directions and equally as well. The
same horse then started to have changes in their abilities in other
areas such as attitude and confidence.
Additionally
I have found that the use of a qualified equine chiropractor can be
useful to such a horse, but if you do not correct the true condition
by trimming and shoeing the feet correctly for the horse in question
you will only be treating one of the symptoms. Once a horse is
properly trimmed and allowed to use their body correctly for one or
two shoeing cycles the majority of the alignment problems diminish
and will no longer be apparent. If conditions of misalignment seem
to continue after the second shoeing cycle then a equine
chiropractor may need to be called in to complete the work that
needs to be done to allow the horse to start to work correctly.
Over
the time that I have been integrating the study of biomechanics
into
the aspect of shoeing horses I have found that the horse are much
more happy and easier to handle as well as having a much better
attitude toward all of the day-to-day requirements that are handed
to them.
I
do believe that this has come from the release of the pain that has
been present for some time. In the past a horse may have been hard
to shoe or trim due to the fact that there was the constant pain
factor that was present from the misalignment of the skeletal
structure from the ground up. The horses that have been put into the
Balanced Stride Program have progressed at very astounding rates and
done so happily. And happy horses are horses that want to progress
and are willing to do the tasks that are asked of them.
If
we look at ourselves
and realize that the time that when we are the happiest are the
times when there is little distraction in our own lives. We are
willing to accomplish tasks around the barn and the house without
any thought. It becomes automatic we feel
that
we are being productive and enjoying our lives. The same is true for
the horse, they want to feel needed and have a purpose in life. The
comfort factor and the elimination of pain from the daily tasks will
allow them the same felling of self-gratification and
accomplishment. Not to mention being needed and wanted.
Remember
if you or a member of your family is in pain and is suffering, in
most cases, they will let you know. They speak to you and tell you
where it hurts; you then do all that is in your power to help them
get out of that situation. The horse does the same; the only
difference is they tell you through body language not through the
use of a verbal communication. These are the same body signs that we
use if you look closely. When members of your family are in pain and
 you
look into their eyes you might remember that the eyes of the person
effected with pain has less than bright eyes. Their eyes are dull
and somewhat cloudy, the horse is the same. There eyes are very
expressive, look deeply into them the more pain that a horse does
suffer the more clouded the eye does become. The member of your
family become sore and does not what to do anything, so does the
horse. The member of the family becomes crabby and short in their
acceptance of situations, so do horses. Again in different ways, the
member of the family shouts and yells verbally and the horse reacts
through the use of their body by biting or challenging and/or
kicking. The horse is not mean; the horse hurts and wants to be left
alone, just as you would until you felt better.
Remember
to be more observant and relate to the horse in the only manner that
the horse can. You need to learn to speak their language and help
them through their situation. Remember that pain is pain and comfort
is comfort.
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There are
three more article available at our downloads page about
this topic
Look
for:
Some
Thoughts on on a Horse's Sore Back.
The
Effects of Horseshoeing on the Back of the Horse.
Evaluating Your Horse's Shoeing. |
