EQUINE OSTEOPATHY

 

               Osteopathy can be helpful for all horses, be they sport or leisure animals, young or old. Here are some of the main cases when you should call an osteopath for your horse:

 

 

• Locomotory problem and aches: limp / dissymmetry / stiffness / stumbling / difficulty when lying down or standing up / stiffer on one hand / difficulty to gather 

• Loss of state and decreased performance

• Trauma: fall / shock / accident 

• Chronic tendinitis (may result from a compensatory positioning hindering healing of the tendon)

• Behavioral troubles or changes (can be caused by chronic pain)

• Skin affectations (skin infections aside, some skin affectations can be caused by the animal, who will self-harm by excessive licking, biting or scratching, and can be a sign of joint or tissue pain in the affected area).

• Skin hypersensitivity (a zone where the animal can't stand to be touched, stroked, petted or brushed).

• Sensitivity to strapping 

• Hand defensiveness

• Loss of muscle mass, loss of state

• Chronic digestive, urinary and respiratory troubles

• Any chronic trouble that allopathic medicine is powerless to cure

• Congestions / contractures or spasms 

• Problems in the reproductive system, painful heats, infertility

• Post-partum follow-up

• Foals lacking balance at birth (tendon retraction)

• Arthritis (there is no cure for arthritis, but osteopathy offers excellent results in slowing down the process and providing relief and comfort day to day).

• Post-surgery follow-up and re-education.

• Sports therapy

• Prevention: Regularly consulting with an osteopath gives an opportunity to discover lesions before symptoms emerge, helping the body better preserve its ability to self-heal, preventing mobility restrictions, dysfunctions, spasms that could, in time, develop into more serious problems… Proper movement means that muscles, bones, tendons, ligaments and organs are properly nourished, drained and cleansed, ensuring better resistance to agression as well as to the natural wear of time…

 

               NB: It is important to keep in mind that the domestication and using of horses for riding purposes have modified its natural state. This means that the outside parameters necessary to its physical well-being and health are complex and should all be taken into careful consideration.

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• In the wild, horses chew on average 18 hours a day. Generally speaking, this is no longer the case, which means that its teeth, which keep on growing throughout the animal's life, aren't properly filed down by use. Therefore, horses need to receive regular dental care provided by equine dentists.

• In many cases, a horse will spend more time standing inside its box than walking. Its hooves weaken as they continue to grow. They need to be cared for and fitted with horse-shoes. Since this isn't a natural contraption, the shoe will need to be perfectly adjusted to the horse's specific hoof and conformation. Therefore, it needs to be taken to a competent and qualified farrier.

• It is harnessed to practice horse-riding. Its morphology and the work that is expected of it must determine the proper equipment that will allow it to carry its rider comfortably and painlessly.

• It should be eating 18 hours a day and be selecting its own food in a natural environment, but is generally fed by man 3 or 4 times a day, swallowing its food quickly, which can cause it to experience digestive troubles. Since its diet has been modified, its carers need to be mindful of the quality and amount of nutrients it receives, depending on its needs.

• It is ridden and worked by a rider. The rider needs to take care that this work is appropriate for the horse's age, morphology and state of health.​

             

 All this means that a horse needs to be followed by many health professionals who need to be working together and refer to each other for the animal's well-being.

Imagine a horse, living in a small box in which it can hardly move, constantly ridden using german reins and a poorly fitting saddle, being fed an improper diet, never seeing a dentist and wearing bad shoes… An osteopath won't be able to do it much good unless all its care and life parameters have been adjusted and resolved…

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