As an Equine Physiotherapist & Rehabilitation Specialist, one of the main parts of my work to is look at improving the horses movement, and when I make amendments to horses' exercise/rehab plans to develop more full body strength, the difference in their movement and ability is quite transformational!! 

A horse can be doing 'ok' and able to do most of what is required BUT when you add some specific strength work to the horses routine, to genuinely strengthen the core and condition...

In my work as an Equine Physio & Rehabilitation Specialist, I look at the whole horse as well as the injury site in terms of rehabilitation. I am also qualified as a Spinal Manipulation Therapist so adding all of my skills and experience in together gives me quite a unique view of horses, that I like to share with horse owners to help them understand their horses better. 

So is 'kissing spine' a whole horse issue? My educated, experienced opinion...YES undoubtedly. And for lots of...

The further I have gone into depth with developing my core strengthening system for horses, the more I have weaved it into absolutely everything that I do and teach, so that whatever activity I'm doing with my horse Azuro for example, I'm always working on ways to engage and strengthen his core. 

If I have it weaved into all types of exercise, it's not just a case of 'doing a core day', because I'm working on it all of the time. 

Azuro had kissing spine surgery 5 years ago (see last...

The long term management part of kissing spine with horses is a lot about mindset, and about being adaptable to the individual horse...and working out an ongoing exercise, rehab and management system for your horse. NOT going back to 'normal' and assuming the issue has gone away...is hasn't. 

As an equine physio, rehab specialist and spinal therapist, I went through the 'kissing spine' journey with my own horse Azuro, almost 5 years ago. And the learning that I went through at that time...

Welcome to this weeks Blog...if you don't already know me, I'm Jenny Adamson, I'm an equine physiotherapist, rehabilitation specialist, spinal manipulation therapist and horse owner! 

I have worked with horses extensively throughout the rehab journey, into the long term management part of the process, and along the way I have learnt a huge amount about rehabbing horses, not just about their specific injuries, but about what goes wrong, what works, and I see the direct results of what...

There is a definite grey area with horses...in between good/sound/all ok and lame. And the grey area is the 'not quite right' area. And it's where I work a lot, with the posture and movement improvement work that I teach. Many of my training group members find me and ask for my help because their horse is a bit stuck, or they just can't quite get back to ridden work. 

Here's what I see and have experienced...

Horses that have had an injury/some sort of issue, been through the vets and...

What is good vs poor posture?

Firstly we need to know what good or poor posture actually looks like.
This is definitely something to ‘get your eye in’ with, the difference between good posture and poor posture, of the horse in front of you.
And once you start to see it and recognise it, you will see it everywhere.

Poor posture can lead really quickly and easily to back pain and 'kissing spine', so it's important that we can identify it with our horses, so that we can then work on...

'Carrot Stretch' exercises are one of the most effective sets of exercises that you can do with your horse! They have been PROVEN in a research study, to increase the size of the postural muscles, the multifidus, along the spine, and they help maintain space in between the DSP's - done correctly, these exercises make a huge difference to your horses back and core, and are PROVEN to work. 

We have been digging into the technique around actually doing these exercises correctly and...

Core strength and symmetry in your horses body and limbs are two of the most important considerations within training for our horses. And if you have been following me for a while, you will know these are topics I talk about a LOT!

And it's because I know how absolutely fundamental they are for our horses. 

If your horse isn't strong enough in their core, they are potentially not strong enough to carry a rider, as the core and back can't push up to carry the rider, and a negative spiral...

I normally write my blogs from the perspective of the horse...rehab, core and body strengthening, injury compensation etc, but this week I wanted to write about the RIDERS part of the equation, as we are 50% of the partnership! 

Have you thought about how your own body affects your horse...whether you are riding or working on the ground with your horse? 

I have talked a lot on the blog about the natural crookedness pattern in the horse, why it's important to address it, and how to...