***Important note about the video: Please be gentle! Your pressure should be VERY LIGHT and the movements should be subtle "suggestions." Never use force. Keep your hands and shoulders soft and relaxed.***   

Don’t you love when something good comes out of something bad?   

 A number of years ago, my client Suzanne had a bay Morgan gelding with a suspensory injury.  

Despite several months of veterinary care, farrier attention and TLC, the 12-year-old gelding was still off.

What ended up helping the horse was surprising.     

Here’s what happened.

Suzanne asked me to give her horse, whose name is Bravo, a hands-on session.

I knew that helping the Morgan move more easily through his rib cage could alleviate stress on his front legs.

Less strain on his fore legs meant that he’d have a better chance of recovering from his suspensory injury.  

But we had a small problem. Bravo wouldn’t...

“Damn it! Just give me your leg!” Hearing these harsh words, I snapped my head around. Just as I suspected, a farrier was holding onto the hind hoof of a horse who was trying to break free of the man’s grasp.

The farrier, Joe*, had been patient with the big chestnut Warmblood. But Joe’s patience – and his back – were wearing thin. He had completed the trimming job, but he told the gelding’s owner that the horse needed stretching exercises to improve his ability to extend his legs. Joe picked up the chestnut’s leg again, and began to stretch it behind the horse. This time the gelding pulled it away from Joe violently.

Someone’s going to get hurt”, I thought. Both the horse and Joe were in danger of sustaining an injury. I caught the owner’s eye. My face must have conveyed my dismay, because she suddenly asked Joe to stop.

The woman thanked Joe, putting a check into his large, calloused hand. As he got into...

A young woman named Terra was suffering from pain and tension in her upper back, shoulders and neck. She often felt hunched over and uncomfortable.

 How I helped her may surprise you.   

Since Terra is an equestrian, I invited her to sit in her saddle.

I asked her if she felt balanced and level. Was her weight evenly distributed over both seat bones? Terra replied that she felt that she was sitting with a little more weight on her right seat bone, and she wanted to shift more weight onto her left side to even herself out. 

But looking at Terra, I could see that her weight was already concentrated on her left side, not her right. Check out the photo above to see for yourself.

Do you see how Terra’s right ribs are scrunched together? This makes the right side of Terra’s torso shorter than her left side. Can you see how her uneven rib cage has thrown her weight onto the left side of her pelvis?  To confirm, I...