Guest Blog - The Horse Physio - Sue Palmer

Category: Guest Blog

Brain, Pain or Training?’ Practical Exercises: Introduction

By Sue Palmer on May 11, 2023

This may be the most important chapter of this book.Here you’ll find a set of ten practical exercises that you can do with your horse to help assess whether he could be suffering some discomfort that might affect his behaviour or performance. The aim of these exercises is to assess balance, comfort, ease and freedom of movement, muscle tone, reaction to touch, soundness, symmetry of the musculoskeletal system, and symmetry of movement. Unexpected responses could flag up weakness, discomfort, stiffness, restriction in range of movement, muscle spasm, unsoundness, and asymmetry in either the horse’s musculoskeletal system or his movement.

Get your hands on our hands-on massage course!

By Sue Palmer on May 9, 2023

We all love a massage, and our horses are no different. Massage is an excellent skill to learn and a great gift to give our horses. If you love learning from a book, buy Sue Palmer’s book [Horse Massage for Horse Owners]. However, learning from a book is complex and problematic for many people. More and more people have been asking for Sue to run a hands-on massage course to give them a chance to learn some valuable techniques to help with their horses.

Core stability and strength exercises for the non-ridden horse: Chapters 2-4

By Sue Palmer on April 27, 2023

A lot of core stability exercises are about moving the horse slightly off balance so that he needs to engage his muscles to maintain that balance. The tail pull works by using the tail as a lever to create the imbalance. As with the other exercises, it is subtle, using gentle pressure. There should be no discomfort involved, and you should find that your horse relaxes into the exercise after a minute or two. If he doesn't, perhaps this isn't the right exercise for him. A horse who is uptight will not be engaging his muscles effectively. He will be tensing those movement muscles getting ready to run, rather than using the stability muscles.

Is ridden work important in an equine lameness assessment?

By Sue Palmer on April 13, 2023

A rider may feel a change in their horse’s performance during ridden exercise, but when assessed moving in hand, the horse is not detectably lame. Some people then use the term ‘bridle lameness’, with the assumption that the gait irregularity is in some way caused by the rider and is not related to the horse’s discomfort.

Equine TLC 101: Exploring the Fundamentals of Horse Massage

By Sue Palmer on April 8, 2023

Massage involves ‘ pressure, tension, motion or vibration.’ Again, I find this useful and thought-provoking. Throughout this book I will talk about using pressure, albeit often very lightly, to massage your horse. There are many ways of describing massage techniques, and many massage techniques to describe. Please bear in mind that the techniques I discuss here I have chosen because they suit my purpose of creating confidence in you, the reader, to give a safe and effective massage to your own horse.

Is Your Horse A Pain In The Neck?

By Sue Palmer on March 30, 2023

Neck pain in horses is complicated. It might manifest as lameness, poor performance, or a behavioural change. Changes in behaviour can vary from the downright dangerous, such as rearing or bolting, to the “he feels slightly off.”

’Brain, Pain, or Training?’ Chapter 1: How To Use This Book

By Sue Palmer on March 30, 2023

You know your horse better than anyone else. You are his strongest advocate, his ‘best expert’. This book is about helping you to make the most of your time with your horse, as opposed to making your horse do the most. To achieve success with a horse in any sphere you need to understand him and he needs to understand you, because good communication is key in any successful relationship. Understanding horses comes through education and experience, and leads to improved welfare, safety, and enjoyment.

Does thoracic outlet syndrome exist in horses? Part 1

By Sue Palmer on March 5, 2023

First of all, what is ‘thoracic outlet syndrome’? And secondly, how does this relate to horses? Thoracic outlet syndrome is a condition in people where the nerves and/or blood vessels are compressed in the thoracic outlet. This can lead to pain in the shoulder, numbness or tingling in the affected hand, swelling, and more. The thoracic outlet is the space between your collarbone and your first rib. A horse doesn’t have a collarbone, so I guess strictly speaking he can’t have ‘thoracic outlet syndrome’. But could he still suffer from a syndrome where the nerves and blood vessels are compressed in this region?

Core stability and strength exercises for the non-ridden horse: Introduction

By Sue Palmer on March 4, 2023

How can we help our horse to maintain core strength if he can't work? Perhaps he's on box rest following injury or surgery. Maybe it's as simple as the ground is frozen for several days and it's not safe to ride. There are plenty of reasons we might not be able to exercise our horse. This blog offers suggestions on how to keep some level of fitness, at least in terms of core strength

The ABC of Horse Massage (Horse Massage for Horse Owners with The Horse Physio)

By Sue Palmer on February 25, 2023

Think of the online course 'Horse Massage for Horse Owners' as a recipe. I’ve written it as an ‘ABC’ of Horse Massage. The ingredients of massage are explained and taught separately – anatomy and technique – and then mixed together in specific measures in a specific order with specific timing to create a simple, effective, enjoyable massage routine.

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