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Studying & Practicing The Intellectual Art of Equine Massage Therapy |
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Equine Design |
Many students ask a variety of very poignant and relevant questions in connection with their course work. This section of the site has been developed to share these questions and answers with all students. |
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Below you will find a list of questions. If you would like to go directly to a particular question just click upon it, or alternatively you may just scroll through. |
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This page is regularly updated so come back often. |
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'Out Now' |
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1 - Please explain loaded shoulders. |
| 2 - Please explain the shoulder angle | |
| 3 - What effect upon its ligament can an injured joint cause? | |
| 4 - What exactly is the stifle joint? | |
| 5 - Can draw reins help? | |
| How Do You Define The Deep Girth? | How Do I 'Tune In' To Each Horse For Treatment? | How And Why Does The Jaw Action From Eating Hay Promote Topline Relaxation? |
| Loaded Shoulders | ||
| Loaded Shoulders | ||
| Loaded Shoulders is the term used to describe shoulders that have an over complimentary muscular development – primarily these muscles being the Supraspinitus, Infraspinitus and Deltoids. | ||
| Loaded shoulders can inhibit the free range of shoulder action as the Infraspinitus muscle literally gets in the way of the pendulum action generated from the scapula. | ||
| Loaded shoulders will often create and promote problems with the fitting of the horses saddle. | ||
| Every time the forelimb retracts it can push its attached and over developed Infraspinitus muscle into the tree of the saddle, causing the saddle to roll out of place bruising to the Longissimus Dorsi muscle along the back, while simultaneously pinching and bruising the Infraspinitus muscle. | ||
| The law of 'cause and effect', then introduces a cycle of compensatory movement and muscular stress, demonstrated by short choppy strides, a hollow back action, raised neck, evasion of the bit, heavy forehand and/or concussion related conditions. | ||
| Shoulder Angle (see picture above) | ||
| The shoulder angle of the horse is measured from the withers to the point of shoulder, with the most favorable alignment representing a 45° angle. | ||
| What to look for | ||
| To help you determine the shoulder angle look at the alignment of the withers in relation to the p.o. elbow. | ||
| The ideal shoulder angle will naturally see the withers set further back than the point of elbow to allow a more optimal range of forelimb motion. | ||
| The sloping shoulder | ||
| The range of action is plentiful in the sloping shoulder, with the longer muscular attachments promoting the optimal stride length, enabling the horse to work with fewer strides to cover the same amount of ground as the horse with a more upright shoulder angle. | ||
| Levels of concussion are regulated, leaving the forelimbs and skeletal structure of the forehand less vulnerable to excessive levels of concussion, while the horse continues to benefit from higher levels of stamina and energy. | ||
| The upright shoulder | ||
| The range of action remains limited in the upright shoulder, as the shorter muscular attachments inhibit the horses optimal stride length, causing the horse to work with more strides to cover the same amount of ground as the horse with a more sloping shoulder angle. | ||
| The horse with an upright shoulder angle will also be working with lower levels of stamina while using more energy. | ||
| Levels of concussion are abrupt, leaving the forelimbs and skeletal structure of the forehand vulnerable to stress. (This is made worse by horses that are shod, work on hard ground or jump). | ||
| The horse with an upright shoulder angle will also have an inhibited action in his jumping ability | ||
| However, all of these above points produce a greater ability for acceleration. | ||
| Back To The Top | |||
| What effect upon the ligament can a dislocated joint promote? | |||
| The job of the ligament is to stablise and support its skeletal structure; thus, its composition remains one of limited elasticity. Therefore, when a ligament is placed under tension, it will gradually lengthen, and if attached to a dislocated joint the ligament will progressively be pulled beyond its recognised and safe range, causing it to become weaker, lose its supportive power while simultaneously promoting the continued unnatural pull to the dislocated joint. | |||
| Back To The Top | |||
| What exactly is the stifle? | |||
| Compared to the human knee and housing the 'Tensor Fascia Late' majors stress point muscle, the horses stifle joint is a complex muscular and skeletal structure, that works to flex | |||
| The stifle works to | |||
| Three separate muscle groupings unite within the stifle; these being the: | |||
| Quadriceps - Lateral Vastus, Rectus Femoris | |||
| Hamstrings - Semitendinosus, Semimembranosus, Bicep Femoris | |||
| Adductors - | |||
| Three separate bones unite within the stifle; these being the: | |||
| Femur - Between hip joint and stifle | |||
| Tibia - Located between the stifle and hock | |||
| Patella - Comparative to the human knee cap | |||
| The ends of the femur and the tibia provide space for the fibro- cartilage pads that help to absorb and distribute forces of pull and impacts of shock. | |||
| Although the stifle is representative of the human knee there is one very big physiological difference. The horse is able to lock his legs, and, in doing so can remain standing up without using muscular exertion to maintain his stance. | |||
| The horse locks his limb by raising and rotating the patellar which then hooks one of the patellar ligaments over the groove within the femur. | |||
| The horse then secures this locking mechanism by resting his body weight upon this arrangement. | |||
| Back To The Top |
| Will draw reins help to balance my horse upon the lunge? |
| Draw reins primarily work by pressing the bit against the horses
tongue. In the worst-case scenario they press the bit against the bars of
the horses mouth |
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Draw reins will always promote pain and discomfort, that will
often trigger the hollowing reflex. |
| When draw reins are used with a light pressure they will press into the thick of the horses tongue. This will then immobilise the horses tongue action. Subsequently, the muscles and fascia located around the back of the skull will tighten up promoting a hollowing reflex action. |
| Draw reins - tongue immobilisation and the hollow back reflex |
| When the horses tongue
becomes immobilised it will not be obvious to the rider or the trainer on
the ground. |
| Draw reins will force horses to flex at the 4th cervical
vertebrae rather than the poll, despite the present muscular tension
at the back of the skull and poll. Once
again this triggers the hollowing reflex. |
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However, the effects of
the hollowing reflex is are visible. Tension from the
poll will migrate through the neck and top line promoting a hollowing
action –(the very action that you want to eliminate). |
| The problem with a
hollowing action is that it develops into a nervous reflex action
(involuntary action). When this is not understood / recognised then the
horse will develop this hollow action as a ‘habit’ regardless of the
‘Bit’, ‘Rider’, ‘Work’, ‘Saddle’, etc. Even if everything
is correct the horse may still perform the hollow reflex. |
| Draw reins and their uses. |
| Draw reins are very often used in order to stop a habit or a
situation that they actually end up promoting. |
| Some people will use draw reins with the horse that has a nasty
habit of tossing his head up. |
| Unfortunately, although draw reins will physically make this action
impossible, they will urge the horse to want to do this even more,
consequently creating psychological discomfort, resistance, hollow back
and high head action to relieve the discomfort. |
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Draw reins are sometimes used when the horse is acting out a
psychological upset in a physical manner as this is the only way they know
how to try and tell the human that all is not well. |
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Draw reins tend to deal with the effect of a problem rather than
its cause. |
| Back To The Top |
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