Where Does My Horse Hurt?

This series of 3 articles was written by Renee Tucker, DVM, author of Where Does My Horse Hurt? , for my free e-newsletter ‘Brain or Pain’.  Free emails similar to these articles are available at www.wheredoesmyhorsehurt.com.  Simply sign up for "50 Horse Secrets that your vet doesn't know", and they'll come right to your inbox.  To receive ‘Brain or Pain’ for free, simply sign up at my homepage www.holistichorsehelp.com.

Frowny Face

There was a horse named Scout that had the frowniest face I had ever seen. Ears 3/4 back, nose tightly wrinkled -- even his eyes looked squinty! I thought the horse must not like me.

"No, Scout likes you as much as he likes anyone. He always has that frowny face. He doesn't like other horses either," said Jean the owner.

"What do you mean, he doesn't like other horses? None of them?" I asked incredulously.

"No. Not a one. Either with a small group of horses or one other horse, Scout always stands off to the side."

Well, that was the saddest thing I had ever heard. As I worked on Scout, the most prominent thing he had out of alignment was his atlas (poll).  And it was way off. Luckily I was able to fix it.  

When I rechecked Scout a few weeks later, he looked happy! Jean reported that he had even developed some horse friends.

Because the brainstem runs through the atlas bone, people with atlas subluxations develop headaches, migraines and even vision problems. I believe horses also get headaches with bad atlas subluxations.



Other problems with atlas subluxations include: 

• ·      head tossing 
• ·      difficulty going one direction 
• ·      trouble picking up leads
• ·      can't flex the poll
• ·      and many more.




You can do the Atlas Body Checkup on your own horse to make sure his or her head is on straight.  Body Checkups are simple, easy to do Checkups that tell you whether or not your horse has a problem.  The details of the 
Atlas Checkup are available for FREE here: wheredoesmyhorsehurt.com/atlas-checkup

Give it a try!  You might be surprised at what you can do for your horse.

Is your horse's skin "sensitive"?

One hot, sunny day in Redding, California where I live, I was examining a horse for chiropractic subluxations. A beautiful bay Trakehner mare, Jewel had a wary look in her eye.

I was doing her exam when I noticed Jewel suddenly stop breathing, flick an ear back and twitch her tail. I paused.

"Did you see that?" I asked her owner.

"See what?" Amanda replied.

"Jewel's ear and tail twitched when I was examining her rib cage," I explained.  I did the exam again and Jewel reponded the same way.



"Oh, Jewel is always twitchy about touching and brushing. I got her the softest brushes--from New Zealand, mind you--but she's still sensitive," Amanda said.

"So does she roll a lot, like she's itchy?" I asked.

"No, she never rolls.  Now that you mention it, I haven't seen her roll in about two years since she got caught up in that panel fence," Amanda added.

Well, this was an excellent clue for me.

  Jewel's ribs probably became subluxated during the fence incident.  Jewel proved to have lots of ribs subluxated on both sides.  After she was adjusted her eyes relaxed and she breathed easier.  She also went out and rolled.  :)



Many caring horse owners do not realize that small signs like "skin sensitivity" can be indications of chiropractic problems.  They do the very best they can for their horse, like buying the best brushes, but "you don't know what you don't know."   Many people are saddened that they didn't know their horse even had a fixable problem.

Sensitive-skinned horses definitely appreciate soft brushes.  But if they're still irritated by brushing, there may be more going on under the surface.

For FREE step-by-step Body Checkup directions to examine your horse for rib subluxations, click here: wheredoesmyhorsehurt.com/rib-checkup

3)  Does "Girthy" = Ulcers?

Is your horse girthy? Or cinchy?

Maybe he doesn't try to kick you, but what if he turns his head to look at you (not with fondness) while you're girthing up the saddle?

Or maybe she wrinkles up her nose and stomps her foot while you're putting the saddle on?



I've even heard a couple people say that their horse turns around to BITE the riders foot while they're on the horse!

Right now, at least in the US, many people are on the "ulcer bandwagon" and are treating their horses for ulcers.  There are so MANY ulcer products out there now, and new ones are arriving on the market all the time.

IS this the answer then?  Does girthiness indicate ulcers?  The answer is:  sometimes.

You gotta love that answer.  Only a vet would be so annoyingly vague. 

Here's the thing.  Girthiness can be caused by multiple different issues.  Here's the short list:

•                Saddle Fit

•                Ulcers

•                Chiropractic subluxations:

•                Ribs, withers, sternum, thoracic, C7 can all cause girthiness

•                Nutrition

There's always a reason for girthiness.  I encourage you to keep trying to find your horse's reason, even though it can be frustrating to figure out!  There's more girthiness information here:  wheredoesmyhorsehurt.com/girthiness

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