How to keep your horse sound and healthy

Sometimes this can feel like a daunting task...keeping our horses sound and healthy.

There is just so much that can go wrong.

We're dealing with an animal who has biological, physical, mental, emotional, spiritual considerations; so much that we're dealing with on a daily basis.

So much so that many riders get overwhelmed and their love for the horse that they started out with, gets clouded and maybe even lost.

I'm going to share with you a few tips that have helped me with numerous horses, and myself.

They'll help you to keep riding longer, to keep our horses moving well, to keep them sound, and to keep them healthy.

#1.  Know about balance

And by that, I mean, true balance... know how to find true balance in your body and in your horse's body.

And how to help the horse to contribute in finding their own balance in doing whatever it is you want them to do.

So  that the horse knows what you're asking for, the horse knows what's coming next and the horse understands completely so that they can move their body to help out.

They can prepare themselves to do what you would like, what you're asking to do.

Then once we know our balance for our bodies and we know our horses balance and how to decipher where that is and what that is, then we can put the rider and the horse together.

That means that they're moving to the best of their capabilities and the best that's going to help their body to develop well without compensations, without favoring some part...without injuries, perhaps coming along the way.

#2.  Bodywork

I have a lot of horses (most of them rescues) that have come here through my facility and I've helped them with their bodies, with their minds, with their spirits. I've helped them to change.

I know it's not a perfect world so in our not perfect world, where we've got horses with compensations that are happening, that is causing them issues, a good body worker is a fantastic idea.

If you can find a good body worker in your area, then that is great. Hire that person, use that person for your horses.

I didn't have a good body worker so I needed to find out the information myself. I researched it and I learned body work, all aspects of chiropractic, muscle, craniosacral, myofascial release, all of those kinds of Body work that I used on my riding horses and my rescue horses.

While you are learning about balance, while you're learning how to get that true balance in your body and in your horse's body, and then putting the two of you together so you can dance, a good body worker is an asset for you. It'll help your horse's body to release and to move better so that then you can learn faster.

#3.  Evaluation

If you have no means of evaluating your progress, then how are you going to progress?

You need to have a means of evaluating a very clear way to evaluate your improvement and your progress.

Check in points with your body, perhaps, check in points with your horse's body. That's what you need to have in order to evaluate where you're going.

Am I improving? Do I notice something that's not improving?

MORE RESOURCES TO HELP YOU BUILD YOUR DREAM HORSE

* Why we miss our horses

* The wonders of spine lengthening