Horse Trail Chicks

I recently asked my horse’s chiropractor, Heather Beaudry, if I could interview her for a blog post and she readily agreed.

The conversation did not go at all as I expected. I figured it would focus on how a chiropractor can help a horse and, though informative, would be pretty dry.

Well, it was not dry at all. I was blown away by Heather’s knowledge of the equine musculoskeletal system and the effect that the rider, tack, farrier, training, and terrain all have the horse. She painted a picture of a magnificent machine – the horse – exquisitely designed to move across terrain.

But when we ride, this magnificent machine can be subjected to unnatural stresses such as novice riders, ill-fitting tack, or long hacks without proper conditioning. We ask so much of our horses and need to understand the toll it can take on their bodies, so that we can take steps to minimize the impact.

Heather explained that the normal stresses on a horse’s spine include gravity and ground reaction forces. When you place a human on the horse, the muscles, ligaments, fascia, limbs, and vertebrae all have to work together to maintain the weight of the tack and rider. We sit on the horse’s core, or “power zone.” The weight of the rider, movement and balance of the rider, saddle, pad, girth, and other tack all affect the horse’s movement and response to ground forces. Add in terrain that we might encounter on a trail ride, and we are presenting the horse’s tissues with a challenge. The longer the trail ride, the bigger the challenge.

The good news is that we can prepare our horse to meet these challenges by building endurance. This requires conditioning, which can be done in the ring and on the trail. We need to build up both cardiovascular fitness and muscle strength. Trotting and cantering increase cardiovascular fitness – which contributes to overall health, as well as muscle. Hill work is also very important for building muscle.

Going downhill is the most difficult for a horse. Some breeds, such as Icelandics, have shorter lumbar spines that help them handle descents. Most horses, however, struggle to go downhill because they don’t have enough strength in the muscles used to slow themselves down – the hip flexors or iliopsoas. When going downhill a horse needs to have his hind legs well underneath him, in a sort of sitting position. We need to build up these muscles in order to avoid injury. We can do this with flat work by using anything that encourages collection, including dressage training ground poles.

Jec Aristotle Ballou, in her book Equine Fitness, recommends:

• reining back up a hill or over a pole,
• lunging at walk and trot on a hill; add a pole if you like,
• slow-canter to walk transitions down a hill (she emphasizes that if you cannot achieve a slow canter, work with an instructor in the arena to learn half-halts to slow and collect your horse),
• on the ground, with head down, ask your horse to step the hindquarters forward under the body by gently tapping on the hind leg with a whip.

We can also help our horse by riding properly. We need to be balanced (lots of people think they are but are not – ask sometime to watch you from behind when you ride and tell you if you are centered in the saddle), have a good seat that works with our horse rather than against her, soft hands, and aids that are subtle. It’s also very important to pay attention to our horse and trust her to make some decisions about how to negotiate difficult terrain. For example, in the spring when my horse is somewhat deconditioned, he wants to walk down steep hills by zigzagging diagonally down. I let him do this because I want him to feel safe and confident, and to trust me to not make him uncomfortable. But his behavior tells me that I need to strengthen his hip flexors more, which I can do in a more controlled manner back at the barn. If your horse balks at certain terrain, slips or trips, don’t just assume he is being lazy or belligerent. A more likely cause is that he does not have the strength or balance to negotiate the terrain and his muscles are fatigued, or perhaps is not fit enough for the demands of that trail ride.

We must also be careful what we ask of our horse, based on her fitness and strength. Being a weekend warrior – going on a long trail ride on Saturday with little or no riding during the week – is as much of a stress on your horse as it would be on you if you were a couch potato all week and tried to climb Camel’s Hump (a 4,000 foot mountain with steep rocky terrain in Vermont) on the weekend.

No, this is not Camel’s Hump. This is a mountain in Alberta and you can bet these horses are fit for this terrain.

When we stress our horse’s body, there can be muscle soreness and even tissue damage, in particular in the saddle area. The onset can be delayed. Just as you might feel great the evening of your Camel’s Hump climb yet the next day can hardly get out of bed, your horse might not feel the effects of a long hard ride right away. How can we tell if our horse is sore? Look for changes in his gaits, behavior changes such as not going as far out in the pasture or playing as much as usual, being off his feed, or if she just doesn’t seem right.

A horse needs a recovery period after a long or difficult trail ride. While giving him a couple of days off might seem like the right thing to do, Heather says that actually, the best way to support a horse’s recovery is movement. Movement gets the blood flowing, which feeds and repairs the tissues. She suggests a light ride such as flat work or a gentle trail ride including walking and trotting.

To keep our horse healthy and ready for the demands of the trail, we also need to engage professionals including our veterinarian, farrier, trainer, and saddle fitter. Hoof issues or a poor fitting saddle can wreak havoc on a horse’s spine and entire musculoskeletal system. And – since this blog post is ostensibly about chiropractic medicine – let’s talk about the value of an equine chiropractor.

I learned a lot about chiropractic from Heather (including the fact that the word “chiropractic” is actually a noun in addition to being an adjective, although it still sounds funny to me to be used that way).

Chiropractic is aimed at stimulating receptors in skin, muscle, bone, and joint capsules, to help reset them to baseline health. According to the American Association of Equine Practitioners, “the practice of chiropractic focuses on the relationship between structure (primarily the vertebral column) and function (as coordinated by the nervous system) and how that relationship affects health. Chiropractic is a form of manual therapy that uses controlled forces applied to specific joints or anatomic areas to cause a healing response. The goals of chiropractic treatment are to restore normal joint motion, stimulate nerve reflexes and reduce pain and abnormally increased muscle tone.”

In essence, a chiropractor identifies weaknesses in the horse and performs manipulation and stimulation of the spine and the tissues that attach to the spine in order to keep the machine running well. The goal is to maintain the body in a straight path so that up and down motion can be healthy.

Some chiropractors may use additional modalities such as neuromuscular stimulation, heat/cold therapy, manipulation/mobilization, therapeutic ultrasound, soft tissue simulation, active or passive range of motion exercises, and teaching the horse’s person how to stretch and strengthen the horse’s core and the limbs.

I asked Heather how a person would know if their horse needs a chiropractor. She suggested finding someone who can give you an unbiased evaluation of whether your horse has any issues prohibiting peak performance such as old orthopedic injuries or tracking or movement issues. In terms of finding an equine chiropractor, there are not many out there. Heather said there are fewer than 1200 equine chiropractic practitioners worldwide, although the number is growing. Many veterinarians are getting trained so a good place to start is with your vet.  You can also go to http://www.animalchiropractic.org/avca-doctor-search.htm and search for a practitioner in your area.

Dr. Heather Beaudry has a B.S. degree in sports medicine and physiotherapy, a doctorate in human chiropractic, is a certified Chiropractor through the America Veterinary Chiropractic Association, and a licensed Veterinary Technician. She has worked for 17 years as a full-time equine chiropractic practitioner and sees clients from Maine to Florida. She has built up her practice from word-of-mouth and has never advertised, so if you look for her website you won’t find one. If you are interested in talking to her about seeing your horse, contact us here at Horse Trail Chicks and we will connect you.

The information presented here is the opinion of one equine chiropractor based on her education, training, and experience. It is not intended to represent a professional consensus or guideline for your horse.

Happy trails!

Monica