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Equine Bowen Therapy is a unique soft tissue therapy which uses a hands-on vibrational technique that stimulates the delicate fascia and separates the muscle glue fibres under the skin. It also works with the nerves to send neurological messages to the brain to relax the muscle and restore function to joints, ligaments, tendons, muscles and even organs.
This is done through using the fingers or thumb to apply a series of cross fibre movements along the length of the muscle or ligament, or around the joint. These vibrations then continue to work through the muscle for the next 5 - 7 days to provide deeper and more powerful results.
Bowen Therapy in turn allows the body to heal itself on all levels including physically, mentally, chemically and emotionally.
EQUINE BOWEN THERAPY
TRIGGER POINT THERAPY
The myofascial trigger point contains a muscle spindle at its core and align with the common Acupuncture points. The muscle spindle is a nerve structure that is sensitive to stretch and pressure and keeps the surrounding musculature in contraction. Active trigger points are always tender from tight surrounding muscles and eliminating them relieves a source of pain.
This technique involves sustained pressure from the thumbs or fingers directly on the trigger points. The pressure initially causes ischemia, followed by reactive hyperaemia when the point is released via a 'Bowen' move. The return of blood warms the area and stimulates metabolic processes to 'deactivate' the trigger point, and relieve the pain.
Fitting of the saddle plays a major role in keeping the horse's muscles supple and allowing for maximum movement of the shoulders and hindquarter, and flexion of the back. Even the slightest pressure point or balance issue can cause tightening and restriction of the muscles underneath the saddle, hinder engagement and flexion and most times also cause 'behavioural problems' such as tossing of the head, girthyness, bucking, biting when tacked up, etc.
Muscle indicators tell a vivid story of any pressure being caused by the saddle, even minor issues which may not be able to be picked up by the eye. This helps in determining if there are any specific issues with the fitting of the saddle, even if the saddle is specifically rocking, bridging, rolling, pinching at the wither, overstuffed, or unbalanced. It can also indicate how this is affecting their movement and performance as well as your riding and balance in the saddle and resolving the issue causes a major improvement on both the horse and rider.
The temporomandibular joint (TMJ) and how well it works has a large effect on the muscles of the poll, neck, shoulders, back and hindquarter. TMJ and poll issues are usually caused by dental problems. Dental issues greatly interfere with the rotation of the jaw and the way a horse grinds their food. This is something which is often overlooked as the horse's teeth are not easily seen or felt.
Horses, who have 40 teeth erupting throughout their lifetime, need their teeth not only floated, but balanced as well. The teeth develop sharp points, ridges, ramps, hooks, incisor slants and waves, and can become out of alignment. Proper dental care is just as important as proper hoof trimming. If any of these dental problems are not addressed, the muscles in the face, shoulders, back and hindquarter will become visibly out of balance or atrophied and as time goes on the spine, hips, hocks, and other joints can become negatively affected. This can create a very onesided, stiff, heavy, or even sensitive horse with difficulty working in a correct frame as lower jaw movement is also restricted.
Many horses also improve in their behaviour and the ability to operate in a calm and focused temperment once tension in the mouth (and therefore also the body) is reduced, as horses which have oral discomfort will be more dry mouthed and therefore less relaxed both in day to day existence and under saddle.
A horse's gait can tell you a lot about any pain or restrictions within the body. Since the horse's whole body is ultimately designed for survival, majority of its muscles and structures aid to increase stride length, speed and efficiency. Because of this, muscles which have become sore or tight will restrict the horse's movement, and will affect specific limbs and strides dependant on the issue.
Pain in joints or hooves will also show up with specific movement patterns, from how the horse is swinging through with each limb, movement of the head and hips with each footfall, to which part of the hoof wall the horse is landing on with each step. These all help to narrow down what the issue may be more specifically once the muscle tighness has already indicated the particular location of the pain within the body
This helps to assess exactly which structure are being affected and alterations within the gait can usually also be linked back to specific issues felt undersaddle (struggling on one rein, leaning on the forehand, etc.) giving us a much better indication of how to address the issue as well as assess success and improvement in the future.
ACUPRESSURE & RED LIGHT THERAPY
With instant relief of muscle and tendon strain, Acupressure and Red Light Therapy is wonderful for revealing more serious damage present in joints, tendons, ligaments or muscles straight away during assessment. It can also be used to assess for foregut and hindgut ulcers present as well as relieve any external strain associated with these. By immediately being able to relieve the muscles, this is also very helpful for extremely sore, or extremely sensitive horses, as it makes any further body work directly on the muscles more comfortable; resulting in a much more pleasant experience for these horses.
We will also be selling red lights during our sessions at a fantastic price with specific guidance for the owner during the session on exactly which points to treat on the individual horse to best benefit each horse's needs. These are great for horses suffering from long term recovering injuries, arthritis, laminitis, ect. who require ongoing treatment. Regular red light treatments from owners or trainers will result in faster healing, slower degeneration, higher comfort and a longer timeframe between major treatments required.