Horse Health Care and Bodywork: How Do I Know it is Working?

Beginner bodyworkers who want a hands on approach to horse health care inevitably ask this question, "How do I know the bodywork is working?"

There's always a bit of a doubt factor, especially if you are new to bodywork. There is also doubt if you don't see immediate "big changes" in your horse. You begin to wonder if you need to call in the professional to work on your horse.

It's always a judgment call as to whether you need a professional to "fix" your horse's health care issues. If you are not sure what is wrong with your horse, it's always a good idea to have a veterinarian do a full exam to make sure that nothing is truly wrong. For example, you want to be sure your horse doesn't need a float or have ulcers.

If your horse passes his vet check with flying colors and just needs bodywork to help him realign certain parts of his body or release tension, then you are good to go doing your own bodywork.

Bodywork: Your Horse, Your Hands
You are the most powerful health care provider your horse has. You see your horse more often than anyone else, and you know your horse better than any professional. That's why your hands can have more power to heal your horse than any professional.

Don't get me wrong, a professional can often do moves that you don't know how to do, and that may be very effective for certain health issues. But on a daily basis, you've got some stuff going for you that a professional will lack, including:

• your relationship with your horse
• your knowledge of your horse's tiniest forms of expression
• your horse's trust in you
• your horse's love
• your intuition

So while you might not have as much knowledge as a professional healthcare provider, you got a lot more going for you.

As I've often said, horses are pretty good self-healers, and often they just need a little help from us. They need us to act as a "channel" through which they can pull in healing energy. So when you lay your hands on your horse, you are being that channel for healing. And who do you think makes a better channel? A random professional or a person your horse knows and loves ... you?

So the formula for doing bodywork on your horse is this:

Your Horse + Your Hands = Healing

I'm no professional, but I have managed to do a lot with my roach backed horse, Fezzywig. Mostly I just put my hands where they want to go. I do some stretching and acupressure, but Fezzy likes it best when I just lay my hands on and flow energy. I can see a definite difference in just 2 months. See if you can, too.

Fezzy when he first arrived:













Fezzy now:














In the Meantime ...
But if things aren't progressing as fast as you would like, then get some help. Here are some things you can do:

• Call in a pro from time to time to evaluate your work
• Learn anatomy so you know where to put your hands
• Learn more bodywork techniques like acupressure
• Join the Horse Health Hotline inexpensively and ask a pro all the questions you want
• Learn more about your horse's personality type with the Horse Harmony book
• Get together with a buddy and trade horses to work on (two pairs of eyes are better than one!)
• Get help from an animal communicator to learn the specifics of where you horse hurts

I think those are plenty of resources to help me when I put my hands on my horse ... what about you?

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