Category: Case History

Axle, a 12 yr old Standardbred gelding and one of my clients new horse over on the West Coast.

There are only a couple of months in between those two pictures. 

When I first met him he was very thin and seemed to be in a lot of discomfort.

Axle’s pelvis was rotated and pronated. He was also holding his tail to the side, due to the misalignment in his hind end. After the adjustment his tail was straight in movement which was nice to see.
He was short striding as his shoulder was sitting outwards, due to weight shifting which is caused by the misalignment in the hind end. He was very restricted in his movement and each step was uncomfortable.
Axle had a lot of misalignment through the spinous process, especially in the lumbar area, which contribute to tight and shut down muscle groups in the rear and back. Nerve irritation and /or damage can be shown or occur in behavioural issues, bucking or lameness due to the misalignment.
Furthermore the TMJ and two cervical needed adjustment. When cervical misaligned, restricted movement of the head and problems with the sinus occur.

Stress points on both sides in the hind end were treated with acupressure and massage. I used liniment for better blood circulation and to release tightness in muscle groups. Soreness in shoulder and along the back was noticed and also treated with massage.

At the follow up appointment a great improvement was seen.
No weight shifting was noticed and he started dropping his stomach and filling out in the rear. He also started to put on weight and his coat changed amazingly. He started to look like a healthy and especially a happy horse. The owner and I noticed much better movement and general balance in walk and trot.

He showed great response to both treatments. At the first treatment he was unsettled and uncomfortable but quickly he showed signs of relaxation such as soft eyes, low positioned head, licking and chewing.

A great combination of chiropractic, acupressure & massage, good pasture, minerals & vitamins can make such a change and improvement.

HAPPINESS. WELL BEING. LOVE.

Marley, a 10 yr old Stationbred X.

Marley came to us in 2017 and has been turned out for several months. He was not very lucky with his owners over the last years. Marley was handed around and never really had the chance to build up trust or bond with anyone.
People described him as unpredictable, very pushy, forward and disrespectful.
I personally met him as a sad and needy horse.

From the first day he gave me all his hope and trust. Marley is the most loyal and sensitive horse I have ever worked with. He was always very patient and tried his absolute best to communicate with me.
We started liberty training and horsemanship, with great support from my sister-in-law and horse trainer Patience Svensson. Marley did great from the very start, but something did not feel right.
I decided to get a medical check done, so we can work on the background of the behaviour issues- physically and mentally.

The local vet told me that Marley has teeth like a 25 year old horse. He has a few missing and the ones he has left are in terrible condition. Some years ago he had an abscess which has been removed, but the dental work he needed never happened.
An oral surgeon for horses from the UK agreed with my vets opinion. Marley was born with some teeth with no enamel on them, so they wore away too quickly or never developed properly and resulted in the flat yellow things you can see in the picture. This is known as dysplastic teeth or enamel hypoplasia.
Marley has swelling on the right side of his face which turned into a bony change, due to fracture. Furthermore, there is a communication (hole) between mouth and sinus on the same side. He has had a neglected mouth for a long time and had to live with pain and discomfort.

             

With only being 10 years old, he should be in the prime time of his life, but because of not caring for him, not getting dental work or check ups done his life quality changed dramatically. Marley will need a special diet, nutrition and regular dental work for the future.

When he came to us, he had absolutely no “life balance”. He had no routine, no proper nutrition, no training or exercise, no one to trust or to follow, health issues, not the right care for his needs and he was not the happiest horse I would say.

We tried our best to help him and to take any advice we could get. I started studying every single horse book, magazine, article and met with trainer, vets and nutritionists. I wanted the very best for him and especially I wanted to take the discomfort away from him and to become a great team on the ground and in the saddle.

I decided to start studying Equine Therapy. I wanted to help and support horse owners to keep their horses healthy, but furthermore I wanted to take pain and discomfort from them.
Due to Marley’s dental situation, he has problems along the spinous process. Everything in the body is connected. Misalignment of the cervicals and his back causes discomfort in his everyday life.
He will need regular adjustments and dental work done. This will not be a “fix”, but I can help him to have a longer life span and enjoyable, pain free and comfortable life.

 

Tuffy a 34 yr old Quarter horse / retired broodmare.

Tuffy has arthritis in both front legs and also a past injury on her left front.

She has synovial filling in her knees and its been given anti inflammatory.
When I was working on her she was very stiff and could not bend her knees due to development of calcification in the knee joints.

She also carries way more weight in the front than in then hind end which tells me that there is misalignment, especially when horses shift weight to move away from discomfort.

Her Pelvis was rotated to the left and pronated to the right side. Her left shoulder was sitting outwards and she had a lot misalignment through the spinous process. (three Wither, three Ribs and four Lumbar were misaligned) Furthermore I adjusted two misaligned cervical.

After the chiropractic treatment I did acupressure massage and worked on tight Stress Points.
Her response was great. She was licking and chewing, lowered her head which was very difficult for her before the treatment and she move out better.

I am glad that I got to work on her. At this stage it’s about making her as comfortable as possible and helping her in taking discomfort away. It was her first treatment in over 30 years.