Carey Hearn to Helen Thornton (EST)
Just wanted to thank you Helen for all your help getting Apollo back to work after surgery and 3 years as a field ornament! Lots of treatments and following your advise on straightness training finally paid off.😊 Meet BOB
I even treat donkeys too. Isn't he lovely? He wasn't camera shy! Had tweaked his withers and back but he was very friendly . ![]() Wow! It's certainly winter now as temperatures have suddenly dropped. So many horses are now clipped and spending much longer in the stable for the next so many months . Things to consider include: feeding from the floor as much as possible. This natural feeding position is the best posture for your horse to be eating from. You may feel your horse will benefit from some magnetic boots; Introduce gradually or your horses legs will swell. A huge straw bed may look inviting to us, but consider the impact on breathing and their legs, getting around the stable . Also uneven beds could cause overloading of the forelegs, if it doesn't come up to the door. They need as much time as possible out of their stable. Take at least 20 mins to gently warm them up and 15 to cool down...an exercise blanket for fully clipped horses is ideal to look after their back and quarters. Unable to ride due to the weather ? An individual set of exercises can be done in the stable. Pilates for horses is much more than carrot stretches and done regularly will have a massive impact on the postural imbalances. Feel free to contact me. Please share. Stay safe this winter! ![]() OK - Pilates class: second week. It's the day after. We did activating the core, stretching the hip flexors and plenty of back stretching. Wowza! I have to say I can really feel I've worked on my abs today. Pilates is so, so gentle and subtle. In the past I've tried hundreds of sit-ups at all kinds of gyms. Yet this gentle class has made the most of working my abs. I feel that, doing it this way - gently reminding your body that the core has a job to do (I'm 10 months post-operation too so very weak core) - is quite the way forward. Now I know how my horse feels when I am doing those sternum lifts and dorsal reflex stretches. Oh, and the gentle hip flexor work we did....Wowza again! This really showed up how I am weak down my left side, and collapse over to my left. No wonder my right leg grabs ...that's obviously to stop me from falling out the side door. Even though it's subtle it's having a massive impact on Missy’s jumping and flat work. Starting to feel I will be so much improved by next year. Stay tuned for next week’s Horse & Rider Plates Report ![]() I'm starting on a journey of a Pilates programme for myself ... and, hopefully, fellow horse riders will find this very interesting: At the same time as I begin to see the benefits of my own human Pilates programme, I'm going to do some intense Pilates work with my horse.Inevitably we impact one another, and we do mirror each other's issues....I tend to lean over to the left, so I then stablise myself by hugging her side with my right leg /calf. This, in turn, obviously sends my horse's ribcage through to the left. Therefore, I don't think it's a coincidence that, on a left circle, she's leading via her left shoulder - not quite motorbiking but you'll get the picture! So, in turn, on the right rein she falls out through her left shoulder. I'm going to write a weekly blog article to keep you all up to date with what I'm doing for myself as a rider and for my new horse. And I hope that you all find some interesting stuff along the way.
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Train your eye: You can tell a lot about how correct a horse's frame is by evaluating the way he is using his top-line muscles. The muscles in the horse's neck really tell the story, with an area of bulging muscle at the top of the neck behind the poll proving the horse is in a false frame, from being pulled together from front to back. The left-hand picture shows the signs of an incorrect frame, while the one on the right shows a horse that is using his neck muscles properly. Click here to see this article on the EST Facebook Page
22/04/15 Satisfied customer Melanie Murchison posted: Penny having her first physio session with the lovely Helen Est Thornton Melanie Murchison: "so happy with miss mary now looks mighty fine was chuffed with helens comment about her big arse and looking like a proper horse. Makes all the hard work worth while" 22/04/15
Posted by Equine Sports Therapy EST on Friday, 10 April 2015
The Bowen Technique is a gentle form of muscular release treatment.
Contact Helen Thornton to arrange a Bowen Therapy Centre consultation Specialising in horse and rider therapy
Posted by Equine Sports Therapy EST on Saturday, 21 March 2015
Ref: Painted Horse 2015 - Equinology and Manolo Mendez
The two images on this page are a good starting point to look at equine - human anatomical common parts and differences: This first image is from Dr. Deb Bennett’s Principles of Equine Orthopaedics Part 1 comparing the equine and human forelimb, and shows that they’re very different in both structure and function: More to follow soon on the properly trimmed hoof and how it should land... The next image is from the US Pony Club and shows again that the tips of our fingers and toes are the horse's hooves. This means that the horse is walking on the tips of it's fingers and toes. That is a lot of weight for such a tiny part of the body... Image published by US Pony Club
One horse taken in at a time (so he/she will get 100% attention):
Based near Lincoln Any queries please call 07947 623923 or contact me here. |
EST BlogPlease Click Here for Latest Blog Articles: Helen Thornton lives near Lincoln (UK) but travels widely for work and pleasure. She keeps four horses and has a lovely dog called Lola. To be notified of new articles on my blog, please enter your email address below
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