Is My Horse In Pain

Keep your horse pain-free and performing his best! Introducing 27 simple body checkups you can do on your horse—Where Does My Horse Hurt? is a do-it-yourself method for determining when and where your horse hurts. With this easy-to-follow book, conveniently spiral-bound so you can lay it open on your tack trunk and follow the instructions as you work on your horse, you will: • Become familiar with your horse's normal range of movement so you can prevent minor issues from becoming major. • Stay in tune with areas of temporary or chronic discomfort so you can offer relief as needed. • Solve "mystery" or "phantom" lamenesses that come and go seemingly without reason. • Save thousands of dollars by avoiding expensive diagnostics that rarely get you answers. • Learn how to discuss potential problem areas with farriers, veterinarians, and bodyworkers. • Keep your horse actively and happily "in work" for more months of the year, and more years of his life.

Is My Horse in Pain is an invaluable resource for all equestrians. The secrets of equine body language are unveiled, enabling readers to interpret the subtle messages hidden within the horse's gestures, postures and gaits. This book helps readers to understand and recognise these signs of pain and discomfort, taking appropriate measures to address and alleviate them. With this book acting as their guide, equestrians will be equipped with the tools to become knowledgeable and empathetic advocates, ensuring the well-being and happiness of their horses through enhanced performance and pain reduction.

When your horse suddenly develops a performance problem or a bad attitude and neither seem to be remedied by new training techniques or medical care, you often face months—even years—of frustration and career limitation. Dr. Joyce Harman, veterinarian and respected saddle-fitting expert, states that 75 percent of horses with such issues are simply reacting to pain caused by ill-fitting saddles. And, as she explains in this thorough and highly illustrated book, poor saddle fit can be corrected with patience and know-how.

100 percent ability is in your hands! Conformation Balancing is deceptively simple. With patient, conscientious placement of your hands on specific areas of the horse’s body, you can bring about profound change in his physical and mental well-being. The secret? The internet-like web of fascia beneath the skin. Fascia is the connective tissue that “holds everything together”—it wraps around, attaches, and stabilizes muscles and internal organs, communicating with all parts while providing structure and organization. But here’s the thing: Fascia is also a reservoir for emotional trauma and tension. This means that when you help a horse find physical release in a “stuck” area of strain or stiffness, you invite psychological healing as well.

The principle that underlies 'Understanding Horse Performance: Brain, Pain or Training?', previous 'Book of the Month' in Horse magazine, is that your horse can only communicate pain or discomfort through his behaviour or performance. But how do you distinguish between the horse who is playing you up, the horse who doesn't understand what's being asked of him, and the horse who is genuinely uncomfortable? My experience is that many people assume misbehaviour initially, and it can be several months or even years down the line before the search for discomfort begins. By this time, the relationship between horse and rider is often damaged beyond repair, if they've even managed to stay together that long. Too many horses are passed from home to home because of difficult behaviour, when all they're trying to do is explain to their owners that they are hurting somewhere. The problem is blamed on the rider - you're too inexperienced, too nervous, you need to be tougher on him, you sit wonky, you just need to kick on, etc. The 'gadgets' come out to stop the horse from expressing the behaviour, or the more experienced rider rides him through the problem, but the horse continues to suffer.

Covering many different diagnostic tools, this essential resource explores both traditional treatments and alternative therapies for conditions that can cause gait abnormalities in horses. Broader in scope than any other book of its kind, this edition describes equine sporting activities and specific lameness conditions in major sport horse types, and includes up-to-date information on all imaging modalities. This title includes additional digital media when purchased in print format. For this digital book edition, media content may not be included. Cutting-edge information on diagnostic application for computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging includes the most comprehensive section available on MRI in the live horse. Coverage of traditional treatment modalities also includes many aspects of alternative therapy, with a practical and realistic perspective on prognosis. An examination of the various types of horses used in sports describes the lameness conditions to which each horse type is particularly prone, as well as differences in prognosis. Guidelines on how to proceed when a diagnosis cannot easily be reached help you manage conditions when faced with the limitations of current diagnostic capabilities. Clinical examination and diagnostic analgesia are given a special emphasis. Practical, hands-on information covers a wide range of horse types from around the world. A global perspective is provided by a team of international authors, editors, and contributors. A full-color insert shows thermography images. Updated chapters include the most current information on topics such as MRI, foot pain, stem cell therapy, and shock wave treatment. Two new chapters include The Biomechanics of the Equine Limb and its Effect on Lameness and Clinical Use of Stem Cells, Marrow Components, and Other Growth Factors. The chapter on the hock has been expanded substantially, and the section on lameness associated with the foot has been completely rewritten to include state-of-the-art information based on what has been learned from MRI. Many new figures appear throughout the book.