Wild Heart Equine Bodywork

23/08/2026

Why is bodywork beneficial?

Massage, craniosacral therapy and other bodywork modalities can help calm the nervous system, reduce muscle tension and facilitate relaxation throughout the body.

It’s not about forcing the body to release. It’s about helping it recognise that it doesn’t need to hold itself together through tension.

Increased relaxation and suppleness are important. However, true adaptation and lasting changes in movement patterns also require strengthening.

If we introduce strengthening without first addressing restrictions in mobility, we may simply strengthen the brace and tension associated with old movement patterns.

On the other hand, if we release tension without appropriate strengthening, the body may feel unstable and revert to its familiar patterns of tension to create a sense of safety.

Bodywork and appropriately timed strengthening work together to create better, lasting outcomes, for both you and your horse.

04/08/2026

That's a wrap for our Equine Anatomy 3-Day Clinic with Dr Sharon May-Davis.

Three days, one incredible learning experience.

Throughout the clinic, students explored every layer of the horse, from the skin through to the deepest structures. They traced muscles from origin to insertion, followed tendons and ligaments, examined joints and fascia, and began to appreciate that nothing in the horse exists in isolation.

One of the most fascinating aspects of a standing dissection is seeing movement come to life. Students could watch and feel what happened throughout the body as the neck bent to graze, turned from side to side, or as pressure was applied to the bit. They observed how movement in one area influenced structures much further away, reinforcing just how connected the horse truly is.

Anatomy isn't simply about learning the names of muscles or bones. It's about understanding function. Why does this structure exist? What happens when it doesn't function as intended? How do compensation patterns develop? And how does one seemingly small change influence the rest of the horse?

Those are the questions students will continue asking long after the dissection has finished. Every horse they assess from now on will be viewed with a deeper understanding of the remarkable complexity that lies beneath the skin.

Thank you to Sharon and her wonderful team for sharing their knowledge so generously, and to all of the students who attended with curiosity, enthusiasm and a willingness to learn.

04/08/2026

Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending a dissection in Yarck with the incredible Sharon May-Davis.
Thank you to our beautiful donor horse Wally, the lessons we learned from his body and the knowledge gained were invaluable.
Wally had Equine Complex Vertebral Malformation (ECVM) which affected C6, C7 and his first rib. This meant that muscle attachments, arteries and nerves were not necessarily where they should be and this contributed to him being laid to rest at only 4yrs old.
Did you know that varying grades of ECVM can be found in all breeds and up to 40%! It’s a staggering statistic.
Thank you first and foremost to Sharon for sharing your incredible knowledge with us.
Also to The Barefoot Blacksmith for facilitating this for us.

19/07/2026

The 4 Ts work together.

No single finding tells the whole story.
However, when I combine:
• Tone
• Texture
• Temperature
• Tenderness
along with an assessment of movement, posture, history, and the horse's responses to touch, I have a more information to be able to help the horse.
That's why every session is individual. Two horses may show similar symptoms but have completely different underlying patterns.
Good bodywork isn't about chasing sore spots.
It's about understanding the whole horse.
If you've ever wondered what I'm feeling when my hands seem to pause during an assessment, now you know!

17/07/2026

14/07/2026

The fourth T: Tenderness

One of the most important things I pay attention to is how the horse responds to touch.
Horse can show this in many different ways.

A horse might show it by:
• 👂 Pinning an ear
• 👀 Looking towards the area
• 💨 Tensing
• 🐴 Moving away
• 💋 Lip licking or chewing after release
• 😴 Relaxing once pressure is reduced

These responses help by adding pieces to the puzzle.
Every horse communicates differently, and part of my job is to recognise those subtle conversations.
Listening to the horse is just as important as listening with my hands.

13/07/2026

The third T: Temperature

Our hands can detect subtle differences in skin and tissue temperature.
Areas that feel:
• 🔥 Warmer than surrounding tissue may suggest increased circulation or inflammation.
• ❄ Cooler than expected may indicate reduced circulation or tissues that aren't functioning optimally.
Temperature is never used on its own to diagnose a problem, but it's an important piece of the assessment puzzle.
By combining temperature with the other three Ts, we gain a much clearer understanding of what's happening beneath the surface.
Small changes often tell a big story.

05/07/2026

The first T: Tone

Muscle tone refers to the natural resting tension within a muscle.

Healthy muscles should feel:
• Supple
• Elastic
• Responsive

When muscle tone changes, it can tell us a lot.
A muscle that feels overly tight or ropey may be working too hard to compensate for another area.
A muscle that feels unusually soft or lacking tone may not be engaging properly.
Neither is automatically a problem on its own, but together with the rest of the assessment, they help build the bigger picture.

Bodywork isn't just about finding tight muscles. It's about understanding why they're tight.

30/06/2026

What can your horse's body tell us?

When I assess a horse, I'm not just looking at how they move. My hands are gathering information long before any bodywork begins.
One of the ways I assess the body is by feeling for the 4 Ts of palpation:
🐴 Tone
🐴 Texture
🐴 Temperature
🐴 Tenderness

These four clues help identify areas of tension, compensation, inflammation, or discomfort that may be affecting your horse's performance or wellbeing.

Over the next few posts, I'll explain each one and why it matters.
Your horse is always communicating. We just have to know how to listen.

21/06/2026

Is your horse struggling to stand still for the farrier or even just cleaning out their feet?
This might not just be a behavioural issue. Your horse might be experiencing discomfort or pain.
Bodywork can be beneficial not only to your horse but also your farrier!