Appleyard Equine

07/09/2026

Working on areas without touching them directly.

07/08/2026

Heat ✔️
Bugs ✔️
Sunburn ✔️
Happy to see clients thriving ✔️

07/01/2026

My last weekend course offering until 2027:

https://mastersonmethod.com/product/elgin-il-bhm-sep-2026/

Huge thank you in advance to LUXE Equestrian for sharing your space and your herd for this upcoming September’s course. We are truly to lucky to be at your facility, every time. 🌻

Check out the The Masterson Method, Integrated Equine Performance Bodywork website for full details and to register!

🔅Also - only 2 spots left in the 5-day course in October!!!

06/30/2026

If we look for illness, we find it. If we see wellness, we encourage it. Thankful for this radiant being who reminds me that when I think I am light enough, I can be lighter still.

06/26/2026

POLL TORSION…

One of the best ways to address head tilt is to take the axis, the joint responsible for the majority of rotation, out of the equation by straightening the neck, therefore isolating the AO joint.

And we can do this by simply asking for a lateral release, then bringing the nose back to center to take the torsion out of the poll.

Pull torsion is the number one cause of poll dysfunction and poll tension that I see, and it’s caused by everyday handling where we are constantly pulling the horse’s nose out from plumb.

The more we can stay off their head, and stop pulling on the lead and the inside rein, and lead and ride back to front, the better.

06/23/2026

Yes! 👏

Nothing drives me more insane than hearing thoracic spinal radiographs described as "mild" when the horse says otherwise.

Every month, I review images showing spinous processes that are touching, overriding, fusing, or demonstrating multi-level compression. Yet far too often, the conversation stops there.

The spinous processes are not the joint.

Read that again.

The spinous processes are not the joint.

They are simply the part of the vertebrae we can readily see on standard radiographs.

Below them lies the anatomy that matters most to function and pain generation: facet joints, intervertebral discs, spinal nerves, the spinal cord, ligaments, muscles, tendons, ribs, and blood vessels.

None of this can be seen on a standard radiograph of only the spinous processes.

Most importantly, spinal nerves exit at every single vertebral level below the spinous processes.

Every. Single. Level.

So when I hear, "It's only mild," while standing in front of a horse with behavioural changes, altered posture, performance limitations, and clear dysfunction on assessment, I have to ask:

Mild according to whom?

Because the horse often disagrees.

Imaging findings and clinical signs do not always correlate. Horses with significant radiographic changes can appear comfortable, while others with seemingly "mild" findings can be profoundly affected.

This is why imaging should never be interpreted in isolation.

We have many other metrics to evaluate a horse:

* anatomy & physiology (i.e. understanding normal anatomy versus pathology)
* movement assessment (gait evaluation)
* passive joint evaluation
* palpation (muscles, tendons, fascia)
* case history
* behaviour (this one is often the most clear)

And most importantly, we have the horse.

A radiograph is one piece of the puzzle.

What we see on the image may only be the tip of the iceberg.

06/20/2026

🩵💛🩵

06/18/2026

06/03/2026

Your horses don’t care if your breeches match your sunshirt. They care you take a breath before getting out of the car and try to meet them where they are today.