ALD Equine Solutions

19/09/2026

⚠️ This post may ruffle a few feathers, but it needs to be said.

I was talking with one of my students this morning about something that I think frustrates a lot of equine bodyworkers.

We can work with a horse multiple times. The owner sees the changes, praises the results, and tells us how much better the horse is moving or behaving.

Then suddenly, the horse presents with something new.

And instead of calling the bodyworker who already knows that horse’s body, movement patterns, restrictions, compensation patterns, and history, sometimes the bodyworker is completely left out of the conversation.

Why?

Let me make something VERY clear: I am not saying don't call your veterinarian.

⭐️ Veterinarians are absolutely necessary. They diagnose, treat disease and injury, prescribe medications, perform procedures, and handle things that are completely outside a bodyworker's scope of practice.⭐️

⭐️There are also veterinarians who have pursued extensive additional education in sports medicine, rehabilitation, and lameness, and I have tremendous respect for professionals who continue expanding their knowledge.⭐️

But different professionals bring different pieces to the puzzle.

You call your farrier for the feet.

You call your veterinarian for medical diagnosis and treatment.

You call your chiropractor for chiropractic care.

So why wouldn't you also call your qualified bodyworker when something changes in the horse's movement or body?

‼️A knowledgeable bodyworker isn't there to replace your veterinarian or diagnose a medical condition.‼️

‼️We ARE there to recognize changes in movement, muscle tension, asymmetry, compensation patterns, and how the horse's body feels compared with previous visits‼️

Sometimes what we see tells us, "I can work with this."

Sometimes it tells us, "This horse needs a veterinarian."

Sometimes it tells us, "We need the vet, farrier, trainer, and bodyworker communicating with each other."

THAT is how it should work.

The conversation this morning came from a situation involving one of my student's clients. The horse received an SI injection. Later, I was sent a video, and there were still movement concerns that appeared to involve the stifle area. Yet the owner didn't want the bodyworker involved because they had been told the horse was fine.

And that's what bothers me.

Not because I believe a bodyworker's opinion should override a veterinarian's diagnosis—it shouldn't.

It's because "the horse has been medically evaluated" and "the horse is moving normally" aren't necessarily the same conversation.

Bodywork is not just fluffy relaxation and making a horse feel good for an afternoon.

When properly trained and working within our scope, bodyworkers can be an important part of the horse's team.

We watch movement.

We feel changes.

We recognize compensation.

We follow patterns over time.

And because we may see the same horse repeatedly, sometimes we notice when something simply isn't moving or feeling the way it normally does.

I've spent years teaching my students to ask WHY.

🐎 Why is the horse compensating?

🐎 Why did this muscle change?

🐎 Why did the movement change?

🐎 What changed somewhere else in the body?

And most importantly—when is this something we can appropriately address, and when does this horse need to be referred to another professional?

So my question isn't, "Why call the vet?"
My question is:

Why do we call the vet for every little concern? When you can call the farrier for feet, chiropractic for adjustments and Massage Therapist/bodyworker for body compensation?

Why aren't we using the entire team?
Your veterinarian, farrier, bodyworker, chiropractor, trainer, saddle fitter, and other qualified professionals shouldn't have to compete with one another.

We should be communicating and putting the HORSE first.

FYI, most of my clients even they tell me that they rather do or communicate with me firat, because I safe them money from the vet coming out all the time ( when it pretains to biomechanics) . If I don't think I can help , guess what I tell them to contact the vet.

Hopefully, this makes sense. It's hard to put into words .

And yes... we'll talk about SI injections another day. 😉🐴

19/09/2026

HAY SOAKING TRUTHS 🟨💧

If I had a pound for every time I get asked about this, I'd be rich!

There always seems to be nutribaloney circulating about soaking hay - for example whether or not it should actually be soaked.

Some Q&As to help...
__________
Q: Does soaking hay strip it of nutrients?
A: Yes - that's the whole point (unless you're soaking for up to 30 mins for respiratory health) - we're long- soaking to reduce BOTH calories (energy) & water soluble carbs (sugar & fructan)
___________
Q: Can we replace the useful nutrients lost e.g. minerals?
A: Yes - that's why we add a balancer or vitamin & mineral supplement to the diet, because soaking may reduce some mineral levels
___________
Q: Do we soak for just sugar reduction?
A: No No No No!!!! For overweight horses & ponies or those with insulin dysregulation we soak hay to reduce calories (energy) as well as water soluble carbs (WSC) = sugar AND fructan!!

(Fructan is not sugar. It's made up of sugar units joined by bonds that are not broken by digestive enzymes, but fermented by gut microbes.

The reason some may get confused about fructan is they either think it's a sugar or they think it doesn't affect insulin response... both are incorrect).
________
Q: Is it safe to test hay for just sugar & starch and then feed it to laminitis / ID / EMS horses & ponies if it's under 12%?
A: Absolutely, categorically NO!! This is really important. Both calories and fructan (WSC) can be highly variable in hay and you could cause laminitis by feeding unsoaked hay of unknown energy (calorie) and WSC content. Furthermore, analysing hay is only an estimation of what that particular sample contained and results should be used with care.

To focus solely on sugar and starch and insulin response and forget calories (dietary energy) and body fat level for all horses and ponies - especially laminitics - is plain bad advice and shows a complete lack of nutrition knowledge and understanding.
______
Q: Do I need to be worried about soaking hay, about mineral losses??
A: Absolutely not. We just need to balance soaked hay with suitable products. Soaking hay is sometimes the only way we can get unhealthy overweight, laminitis-prone, EMS/ID horses & ponies to lose weight without half-starving them.
__________
Q: How long should I soak my horse's hay?
A: 15-30 minutes for allergies e.g. equine asthma. 2 to 12 hours for reductions in water soluble carbs (sugar and fructan) AND energy (calories). The length of time depends ENTIRELY on your horse's response. You're aiming to feed enough to avoid more than a 4h fast daytime and 6h fast overnight, whilst maintaining a healthily-slim body condition. Soak for as little time as you can but for as long as necessary (max 12h, less in hot weather)

I hope this helps to calm the worry about soaking hay and clarify some nutribaloney.

If you want to join me for a no-nutribaloney experience where you will leave behind confusion, doubt and going around in circles about nutrition and feeding, then comment confidence and I'll message you,

Feel free to share 🐴🍏🟨💧

09/04/2026

You’re Not a Bad Horse Person. Something’s Missing. (Part 1)

There is a particular kind of frustration that shows up with a new horse. It is not necessarily loud or dramatic. It is quiet, confusing, and just a little bit identity-threatening.

You are trying to be kind, thoughtful, and patient. You are doing what has always worked for you with animals, or with your previous horse. By all reasonable human standards, you are being a very decent person.

And yet, this horse is still having moments of being tense, unsure, or difficult.

So you do the logical thing. You try to be even nicer. Softer. More understanding. You reassure. You give space. You follow your instincts.

And the horse, in response, becomes worse.

This is where things start to get strange in your own head.

You experience yourself as calm and caring, but the horse is responding as if you are unclear or concerning. That creates something called Cognitive Dissonance, which is simply when your brain is trying to hold two conflicting ideas at the same time. You believe you are being kind and reasonable, but the horse is reacting as if you are not.😫

So you try harder.

You start monitoring everything, including your timing, your hands, your posture, and even your breathing. You become intensely aware of yourself in a way that is neither helpful nor relaxing. This is where Hypervigilance begins to creep in, and nothing feels natural anymore.

Then someone else handles your horse, and the horse is fine.

That is the moment it stops being confusing and starts feeling personal.

This is where people begin to feel stuck. You try, and it does not work. You try again, and it still does not work. Over time, this can turn into Learned Helplessness, which is when you start to feel like nothing you do makes a difference anymore.😥

Underneath that is something people do not talk about enough.

Grief.

Grief for the rider you thought you were, for the version of you that felt capable, and for the ease you used to have.💔

Here is the uncomfortable but very useful truth.

This is not a kindness problem. It is a clarity problem.

Clarity is not a feeling or “good energy.” Clarity is when the horse can understand you. It means the horse can tell what you are asking, find the answer, feel release when they get it right, and begin to predict you. It lives in your timing, your consistency, your ability to make things make sense and activity capture their attention.

Horses do not interpret intention the way humans do. They do not think, “She means well.” They experience clarity or confusion. And confusing is not comforting.

Here is the glitch.

The more you try to fix this with more kindness, without improving clarity and skill, the worse it gets, because you are solving the wrong problem.

Partnership is not built on a good heart alone.😎

A good heart matters. It is what drives you to care, to try, and to want better for your horse. But it is not enough on its own. Partnership comes from using that good heart as motivation and dedication to develop the skills that help a horse feel safe, clear, and understood.

So if this is happening to you, pause.

You are not failing. You have just found a gap.

And here is the part most people miss.

If you have a horse that reveals this gap to you, it is not bad luck. It is a gift. Many people go their entire lives with horses and never see this. They stay comfortable-ish, but limited. They never quite learn how to truly communicate in a way that makes sense to the horse.

This horse, as frustrating as it feels, is showing you something deeper.

If you choose to learn it, it will take you to another level. One day, you will look back and feel grateful for the horse that made it impossible to stay the same.🥺

This is the kind of work I spend my time helping people learn. It’s an honour to do so.❤

Collectable Advide 193/365. Hit Save or Share, please no copying and pasting.

23/03/2026

Great learning tool.

21/02/2026

It’s a weekend of learning for me. Such good content so far.

12/02/2026

Our sessions always start with ‘branding’ - scanning the horse’s body with a gentle touch. During branding, we monitor tissue temperature, hydration, tone, and the horse’s behavioural responses, as these reflect real-time nervous system and tissue states.

It is more than just a ritual! In ET, we believe that our touch is a ‘two-way highway’; through our touch, we are receiving information from the body, and at the same time, our touch is an important ‘input’ to the horse’s body.

These calm strokes can deliver a very important message to the horse’s central nervous system, through the systems of mechanoreceptors that are resident in the skin. It is easy to solely focus on muscles and fascia, but it is important not to forget that the skin is such an important sensory organ!

The skin is richly innervated with mechanoreceptors - sensory nerve endings that detect touch, pressure, stretch and vibration. These include tactile corpuscles, Ruffini endings, and Merkel endings - which all respond to different qualities of mechanical stimulus at the skin’s surface.

We all know that horses, specifically, are very sensitive to tactile stimulation due to the cutaneous nerves under the skin. These nerves transmit a wide range of sensory information from the skin, which means that even light, slow touch provides meaningful input to their nervous system.

For us, it is very important to stimulate specific low-threshold unmyelinated mechanoreceptors (often called C-tactile or C-LTMR afferents) that respond preferentially to gentle, (very) slow stroking of the skin. These are linked to autonomic regulation and affective touch processing in the nervous system.

So when we use a slow, gentle, whole-body stroke, we engage sensory pathways that convey non-nociceptive (not painful) touch and allow the nervous system to integrate input before we progress to deeper manual work.

From the start, we believed that no one technique (including the Equine Touch) can force changes in the body. We always believed that we were providing information to the body to facilitate its own healing. Now we can say it more ‘scientifically’ - Equine Touch provides meaningful sensory input, allowing the nervous system to reorganise tone, movement, and tissue behaviour safely.

Ivana

11/02/2026

No hate on my picture that took me 2 hours to do with help from my kids lol.

Agonist vs. Antagonist Muscles in the Horse
Why knowing the difference matters when you’re massaging.

When working on the equine body, it’s not enough to find a tight muscle—you must understand what that muscle is doing in the movement pattern.

Every movement in the horse involves a team:
🔹 Agonist (Prime Mover)
The muscle that creates the movement
🔹 Antagonist (Opposing Muscle)
The muscle that controls, slows, or opposes the movement

📣If one side of this relationship is off, compensation, pain, and injury follow📣

🐎 Example:

The Neck (Balance and "Frame")

Agonist (Propulsion/Power): Longissimus Dorsi (Topline). Working in conjunction with hindquarters, these muscles, when engaged, allow the horse to lift the back and extend the neck forward, increasing power.

Antagonist (Control/Collection): Neck Flexors (Brachiocephalicus, Sternocephalicus). These muscles flex the neck, counteracting the tension of the top line to maintain a rounded, collected frame rather than a hollow, uncontrolled one.

Why this matters in bodywork?
If you only release what feels tight:
❌ You may weaken an already overworking muscle
❌ The real issue (the opposing muscle) remains unresolved
❌ The horse re-tightens quickly after sessions

Understanding agonist vs antagonist allows you to:
✅ Release muscles that are guarding or overcompensating
✅ Activate or support muscles that are weak or inhibited
✅ Restore balance instead of chasing symptoms

👉 A tight muscle isn’t always the one that needs the most work.

✨ The goal of skilled bodywork
Not just to release…
But to restore communication between muscle groups.

This is where true rehab, performance improvement, and long-term soundness begin.
—
PK Rehab & Education
Teaching you to see the whole picture, not just the tight spot.

05/02/2026

30/01/2026

Love this.