There may come instances where a sudden condition in your horse’s backbone may require the special services of an equine chiropractor, but leaving all the horse bodywork to professionals alone may not be the best idea. Actually for horse riders and trainers, it’s advisable that they learn bodywork and apply some DIY bodywork to horses that have afflictions that may be healed through these practices. Naturally, an equestrian can not ever be as good at the bodywork as a licensed and qualified pro is, but what an expert can achieve in single sessions, an equestrian can achieve thru consistent and earnest efforts.

Let us take a look at it this way, if a certain condition can be remedied by a horse bodywork pro 100% in one session, you as the trainer or owner of the horse can do the same, only not in one session. Being only partially informed and no expert at the bodywork, in a session you can achieve about, say, 10% of what a professional can do. What this means is that though you are no one-shot wonder, you can still perform the same bodywork and yield similar results if you could do it ten times. Learning and developing bodywork abilities makes you a certain % as effective as a professional in bodywork, meaning at last you may not even need the services of a pro unless something extreme occurs or develops, you only need to improve and be consistent in your DIY bodywork sessions.

You may well think this means more work for you as the coach, but since you already perform equestrian training and general medicare for your horses, why not pitch in some regular bodywork for the horses that need it? Consider it, you’re with your horses most of the time anyway, if not for horse riding, for general care. You are the one who can apply such a regime most efficiently. And, you can help ailing steeds ultimately become good for pony riding again or for sport and heavy activities.

Doing the bodywork your self is rewarding in itself. You further develop what bodywork abilities you already have and thus improve the effect of your DIY bodywork sessions, you improve your relationship with the affected pony each time you do it and your horse appreciates you better and better for it, and you get to relentlessly cure most physical malformations and anomalies in your dear horses.

The key to this is continued learning thru watching bodywork DVDs, attending available classes and clinics, and always putting what you know in practice. Also, never giving up on the effort is essential—just being a harbinger of relief for one horse will start her on the way to getting better.

Realize there will continue to be instances where you will need a pro to do it for you, but thanks to your work of doing it DIY, these instances will be few and far between—which is better for you and your horses.

Horses are Heather Toms’ passion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100’s of articles with other horse lovers… like all things about stable rugs