How do I know if my horse needs Chiropractic Care?
- Loss or decrease in level of performance.
- Problems or difficulty executing desired movements.
- Behavioral changes (i.e. refusals, cinchy, bucking).
- Short striding.
- Diagnosed conditions, such as degenerative arthritis.
- Muscle imbalance, spasms, or atrophy.
- Gait problems, such as cross-canter, loss of collection, refusal to pick-up lead.
- Injuries resulting from falls, training, or other activities.
Stressful situations, such as conformation of the horse, various riding and training equipment, performance level and ability of the rider, shoeing.
There are numerous, common stressful or traumatic situations, such as the birth process, conformation of the horse, training and riding equipment, ability of the rider, shoeing trailers, or direct trauma, that can cause abnormal or restricted movement to occur in the spine. This change in proper movement of the spine is what chiropractors call a “subluxation”. When a subluxation occurs, the horse’s spine loses it’s normal flexibility. This results in stiffness which further leads to resistance and decreased performance. The most common symptom associated with spinal subluxations is pain, which can manifest changes itself in a variety of ways. Horses in pain will show compensatory changes in posture and gait. These changes can cause stress in other joints and muscles.
Symptoms such as lameness, stiffness, lack of impulsion or power, difficulty in obtaining or maintaining collection, poor attitude, gait abnormalities, being cold-backed or cinchy, or the presence of muscle atrophy are commonly associated with spinal misalignments.
Subluxations may also cause changes in muscle coordination and flexibility that affects the performance ability of the horse. These symptoms may be lack of coordination in gaits, unusual, perhaps indefinable gait abnormalities which vary from limb to limb and change depending on gait, stiffness in lateral movements of neck or back, rope walking, shortened stride in one or two limbs, inability to engage rear quarters, difficulty flexing at the poll, or on line or pulling on one rein.
Common complaints from horse owners include resistance or stiffness when moving to one direction, irritability, decreased performance, and sensitivity to touch, such as when being groomed.
