LH Equine Motion

04/15/2026

Credit to Sozo Equine, LLC
Great information ℹ️

04/13/2026

04/07/2026

Hello all,

I am currently booking into November so if you are looking for services for summer/ fall of 2026, please contact me sooner than later to ensure you and your Equine partner can be booked!!

Thank you so much to all my loyal clients for keeping me so busy I appreciate you all so much ❤️


04/05/2026

04/04/2026

Great information ℹ️

03/27/2026

Backing Up has Big Benefits

If you’ve been following us for a while, you’ll know this is one of Gillian’s all-time favourite exercises and for good reason.

Backing up is a simple, low-impact movement with no moment of suspension, making it ideal for horses at all levels. It can be performed both in-hand and under saddle, with the horse stepping in clear diagonal pairs.

When done correctly — with relaxation, impulsion, and a softly lowered head, backing up offers powerful benefits:
✨ Increases thoracic vertebral rotation
✨ Encourages core engagement (abdominals, thoracic sling, and hip flexors)
✨ Improves back mobility and posture
✨ Supports collection and overall way of going

This exercise asks your horse to shift more weight onto the hindquarters, maintaining flexion through the hindlimbs, lumbosacral area, and back throughout each step.

How to get started:
Begin with just 1–2 quality steps, and gradually build up to around 20. Focus on long, marching, correct steps rather than rushing or quantity.

Consistency is key. Try to include backing up as part of your daily in-hand work.

Want to perfect your technique?
Comment 'back' below and we’ll send you Gillian’s top tips video for a better back-up.

03/16/2026

Before and after video : This pony experienced a huge abscess in her left hind hoof . Working with owner, veterinarian and techniques right over the sight we were able to alleviate pain, reduce swelling and inflammation, improve her gait and she’s able to walk while weight bearing . The abscess
blew before getting there that’s the before video and 3 sessions after Acuscope is the after video !! The difference is amazing!! 🤩

03/16/2026

When you have a week off and promise you will finish your ebook only to realise the pictures you have already put in have now changed 400 times and you have to begin right at the beginning again.

Things I have done while trying to finish one project,

Designed clips for a rib cage.
Listened to 100 podcasts
Done more drawings
Updated my assessment sheets
Watched the new jurassic park film
Tidied my kitchen cupboards
Effed up my computer and printer so been chatting to Gemini into the small hours of the morning then got annoyed because I knew more than them 😅😅😅
Watched some more movies
Went and did some fencing, wanted some posts putting in and demanded my OH that it had to be done now 😎
Got gut ache from internilising all my anxiety 😅😅

And now i am back doing the ebook, that was going to be a course two years ago and now is just going to be a picture book because I know the time limit before I begin another project is short lived and I am already at 200 pages and I have to stop at some point 😅😅

Anyone else that cannot finish anything, please say yes so I am not the only wierd one😅


And if you want anything included speak up now while I am in the hyoerfocus stage again, wait i am posting on facebook🤔 damn the boredom is kicking in again😅😅😅

03/13/2026

When a horse needs strength, the last thing it needs to do is endless circles. There is an outdated idea that going in circles makes horses stronger. In reality, circles are for GYMNASTICS (suppling/coordination/balance) but not for CONDITIONING. Strength develops from straight, progressive loading through the whole body, where the limbs share weight evenly and a horse can push from behind without constant sideways torque or uneven load. Circles are not a weak horse's friend. To build strength you need:
- straight lines
-hills
-transitions
-poles
-varied terrain and paces

I realize I sound rebellious to glorify straight lines. But as someone who gets to help horses move and feel better every day, I have never seen them fail to make horses stronger. Trust me on this.

03/09/2026

The equine carpus.

More often than not in layman’s terms this is often called the knee yet it is more likely the equivalent of our wrist in terms of anatomical layout but also very unlike our wrist in function.

Anatomically its quite easy to remember the names of the bones as often they coincide with the names of their counterpart which they either sit below or above

They are made up of cuboidal bones which means similar shape.

The carpus supports weight, allows for mobility, absorbs shock and Offers stability, it helps with flexion, extension and a little lateral motion, it also prevents hyperextension and is part of the stay apparatus.

On the top row we have the radial Carpal, the intermediate Carpal, the ulnar Carpal bones and these coincide with the radius and ulna bone which is fused in the horse and the intermediate is the one in the middle (sits between)

On the bottom row we have the 1st Carpal bone (not always present, thought to be a evolutionary remnant) then the 2nd, 3rd and fourth coincide with the 2nd, 3rd and fourth Metacarpal bones or the medial splint, cannon and lateral splint bones.

At the back we have the accessory Carpal bone which is classed as a sesamoid bone. (Embedded within a tendon). It is held in place by strong ligaments.
See easy 😀

Often issues with the carpus can be missed as the base of the neck or the lower limb gets more attention, but you know me i like the middle.

Trauma can be one of the main reasons the carpus may get in trouble, it could be to much work to young, repetitive strain, chips and I find its mainly the left forelimb which takes the brunt whether trauma or compensation from somewhere else, I often say if you see the left in trouble other things have been going on a while.

Wear and tear as the horse gets older or premature aging of the joints from an unsuitable workload
The gait can seem choppy as the carpus becomes restrictive in the full movement of the lower limb, how do I explain it ??? The action seems normal above but creates a drill down instead of a free flowing forward movement, I often think it your horse has carpus issues you may want to look at the lower cervicals as well and vice versa.

Foot balance is super important as this will affect how the carpus aligns for function not pretty.

What you can do
Visually, again if you have more than one we can simply compare while all limbs may have a teeny variation there shouldn’t be anything that stands out.

Feel, feel both at the same time with each hand, its easier to feel a difference when comparing at the same time.

Can the back of the hoof reach the elbow?? Or do you feel resistance when asking slowly?? It doesn’t like everything it doesn’t mean there is something wrong but it could indicate the horse needs to be more supplement if you are going to ask for that hard schooling exercise

How does your horse feel about you working around the area??. Behaviour may indicate pain, be careful though especially if you have a c**t or young horse they often play by biting knees so it may be a young horse thing rather than a pain response.

Stiffness, most horses who have access to the freedom to roam shouldn’t be stiff when you ask for work, but again an older horse may move differently to a younger horse, common sense can often be the catalyst to not panic, if you are riding and it feels like to much up and down and not forward and both you and the horse are knackered but not gone far maybe the horse needs a once over by a professional (unless its a breed specific thing)

Like hock lameness, lameness due to a carpus issue is usually pretty easy to spot and first call (I know i sound like a broken record) is the vet who will assess and often confirmation with an x-ray. All lameness should be investigated by a vet first!!!

And keep things in context, often one thing may mean another so we often put the pieces of the puzzle together before making a declaration, and only vets can diagnose so its not that your therapist thinks something is critically wrong when they refer your horse it simply means they are sending your horse to the right person in order to progress forward

Hope this helps xx

03/08/2026

The Hocks.

How do I explain simply to owners about the importance of hock health in the horse??

Say you walk onto a diving board, to get the power for the dive you need vertical bounce building up for the power of the precision and quality of the lift
Now say you walked onto to the diving board and instead of the spring going up and down the board was wobbling side to side, you lose power you lose balance, how many horses do you see with a huge hock wobble creating instability both below and above as the other joints compensate.

Now look at the horse while the Hocks absorb downward energy to produce upwards energy, if the horse feels unstable to load the joints correctly then overcompensating can happen, the knees may overexagerate their action, the Hocks hesitant to load through pain or restriction will wobble before loading and often the fetlocks will follow the Hocks with exaggerated twisting leading to imbalance in the hoof.

Instead of a clear path from hind to front foot, the stride is shortened in both front and hindlimbs, no power means less lift so toe dragging may occur, range of motion can be affected on protraction, snatching of hindlimb, as remember its not just bone and a joint, we have connective tissue, muscles etc that will all have a domino affect on the whole horse.

If there is pain you may even see a shift through the body where you can see clearly the assymtry through the torso, eventually leading to a diagonal front limb issue.
We have collatral ligaments keeping the joints of the hock from both medial and lateral preventing overextension and hyperflexion, a dysfunction in the hock will not only put strain on the joint but also the surrounding ligaments.

The Calcaneus tendon which attaches on the point of hock has connections not only to the muscles above like the gastrocnemius but also to the superficial flexor muscle which is part of the reciprocal stay apparatus (the ability to lock the the limb to rest) so maybe the hock issue could be a rest issue??

Age related wear and tear, what we do with our horses may bring an earlier wear and tear on the body, if your horse is jumping or doing strenous, repetitive work before the growth plates are closed we pften only think of bone health, yet muscles can get fatigued or torn, ligaments will be soft and pliable, joints are supported by these structures. Yet like us even if we do eveything right as horses get older the maintenance required to repair the body can slow down.

Confirmation has a huge affect on hock health, so while we may help with maintenance we often cant change the make up.

Soft swellings, we often are led to believe that some swellings are ok, while some may not be as hazardous as others, swelling is often there to protect an area under duress so do not ignore swelling especially if there is heat.

What to do???
Hocks are probably the most easiest to spot out of all the limb issues, first if there is lameness always consult your vet first before anyone.

Xrays are usually the easiest way to spot any potential issues, we cant just guess, we always need to see what we are dealing with to be able to get the correct treatment or else everyone is just throwing darts at the board and hoping one lands.
If yout vet suggests it it is probably because they already have an inkling as to what is going on but they need to know where to treat, what changes have occured, or changes that may affect future performance like bone spurs etc.
Better does not always mean the issue has gone away the intermittent lameness, the decrease in lameness could mean that changes inside have settled down, but the vet can tell you if there may be more issues to come.

At least once every 3 months video your horse walking away, and turning a small circle in each direction, horses should be able to step across the midline with their hindlimbs, it may not be a hock issue but if they cant do this it maybe time to call your bodyworker.

Pick up a forelimb and bring it forward (not a stretch just slightly forward) does your horse rebalance the hind end and stand square on both hind feet or are they going from heel to toe or resting the hindlimb again maybe not a hock issue but it is a comfort issue.

Walk your horse and bring it to a natural stop note their posture repeat it a few times, do they always stop in the same stance then that is information

Feel those limbs, our hands can detect the slightest changes my top tip if you feel something on one limb and it ain’t there on the opposite limb it probably shouldn’t be there. Heat is often the first indicator way before swelling so do a daily check as the earlier we find something the quicker we can get it sorted.

Is your horse always catching its front shoe with the hind foot ?? We often think its a forelimb issue but again look at the power if there is no power from behind then the forelimb will not have the correct stride.

Vet first is always a priority if you suspect something they have the tools to see beneath the skin, it may need pain relief it could need medicating, before we come in and begin our work we may prolong the treatment the vet has prescribed, by keeping the body to maintain a more beneficial movement pattern. I have clients that have gone from yearly injections to 2 year timespan yet the owner begins to be aware when the horse needs a little bit more than bodywork. We may not be able to stop change but we can often help delay it.
Hope this helps.
If I got the ligaments wrong then try and write talocentraldistalmetatarsal 10 times at 4am 😅😅