Essential Equine Therapies, LLC

11/12/2025

Ticklish = Fright and Flight 🧐

As an 11 year old child, I distinctly remember being told not to touch a horse in their flank, because they were ticklish here and that they were likely to kick.

Interestingly enough, it was around thoroughbreds that were off the track, being transitioned to trail horses and re-homed.

Now, I know that is not the truth.
They were in extreme need of nervous system unwinding and bodywork, and I suspect that many of those horses had ulcers.

When a horse or person is “ticklish” this is a sign of the nervous system in fright or flight, on high alert.

It is a defense mechanism and is different from a sensitive or heightened sense of awareness.

Areas that Horses or Humans do not want to be touched, is usually the area(s) that are holding the most tension.

This is why I ask both my Horse and Human clients if there are any areas of the body they know their horse doesn’t like to be touched, as well as for themselves before we start a session.

By the end of a session, I can usually touch that area or spot no problem and it provides major relief for the receiver

𝘾𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚𝙖 𝘽𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙙, 𝙇𝙈𝙏, 𝘾𝙀𝙎𝙈𝙏, 𝘾𝙀𝙍𝙏
𝙀𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙀𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙞𝙚𝙨, 𝙇𝙇𝘾

11/11/2025

There’s a common myth in our field—especially around horses who are stiff, resistant, or tight:

“If you just go deeper, they’ll release.”

The truth is…

More pressure doesn’t always mean better results. Actually, I’ve experienced the opposite 90 percent of the time.

The more we try to force the body, the more it guards and closes off to our touch.

In fact, nervous system-driven tension often responds best to less.

Less force, more clarity, better timing.

This means whether you’re a Therapist or Owner that is helping your horse :

✨ You can help complex horses feel better without working harder

✨ You can use touch to influence nerve and fascial pathways—not just muscles

✨You can get lasting changes without exhausting yourself or the horse

In my latest email series, we are helping our horses rest, release and relax.

The first email I sent out was “Notice the Nuances” and this second one will be “Feel the Nuances” as we move from observing our horses to touching them.

With the use of oils for aromatherapy, safe touch and an open heart for whatever the horse wants to do - we will facilitate deeper connection and relationship….as well as healing for ourselves.

Join us! Comment EMAIL if you’d like to participate.

*like this photo- note the alertness and focus of the (her) left side of Glenda’s face in her ear and lifted nostril.
Notice the relaxed right side with ear sideways on me, relaxed eye and nostril.

11/10/2025

My challenge to myself and to others is to get off the computer and phone, and to go sit with your horse.

We have been doing this in my email series.
I included journal prompts, instrumental music links and inspiration for spending time with our horses instead of just talking about them.

One email subscriber said to me “it was so nice just to “be”.

There are many keyboard warriors out there, but when it comes to knowing the nuances with their own horses, they don’t know them.

Put in the time. It’s worth it and you’ll see results.

Happy to have you join me in email, off social media if you’re tired of it too and need a break. 🤎 I’ll be sending out the next email here this week - comment the word EMAIL if you would like to be on my list

11/09/2025

🐴 Stalls are comfy + hay nets are full for our first drop below freezing tonight. We swing a good 30 degrees from what the day started as.

I may be wearing a headband + light gloves already because I’m a cold weather softy now, but that’s okay.
I paid my dues living in upstate NY for my childhood.

A good sledding or skating party is fun, but then I’m ready for summer again. Months of shoveling? No thanks!

So, I will brave the cold snaps with gratefulness + hum Christmas tunes because summer is just around the corner here in TN 😍😂

What’s your ideal climate?

11/08/2025

11/06/2025

Whether you’re cleansing during the moon phases or not, you can use my Essential Cleanse mix as a month long detox or a targeted and concentrated deworming regimen.

Tonight, my girls are eating Essential Cleanse mixed with some timothy pellets, beet pellets, rice bran, sea kelp and minerals.

I add phosphorus daily to whatever I feed, to balance what I have tested and know to be missing in their hay.

Feeding natural isn’t hard.

You can prep daily or prep in advance to make it go a little faster at feeding time. It took me 5 min total to add hot water, mix and deliver to the pasture.

Once you shift your mindset away from bagged feeds you’ll wish you did it sooner, I promise.

If the horse benefits weren’t enough, your wallet benefits will be because it’s way less. ✨🐴

To get the Essential Cleanse mix - go to Essential Equine Therapies dot com

Happy Cleansing! 💫

11/05/2025

Time flies! This is still a good before and after!!

11/04/2025

Your horse’s physiotherapy appointment is only as effective as how your horse lives in between treatments.

so true.

Your horses physiotherapy appointment is only as effective as how your horse lives in between treatments.

If your horse has reoccurring poll tension, feeding from haynets, having a disharmonious contact, riding a horse overbent etc in between treatments will still mean your horse has tension in their poll when it comes around to their next appointment.

If your physiotherapist provides stretches to do and you don’t do them, the problem will continue to bubble.

If your horse is uncomfortable, and your physiotherapist recommends that they see a vet to investigate further, don’t continue to ride your horse.

If you only ride straight lines, rarely hack, and your horse is constantly sharp and spooky so they’re lunged more often than not in a training aid, your horse is going to have reoccurring rib, neck and back pain.

If your horse is stabled for most of the day, or equally spends most of the day in fetlock deep mud, they’re going to be braced and they’re not always going to feel the full benefits of a treatment as treatments will focus on alleviating the “brace” and not on improving performance.

If you’re riding in a saddle that doesn’t fit, hooves that are unbalanced, or an arena with too deep a footing… changes need to happen so that your horse is able to thrive and develop and not just survive in between treatments.

The quality of a veterinary physiotherapy treatment is arguably just as important as the life your horse leads in between treatments.

As horse riders and guardians, we should be seeing the body under the skin; the nerves, the fascia, the muscles and really envisioning caring for this in everything we do 🤍

11/03/2025

Your horse might be struggling - without you realizing.

Performance horses have to deal with a lot:

Intense exercise
Frequent travel & constant change
Emotional Stimulation

Pasture horses also have to deal with a lot:

Herd Dynamics
Lack of movement & exercise
Compensation patterns

All lead to an increased risk of poor gut health, and this is just a short list.

To maximize your horse's health and performance, it's time to pay attention to their gut.

A healthier gut means improved peak performance, better recovery, healthy appetite, better mood and behavior and this list goes on.

We know this! So, why do many still not do anything about it?

Cost in feeding is a big concern as well as the time prepping.

I got you.

That’s where SisUgut comes in.

In 2018, my mare experienced the acid rebound effect with traditional ulcer protocols.

I paid a hefty 5k vet bill for scopes, traditional meds, for her to be fed sweet feed and alfalfa and told that regular scopes would be part of our/her life from here on out.

I specifically designed the SisUgut blend after Sis was healed of severe bleeding ulcers just one month after that diagnosis. Scopes to prove it.

It cost me less than fifty bucks. Wow I could have saved us each a lot of stress!

Since then, I have had the privilege of helping many other horses heal naturally and walking owners through a step by step process, when they had exhausted all other options.

There’s no need to waste time, money and emotional stress - prevent from the get go!

Visit Essential Equine Therapies dot com for more info & download the symptom and personality checklist to see if your horse’s personality points towards tummy issues.

Watch our story, in documentary form which include raw footage from that time 🤎

11/02/2025

The great news is that you can reverse ulcers and heal your horse’s gut naturally. That’s why I created the Gut Guide.

In the Guide, I give you the simple tools you need and a clear step by step plan to remove all the unhealthy obstacles for the gut to heal.

My Rules:
Food is fundamental on the healing journey.
Herbs should be fed often in support of the food being consumed. Medications only when needed.

Let symptoms guide you.
Symptoms are not to be feared, except in the case where we don’t listen to them. Symptoms are our guide to what the body is telling us and pointing us in the direction to go.

While you're at it, download my symptom and horse personality checklist. You can tell by your horse's personality if they're prone to tummy issues, like ulcers. I found this out the hard way, that's why I save ulcer horse owners time, money and emotional stress.

Get the Guide and Checklist at Essential Equine Therapies dot com