12/05/2022
Our friend Yogi cites our research in making a reasoned argument in why to care about why everyone should care about equine posture and hoof balance.
Hoof balance affects limb posture, but so what!?
People have asked me what the main relevancies to practice, of my study suggests. link here
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/23/3275
There are a few take home points. But firstly, we must remember this is a part of a larger body of research that has been being presented on this platform for a couple of years.
The influences on equine posture.
The work of Dr Gellman and Dr Shoemaker have highlighted 3 major proprioception centres that are affected by human influence, domestication, which creates abnormal compensatory posture (canted-in). Dental Occlusion and the TMJ, the upper cervical area (Poll) and the feet. They have shown treatment of these three areas together created normal neutral posture (vertical metacarpals/tarsals). However, no-one until now researched the influence of hoof balance alone and the suggestions of it as a neuro-sensory organ by Dr Bowker.
The recent research of Seneque et al. built on the research of Lesimple et al and Fureix et al. which also expressed the effects of confinement and riding styles on head and neck carriage, linking higher head carriages with back pain.
However, they did not quantify limb posture, and in their photos a canted-in posture was clearly visible!
So, the question arises, how much was the limb posture responsible for the back pain they associated with head and neck carriage!?
Well, when you consider the findings of Gellman and Ruina's mathematical model suggesting increased muscular activity with a smaller base of support, as you would with a canted-in posture, and combine that with Costa-Gomez et al. findings of increased postural sway, suggesting increased muscular activity, with a base narrow posture and the increased muscular activity in the back, measured using surface electromyography by the french studies, it makes logical sense that if hoof balance affects limb posture, creating a smaller base of support, it will lead to increased muscular activity of the epaxial spine and the same back pain suggested.
Now, vice-versa, the posture, which could be created by any aspect of domestication, including riding, is hypothesised to create increased load on the hind heels, which over time could lead to poor dorso-plantar balance. Right, so there is your cycle. Cause and effect needs to be unravelled on a case by case basis!
So, whats my point? One concept I feel is important to take home is..
That ideals are emerging and being quantified, such as upright stance with vertical metacarpals/tarsals. Now, digit alignment is still questioned within the industry, but logically, my research goes some way to expressing that an ideal digit alignment, helps enable the horse to have an ideal limb posture, which in turn helps maintain health of the musculoskeletal system. This was clearly shown by the strong significant correlation between how broken back the hoof pastern axis was to how angles the metatarsal was!
Back to the so. The smaller cycle, within the much larger cycles at play, is pictured below. Please note, this is discussing statics!
Hoof balance feeds back to the central nervous system and informs equine posture. If the resultant posture is canted-in, this potentially creates pathology up the hind limb and into the trunk of the horse, to include links to poor hind hoof balance, suggested or quantified by resesech.. proximal suspensory desmitis, sub-chondral injury to M3, hock pathology, stifle pathology, glute pain, or anecdotally .. hamstring dysfunction, sacroiliac inflammation, sciatic nerve dysfunction and kissing spines.
Ok, so let's answer the original question. How is it relevant to practice.
A few take home points.
1. Hoof-pastern axis is relevant! An ideal digit alignment and proportions encourages more ideal limb posture, potentially affecting whole body posture.
Now, if whole body posture is important in musculoskeletal health
then
2. If you're trying to treat issues throughout the body, digit alignment has to be considered. Not taking it into account may render your efforts futile.
3. Thinking holistically as a team will result in treating cause and not symptoms... But thats another whole post!
4. Poor posture may be creating the poor hoof balance! In the same vein, if farriers are struggling with perpetual heel crushing, poor posture should be considered.
The Rabbit hole..
Webinar on proprioception and posture with Dr Gellman..
https://equineeducationhub.thinkific.com/courses/proandpos
Webinars on the causes of poor posture and the team effort between physios and farriers in dealing with it, with Dr Tabor..
https://equineeducationhub.thinkific.com/courses/team-approach-to-posture
https://equineeducationhub.thinkific.com/courses/quantifying-posture-webinar-2-hours
Webinar on my preliminary findings.
https://equineeducationhub.thinkific.com/courses/the-postural-link-between-negative-plantar-angles-and-pathology-along-the-dorsal-myofascial-lines-using-thermography
My papers..
https://www.theequinedocumentalist.com/post/negative-plantar-angles-and-pathology-along-the-dorsal-myofascial-line
Peer reviewed..
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/23/3275
