Sleepy Horse Equine Bodywork, LLC

10/29/2025

Have you ever paid attention to how your horse naturally chooses to stand and what it might be telling you⁉️

Horses who stand with a “Square” stance: is when a horse has all 4 feet evenly placed under the body, weight is equally distributed within the limbs, and the legs are placed symmetrically under the body. This can indicate:
✅ Comfort and confidence

✅ Balance within the body

✅ No obvious pain or lameness

✅ Good muscling and posture

If a horse stands in an “uneven” stance it could indicate discomfort and something you may want to look deeper into. Some examples include:
🚫 Pointing a foot out in front (One leg stretched forward): Could suggest soreness in leg or hoof

🚫 Camped out behind or standing stretched out: Could reflect back, hind-end of hoof problems

🚫 Hind end tucked far under body or hind limb crossed diagonally beneath body: May point to back, pelvis or hind-limb discomfort

🚫 Constant shifting of weight or alternating resting hind legs: Could indicate more chronic pain or compensation

🚫 Resting the same hind leg all the time: Occasionally when resting is normal but for too long or always the same side could indicate discomfort in that limb

🚫 Leaning on stall wall or fence: To off weight something and indicates pain or soreness

🚫 Front legs up on higher surface (Like a mat or step): Could indicate front end soreness or laminitic pain

10/23/2025

When a horse’s body has pain and inflammation ➡️ It goes into protection mode ➡️ Tightening up muscles, guarding sore areas, shifting weight, creating compensation patterns and restricting movement.

If we try to correct posture and improve body awareness before releasing pain, the body will resist the changes.

⭐️ Following this plan of making the horse comfortable first, then retraining movement and balance within the body is what will create long-lasting functional change, rather than temporary relief ⭐️

1. Treat Pain & Inflammation ✨

Includes gentle massage strokes, fascial release, cold laser, red light therapy, lymphatic drainage and relaxation work.

2. Improve Posture, Balance & Body Awareness 💪🏻

Dynamic stretches and mobilizations, core and posture exercises, groundwork and proprioception exercises, balance pads, ground poles, etc.

10/21/2025

Horses of any age, breed, discipline, or lifestyle can benefit from massage and bodywork. Here are some examples:

1️⃣ Performance/Competition Horses:
👉🏻 Athletes that deal with muscle pain and fatigue
👉🏻 Stress, tension, strain and overuse
⭐️ Helps improve performance, flexibility and prevents injury
⭐️ Releases tight/shortened muscles and restricted fascia, Improves compensatory patterns

2️⃣ Lesson/School Horses:
👉🏻 Many different riders (Inconsistent aids)
👉🏻 Get overused and under maintained
⭐️ Keeps them comfortable and willing, reduces muscle tension and soreness

3️⃣ Horses in Rehab/Recovery:
👉🏻 Supports horses recovering from injuries
👉🏻 Lameness/ Compensation issues
👉🏻 Prolonged periods of stall rest and limited movement
⭐️ Improves circulation, reduces muscle tension, faster healing, reduces scar tissue, pain relief

4️⃣Senior Horses:
👉🏻 Get stiff and limited range of motion
👉🏻 Arthritis and joint issues
👉🏻 Muscle wasting and poor circulation
⭐️ Improves comfort, mobility and age-related aches, supports circulation and relaxation

5️⃣ Horses in Training
👉🏻 Starting more intense work
👉🏻 Movements and exercises they may not be used to
⭐️ Prevents soreness from new work
⭐️ Helps monitor changes in body as they develop new musculature

6️⃣ Horses in Transition Periods
👉🏻 Transitioning to new barn, program or environment
👉🏻 Adjusting to new tack or rider
⭐️ Helps the horse adjust physically and mentally, prevents soreness from changes

7️⃣ After a Long Trailer Ride
👉🏻 Constantly having to balance themselves and make adjustments for stops, turns and acceleration
👉🏻 Restricted movement for a long period of time
👉🏻 Stress of travel
⭐️ Releases tight muscles and compensatory tension from trailering
⭐️ Helps the horse relax, recover and feel grounded again

8️⃣ Growing Horses
👉🏻 Growth related tension
👉🏻 Still figuring out coordination, balance and spatial awareness
⭐️ Teaches them to accept touch and pressure, move evenly, and gain awareness of muscles and posture
⭐️ Helps identify and ease patterns early before they become long-term asymmetries
⭐️ Helps them adapt to new demands and training

09/22/2025

Rebel says: Carrots fuel me, lasers heal me. That’s just good horsemanship 🥕

Cold laser = happy muscles, better movement, less ouchies.

Book your individual laser or add-on laser session to feel the magic yourself!! ✨

09/05/2025

It is crazy how much the tongue and hyoid apparatus can have an affect on the body. Very interesting read and diagrams about how connected everything truly is.

THE NEUROLOGY OF THE HORSE’S TONGUE AND IMPORTANCE IN PERFORMANCE

The tongue - we rarely see or think it but it is one of the most integral parts of the horse.

My work with people has put this into stark perspective - because we and our horses are mammals and have very similar central nervous systems we can take huge lessons from our own tongues.

The tongue has a part several functions - tasting, licking, chewing, swallowing but it has a whole other mechanism that we use daily but never give a thought to.

THE TONGUE IS ONE OF THE MAJOR COMPENSATORS IN THE BODY along with the jaw, hyoid and ankles (in a human).

What is a compensation?

A mechanism that the brain uses to strengthen the body’s pre-existing weaknesses due to physical and emotional trauma.

We may see our horses having issues with it’s tongue with symptoms such as:

These symptoms could indicate a horse is experiencing tongue pain or discomfort:
Dropping feed/hay
Not eating
Hyper-salivation
Bad breath
Bleeding from the mouth
Swelling in tongue and/or cheeks
Standing with head outstretched
Resistance to the bit or to handling of the head
Tongue hanging from mouth
Discolouration (a healthy tongue should be pink and moist)
Explosive reaction from nerve impingement

What is especially important to consider in horses?

Physical trauma in the body means that hey need their tongue to make that area stronger. Who we strap their mouth shut, we remove this ability to compensate, making weak muscles work, causing pain and risking injury.

When we put bits in mouth that do not have room for the horse’s individual tongue or use straight bar bits we risk compressing the tongue which causes trauma to the tongue and affects the horse’s ability to compensate.

When we pull straight back on the reins at a low level this nutcrackers and pinches the tongue causing pain and trauma.

Is there trauma in their body or emotions that the tongue is compensating for?

Iridology is a fantastic tool for locating areas of past trauma and I have found it very useful to consider when looking of the root cause of any compensation in the body.

When we see the horse eliciting their symptoms - what are they doing? If ridden, is it all the time/ lateral movements/right rein/left rein/walk/trot/canter/loose rein/tight rein/on a corner/on the straight/transitions - by seeing what muscles they *should* be using at that moment and what they are doing instead with their body, it can lead us towards the cause.

So much pain is hidden in our horse - as prey animals they are masters of disguise and it is only when our horses are really in pain do we actually see them as ‘lame’. There are so many signs before that. Looking at all these signs allows us to build a picture of what is going on within the horse and find it’s hidden pain.

The tongue muscles themselves tell a story.

The sternohyoideus and sternothyroideus muscles directly connect the horse’s tongue and mouth to the chest of the horse. This fascial and muscular connection carries on through the pectoral muscles along the ventral aspect of the horse, along the abdominal muscles and into the pelvis.

The tongue (via the hyoid) is connected to the shoulder, poll and head directly and to the hind limb indirectly via the facia - so tongue problems are who body problems and vice versa.

So what can you do to delve deeper into why your horse needs to use it’s tongue as a compensation?

First, look for something that can changes what you see in the tongue or the body - better or worse is always a good sign because it gives you clues. I would recommend slow motion filming at walk for comparison.

Change the bit (material/height/width/joints), take the bridle off, ride from the head collar, take the saddle off ride with the bit, change rider, weight the right side of the horse in your stirrup, weight the left side of the horse in your stirrup, put your body weight forward and backing the saddle, put varying degrees of pressure on the reins, halt and walk on with no/little/steady contact, lateral work with the shoulder leading and the hind end leading.

Each movement will give you clues and now you can start to look a t your horse’s history and piece together what you see.

For example -

Horse sticks tongue out during left shoulder in and right hand corners and has a profits thumb/scar on the right shoulder would lead me towards the injury that caused the scar, the scar itself and the physical and emotional trauma that the brain is still compensating for before I would be led towards direct tongue trauma.

Sometimes we see symptoms cascade - it starts with just a little tongue poke and then the tongue is out all the time - especially at competitions - as the stress levels rise and the capacity that the horse has at home, when he is relaxed, diminishes.

It is a truly fascinating way to approach management of our horses and it offers so much freedom from the norm when we are able to give the vet a host of relevant information to help them help us and our horses in the highest way possible.

https://onlinepethealth.com/the-role-of-the-tongue-and-hyoid-in-movement/

09/02/2025

Meet the new face of Sleepy Horse!! This is our new lease horse Blake!! He is a 10 year old, Belgian Warmblood.

We’re so happy and excited to have the opportunity to lease him while my friend is off to vet school in Scotland. His mom did the jumpers with him and now we’re going to see how he likes Dressage!! ☺️❤️

08/25/2025

I never stress enough the importance of doing carrot stretches with your horse. It is a great way to monitor your horse’s progress and flexibility over time.

The Benefits!!

⭐️ Flexibility and Range of Motion
- Helps keep the horse’s muscles supple and the joints mobile
- Increases movement within the joints, how far a horse can bend, flex and extend the neck, back and pelvis
- Fluidity of movement within the gaits

⭐️ Core Strength
- Engagement of the abdominal and stabilizing muscles of the horse
- Strengths the thoracic sling
- A strong core helps to prevent soreness & injury
- Better back support to carry the weight of a rider

⭐️ Spine Health
- Increases spinal flexibility. Horses often develop stiffness in the neck and back due to poor posture, tack fit, riding techniques, old age, etc.)
- Helps prevent soreness or tightness in the back

⭐️ Injury Prevention
- Stretching helps prevent injury
- Creates elastic muscles that absorb shock and prevent strain. It’s like us doing yoga and mobility work
- Stiff muscles are more likely to cause strains, sprains, tears, etc. Stiff muscles cause horses to compensate within their bodies
- Helps correct muscle imbalances and create better alignment

⭐️ Increases Proprioception (Body Awareness)
- Improves balance and coordination
- Teaches the horse to move in a more controlled, bio-mechanically correct way
- Helps the horse use their body more evenly

❗️ Key Points ❗️

- Warm your horse up first

- Keep the horse’s ears straight!! No twisting of the head, only go as far as the horse can go without twisting

- If the horse wants to twist you can guide the carrot around your body instead

- Use smooth, controlled movements and try to hold the stretch for at least 3-5 seconds

- Start gradually with the stretch and build up over time

- Watch your fingers and use a big enough treat between a closed fist to avoid getting bit by the horse

07/21/2025

Warming Up Your Horse Before Exercise and Competition: How To Avoid Injury and Muscle Strain

What is a warm-up? The term 'warm-up' accurately describes what happens when we transition the body from a resting state to a state suitable for activity: the muscles are literally 'warmed up', receive increased blood and oxygen supply, gain flexibility and therefore reduce stress on tendons and ligaments. This also allows time for joint lubrication.

A warm-up will also ensure increased oxygen supply to the blood and the elevation of the heart rate from a resting rate to an activity rate. If you warm up your horse gradually—instead of 'jump-starting' his heart-rate—you will also have a calmer, more relaxed, and more willing horse.

Sufficient warm up before exercise, training, and competition is essential, in order to avoid injury to muscles, ligaments, and tendons. A simple routine can save lots of pain and dollars spent on vet visits.

Why should I warm up my horse before working?
Just like your own muscles after a full day sitting in your cubicle or driving your truck, for example, the horse's muscles are unflexible and his movement will be stiff after a day of lack of activity in his paddock or stall. This even more so in the winter, where movement is even more restricted and the horses cannot kick up their heels on pasture. Many horses spend most of their day in a stall year round, which limits the horses' movements even more warm up your horse

Our bodies-rider's and horse's-are made up of mostly fluids! Warming up body fuids inside muscles reduces the internal friction of a muscle and therefore prevents injury. Mobility and elasticity of muscles is increased, which minimizes the strain on ligaments and tendons.

Avoid muscle spasms, discomfort, stiff gaits and in extreme cases torn muscles or tendons or anxiety and unwillingness to work by warming your horse up properly at the beginning of every ride.

A simple basic warm-up for recreational riders of all levels:
- Warm up your horse on a long rein in the walk
- Alternate the pace of the walk
- Start with straighter lines
- Then continue with large circles, squares, serpentines, & shallow loops (20 meters, through the width of the arena)
- After 10 minutes, make squares, circles and serpentines smaller
- Warm up a total of 15 minutes at the walk for best results

For more advanced warm up exercises for FIT horses at least 8 - 10 minutes into their walk warm up:

Ride Walk Single Ground Poles
Ride Walk Shallow Loops on the Center Line
Ride Walk Shallow Loops Down the Long Side
Ride Walk 4 Loops Down the Center Line
Ride Walk 2 Loops Down the Long Side
Ride Walk Shoulder Fore and Counter Shoulder Fore
Ride Walk Leg Yield Right to Half Pass Right
Ride Walk Leg Yield Left to Half Pass Left
Ride Walk Leg Yield In, Half Pass Back
Ride Walk 10 meter Circles
Ride Walk Shoulder Fore and Counter Shoulder Fore (one of my favorites!)
Ride Smaller Walk Squares (Integrates a Few Steps of Turn on The Haunches)

As a note, in the warm up I usually limit the lateral work to a few “baby steps” as the purpose of these exercises during the warm up phase is to supple and loosen the horse up purely for their benefit. If you feel your horse become more anxious or tight, re-evaluate how you are utilizing the exercise or consider waiting to do the more difficult exercises later on during the work session once they are better warmed up.

I would also encourage you to experiment with a few minutes of in-hand or lunge line walking for a start to the warm up from the ground before adding your weight to the horse’s back. I’ve seen some very positive differences with horses by allowing them a few minutes of walk warm up time without the weight or interference (or micromanaging) of the rider so an option I highly recommend playing with in the warm up phase as well! This also allows you extra time to evaluate from the ground how your horse is doing physically and mentally that day, puts both horse and rider in a more relaxed state of mind instead of rushing to jump on and ride, and allows you to make any tack adjustments, if needed.

07/02/2025

Imbalances and problems in the horse’s hooves can really affect the entire body. It is so important to think about when you are assessing your horse.

06/30/2025

I’ve never officially advertised my Multi Radiance cold laser sessions… so here it is!!

The laser may be added onto massage sessions for a discounted price or used for individual laser sessions. If more than one horse is lasered at a barn, there is a discounted multi-horse laser price.

First, the horse is palpated for any soreness. Depending on what the horse needs, a full body unwind session and the major joints may be treated or it may be a more localized session for injuries, wounds, etc.

Recently, I have seen a major difference with the cold laser on client horses recovering from tendon and ligament injuries and horses with muscle spasms, arthritis, back pain, SI pain and/or with wounds and abscesses.

Any horse can benefit from the laser such as your older, stiff horse for mobility and comfort….or your show jumper with a heavy workload for sore muscles and injury prevention.

I have loved adding the laser into my business and seeing all the different things it can treat!! It doesn’t just have to be a horse, it can also be used on dogs, cats, pigs, goats, you name it…

Contact me with any questions or if you’d like to try it on your horse!!

06/30/2025

It’s so important to pay attention to your horse’s respiration rate, water intake and sweating this time of year. Especially in South FL where I am located, we run into a lot of anhidrosis cases.