Lothian Equine Advanced Performance Therapy - The Osteopathic Approach

‘The body possesses self-regulatory mechanisms and has the inherent capacity to defend, repair and remodel itself.’ — Ward & Hruby

YOU CAN’T TRAIN A COMPENSATION AWAY

Straightness is a biomechanical outcome, not a training goal that can be imposed on a system that isn’t physiologically ready to produce it. From a structural point, true straightness requires symmetrical joint mobility, balanced fascial tension and coordinated neuromuscular control across both sides of the body. When one or more of these elements is compromised, the horse will naturally adopt compensatory movement strategies to achieve basic locomotion. These strategies may appear as crookedness, uneven rein contact, or reluctance to bend but they are adaptive, not behavioral.
Training on top of dysfunction only reinforces the imbalance.

When straightness is mechanically imposed through pressure, rein restriction or forced alignment, it may suppress the visible expression of asymmetry but it does not resolve the root dysfunction. Instead it diverts the body’s compensatory effort to other structures. This often results in overloading joints, bracing or muscular guarding.

From a neurophysiological perspective, the horse’s body prioritizes stability over symmetry. If a joint lacks mobility or proprioceptive clarity, the surrounding muscles will increase tone to protect it. Forcing straightness in this context overrides the body’s protective mechanisms and risks converting adaptive tension into pathological strain often manifesting as performance decline, behavioural resistance or subtle lameness patterns.

We must identify the primary restrictions, the structural and functional asymmetries that alter load distribution and postural organisation. If there is torsion, uneven mobility or locks in compensatory fixation, the horse cannot execute symmetrical movement, regardless of rider input.

Straightness is not the result of repetition or correction it is the byproduct of a system with restored capacity and coordination.

When you have the leg and then you don’t!

You lift your horse’s leg and suddenly it’s pulled away pull back.

It can seem like your horse has decided it doesn’t want you holding the leg but one of the mechanisms involved can be much more automatic the myotatic reflex or stretch reflex.

Inside skeletal muscles are specialised sensory receptors called muscle spindles. They continuously monitor muscle length and importantly how quickly that length is changing.

As the limb is lifted the muscles crossing the joints are lengthened. If that change happens rapidly enough the muscle spindles detect it and send sensory information into the spinal cord.

This produces a rapid motor response, causing the stretched muscle to contract.

The whole process happens extremely quickly and without conscious control.

The myotatic reflex is an important part of normal neuromuscular function. By responding to rapid changes in muscle length, it helps regulate muscle tone, maintain joint stability and protect the muscle from excessive or sudden stretching.

The sudden pull you feel through the limb isn’t necessarily the horse actively resisting you.

It’s often simply feeling a very fast, automatic protective response to the change in muscle length.

What actually is the ‘pop’?

It’s probably one of the things people notice most during a treatment.

Despite how it sounds it isn’t bones cracking or grinding together.

Most of the time that sound is associated with joint cavitation. Synovial joints are enclosed within a capsule and contain synovial fluid. When a joint is taken through a change in position, the joint surfaces can separate enough to cause a sudden drop in intra-articular pressure.

That change in pressure can cause gases already dissolved within the synovial fluid to come out of solution and form a gas cavity. It is the rapid formation of that cavity that produces the characteristic popping sound.

Sometimes we hear it when working with a joint that has previously been restricted. If a joint hasn’t been moving through its full available range, restoring that movement can create a different mechanical environment within the joint and sometimes that comes with an audible cavitation.

A joint doesn’t have to pop to have changed.

Cavitation is influenced by joint position, the amount and direction of movement, capsular and surrounding tissue tension, the properties of the synovial fluid and the speed of the movement. So two joints can respond very differently to essentially the same technique.

One pops.

One doesn’t.

The pop is simply the sound of a particular mechanical event occurring within the joint. It’s interesting, sometimes very satisfying but it isn’t the goal of the treatment.

The horse doesn’t exist in a vacuum

A horse’s physical health and movement are influenced by far more than what is happening in its muscles and joints.

This is where the bio-psycho-social model is useful.

The biological side is the part we probably think about first, pain, injury, tissue health, fitness, workload and biomechanics.

The psychological side. Stress, fear, previous experiences, confidence and how that individual horse responds to what is being asked can all influence movement and behaviour.

And the social and environmental side which can have a huge influence on the horse.

Where does it live?
How much turnout does it get?
Who does it live with?
Does it feel safe in its environment?
What is its routine like?
How much change is it dealing with?
What is expected of it in training?
What is its relationship with its rider or handler like?

These things don’t sit in separate boxes.

A change in environment can affect stress levels. Stress can influence muscle tension and movement. Pain can change behaviour. Behaviour can change how a horse is trained or handled. Changes in workload can then add another physical demand.

It becomes a constant interaction between the horse, its body, its brain and the environment around it.

So when assessing a horse the physical finding is important but it isn’t necessarily the whole story.

Tell me you’re a lead rein pony without telling me…

Always led from the left. Always turning towards the left. Years of repeating the same movement pattern can have an effect on how a horse habitually positions and loads their body.

The nervous system becomes very efficient at familiar movement, while muscles and connective tissues adapt to the positions and forces they experience repeatedly. Over time, you can start to see those patterns reflected through the neck, shoulders, sling, pelvis and the way the horse stands.

The body doesn’t lie.