09/18/2026
⚠️ This post may ruffle a few feathers, but it needs to be said.
I was talking with one of my students this morning about something that I think frustrates a lot of equine bodyworkers.
We can work with a horse multiple times. The owner sees the changes, praises the results, and tells us how much better the horse is moving or behaving.
Then suddenly, the horse presents with something new.
And instead of calling the bodyworker who already knows that horse’s body, movement patterns, restrictions, compensation patterns, and history, sometimes the bodyworker is completely left out of the conversation.
Why?
Let me make something VERY clear: I am not saying don't call your veterinarian.
⭐️ Veterinarians are absolutely necessary. They diagnose, treat disease and injury, prescribe medications, perform procedures, and handle things that are completely outside a bodyworker's scope of practice.⭐️
⭐️There are also veterinarians who have pursued extensive additional education in sports medicine, rehabilitation, and lameness, and I have tremendous respect for professionals who continue expanding their knowledge.⭐️
But different professionals bring different pieces to the puzzle.
You call your farrier for the feet.
You call your veterinarian for medical diagnosis and treatment.
You call your chiropractor for chiropractic care.
So why wouldn't you also call your qualified bodyworker when something changes in the horse's movement or body?
‼️A knowledgeable bodyworker isn't there to replace your veterinarian or diagnose a medical condition.‼️
‼️We ARE there to recognize changes in movement, muscle tension, asymmetry, compensation patterns, and how the horse's body feels compared with previous visits‼️
Sometimes what we see tells us, "I can work with this."
Sometimes it tells us, "This horse needs a veterinarian."
Sometimes it tells us, "We need the vet, farrier, trainer, and bodyworker communicating with each other."
THAT is how it should work.
The conversation this morning came from a situation involving one of my student's clients. The horse received an SI injection. Later, I was sent a video, and there were still movement concerns that appeared to involve the stifle area. Yet the owner didn't want the bodyworker involved because they had been told the horse was fine.
And that's what bothers me.
Not because I believe a bodyworker's opinion should override a veterinarian's diagnosis—it shouldn't.
It's because "the horse has been medically evaluated" and "the horse is moving normally" aren't necessarily the same conversation.
Bodywork is not just fluffy relaxation and making a horse feel good for an afternoon.
When properly trained and working within our scope, bodyworkers can be an important part of the horse's team.
We watch movement.
We feel changes.
We recognize compensation.
We follow patterns over time.
And because we may see the same horse repeatedly, sometimes we notice when something simply isn't moving or feeling the way it normally does.
I've spent years teaching my students to ask WHY.
🐎 Why is the horse compensating?
🐎 Why did this muscle change?
🐎 Why did the movement change?
🐎 What changed somewhere else in the body?
And most importantly—when is this something we can appropriately address, and when does this horse need to be referred to another professional?
So my question isn't, "Why call the vet?"
My question is:
Why do we call the vet for every little concern? When you can call the farrier for feet, chiropractic for adjustments and Massage Therapist/bodyworker for body compensation?
Why aren't we using the entire team?
Your veterinarian, farrier, bodyworker, chiropractor, trainer, saddle fitter, and other qualified professionals shouldn't have to compete with one another.
We should be communicating and putting the HORSE first.
FYI, most of my clients even they tell me that they rather do or communicate with me firat, because I safe them money from the vet coming out all the time ( when it pretains to biomechanics) . If I don't think I can help , guess what I tell them to contact the vet.
Hopefully, this makes sense. It's hard to put into words .
And yes... we'll talk about SI injections another day. 😉🐴
