ALONG with the crucial input of veterinary surgeons and farriers, the contribution of “the bone man’’ to the health and well being of horses has long been recognised down through the years.

In more recent times, the traditional “bone man’’ has largely been replaced by trained equine osteopaths.

As a science, osteopathy is basically the connection between bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments, organs, blood vessels, nerves and many other structures in the body.

When called to look at a horse, equine osteopaths observe the horse’s preferred posture at rest, i.e. is he slouching, leaving one leg behind his body or constantly pointing a toe?

Next we observe the horse moving in straight lines and circles to evaluate the quality of their gait and to detect any abnormal postural patterns. We look for toe dragging, crookness, stiffness and all other unsyncronised movements.

It is important at this point to talk to the rider and or trainer about where he sees the difficulties when riding the horse and where the restrictions are felt when putting the animal through his daily work, whether it be on the gallop or jumping fences.

Equine osteopaths are often called out to see horses when their performance is greatly reduced from what’s normal and injuries are occurring more regularly.

It is at this point that the osteopath will assess where the developed muscles and more wasted or atrophied areas are in the horse’s muscular system and this can often tell its own history. We also test the full motion of the spinal joints and the limbs.

Observation of these areas, both static and in motion, will tell how long the horse has been working with abnormal posture, indicate where his pain lies, what areas he avoids using, and also whether the rider - or the tack - is adding to these issues.

Equine osteopaths mobilise these restrictions in the joints with different techniques so the range of motion is restored.

We stimulate areas of muscular wastage to increase blood flow and also release any muscular spasms so that the affected horses can move without the fear of discomfort.

Pain levels in successfully treated horses subside and the muscles will start to build up over time. Due to the reduction in pain, behaviour problems often improve or disappear. Owners often will comment, “he’s a different horse.” Successfully treated horses can become calmer and less resentful when ridden and can also be observed acting more playfully and rolling in their fields.

Restriction pelvic motion can result in:

Combined pelvis and back problems can include:

One clinical example successfully treated was a 12-year-old show jumper. Veterinary analysis showed no apparent problems on X-ray but the hocks were regularly injected to combat recurring pain. The owner reported a lack of propulsion from the horse over a long period of time.

My assessment showed an abnormally small range of motion in the lumbosacral area, reduced flexion and extension movement. There was also the characteristic “hunters bump’’ evident in the quarters; muscle wastage was also apparent in the saddle area. The hamstrings had become tight and overdeveloped and together with the hocks, had been taking much of the pressure to propel the horse over fences.

Three osteopathy sessions over a six-week period were carried out on the show jumper. I focused on increasing the flexion and extension capabilities of the lumbar and sacral segments so that the horse could sink and engage his quarters during the take-off phase and let go with the hindlegs over the back poles. This reduced the amount of input/power needed by the hocks to propel him over the fence.

In this case, the pain levels in the hocks decreased significantly in one month as the pressure was being shared with other structures, i.e. lumbosacral and the hamstrings. The horse could perform without injections once his body was working efficiently in all areas.

In other cases where there is damage already to the joint structures, the osteopath can work in conjunction with the treating veterinary surgeon to get the best possible outcome for the horse, sometimes reducing the regularity of injections.

Stride length

Studies have shown that horses that were treated osteopathically had a longer stride length than a control group. An increase of 2-3 cms in each stride over the length of a race of any distance could make a difference to the overall result of the race.

Another interesting factor to consider is the amount of engagement that a horse needs to propel himself out of starting stalls with his head in front of the other horses is tremendous. He needs to be able to sink his quarters lower which, in osteopathic language, is the flexion of the lumbosacral joint. When he pushes away, he must extend his lumbosacral joint to increase his length of stride. The lumbar, sacral and pelvic regions are the powerhouse or engine of the horse.

I practise a combination of structural osteopathy, craniosacral and visceral osteopathy to achieve the best results and improvements in the horse’s performance.

Kitty Shanahan is a qualified equine osteopath based in Portlaw, Co Waterford