Check out the movement in the flank area... no tightness. Tightness in the flank area can indicate problems in the gut and intestines. I started noticing years ago that horses that are stressed clamp their anal sphincter muscles. The horses that did this more often, I also noticed, had more digestion issues and were more likely to colic, probably due to operating within the sympathetic nervous system too often. Horses that were more relaxed under saddle though would have relaxed anal sphincters that would pulse in time with their movements. I also noticed more good gut sounds during rest coming from horses that were more relaxed when ridden, where the more stressed horses didnt have as much gut sounds while at rest. So basically I learned stressful riding can equal digestion issues, or digestion issues can lead to poor rides, both due to stress. This makes sense because the parasympathetic nervous system is also known as rest & digest, whereas the sympathetic nervous system is known as fight & flight. So something horse owners can do is check how often they hear gurgling sounds coming from their horses guts during rest after a feeding, and maybe have someone watch them ride and see if the horses anal sphincter is pulsing, which is especially noticeable at the trot. If owners dont notice these things then it may be time to call in an equine massage therapist, body worker, or acupuncturist to stimulate the horses parasympathetic nervous system.
Posted on: Wed, 29 Oct 2014 13:41:08 +0000
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