Indications

Unfortunately your horse can’t tell you, if there’s something wrong. However, when you observe him closely, you may sometimes see some very subtile indications.
 
- Lameness
- Swelling
- Local temperature rise
- Tense spots when touched
- Tight muscles
- Shortened stridelength
- Stumbling, bad stability
- Stressed horse, not easy to relax
- Dislikes bending sideways, stressed when riding on a circle
- False position of head and neck.
- Tail bended sideways
- Headshaking
- Collecting- or transition problems
- Drops poles or won’t jump
- Resistance when grooming, saddling, unable to mount
- Resistance during training
- Change of behaviour
- Decrease of performance

When your horse has serious problems, I advise you to consult a specialized equine vet. In collaboration with this vet, physiotherapy can be applied. Examples of certain diseases are:

- Blockades, subluxations of the spine
- Joint inflammation or –irritation
- Muscle- or tendon injury
- Adhesions of scarrtissue
- Open wounds
- Arthrosis
- Kissing Spines
- Podotrochleosis
- Spavin
- Ataxia
- Rehabilitation after surgery’s (removement of OCD’s, colic, fractures)

Prevention
Even when your horse has no obvious problems, an preventive examination and treatment can be indicated for:

- High level performing horses
- Horses in competition
- Horses known with former backproblems or other injuries       
- Young horses getting in training
- Breeding horses

More about this subject: choose “prevention” in the menu