Bodywork for senior horses
Senior horses can benefit from bodywork, but it needs to be adjusted to their specific needs.
Senior horses respond well to gentle techniques.
In modern times, our horses are living longer and longer and are staying fit well into their twenties. Caring for a senior horse can be a difficult task, as they start to experience more and more health issues. Horses that were well looked after and trained in a healthy way throughout their lifetimes, can have relatively few musculoskeletal problems, but sooner or later they start to experience some stiffness. Bodywork for senior horses is very recommended, but it's important to adjust the techniques and modalities to fit their needs.
One thing to keep in mind is the fact that even though an older horse might not be lame, they might still have some bony changes, cartilage deterioration, or other chronic issues which will lead to long term compensation. A crooked pelvis, a kyphotic spine or any other asymmetries in the body have to be addressed very, very carefully. Using forceful techniques can be too intense for our senior citizens and can leave them feeling worse, so we anything we do, we need to do gently.
Applying techniques that are too direct or too intense can disrupt the muscle balance that they have carefully orchestrated in the course of many years, which can make them stiff or even lame for a while. Of course, every horse is an individual, so each one will react to bodywork differently, but in general it's better to err on the side of caution when it comes to senior horses. Softer modalities, like craniosacral, acupressure or energy work, can be a great start. Mobilization and stretching techniques should be applied with caution, as any kind of cartilage degeneration can make movement at the end of the range of motion of individual joints, more difficult.
Often, older horses will be more stoic than their younger counterparts, which can make choosing the appropriate techniques even trickier. This is why it's very important to go slow, give them enough time to process and constantly observe their reaction. Even the tiniest hint that they are not comfortable with what you are doing, should be a cue to back off and try a gentler approach. Obviously, taking this route will mean that it will take more time to »get things done«, so an issue that with a young horse might take one or two sessions, could stretch to three or four with an older horse. It's also important to note that some issues cannot be fully resolved when the horse is in his golden years. Bony changes that are very common in the older population, cannot be changed with bodywork, so it's important to respect the limitations of the older body. We need to keep in mind that it's not about perfection, it's about improving function. So, even though we might not be able to rectify a crooked pelvis, a sway back or a less than ideal posture, we can still ensure the soft tissue surrounding the bony abnormalities, is functioning well. Regular bodywork is a worthwhile investment in an older horse, but it needs to be coupled with appropriate hoof care, dental care, nutrition, and above all, movement. Gentle movement throughout the day is crucial for keeping older bodies moving well, so this should be our priority.