by Dr. Brad Tanner

Why float teeth, ancient wild horses seem to have done fine without dentist?

Good point and I agree it seems ancient wild horses did great without rasping of their teeth. The horse has evolved to be a grass consuming machine. Through the course of millennia, they have developed long teeth that continue to erupt (grow) throughout life.

It is important to know that the horse evolved to graze and chew up to 16 hours daily on coarse, fibrous grasses. Modern domesticated horses may spend much of their time in stalls, eating concentrates and hay, chewing much less than those on pasture.

Modern domesticated horses with pasture access typically graze on manicured grasses that are comparatively delicate and lack the gritty silica content consumed by their ancestors and cause less tooth wear. Additionally, as a horse chews grain its lower jaw does not move side to side with the same amount of travel as when chewing grass.

This decrease in chewing motion results in much sharper points developing and at a quicker rate then in horses eating only grass.

Read more: Dental Basics: The Who, What, When, How and Why of Floating Teeth

by Margret Henkels

Clients often ask me how I got into horse myofascial bodywork. A passion for horses, and my own personal experience of being completely healed, brought me to this work—Conformation Balancing. A riding fall at 28 brought chronic injuries lasting years. I knew nothing about fascia (connective tissue) and its role in organizing the entire body. A synchronicity at a horse show introduced me to Steve Evans, a Heller Work practitioner. Heller Work is an offshoot of Rolfing and trains people in its particular approach to fascia. The weekly myofascial-release sessions transformed me into fitness. Each week, for 15 weeks, I drove to Taos where Steve lived and returned feeling better. I loved the changes I felt and the work itself. My experience is that Heller Work is much less strenuous tissue work and is comfortable for the patient, even in the first session, unlike Rolfing, which is known to be strenuous.

On his table, I talked about my horses often and told him stories of my rides. Steve suggested I consider getting into the horse bodywork field. “Just what I need, another startup,” I said with a laugh. His suggestion seed grew. The changes I felt transformed my goals. Paperwork and financial data of the business world lost their charm. I felt amazingly better and fit enough to work with horses. He referred me to Equine Natural Movement, Heller for Horses, in Battle Ground, Washington, where I took a module of training, before certifying.

In myofascial-release training, I heard the call of the physical world. And, I learned something completely new: how hidden feelings surface when myofascial cells open as they release compression, and in the process, release trauma that has been held in the body. The emotional and spiritual transformations that occurred during myofascial change fascinated me: this clearing of trauma by bodywork is part of the amazing miracle of myofascial change. In sessions with horses, I watched horses change emotionally and trust me. Horses in pain wanted help.

Read more: How Myofascial Bodywork Helps Horses