Falconwood Equine Spa

27/07/2026

The Thoracic Trapezius Muscle:

How do you know if it is healthy or dysfunctional?

The Trapezius originates along the dorsal side of the neck near the poll, inserts on the spine of the scapula. Includes the trapezius cervicalis (originates along the cervical vertebrae) and trapezius thoracis (originates along the thoracic vertebrae).
It is a muscle that commonly falls prey to atrophy from compensatory movement or poor saddle fitting issues.

Spotting problems:

Tension, spasm, under development or tears within the trapezius muscle may cause a reduction in stride length, scapula control and forelimb asymmetry and perhaps even lameness.
Another sign of a horse with issues in the trapezius muscle would be a visible ‘dip’ just below the withers behind the shoulder. When palpating I would expect the area to feel fibrous, tight and dehydrated with a possible spasm over the area. The horse may also show some objections to the area being touched as it will be sore.

In areas of atrophy, fascial tension or hypertonicity, the muscle will be unable to ripple underneath the hand. The skin may feel “stuck” over the surface, or it may feel like there is too little muscle to achieve this feeling.

Raised pole work in both walk and trot is an effective way of increasing the strength of the trapezius, because greater scapula stability is required as the limbs are lifted higher over the poles. All lateral exercises are useful for engaging, strengthening and conditioning the trapezius muscle. Shoulder-in is particularly useful for a jumper as this will improve his ability to lift his scapula, thus enhancing forelimb technique.

21/07/2026

Spinal manipulation - how does it work?

There is significant misunderstanding of spinal manipulative techniques (SMT)

Joints don’t go out. Joints can be restricted within their normal range of movement & in some cases the joint can get so tense that it doesn’t move at all. This is literally the opposite of out. It’s effectively "stuck in".

Dislocation is when a joint is actually out of place & if your horses spine has dislocated, the prognosis is unfavourable.

Skeletal joints can preform certain range of motion. Flexion, extension, side-bending, rotation & translation. A joint can get restricted in one or a combination of these movements. Once restricted the joint can typically only go further towards the restricted pattern. If a joint is restricted in flexion & side-bending to the left, then it can move further into flexion & left side-bending. It will struggle to extend or side-bend to the right.

A horse whose upper neck is restricted on the left should still be able to bend left - they will typically struggle to bend to the right.

When the joint is stressed (from a fall, hyperextension, incorrect biomechanics, trauma, stress, chronic muscular tension etc), the neuromuscular spindle & golgi tendon spindle reflexes engage to prevent further stress or damage to the joint. They do this by telling the surrounding musculature to tighten & protect the joint. In most cases, this reflex will do its job, protecting the joint from injury & then it switches off & the muscular tension returns to normal. Sometimes this neuromuscular reflex becomes stuck & this causes the joint stiffness & restriction/dysfunction. This is what is commonly referred to as the joint being "out".

When your horse has a spinal manipulation, we are not putting the spine back in place, it wasn't out in the first place. We cannot & will not move a vertebra. What is happening is we are short-circuiting this neuromuscular feedback loop that is causing the joint to remain restricted.

This happens by way of delivering a shock/fright to the restricted joint and associated musculature to switch off the neuromuscular feedback loop that is preventing the joint from moving. Because of the idea that the joint is ‘out’ & we need to put it back ‘in’, some practitioners try & use excessive force to achieve this - this is not necessary.

A horse with chronic muscular tension driven by poor posture, incorrect hoofcare, bad saddle or bridle fit, incorrect riding, systemic (internal) issues, rider asymmetry etc, will continually develop joint tension - you can use SMT as much as you want with this horse, it will not last unless all the factors contributing to muscle tension are addressed. It’s the same in reverse, if there is a joint that needs manipulation & only the muscular system is addressed, the joint will continually tell the surrounding muscle to tense back up again.

Joint restriction leads to muscle tension. Long term muscle tension leads to joint restriction. Both aspects of the musculoskeletal system must be addressed for the horses body to return to & remain tension/painfree.

We need to be able to look at every aspect of the horse & treatment modalities need to be involved in returning the horse back to 100%.

16/07/2026

26/06/2026

Did you know our ECB Salt Water Treadmill has built-in scales?

Monitoring a horse's weight throughout rehabilitation and conditioning provides valuable information that can influence workload, recovery and overall health.

Small changes can often tell a much bigger story.

Combined with heart rate monitoring and individual fitness plans, it allows us to make informed decisions every step of the way.

Because guessing has never been part of good horse management.

Contact us for more info on the ECB aqua treadmill. It runs both wet and dry.
0833919258
[email protected]

07/06/2026

ECB Equine Aqua Treadmill installation at a
clients private yard

06/06/2026

Just another day at the office... Aqua Treadmill installation

14/04/2026

Horse that came in for treatment and rehab with a sacro Subluxation injury.

14/04/2026

Doing a Cryo session on a tendon injury.

14/04/2026

Polo horse with a tendon injury.

14/04/2026

A Clients ECB Equine Aqua Treadmill being loaded and heading to Cape Town for installation...