Whole horse rehabilitation
When we think about horses (or people for that matter) we often think of them as comprised of different parts, like the neck, the back, the left hindleg and so on. So when we encounter issues with our horses (or our own bodies) we tend to place the issue in a certain body part and intently focus on making just that part better. A good example are the horse's lower legs, as they are the most common cause of lameness in horses. Tendon injuries, suspensory ligament injuries, joint problems, navicular syndrome, the list goes on. When we are dealing with a tendon injury, we like to focus all our attention on that single tendon and trying to fix it. We are rehabilitating a single tendon by implementing a strict rest and controlled exercise regime. And at every check up, we are only looking at the tendon, checking to see if it's healed already.
But the tendon is actually just a part of the muscle. And that muscle is a just part of the muscle chain governing the movement of the leg. And that muscular chain is just a part of the myofascial line that runs across the entire body. It is all connected. So when we have an injury in the tendon, we not only have dysfunction in that tendon, we have dysfunction in the muscle, the muscle chain and the myofascial line. The entire body basically!
If we take the traditional approach and focus all of our attention on the injured tendon, neglecting the rest of the horse's body, we might be able to make it better, but for how long? If we fix dysfunction on one part of the chain but ignore it on another part, eventually we will end up with another injury. Never think about the body parts in isolation, especially when dealing with an injury. If you are rehabbing an injured tendon, have someone take a look at the horse's thoracic sling as well. And his neck. And his back. And don't forget the pelvis. If these structures aren't functional, implement a controlled exercise programme for them as well. If we truly want to solve an issue, not just put a band aid on, we need to make the entire body functional again. That is the purpose of rehabilitation.
