Do you wake up stiff in the morning?
Do you feel better after 10–15 minutes of movement?
Now, ask yourself: why do we expect more from our horses?
Especially if they’re stabled—let’s face it, most sport horses spend more time inside than out.
Yet we saddle them up and expect them to perform immediately.
Why don’t we take the same approach to our horses as we do to our own bodies?
The Problem: Why Is Rehabilitation So Hard?
Rehabilitation is tough for many reasons:
✅ It’s highly individual—no two horses recover the same way.
✅ We don’t assess enough—instead, we jump straight into treatments.
✅ We rush the process—impatience often leads to setbacks rather than progress.
Some days your horse looks great. Other days, they look stiff and uncoordinated. But that’s part of the process!
The body is adapting.
There is NO quick fix for body lameness—it takes time, careful assessment, and consistency.
The Issue with Quick Fixes: Inject & Back to Work?
One of the most common things I see in my work is horses being injected and thrown straight back into work.
Hock injections.
Stifle injections.
Neck facet injections.
Yet, where’s the rehab? 🤔
Many times, injections happen with little or no post-injection rehabilitation.
We see:
🔸 Horses getting neck injections but no follow-up work on improving mobility.
🔸 Hock or stifle injections, yet no attention to how the horse moves overall.
Would we save time and money if we focused on rehabilitating the whole body rather than treating one joint at a time?
Body Lameness vs. Limb Lameness – Why We’re Treating in Isolation
👉 Axial (body) lameness takes time to heal.
👉 Pain in one area is usually part of a bigger chain of dysfunction.
Let’s break it down:
🟢 SI pain? It’s connected to lower back tightness and hind limb mechanics.
🟢 Kissing spines? The entire posture must be addressed.
🟢 Hock arthritis? Check for compensation patterns in the pelvis and opposite hind limb.
We inject quickly, yet when it comes to rehab, the time frame gets cut short.What if we flipped the approach and focused more on groundwork and corrective exercises before resorting to injections?
Why the Bad Days Are Actually a Good Sign
Healing isn’t linear.
Some days, your horse might feel amazing. Other days, they might feel stiff, weak, or resistant.
This isn’t a setback—it’s a sign of change.
The body is adapting.
I’ll never forget a case I worked on with a vet.
The horse had clear pelvic asymmetry, but here’s where things got interesting:
🩺 The vet saw excessive movement on the left side.
🤔 I felt restriction on the right side.
At first, I thought, "Am I missing something?" But after further investigation, it turned out the right side was the true issue—the left was simply compensating.
💡 Lesson learned?
Trust your gut. Ask more questions. Don’t be afraid to challenge what you see.
The AAA Approach to Horse Rehabilitation
When working with horses, I always follow the AAA method:
✅ ASK – What’s the horse’s history? What patterns do we see? What’s their body telling us?✅ ASSESS – Observe movement, posture, muscle imbalances, and compensation patterns.
✅ ADJUST – Make changes through hands-on therapy, groundwork, and tailored corrective exercises.
💡 Rehabilitation isn’t about "fixing" one area. It’s about understanding the entire system and creating a plan that addresses the root cause.
Key Takeaways
🐴 Body lameness is never just one thing.
🐴 Rehab takes time—rushing it leads to setbacks.
🐴 Teamwork is key—owners, vets, bodyworkers, farriers must collaborate.
🐴 Follow the AAA approach—ASK, ASSESS, ADJUST.
🐴 Just because they CAN doesn’t mean they SHOULD. Just because they CAN’T doesn’t mean they WON’T.
Final Thought: What If We Did Rehab First?
What if, instead of going straight for an injection, we focused on:
✅ Assessing the whole body before treating a single area.
✅ Using groundwork & corrective exercises to prevent long-term damage.
✅ Recognizing compensation patterns before they turn into injuries.
I believe if we rehabbed first, we’d see fewer injections and fewer breakdowns.
💡 Want a step-by-step approach to rehab?
Check out my online course, Heal Your Horse, where I walk you through corrective exercises designed to improve your horse’s posture, movement, and soundness.
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