ALD Equine Solutions

Our sessions always start with ‘branding’ - scanning the horse’s body with a gentle touch. During branding, we monitor tissue temperature, hydration, tone, and the horse’s behavioural responses, as these reflect real-time nervous system and tissue states.

It is more than just a ritual! In ET, we believe that our touch is a ‘two-way highway’; through our touch, we are receiving information from the body, and at the same time, our touch is an important ‘input’ to the horse’s body.

These calm strokes can deliver a very important message to the horse’s central nervous system, through the systems of mechanoreceptors that are resident in the skin. It is easy to solely focus on muscles and fascia, but it is important not to forget that the skin is such an important sensory organ!

The skin is richly innervated with mechanoreceptors - sensory nerve endings that detect touch, pressure, stretch and vibration. These include tactile corpuscles, Ruffini endings, and Merkel endings - which all respond to different qualities of mechanical stimulus at the skin’s surface.

We all know that horses, specifically, are very sensitive to tactile stimulation due to the cutaneous nerves under the skin. These nerves transmit a wide range of sensory information from the skin, which means that even light, slow touch provides meaningful input to their nervous system.

For us, it is very important to stimulate specific low-threshold unmyelinated mechanoreceptors (often called C-tactile or C-LTMR afferents) that respond preferentially to gentle, (very) slow stroking of the skin. These are linked to autonomic regulation and affective touch processing in the nervous system.

So when we use a slow, gentle, whole-body stroke, we engage sensory pathways that convey non-nociceptive (not painful) touch and allow the nervous system to integrate input before we progress to deeper manual work.

From the start, we believed that no one technique (including the Equine Touch) can force changes in the body. We always believed that we were providing information to the body to facilitate its own healing. Now we can say it more ‘scientifically’ - Equine Touch provides meaningful sensory input, allowing the nervous system to reorganise tone, movement, and tissue behaviour safely.

Ivana

No hate on my picture that took me 2 hours to do with help from my kids lol.

Agonist vs. Antagonist Muscles in the Horse
Why knowing the difference matters when you’re massaging.

When working on the equine body, it’s not enough to find a tight muscle—you must understand what that muscle is doing in the movement pattern.

Every movement in the horse involves a team:
🔹 Agonist (Prime Mover)
The muscle that creates the movement
🔹 Antagonist (Opposing Muscle)
The muscle that controls, slows, or opposes the movement

📣If one side of this relationship is off, compensation, pain, and injury follow📣

🐎 Example:

The Neck (Balance and "Frame")

Agonist (Propulsion/Power): Longissimus Dorsi (Topline). Working in conjunction with hindquarters, these muscles, when engaged, allow the horse to lift the back and extend the neck forward, increasing power.

Antagonist (Control/Collection): Neck Flexors (Brachiocephalicus, Sternocephalicus). These muscles flex the neck, counteracting the tension of the top line to maintain a rounded, collected frame rather than a hollow, uncontrolled one.

Why this matters in bodywork?
If you only release what feels tight:
❌ You may weaken an already overworking muscle
❌ The real issue (the opposing muscle) remains unresolved
❌ The horse re-tightens quickly after sessions

Understanding agonist vs antagonist allows you to:
✅ Release muscles that are guarding or overcompensating
✅ Activate or support muscles that are weak or inhibited
✅ Restore balance instead of chasing symptoms

👉 A tight muscle isn’t always the one that needs the most work.

✨ The goal of skilled bodywork
Not just to release…
But to restore communication between muscle groups.

This is where true rehab, performance improvement, and long-term soundness begin.
—
PK Rehab & Education
Teaching you to see the whole picture, not just the tight spot.

✨ Winter Solstice Eve ✨

Arguably more exciting than Christmas Eve.
If you’re an equestrian. 🐴

Not because life suddenly gets easier. Absolutely not.
But because tonight is when winter officially stops escalating , in darkness terms. ❄️

The longest night.
Peak darkness.
The final boss level of “why am I doing this hobby”. 🥲

From tomorrow, the days get longer.
By seconds. Literal crumbs of daylight.
But crumbs matter when you’ve been doing the yard in the dark since about 3:47pm. 🔦

Let’s be clear.
This does not mean winter is over. Oh no , no.... dont be fooled.
January and February are still sharpening their knives. 🗡️

Mud will continue to ignore gravity and climb your trousers.
Frozen taps will remain a personality test.
Your horse will still roll in the muddiest , wettest patch. 🙃

Now, facts for you....
Horses are conserving energy in winter.
Not in a wise, ceremonial way.
More in a “stand by the hay net, eat constantly, don’t waste calories unless chaos is required” way. 🌾

Short days trigger seasonal changes.
Thicker coats. Bigger appetites.
More standing. Less unnecessary movement.
Efficient? Yes.
Dignified? Absolutely not.

And yes, the solstice is festive....

Just not tinsel-and-Mar­iah festive. 🎄
It’s ancient, practical festivity.
“We survived the worst of the dark and the light is technically coming back” festive. 🔥

Which feels very on brand for equestrians

Christmas can keep the chaos and the forced cheer. 🎄

Solstice belongs to the head-torch crew.
The mud-booted.
The people who celebrate progress in minutes of daylight and call that a win. 🏆

If you know, you know. 🖤✨