Holistic Horseworks Talks with April Love

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Saddle fit is a huge issue for horse owners. A lot of people go and spend a whole lot of money trying to get the perfect fitting saddle.
Often, it’s not the saddle that needs changing — it’s the horse's body! I've noticed a lot of things are passed off as behavioral and training issues. When you go to put a saddle on the horse's back and they pin their ears and swish their tail, they are telling you that they know it's gonna hurt!
Put your horse on a flat hard surface, stand about 10 feet back, maybe up on a mounting block and look at your horse's butt, back, withers and shoulders. There's nothing symmetrical there; one hip will probably be higher, one side of the rib cage is higher, etc. When one shoulder is bigger, that's means that side is working harder.
The withers might also be off-center. When you put a straight-tree saddle on that and you girth them up really tight, you're forcing the horse's body to meet the underside of the saddle instead of the other way around.
I’ve worked on horses whose owners went out and spent $3,500 or $5,000 on custom-fit new dressage or show saddles. After a 45-minute to an hour bodywork session, they're like, “Oh, no! The horse is now straight and the saddle that I just had custom-made for his back is no longer going to fit!”
Instead of chasing saddle fit, you should look at all my free Youtube videos and look at HorseAcademy101.com so you can ride in your favorite saddle.
I rode more than 40,000 miles in endurance competition. I always did it in treeless saddles after learning all of this because your horse’s shape is going to be different every day.
My level one Equine Musculoskeletal Unwinding program is now a certified modality on its own.
So instead of chasing saddle fit, fix your horse first and you're going to have a happy healthy horse sound and rideable through their 30s

To keep learning about horses:
• Sign up for our email list: https://bit.ly/44t9Q1V
• Get the free Horse 101 ebook: https://bit.ly/3ChKAQr
• Shop videos & courses: https://bit.ly/43vhsku
• See the global clinic schedule: https://bit.ly/3CZiaee
• Visit the HHW website: www.holistichorseworks.com

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An owner had a horse that was acting up and they were going to send it to a trainer. But is it really a training problem? Or is it the horse trying to tell them that they're in pain?

We've been taught that if the horse doesn't want to canter to the left or the right or doesn't, want to do a certain thing in their body is that they're being stubborn on purpose, or it's a weakness. I remember training horses and it didn't want to canter to the right. I was told, well it's just weak on that side. So you make them do three times as many circles to the right as to the left, when actually it's because the right shoulder can't move correctly and the horses in its own way saying. “I don't want to go that way.”

If you're looking at horse language, and you brush them somewhere and they pin their ears, that's an area of pain. If you put a saddle blanket on and they're pinning their ears and shivering their withers that's letting you know that ribs and withers are not in perfect alignment. And muscles when they over tighten, create spasms. Then they pull bones too close together.

So it's a lot easier and cheaper if we can start listening to the horses at a younger age. Is it a stubborn behavioral issue, or is there something uncomfortable in the body and they don't want to do it that way? If you start looking at the hooves of the horse, you're going to see four hooves out of balance.

That tells me the inner muscles, pectorals, inside your psoaz, and your hocks are over tight, not allowing the joint to move correctly. And then we create extra stress by keep asking the horse to do the same thing that's already creating pain in the first place.

So if the right shoulder, and the right hip can't move correctly, they have to borrow extra from the left side to try and do that.

That's what creates your chiropractic issues. But most chiropractors just come and fix the withers and the spine and the hips and don't look for the cause.

When you do my program, which is everything from teeth to tail.

There are no big words like, “medial laterally rotated.” I just say if it if you push here, and the horse is reactive, this is how you fix it and we go through the whole horse from nose to tail, and hoof up.

And the testimonials I get just really warms my heart.

So you can start with my free e-book HorseAcademy101.com. And I have a Horse 102, Holistic Alternatives on Amazon. I have a home study program which you get my help and a free distance reading on my website: Equinemusculoskeletalunwinding.com, so that you can learn how to fix your horse yourself and then there's hardly any training left to do the horse wants to be with you.

So give me a jingle or e-mail me [email protected].

To keep learning about horses:
• Sign up for our email list: https://bit.ly/44t9Q1V
• Get the free Horse 101 ebook: https://bit.ly/3ChKAQr
• Shop videos & courses: https://bit.ly/43vhsku
• See the global clinic schedule: https://bit.ly/3CZiaee
• Visit the HHW website: www.holistichorseworks.com

Thanks for listening!
#holistichorseworkstalks

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Nothing is more frustrating than having a horse refuse to get on the trailer, especially if you need to home!
There's a reason behind the horse's unwillingness and it's usually not stubbornness.
Would you want to ride in an uncomfortable car? No? Neither does your horse! We'll start with the ones that are already trained. A lot of people just don't realize how bad the trailer can be.
When I was training safe trail horses, I could load three horses in 90 seconds by myself. At the trailhead, I’d see people who had been out riding and their horse didn't want to load again. They’ve got a brand new trailer and they're wondering how I can load three horses in 90 seconds. They're sitting there for 10 or 15 minutes trying to get the horse to get back in the trailer.
If you have a well-trained horse that doesn't want to get in a trailer you should look at your trailer. Every time I bought in a horse trailer I've asked them to balance the tires Have you ever driven down the freeway at 60 miles an hour when one weight has fallen off your tire and the whole thing is shimmying? That's what happens in the horse trailer with these unbalanced horse trailer tires. You're putting the horse in something that has a lot of vibration so it feels like an earthquake!
The second thing you need to look at is where the bridles and halters hang. Imagine when you're going down a bumpy road and the horse feels vibration up their legs, and the bridles and halters going bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!
So what I did is I got an old yoga mat and I glued it on that wall, to prevent the banging.
The other thing that many people do is clean out the horse trailer. Then it might smell like bleach or something and the horse didn't want to get in it.
I bought an 18-month old black Arab stallion that had never been on a trailer. I went into his stall with a wheelbarrow and picked up shavings that had his urine and poop on them. I put it in the horse trailer and spread it all around. I walked him up to it and he sniffed it. It's like he was saying, “Oh, there's my poop and pee, I must have already been here. So it must be safe to get in.”
He just loaded right up.
We need to be looking at things from the horse's point of view. At one bodywork clinic, there were horses that wouldn’t load onto a step-up trailer. After three days of unwinding bodywork, they all just stepped up in the trailer.
One owner already had a whip in hand, but never had to use it. Her horse was totally locked up in the front end. After the clinic, he could step up nicely into the trailer.

To keep learning about horses:
• Sign up for our email list: https://bit.ly/44t9Q1V
• Get the free Horse 101 ebook: https://bit.ly/3ChKAQr
• Shop videos & courses: https://bit.ly/43vhsku
• See the global clinic schedule: https://bit.ly/3CZiaee
• Visit the HHW website: www.holistichorseworks.com

Thanks for listening!
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In this episode, April explains muscle testing, which is a technique used to determine the suitability and effectiveness of supplements and products for horses.

April explains that muscle testing involves "yes" or "no" answers. She teaches muscle testing in her applied kinesiology class. She emphasizes the importance of assessing the vitality and quality of products before feeding them to horses. By placing a hand on the product packaging, one can ask if its vitality is greater than 8 on a scale of 1 to 10.

April also suggests asking if the product is good for the horse and if the horse can assimilate it effectively. She shares her experience using NCD (Natural Cellular Defense) to passively clear the horse's liver and kidneys of toxins, which can affect their overall health.

She notes that being emotionally upset can affect the accuracy of muscle testing.

Overall, muscle testing can help horse owners save money by ensuring they provide the right products that their horses can effectively assimilate.
Watch The Muscle Testing Video
Level 1 Home Study Course

Natural Cellular Defense
Free e-book

To keep learning about horses:
• Sign up for our email list: https://bit.ly/44t9Q1V
• Get the free Horse 101 ebook: https://bit.ly/3ChKAQr
• Shop videos & courses: https://bit.ly/43vhsku
• See the global clinic schedule: https://bit.ly/3CZiaee
• Visit the HHW website: www.holistichorseworks.com

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In this episode of Holistic Horseworks Talks, April Love sits down with Joie, a passionate horse lover who has discovered a profound purpose in the holistic approach to equine care. After years of working with horses in various capacities, Joie felt a deep calling to find a more integrative way to support and serve these magnificent animals.
Through her journey of discovery, Joie stumbled upon the work of April Love and Holistic Horseworks, and everything clicked into place. Joie shares her inspiring story of how she went from feeling frustrated and limited in her ability to truly help horses, to finding a comprehensive system that addresses the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of these sentient beings.
"I want to be able to give back to horses in a way that they've given to me my whole life, and do it better than I ever have before."
Listeners will be captivated by Joie's enthusiasm as she describes the transformative power of the Holistic Horseworks approach. From understanding the importance of hoof balance and body alignment to exploring the profound impact of energy work and emotional release, Joie's testimony sheds light on a holistic path that can revolutionize the way we care for and connect with our equine companions.
Seasoned horse owners, equine industry professionals, and anyone who appreciates the special bond between humans and horses—this episode will inspire you to approach equine care with a more empowered and purposeful mindset.

To keep learning about horses:
• Sign up for our email list: https://bit.ly/44t9Q1V
• Get the free Horse 101 ebook: https://bit.ly/3ChKAQr
• Shop videos & courses: https://bit.ly/43vhsku
• See the global clinic schedule: https://bit.ly/3CZiaee
• Visit the HHW website: www.holistichorseworks.com

Thanks for listening!
#holistichorseworkstalks