When Your Horse Tells You Something's Wrong

Jo's horse turned his bum toward her the moment she walked in with the tack.

Ears flat back.

Three months ago, he'd been soft and willing. Now this.

She'd done everything right. She'd had the expert out who found no pain and gave the all-clear to continue.

But every single time she brought the tack, same response.

Ears back. Bum toward her.

How could she ignore what he was showing her?

Finding the Language

I met Jo through a free assessment I was offering in Dubai. New country, meeting new people, seeing what horses here needed.

She told me nothing about her horse except his age and discipline.

I watched him walk out of the stable and smiled.

"Has he always loaded more weight down the left fore?"

Her face lit up. "Would that affect his right flexion?"

I stayed quiet. Let her think. Watched him trot small circles left, then right. Put my hands on his shoulder girdle, lifted each forelimb one at a time, felt what his body was telling me.

Then I turned to her with what I'd found.

"His asymmetrical front feet are affecting the stability of his shoulder girdle. He struggles with right bend compared to left because the dysfunction in the front end is affecting his pelvis. The hind end can only push and propel forward once the front end has the stability to leave the ground."

She smiled. Nodded. I could see the relief washing over her.

"Thank you. I feel relieved. He's been trying to tell me something is wrong and I didn't have the words to articulate what I was feeling."

The Moment of Relief

That moment right there.

When the confusion lifts and suddenly everything your horse has been showing you makes perfect sense.

The ears back, the bum turned—these were his language. He was saying: "This doesn't feel right."

Once Jo had the words to understand what he was communicating, she could finally address it. We built an action plan together—treatment, farrier intervention, specific exercises she could do with him.

The joy on her face wasn't just about having a solution. It was about finally being able to hear what her horse had been saying all along.

Understanding What Your Horse Shows You

This is what a movement map consultation does. It gives you language for what your horse has been showing you.

If your horse is communicating something and you don't have the words to understand what it means, a movement map consultation can help you find them.

Movement map consultations are available online or in person.

Contact me to book your session.

NIKA VORSTER
Equine Chiropractor | Dubai, UAE