Sleepy Horse Equine Bodywork, LLC

What I believe is most important is firsthand experience in the industry, the ability to communicate and truly listen to the horse, and finding a bodyworker whose beliefs and goals align with yours.

I am not one of those bodyworkers that saw a horse being worked on and thought “This would be a fun job.” Instead, I was led here by experiences, trial & error and seeing what worked and what didn’t with my own horses and all the farms I’ve been at.

I have worked and ridden at many barns since I was a little kid. I spent years jumping then decided dressage was a better fit for my journey with Fortune. I have always been interested in the biomechanics of getting horses moving correctly on the ground and under saddle. I have ridden western and worked at multiple guest ranches out west with hundreds of horses. I boarded my horses for years and now have ran my own farm for the past 4 years.

I have watched horses’s posture and muscle development change for the better or the worse, have watched the impacts of incorrect saddle fit, hoof and dental care, have watched compensatory patterns of horses and riders, have rehabbed my horse after kissing spines surgery, have stood beside top vets when they didn’t know what else to do, etc..

No matter how many certifications we as bodyworkers have hanging on the wall, no amount of education replaces real-life experience. To me, it comes down to the time spent working with horses in the field, navigating different challenges, and learning how each horse communicates and responds.

Please consider how tight you are putting on your horse’s noseband!! There are so many sensitive nerves and structures in the horse’s nasal area.

Everything is so interconnected and a tight noseband WILL negatively affect the way your horse moves through his entire body.

Imagine trying to workout with a super tight belt on??

There are always many opinions about nosebands. Too loose, and a trainer might call it sloppy. Too tight, and it becomes a welfare concern. There are studded and crank and chain and traditional, and all kinds of gadgets and gizmos designed to keep our horse’s mouth shut, but what is best for the horse? Is cranking that extra hole doing more harm than good?

A 2025 study published in the Journal of Equine Veterinary Science examined the impact of noseband tightness on pressure and performance. The results are eye-opening if you believe that a tighter noseband means better performance in the ring.

Most riders are familiar with the standard: leave two fingers’ space beneath the noseband. It’s even outlined in guidelines from the FEI. And according to the study, 85% of riders say they know this recommendation. But when researchers actually measured the fit using a standardized taper gauge, only 15% had their nosebands adjusted to the proper tension.

The vast majority were too tight. Sometimes dramatically too tight.

In the study, eight horses were fitted with a simple cavesson noseband and tested at three settings: a standard two-finger fit, a snug one-finger fit, and a cranked-tight zero-finger fit. Under each setting, researchers measured facial pressure and evaluated gait.

Here’s what they found:

- The one-finger setting increased pressure on the nasal bone by 54% over the two-finger baseline.
- The zero-finger setting? A staggering 338% increase in pressure.

Imagine trying to do your day job with a belt cinched tight around your nose and jaw.

Now add that your success relies on body movement, and you have no way to say, “This hurts.” That’s similar to what the horse might feel like being asked to perform in a fully tightened noseband that more than triples the force exerted on its face.

📎 Continue reading this article at https://www.theplaidhorse.com/2025/07/30/new-research-shows-cranking-your-noseband-hurts-your-horses-gait/
📸 © The Plaid Horse

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Red light therapy helps support:
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Does your horse struggle to keep their ears level during a lateral carrot stretch? 🥕

📢 Try this trick: Gently support your horse’s head and encourage them to bend around you.

Many horses will tilt or twist through the neck, causing one ear to sit higher than the other. This often means they’re rotating the neck instead of creating a true lateral bend. Keeping the ears level encourages your horse to bend evenly through the neck and engage the deep stabilizing muscles of the neck and topline. The goal is to improve flexibility and mobility while staying within your horse’s comfortable range of motion.

❗If your horse struggles with this exercise, it may indicate muscle tightness, reduced neck mobility, or a compensatory movement pattern. This isn’t a diagnosis, but it can be a helpful observation to discuss with your veterinarian or equine bodywork professional.

The difference between a rubdown and a massage is an art form—an art form called accuracy.
—Jack Meagher

Effective massage begins with accuracy. It requires trained hands, a thorough understanding of anatomy, and the ability to locate specific structures with confidence. The goal isn’t simply to touch the horse—it’s to touch the right tissue, in the right way, for the right reason. That precision is what transforms a routine rubdown into a skilled therapeutic practice.

https://koperequine.com/why-hands-on-massage-is-the-best-way-to-for-sore-care-muscles/

So true 👏🏻

I’ve sometimes feel paralyzed while posting from the middle of the spectrum of equine wellness.

Just like fitness, politics, holistic living, and everything else it seems like it just keeps getting more polarizing in the echo chamber of social media. You’re all or nothing.

But I’m not.

There are people that never use bits or shoes, only clicker train, and never get on a horse’s back.

There are also people that compete 7 days a week with too much equipment and no nutrition.

I just want to ride my horse in the equipment that works for them, enjoy the fun of competition, feed them a species appropriate diet that they flourish on, and enjoy them.

I love that kids get to grow up competing in the arena learning how to win and how to lose. I just want to teach them more about caring for their horse between shows.

I love that a mom can go compete for a weekend and feel accomplished and enjoy sometime for herself and her animal. I just want them to have some more tools to use for their horse.

I love that some horses get relief from needed injections, I just want to show you how to support them after that to decrease the need in the future and rehab their body.

I don’t like the competitors vs therapists sentiment.

I know abrasive posts do wayyy better on social media, maybe that’s why there’s SO much of it. As a general statement, most competitors do need to be doing more for their horses.

But from a business perspective, more traction on social media while pi***ng off people that actually need your services serves no one.

I actually enjoy competing more than I enjoy rehab. I just want to compete on sound horses and I want to help everyone else do the same thing.

We maintain our cars before they break down… so why wait with horses?

Horses naturally compensate in their bodies long before they look “off.” As prey animals, this is how they survive in the wild.

Maintenance bodywork can be crucial for your horse’s long-term health. Having your horse on a regular bodywork schedule allows me to monitor changes over time such as muscle development, posture, muscle tone, soreness, hoof balance, movement patterns, mental state, etc.

It’s about having another set of eyes on your horse to notice what you didn’t and to catch subtle changes early, before they develop into bigger issues.

Maintenance sessions can help maintain flexibility and range of motion, improve performance and willingness under saddle, support better circulation, improve muscle recovery, reduce risk of injury, support aging horses and those in heavy work, etc.

It’s less about “fixing” the body once it becomes sore, and more about supporting the body as it functions over time.