SW ConTact CARE - Viewfield Stables

15/05/2026

Thanks Tracy Move Freely Contact CARE - Tracy Ody colleague from up north who was visiting Masterton & fitted me in for horse & rider session. My hips are released and Isabel is striding out with more freedom & flow - beautiful work, loved the outcome 🐴🏇🥰

30/04/2026

The horse’s lumbar spine is a place of strength — but also vulnerability.

Made up of 5-7 lumbar vertebrae, this region forms a critical bridge between forehand and hindquarter, helping transfer propulsion, absorb force, support collection, and stabilise movement.

Yet this area carries immense demand.

Major muscular structures attach through and around the lumbar region, including the longissimus dorsi, psoas, quadratus lumborum, and fascial continuities linking into the pelvis, diaphragm, and hindlimbs. The diaphragm having attachments through the upper lumbar region, remind us that breathing, posture, and spinal stability are not separate conversations.

When the lumbar region is under strain, the effects may not stay local.

A horse may show reduced engagement, resistance in transitions, hollowing, shortened stride, difficulty bending, discomfort under saddle, or changes in behavioural expression.

And sometimes the “problem” isn’t the horse.

Ill-fitting saddles, poorly balanced riders, repetitive loading, unresolved compensations, or gear pressure can create cumulative stress over time — the kind that builds quietly.

The straw that broke the camel’s back?

In horses, it is often not one straw.

It is the hundred unnoticed ones.

From a ConTact C.A.R.E perspective, persistent lumbar tension may reflect accumulated pressure the body has adapted around for too long.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Bladder meridian tracks along the back and has long been associated with the spine, protective regulation, and systemic balance. Kidney and Bladder functions are also linked with reserve, resilience, and adaptation. Whether viewed structurally, physiologically, or energetically, the lumbar region sits in a profound crossroads.

Power lives here.

Protection lives here.

Compensation lives here too.

Sometimes what looks like performance resistance is really pressure asking to be heard.

And sometimes caring for the horse’s back is not about adding more support…

…but removing what is overloading it.

21/04/2026

The Nose Knows… The Heart Shows 🐴💛

The nasal bones of the horse are long, refined, and beautifully shaped — forming what can be seen as a subtle heart through the length of the face.

Anatomically, the nasal bone creates the upper bridge of the horse’s nose, flowing back into the deeper structures of the skull — connecting through the vomer, ethmoid, and sphenoid. This forms a powerful central line where breath, scent, and neurological awareness travel.

But with the horse… it goes deeper.

Their nose is not just for breathing — it is for feeling.

Horses live through their senses. Their ability to read the environment, to feel safety or tension, often comes before movement. The “nose knows”… and in the horse, the heart shows.

That long nasal line, heart-shaped in form, reflects what they truly are — heart-centred beings, deeply connected to awareness, presence, and truth.

From a ConTact C.A.R.E perspective, the nasal region is sensitive to pressure and impact. Even subtle disruptions here can influence breathing, sinus flow, and the balance of the cranial system — rippling back through the sphenoid and skull.

When this area is free and supported, you often see a shift not just in breath… but in the whole horse.

Softer.
More present.
More connected.

Because when the nose is at ease… the heart can speak.

Equine ConTact C.A.R.E – The Horse’s Way

❤️

13/04/2026

Thanks Sheelagh Prosser - ConTact CARE Hutt Valley/Wellington and Pepe Ewen for being wonderful conTact CARE instructors at our first Wairarapa course. So grateful to have had a great group of people, working on my horses, all learning together 🐴

07/03/2026

Thanks Camille for a beautiful explanation in our ConTact CARE journey

The Thoracic Sling – The Horse’s Living Shield

The horse does not have a bony attachment from forelimb to spine.
Instead, the forehand is suspended by a muscular sling — often referred to as the thoracic sling — with the scapula as its floating blade.

The scapula (shoulder blade) lies against the ribcage, gliding with every stride. It is not fixed. It slides, rotates, lifts and lowers, allowing shock absorption, propulsion, and reach.

Key anatomical contributors to this sling include:
• Serratus ventralis – suspends the trunk between the forelimbs
• Trapezius – stabilises and positions the scapula
• Rhomboideus – supports upward lift and connection to the spine
• Latissimus dorsi – links the forelimb into the thoracolumbar system
• Pectorals – draw the limb inward and stabilise under load

When this sling is balanced, the horse moves with elasticity.
When restricted, you will often see shortened stride, bracing through the base of neck, or collapse through the wither.

But there is another layer.

The scapula is a shield.

Watch a horse in self-defence — subtle or overt — and you’ll see the shoulder blade widen and brace. The musculature thickens. The forehand sets. This is the place from which the horse will push through, drive forward, or hold its ground.

Metaphysically, the shoulder blade is a boundary keeper and shield.

It is the interface between heart space and the world.
It protects the thorax — the lungs, the life breath.
It absorbs impact before the spine must.

When a horse has needed to defend itself — physically or emotionally — the story is often seen here.

Restriction in the radial/thoracic sling is not just mechanical. It can reflect:
• Guarding
• Bracing against pressure
• Holding straightness
• Preparing to push through

As an Equine ConTact CARE practitioner, we are not just mobilising a scapula.
We are meeting the horse at its protective shield.

And when that shield softens safely, the reach returns.
The stride lengthens.
The breath deepens.

Access through the shoulder is access to the horses trust.

❤️

27/02/2026

The Book! I have a few spare copies; it’s a great place to start and revisit, many times 😉🐴🥰

22/02/2026

Grateful for Equine conTact CARE - the horses and their owners have been amazing these last few weeks - reach out to find out more 🐴💖

12/02/2026

Let’s take a closer look at the hoof capsule — an extraordinary construction of connective tissue that breathes, provides traction, and relays proprioceptive information to the horse’s body and structure.

The hoof senses changes in the ground and environment, adapting by becoming harder or softer as needed. This makes it a truly unique foundation for the horse to “stand” on. In movement, the hoof acts as the horse’s traction — grabbing the ground to stabilise the body. The sensory information it gathers is transmitted up through the bones of the foot and leg, helping the horse adjust to terrain and work conditions.

All the major meridian lines enter or exit through the hoof capsule, and imbalances in these chi lines often show up as cracks in the hoof wall, as the body attempts to release stuck energy.

At Equine ConTact CARE, we understand how compromised traction and connective tissue can affect the entire body — from organ function to structural balance. Simply by observing a horse’s hooves and their placement, we can gain insight into where the structure has been challenged, and then work to uncover the cause of the resulting imbalance.

❤️

12/02/2026

The Withers: the horse’s centre of Self Defence

The horse is a flight response animal. Self defence is not a behaviour problem — it is an innate survival intelligence woven through the horses nervous system, anatomy, and movement.

Horses are profoundly honest. They will always move toward what is most comfortable, safest, and least threatening for their body. When a horse reacts, braces, rushes, or withdraws, the body is responding to perceived threat or alarm, not disobedience.

Within Equine ConTact CARE, the withers are understood as a central gathering point for this self-defence response. Anatomically, this region connects:
• the nuchal ligament
• cervical and thoracic vertebrae
• shoulder girdle and forelimbs
• nervous system pathways linked to flight and posture

This makes the withers a centre of power, balance, and readiness to move. When stress accumulates here, the horse may hold tension, lose fluidity, or remain in a constant state of vigilance.

Equine ConTact CARE does not override this system. It listens to it — supporting the body to restore balance within the self-defence structure so the horse can move from survival into choice, comfort, and connection.

12/02/2026

From Survival to Choice

The horse is a flight animal.
Survival is not a failure of training — it is the body’s first responsibility.

When a horse braces, rushes, freezes, or withdraws, the nervous system is prioritising safety. The body is organising itself around perceived threat, not misbehaviour.

Within Equine ConTact CARE, we do not ask the horse to suppress this response.
We listen to it.

By supporting balance within the self-defence structure — particularly through the withers and postural organisation — the horse is given the opportunity to soften without losing power.

From there, something profound can occur:
the horse is no longer driven by survival alone.

Choice becomes possible.
Movement becomes fluid.
Connection becomes safe.