Connected Bodywork

08/30/2026

Before it was a buzzword, Linda Tellington TTouch World was bringing peoprioceptive awareness to horses and riders- safe and effective body wraps, therapeutic touch and bodywork for horses and riders, ground pole and obstacle exercises, the list goes on. Spanning groundwork to mounted work, if you havent explored what TTouch and TTeam offer, you really missed some great wellness and training methods around since the 1970s!

Riders spend a lot of time thinking about strength, fitness, and soundness. But there is another part of athletic performance that is just as important: whether the horse knows where its body is in space.

“Proprioception is an awareness of where the body is in space,” Dr. Julie Vargas, founder of Limestone Equine Performance Medicine in Lexington, Kentucky, explained on The Plaidchat.

It affects everything from balance to how high a horse picks up a leg over a pole or fence. And when proprioception is weakened by injury, neurologic disease, or deconditioning, rebuilding it can become an important part of rehabilitation.

Vargas offered a simple human example. Stand on a firm surface, close your eyes, and see whether you can maintain your posture without swaying. Without vision to help you orient yourself, your body has to rely on its own internal sense of position. That is proprioception.

For a horse, the concept is similar.

The horse has to know where each limb is without looking at it. That awareness helps the horse negotiate poles, fences, uneven ground, and changes in terrain. “How does the horse know how high to pick up his legs as he passes over a pole or a fence?” Vargas asked.

If that body awareness is impaired, the signs can become more obvious. Vargas said poor proprioception can contribute to tripping or stumbling. It becomes especially important when a horse has experienced neurologic deficits or has changed the way it moves.

During recovery, sometimes the horse needs to relearn a movement pattern. Vargas explained that sensory input can be used to encourage a limb to move differently. “Even just a bell boot could act like that sensory input to change the movement,” she said.

📎 Continue reading this article at https://www.theplaidhorse.com/2026/08/26/what-is-proprioception-and-why-does-your-horse-need-it/
📸 © The Plaid Horse

08/29/2026

The Intelligence of Elasticity: Stiffness, Cadence and Mechanotransduction
“Suspension and amplitude are not created by stretching and relaxation, but through the appropriate coordination and stiffness of elastic structures.”

— Jean Luc Cornille

Movement is not created by muscular contraction alone.

The horse's body functions as an integrated system in which muscles, tendons, fascia, joints and other connective structures interact continuously with gravity, ground reaction forces and inertia.

Within this system, muscles may work concentrically, eccentrically or isometrically while tendons and other elastic structures deform, store energy and return part of that energy during locomotion.

This interaction between muscular force and elastic structures is fundamental to efficient movement.



The Stretch-Shortening Cycle
In many athletic movements, an active lengthening of the muscle-tendon system precedes shortening. This sequence is commonly described as the stretch-shortening cycle.

The principle can easily be observed in human athletics.

During throwing, jumping and running, the athlete does not produce power through one isolated muscular contraction. Movement results from a precisely timed sequence involving multiple body segments, muscular actions and elastic structures.

The horse is different anatomically from the human athlete, but the fundamental principle remains relevant: efficient locomotion depends upon the coordination of force throughout the entire body.

The hind limbs, back and forelimbs do not function as independent mechanical units.

They function as parts of a coordinated system.

The rider cannot directly control each muscle, tendon or deeper structure involved in this process. The rider can, however, influence the conditions under which the horse's nervous system organizes them.

This distinction is fundamental to intelligent equine training.

We do not manually position the deeper structures.

We create the conditions allowing the horse to coordinate them.



Elastic Energy
The horse's limbs are remarkably specialized for economical locomotion.

Long tendons associated with relatively short muscle fibers allow portions of the limb to function as elastic energy-storage systems.

As the limb accepts load, elastic structures can deform and store strain energy. As loading changes, part of this energy can subsequently be returned.

This reduces the amount of muscular work required for locomotion.

The horse therefore does not move efficiently simply because muscles contract harder.

Efficient locomotion depends upon when force is produced, how force is transmitted through the body, how tissues deform under load, and how effectively elastic energy is stored and returned.

This is considerably more sophisticated than the traditional opposition between contraction and relaxation.



Stiffness Is Not Rigidity
The word stiffness is often misunderstood in equestrian language.

Stiffness does not necessarily mean rigidity.

In biomechanics, stiffness describes the relationship between an applied force and the deformation of a structure.

A structure that is excessively compliant may deform without efficiently returning useful energy. A structure that is excessively rigid may be unable to accommodate the forces and movements required of it.

Athletic efficiency exists between these extremes.

The horse continuously adjusts the stiffness of muscles, tendons, joints and the body as a whole according to the mechanical demands of each instant.

This is functional stiffness.

It is not muscular rigidity.

Nor is it relaxation.

Rigidity and slackness represent two extremes. Neither describes efficient athletic locomotion.

The athletic horse needs sufficient stiffness to resist inappropriate deformation, transmit forces and utilize elastic recoil while retaining the mobility necessary to coordinate the next phase of the stride.

This is why the traditional instruction to simply make the horse “relax” provides an incomplete explanation of efficient movement.

The objective is not relaxation.

The objective is coordination.



The Horse's Natural Cadence
The efficiency of elastic energy storage and return depends strongly upon timing.

This brings us to one of the most important elements of athletic training:

cadence.

Every horse has PLEASE CLICK LINK TO READ ON much more to read! :) https://scienceofmotion.com/documents/mechanoresponsiveness_22.html

08/29/2026

Madalaine has been helping beginners to Olympians with these concepts for over 20 years - its nice to see the wider acceptance and normalization of the shared influence between horse & rider 😉

08/29/2026

Did you know? Landings can be postural?

Farriers are taught to pay close attention to how a horse lands.

Medial first? Lateral first? Toe first? Heel first? Level?

And this is important. Gross hoof imbalance can alter distal limb alignment, influence the orientation of the hoof as it meets the ground and create a pathological environment. Correcting that imbalance can absolutely improve landing.

But there is an important distinction that is often missed! The farrier does not have complete control over the landing.

Why?

Because landing occurs at the end of swing phase. During swing, the position of the hoof is being determined by the entire limb above it.

Muscle activation controls joint flexion and extension. The orientation of the carpus or tarsus, fetlock and distal joints influences the final position of the hoof. Tendon tension provides proprioceptive information to the nervous system. Conformation affects limb trajectory. Posture changes joint relationships. Fatigue and neuromuscular tone can alter limb placement. Myofascial physiology can create constrictions.

So the hoof that eventually meets the floor is the endpoint of a whole-body movement strategy.

I had a great example of this while working on a horse in Norway.

Before shoeing, the horse had a lateral landing. I assessed the hoof and corrected what I considered to be the underlying three-dimensional hoof imbalance.

Then we watched the horse again. The landing got worse. It was now landing very obviously on the lateral toe quarter.

At first glance, you might reasonably conclude that the shoeing was wrong. And if your primary measure of mediolateral balance is a level landing, the logical response would be to take the shoe back off and remove more lateral toe until the horse landed flatter.

But I was confident in the balance I had established. So rather than continuing to manipulate the hoof to chase the visual landing, we looked further up the system.

A fascial manipulation practitioner who was working with me assessed the horse and identified significant restrictions through the chest. She treated those restrictions.

We changed nothing on the foot. We watched the horse again. It landed level.

That is a hugely important clinical lesson. The hoof had not changed. The shoe had not changed. The trim had not changed. The horse above the hoof had changed.

This is entirely consistent with the framework developed in my upcoming book. Changes in posture, muscle tone or fascial stiffness within the scapulothoracic sling can influence swing phase, limb placement and therefore landing behaviour. Farriery can influence posture and landing, but it operates within constraints imposed by the rest of the neuromuscular and myofascial system.

This is why we need to understand the difference between landing and loading.

Landing is primarily a kinematic event. It describes the orientation of the hoof at initial ground contact. Loading is a kinetic event. Once the hoof contacts the ground, force rises, the centre of pressure migrates, joint moments develop and the structures of the digit begin resolving ground reaction force.

And importantly!

Landing does not reliably predict loading.

Research discussed in the book has shown that the orientation of initial contact does not reliably correspond to centre-of-pressure distribution later in stance. A horse can land laterally and subsequently load centrally. A visually level landing can still develop asymmetric loading as force increases.

This matters because the hoof does not remodel according to what it did for the first instant of contact.

Morphology reflects the forces applied, sustained and accumulated through stance.
And this forces must be resolved by the rest of the body.
Impulse and repeated midstance loading contribute to the time-dependent deformation and adaptation that ultimately shape the hoof capsule and create a bi-directional relationship between hoof morphology and posture.

So imagine what could have happened in the Norway case.

If I had looked only at the lateral landing and continued removing lateral hoof until it looked level, I might have altered a hoof that was already mechanically balanced in an attempt to compensate for a problem originating elsewhere in the system.

I could have created hoof imbalance to compensate for postural asymmetry.

That is the danger of chasing landings.

This does not mean we ignore landing. Farriers absolutely influence it, and grossly abnormal landing can be valuable information.

It means we need to recognise its variables and, importantly, recognise the limits of trimming and shoeing.

Once hoof imbalance has been appropriately addressed, persistent landing asymmetry should make us ask another question!

Is the hoof still causing the landing, or is the landing now telling us something about the horse? Or is it simply normal for that individual?

The relationship works in both directions.

Hoof balance → limb orientation → proprioception → muscle and fascial tone → posture.

But also

Posture → muscle and fascial tone → limb orientation and swing phase → landing → stance mechanics → impulse → hoof morphology.

It is a closed loop.

And that means good modern farriery sometimes requires knowing when not to take any more hoof away.

This distinction between landing and loading, how posture influences the hoof, how the hoof influences posture, and where the limits of farriery sit within that system is exactly the kind of discussion we will be getting into during the TED USA Tour clinics.

Because sometimes the most important thing a landing tells the farrier is that the answer isn’t in the foot.

08/26/2026

I am constantly impressed at the overall thorough basis and approach to horse training in the Linda Tellington Jones Method / Tellington TTouch World -
Gentle circular touch is their basis of bodywork approach and it continues to be shown to be a very appropriate and effective tactile interaction!

08/25/2026

LYMESCI: Borrelia burgdorferi disrupts gut barrier functions and microbiota–antibody interactions

The study tests the hypothesis that infection-driven gut barrier dysfunction, dysbiosis, and endotoxemia drive prolonged immune impairment, potentially affecting control of Bb itself and overall immune health. This positions gut barrier integrity as a possible therapeutic target in Lyme disease pathogenesis.

Key Takeaways:

✅ Bb infection induces “leaky gut” (increased intestinal permeability), endotoxemia (translocation of bacterial products such as LPS into the bloodstream), alterations in the gut microbiome, and changes in f***l short-chain fatty acids.

✅ These changes contribute to broader immune dysregulation, including hypergammaglobulinemia with elevated autoreactive IgG antibodies and impaired T-dependent antibody responses.

✅ Bb establishes persistent, non-resolving infections in mice, consistent with prior observations of immune suppression that prevent full bacterial clearance.

Link to study in comments ⬇️⬇️⬇️

08/24/2026

Very excited to bring my personal horses to this event!

PLEASE COME JOIN US ON LABOR DAY WEEKEND! AUDITORS WELCOME

Labor Day Weekend Educational Symposium Sponsored by The Association for the Protection of the Art of Horsemanship in America (APAHA)

APAHA is sponsoring an educational event over the Labor Day weekend as part of its mission to promote horsemanship as an art form. The event, which will also honor APAHA’s founder, Bettina Drummond, will involve demonstrations and discussions on methods and techniques that promote self-carriage, balance and lightness in horses – the foundations that help make riding an art. The symposium explores the teachings of Bettina and the French system of riding and training that was so much a part of Bettina’s approach. Olivier Puls, a former member of France’s prestigious Cadre Noir and an expert in long-lining and the French system, will join APAHA as a featured guest to share his knowledge in the art of long-lining and the French system and to share the lessons he learned in his work with Bettina.

Auditing cost is a $25 tax deductible donation to APAHA and includes lunch for those who RSVP ahead of the event by sending an email to [email protected].

The symposium begins at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, September 4 and runs until 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 8. Aside from Friday, the start time is 9:00 a.m. and runs until around 6:00 p.m., except for Tuesday.

Friday afternoon, Saturday and Sunday at Bon Accord Lusitanos:
423 Schauber Road in Ballston Lake, NY

Monday and Tuesday morning at Harken Hollow Farm:
21 Harken Hollow Road in Hoosick Falls, NY

08/20/2026

HOW DOES LYME PERSIST? PARTLY BY CHANGING FORM. 🦠

Research shows that Borrelia burgdorferi—the bacterium that causes Lyme disease—can adapt to stressful conditions. In laboratory studies, it can form round bodies and biofilm communities, which may be more tolerant to certain antibiotics than actively growing spirochetes. Round bodies can also return to their spiral form when conditions improve.

These findings don’t answer every question about persistent Lyme disease, but they offer important clues about how Borrelia may survive—and why persistence remains an active area of research.

Understanding these different forms could help researchers develop better diagnostics for detecting active infection and explore more effective treatments for patients.

💚 Learn more about how Lyme persists on our website: https://projectlyme.org/lyme-persists/

04/13/2026

Our planned partner for this month’s event in the Plymouth area (April 24-26) had to change plans and now we are looking for a new donor horse. If you know of a horse that might be ready to cross the bridge and help over 20 equine proessionals learn and deepen their understanding, please reach out! 508-658-0078 or [email protected]. Thank you🦄