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The Examination of the Horse The examination of a horse is a 2 fold process. The first is talking to the owner and discussing problems they are having with the horse. The second is to observe the horse in its natural environment. Questions I look for: How is he standing, is he at the front or back of the stall, does he have any behavioral habits i.e. cribbing, does he look happy or sad, what does the bedding look like, are there any marks on the stall walls, what does the field look like and so? Horse standing square: I then look at the horse standing square on a level surface. Further observations I ask myself are?
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 This horse, evaluated at his training stable, has an uneven pelvis. |
Horse moving: I then watch the horse walking and trotting, circling, and sometimes backing up and lunging. I am now observing for:
- Level footfall?
- Gait Abnormalities and freedom of limb movement?
- Is there an obvious diagonal pattern to the gait or is the pattern confined to the same side?
- Is he tracking up, flexibility and fluidity?
- Mobility of the neck and back?
- Head movement-is the head in the air?
- Muscle usage?
- How are the shoulders tracking?
- Tail carriage-does the tail swing; if so, is it even?
And then, finally the horse is palpated and examined by hand for any spinal misalignments and muscle tension.
Some Common Adjustments
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| releasing the withers | adjusting the coccyx (tailbone) | stifle adjustment |
 Adjusting the withers and shoulder |
 cervical (neck) adjustment |
 releasing the shoulder |
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| cranial (skull) adjustment | poll - C1 | Thanks! |
"Bloody amazing!" -- David Barker, Trainer Yorkshire UK