Lessons from Internet Drama

Recently someone took a before and after photo collage I shared of Malachi, a horse in my care for rehabilitation, and posted it in a Facebook conformation evaluation group. The poster was questioning my integrity, suggesting these results were not possible and the photos or the way I took them must have been manipulated to achieve the results I was claiming - and ultimately the comments got turned off…

That’s a normal thing nowadays but honestly it was disappointing because some nice discussions were starting to happen around the differences between conformation and posture and what is actually possible in rehabilitation.

So I’d like to continue those conversations here…

I snapped this top photo this morning because he was standing in almost the same spot as that February before photo AND it was raining and so he’s been barefoot overnight AND he’s standing ever so slightly downhill

We officially have a more clear cut comparison between these two sets of conditions to gauge how much he’s changed in +/- 2 months.

Spoiler alert - it’s still wildly different

He is less “goat on a rock” with his stance and his back really truly honest-to-god is in less extension in this exact same situation as the before photo.

BUT You can see he still has a preference for offloading RF and RH

Okay so now slide down to the nice shiny photos from a week or two ago - he looks even better right??

That’s because he’s in his boots! In the first one he’s slightly downhill again (nothing here is flat) but his back and pelvis are in an even better posture.

IMO this is not trickery unless I’m trying to sell you this horse off the after photos or sell you some magical potion that I’m claiming did this to him. This is the honest truth that the boots make him more comfortable loading his front feet evenly which makes him able to lift and use his core more effectively which makes his back lift and allows his pelvis to find a more neutral position and… everything looks better!

Because it is better. And by putting him in boots and keeping him comfortable as his feet rehab, his body gets more and more used to living in this healthier posture and moving with healthier mechanics and he will default into his old patterns less and less.

In the last photo he’s ever so slightly uphill now and he looks even better through his spine and pelvis!

This is no accident either. Slight uphill makes it easier to lift the back, slight downhill makes it MUCH HARDER.

So we use this information to our advantage in rehabilitation as we start adding exercises to strengthen and reinforce the motor patterns we want to see, we can make it easier or harder for that to happen by how we set up the horse and the environment.

And just remember that posture is incredibly dynamic!

So if I see him standing SO NICELY in a situation that is set up for him to be able to stand nicer in, that is great news to me - because it tells me that his spine can go there! IT CAN LIFT! and eventually we can get him lifting like that in more and more situations.

This mornings photo also tells me he’s not ready to be out of his boots yet his feet still need protection and that’s ok! They’re looking better every day.

February 23, 2024 - no boots (before photo from post shared to Facebook group)

May 5, 2024 - no boots, standing in almost same location as February before photo)

April 24, 2024 - in boots, facing slightly uphill (after photo from post shared to Facebook group)

April 24, 2024 - in boots, facing slightly downhill