Most people have never heard of craniosacral; that includes veterinarians, top trainers and riders and even other chiropractors.
In the early 1900’s, an osteopath named Dr William Sutherland discovered that when pressures were applied to the bones of the skull, the sacrum and pelvis were affected and vice versa. CranioSacral therapy focuses on bringing balance throughout the skeletal and muscular systems with specific focus on the individual bones of the skull, spine and sacrum.
Craniosacral therapy was originally developed by osteopaths for people. In the late 1990’s US-based Maureen Rogers started developing the technique for use on horses and other animals. The technique is a very gentle hands on therapy which encourages the horse to release the restricted movement of the bones of the skull, spine and pelvis.
Equine Craniosacral therapy can help horses combat the physical stresses and strains imposed on them and allows them to rebalance their bodies so they are able to perform more effectively and comfortably over a longer period.
Equine craniosacral can help horses that suffer from head shaking, lameness, hindquarter injuries, head traumas, tempromandibular joint (jaw) dysfunction and many other conditions.
The way we keep our horses, the way we ride them and what we expect of them – all of these things expose our horses to traumas and injuries which often escape our attention. An everyday occurrence such as a horse pulling back when tied up can cause enough stress on the head/neck/face or elsewhere in the body. Just look at how the bridle/halter can put tremendous amounts of pressure where it touches the face and skull. Tight nosebands, improper bits, poor dentistry, ill-fitting tack can all contribute to ongoing and worsening constrictions in the horse’s musculoskeletal system. Equine CranioSacral can help relieve these constrictions and has even been known to resolve some problems which more conventional therapy has not been able to do e.g. headshaking/tossing and so many performance issues.
CranioSacral helps to bring balance to the whole muscular skeletal system which in turn contributes to good balanced biomechanics (essential for the general long term health of joints tendons and ligaments) and overall health. When a body is out of balance compensation patterns set in, resulting in the over use and deterioration of muscles, nerves, joints, bone structure and the skeletal system. This often results in problems with hocks, stifles, low back issues, suspensory problems etc. Equine CranioSacral helps to resolve these issues.
Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) circulates from the brain through the spinal cord to bring nutrients and remove toxins out of the central nervous system. This fluid is NOT pumped by the heart.
This fluid is pumped through the spinal cord by walking/trotting, etc... This movement is also generated by ventricles in the brain that initiate a "wave or a pulse" to keep the flow going. Often times the cause of the "wave/pulse" being stopped is not because of head stress or injury but also can be caused by any stress along the spine (poor fitting saddle, injuries, etc...).
Head shaking, poor leads, crankiness, change in behavior towards people or animals. Just imagine when you get a really bad headache and are asked to run or work out. Your head just pounds harder. MOST "BEHAVIORAL" ISSUES ARE DUE TO PAIN. THE HORSE YOU HAVE HAD FOR 10 YEARS JUST WON'T ALL OF A SUDDEN NOT LIKE YOU AND WANT TO BE DIFFICULT! PLEASE think about this next time your horse is "acting up".
Many barrel horses will blow by the first barrel not only because of pain and anxiety of trying to turn but their vision can be blurred by cranial issues. One of the bones behind the eyes that is commonly stressed is called the sphenoid (see the purple bone in a couple pictures below) The optic nerve has to travel through a little hole in this bone to get to the brain. I've had numerous barrel horses that their blowing by the first barrel issues are resolved primarily because their cranials have been fixed.
Dr. Hal is most likely the ONLY chiropractor in Minnesota that evaluates and treats your horse's skull for issues.
He has successfully treated so many horses that have been treated by others that haven't been "fixed". There have been a handful of cases where the other people couldn't even treat the horse because it was in too much pain. Dr. Hal is able to most importantly gain your horse's trust to allow him to treat the problematic areas to restore health to the body, reduce or eliminate pain and dysfunction so your horse feels great!
see the other testimonial page for now. More fascinating cases will be added here later
The purple bone is the Sphenoid. Very important jaw muscles attach to this bone. The optic nerve runs through it as well.