Craniosacral therapy

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BBP

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Has anyone tried it with their horse? Why and what sort of results did you get? Mine had his first appointment yesterday so time will tell if it has a positive effect on him but I'm hoping so! I was fascinated by his reaction to what appeared to be feather light touches. He was biting, barging, wanting to go up, not at all like him. Then I could see so many muscles in his face twitching like they all had electrodes attached, never seen anything like it. Followed by lots of sneezing and yawning. I'd be interested to hear other people's experiences.
 
I echo Irish Gal; please tell us more, what made you try it? Please keep us informed of any progress.
 
Yes I have used it on 2 of mine with great success. The first my WB had a problem with C3 and was rearing full up when asked to go left on the lunge. I had an AC done which was very specific about the problem and suggested using a cranial sacral therapist. Luckily the osteopath I use does it. This WB dislikes hands on but he tolerated this very well, 5 sessions in all and problem seemingly solved. No more rearing and willing now on left rein and good calm happy horse.
More recently I have had 2 sessions on my Dales youngster with whom I was having terrible trouble with bucking and tension and not moving forward. He had had an accident a couple of years ago and nearly hung himself on his headcollar. Anyway after 2 sessions and treatment for ulcers he is a changed boy, much freer, no bucking, no tension.
I am very impressed with the outcome for both my horses. I usually use a McTimoney therapist for my maintenance physio and have also used pure osteopathy too.
 
It's a bit of a long story. Had him since 3, now 10. He has always been prone to panic, very sharp and erratic in his behaviour, sometimes gorgeous other times scary to ride despite never having a traumatic incident. Just stays good enough for me not to mess too much. This year he was diagnosed with sacroiliac injury and pssm (disease linked to glycogen storage in muscles). For 10 weeks post steroid injections for sacroiliac and alcar for pssm he was perfect, calm happy and relaxed, best I've ever had him. Then for 'no reason' he lost the plot. Daily rides were scary, reading bucking leaping in front of cars. Vet said sacroiliac still good but blood tests showed psalm playing up. Figured that must be it. Easy to blame a disease for everything!

But I also felt he looked pained in his face, the muscles looked tight with deep wrinkles around his muzzle and eyes. His eyes looked distant and unhappy. He also has huge temporalis muscles (forehead used for chewing) and whilst vet last year said they weren't a problem I wasn't convinced. They are rock hard compared to the other horses who's are flatter and soft. One is also larger thN the other. Dentistry picked nothing up. He looked like he had a massive headache and has also started headshaking. After hearing of craniosacral therapy from someone on a pssm forum I decided I owed it to him to try it.

She said the tissue in his temporalis was hard and dull feeling, not springy tissue and that between that and the opposing side masseter muscles he had compression of his skull causing him to twist his head. Highly likely a big persistent headache that may be why he gets massively sensitive to noise and dust/pollen/bugs, head shaking and spooking. She also said his eye on right doesn't move in socket when initial stimulus applies but rather the head turns immediately (usually some small eye movement prior to head turn in horses). I found it all fascinating. He now gets a couple of days to adjust before I ride again and then a few days walking out as she said his preception may feel different to start with, then we will see if he starts to improve.

This is him last year before vet put my mind at rest.
image_zpsa3b84aaa.jpg
 
Following with interest. Have a headshaker so would be interested in this if it could help my mare! Looking forward to your updates.
 
Absolutely rave about this therapy. There is a great practitioner who travels from the USA several times a year and practises on a lot of top competition horses. He does 10 horses at a time for me each time and it is amazing to see the releases and the relief afterwards. He identified an old injury in a mare that X-ray subsequently confirmed. He improved one of racehorses beyond belief, he went out after treatment and ran so much better. His name is Robert Rogers and he is due back in September if anyone is interested in using him, I would highly recommend.
 
I have been recommended this recently, but it is £160, which is way out of my budget. Can anyone recommend someone in Sussex who can do this, sorry to hijack your list, but it's a current issue for me
 
I don't understand your post Barnacle, have you tried it was the question? (Not a big fan of Wikipedia as a scientific source). I paid £45 and got a craniosacral and bodywork session, I thought it was excellent value for money. If I see improvements in my horses behaviour I will be not only on the bandwagon but playing the drums!

My horse gets regular Physio, saddle fitting, vet checks, diet is carefully managed due to PSSM, ridden 7 days a week, and I keep a diary of his management and behaviour and so far haven't found the trigger for some of his actions. He's a lovely genuine horse and I think I owe it to him to try, even if that means 'throwing my money away' on a few alternative therapies because one day someone might figure out which bit of him hurts. I guess this is the first horse I have not been able to figure out by the other means though. I certainly wouldn't be paying £160 so I agree with you on that one!!
 
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