Holding horse's tongue, the hyoid bones, and doing major damage. :(

My Physio holds the tongue until the horse relaxes the tongue as she is sore thru her tmj, it is sort of myofascial release, it isn't pulled out but held to one side
 
my chiro is excellent and very thorough (incl tmj release) and has never ever touched one of my horses' tongues.
i don't know how you'd know if there was damage, or not, tbh. i have a vague wonder (and this is totally vague and probably 100% groundless, please don't quote me on it, it's pure guesswork on my part) of whether it might be one of the contributors to headshaking, if it can possibly upset the balance in the ear, if the hyoid bones are damaged? does that sound mental though? headshaking does seem to be a newish phenomenon... was tongue-holding done in the old days? i have no idea, need an ancient stud groom to ask!
fwiw I've had horses try to pull away when I had hold of their tongue, it doesn't automatically calm them. :( :( :( something I'll never do again, to be sure.
 
Mine puts her out to the left side and over the bit herself and once has done this she seems easier to ride as though she is releasing something herself higher up ??
 
Holding the tongue to the side does not cause damage to the hyoid bone as far as I am aware, and I spent 7 years studying to become an equine physio plus a lifetime of experience riding and competing. Pulling the tongue, however, can very definitely cause irreversible damage, as described earlier, to the delicate hyoid bone. If you want to find out exactly how strong / weak the hyoid bone and related structures are, there are various options for attending equine dissections, including those organised by Gillian Higgins of Horses Inside Out. I use a technique involving the tongue, amongst many other techniques, to help release various muscular tensions, in particular around jaw, poll and neck, and even such seemingly unrelated issues such as pelvic asymmetry. This is not a technique that I recommend owners to use as it can be dangerous if you are unsure of what you are feeling for. In answer to one of the questions above, yes, holding the tongue out to the side has been used and abused for many years. Dr Kerry Ridgeway has written a very informative article on this subject, but I don't have a link to it on my phone.
 
kerilli said:
my chiro is excellent and very thorough (incl tmj release) and has never ever touched one of my horses' tongues.
i don't know how you'd know if there was damage, or not, tbh. i have a vague wonder (and this is totally vague and probably 100% groundless, please don't quote me on it, it's pure guesswork on my part) of whether it might be one of the contributors to headshaking, if it can possibly upset the balance in the ear, if the hyoid bones are damaged? does that sound mental though? headshaking does seem to be a newish phenomenon... was tongue-holding done in the old days? i have no idea, need an ancient stud groom to ask!
fwiw I've had horses try to pull away when I had hold of their tongue, it doesn't automatically calm them. :( :( :( something I'll never do again, to be sure.
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been reading this with interst as my horses physio does the holding the tounge out thing to release something (yeah i really should pay more attention to what it releases but i'm not very medically minded)
anyway - my horse is a confirmed headshaker - had to get vet cert back in the day when you needed one for comps to use a nose net.
physio started to do the tongue thing about a year ago - head shaking didnt get any worse for it
in fact - with additional bowen treatment and some other treatements etc the head shaking has now stopped
physio still does the tongue thing
so i can def say that no it has not caused head shaking in my mare
 
I would *think* that it all depends on how hard and how much you are pulling on the tongue? Gently holding it to one side between the teeth (so for worming, checking teeth etc, as a horse will never deliberatly try to bite its own tongue) should mean that the bend is through the tongue, rather than dislodging the hyoid apparatus - like what might happen if you were to really yank the tongue.

Try holding your own tongue gently to one side; the bend will come from the tongue itself, rather than further back, up to a point. (Or at least mine does :p)

Just out of interest, does anyone have a link to anything scientific/an explanation as to how the hyoid effects/might effect balance? I don't have anything about that in my uni notes, so am a bit sceptical, but not sure if it might be in a later module! (Or if I managed to miss that bit :p)
 
SheadonSaffron said:
Holding the tongue to the side does not cause damage to the hyoid bone as far as I am aware, and I spent 7 years studying to become an equine physio plus a lifetime of experience riding and competing. Pulling the tongue, however, can very definitely cause irreversible damage, as described earlier, to the delicate hyoid bone. If you want to find out exactly how strong / weak the hyoid bone and related structures are, there are various options for attending equine dissections, including those organised by Gillian Higgins of Horses Inside Out. I use a technique involving the tongue, amongst many other techniques, to help release various muscular tensions, in particular around jaw, poll and neck, and even such seemingly unrelated issues such as pelvic asymmetry. This is not a technique that I recommend owners to use as it can be dangerous if you are unsure of what you are feeling for. In answer to one of the questions above, yes, holding the tongue out to the side has been used and abused for many years. Dr Kerry Ridgeway has written a very informative article on this subject, but I don't have a link to it on my phone.
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Gillian is holding a whole conference in February on Asymmetry and Assessment in February at Arena UK- I'm going for both days, but a friend is only doing one- I went last year and can highly recommend going! (especially as Yogi B is speaking, and Haydn Price who was VERY good last year!!!

http://www.horsesinsideout.com/conference2013.html
 
We have owned our pony for nearly 6 years and he has always hated any firm contact on his mouth. To stop him in canter you have to release the reins and pat his neck. If you pulled on him he would go faster. We thought this was just him, but we had his annual back check up recently and the Chiropractor found that his hyoid bone was out of line which meant that his tongue would go into spasm if any pressure were applied to it - hence he would run away from pain :( Just wish it had been spotted sooner.
He explained that the hyoid had to be in place for the rest of the body to work correctly. Well our pony was good anyway, so now he will be brilliant ;)
Amazing how such a tiny bone can be so influential.
 
Surely a tongue-tie is something completely different. Some horses "swallow" the tongue when galloping and it is a strap put across the tongue to stop that.

Unless it is done very brutally, I doubt if simply pulling the tongue gently to one side would damage it. Wouldn't it require quite a sharp yank on the tongue, and no one worming their horse would do that!
 
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