Initial Evaluation

The evaluation process consists of combing and mapping the entire body for stress points and trigger points that require releasing.

Stress points are strained areas near where a muscle attaches to a bone at the tendon. Trigger points are irritations of nerve-to-muscle junctions (more near muscle bellies) from excess lactic acid build up. These are often a result of normal training effects producing muscle fatigue.

One of the other major issues to evaluate is the imbalances that a horse will display. It is common for one to exhibit asymmetry in one side of the body relative to the other, or in one diagonal. For example, the right front and left hind may show greater level of overwork, requiring suppling work in the deep tissue with more attention to stretching.

Very often thoroughbreds who have spent part of their early years in training on the track, and always running hard to their left, will develop an imbalance in their muscular development. This will result in performance problems in other disciplines, such as dressage or jumping, that require more symmetry in performance.