Finding the Missed Path. Mark Rashid
and behind the scapula, along with a large white spot on his left side just behind the scapula, both of which are indicative of having been ridden for a long time with a poorly fitting saddle. He also had some atrophy in his topline and flanks, usually a sign of teeth problems.
Both of his temporal muscles (the muscles on the forehead between the eye and ear) were highly developed and hard, and a palpation of his TMJ (temporomandibular joint) showed he had quite a bit of discomfort in that joint. Both of these are also indicators of a serious dental imbalance of some kind. Often, the kind of stiffness that he was showing in his shoulders, lower back, and hips can also come from an unbalanced mouth, or if not stemming from that imbalance, certainly can be perpetuated by it.
We decided the most important thing to do to get Rusty on the path to feeling better would be to get his mouth balanced. Unfortunately, it would still be a couple of months before we could get his mouth looked at by our dentist, a leading specialist in Natural Balance Dentistry. So in the meantime, Crissi and I (both educated in Masterson Method® bodywork) began doing some bodywork with him and took him on the road with us while we did the next several weeks of clinics that we had scheduled.
Rusty responded well to the bodywork, which we did with him about once a week, and which we were coupling with some light ridden work (figs. 2.1 A & B). My primary goal while riding him, even though it was clear he had dental issues, was to try to help him relax his jaw a little and feel a little less defensive about the bit. We stayed primarily in the walk and anytime I picked up a rein I would do so as softly as I could, then just wait for him to respond and relax before the release would come. While a difficult concept for him to understand at first, he was not only able to pick up on the idea fairly quickly, but seemed to welcome it once he understood.
2.1 A & B — Having been trained in the Masterson Method of equine bodywork, one of the first things we do with a new horse is check for any physical issues. In photo A, I begin the Masterson Method by checking the horse’s bladder meridian that runs from just above the horse’s eye along the topline, down the hind leg, ending at the horse’s coronary band. A horse that holds tension usually lets us know by blinking when we reach a spot in the meridian where he is holding tension. By simply waiting at the spot where the horse blinked, you can encourage him to start letting go of the tension. It’s much easier for a muscle to stretch when it is in a relaxed state.
In photo B I am waiting for the horse to let go of some tension he is holding in his right shoulder. The Masterson Method is all about helping the horse relax so his nervous system can calm down. Once he is in a more relaxed state, you are able to help him relieve muscle soreness as well as develop better range of motion through gentle manipulation of the joints.
Another bonus during that trip was while we were doing clinics in Iowa, we were able to meet with our friend and founder of the Masterson Method, Jim Masterson, who also spent some time doing bodywork with Rusty. He was able to help him release some tension in areas that Crissi and I had missed, which allowed him to relax even more.
By the time we headed home from that particular clinic tour, Rusty was feeling much better, both physically and emotionally. His body and musculature were much more relaxed and supple overall, and he seemed to be feeling better about being around us as well. The stiffness in his gait while being ridden was starting to dissipate, and he had not only become easy to catch, but would often meet us at the gate whenever he’d see us coming.
Not long after that, we were able to meet up with our friend and Natural Balance Dentistry founder Spencer LaFlure to get Rusty’s teeth done. For those who aren’t familiar with Natural Balance Dentistry, I should probably take a second and explain what I am talking about: Spencer has created a neuromuscular method of equine dentistry, which is basically a more anatomically correct and a safer method of dental care for horses.
When examining a horse, he takes the whole horse into consideration by evaluating all asymmetries, muscle mass, and posturing of the entire body. All of these are either positively or negatively affected by the alignment of the surfaces of the teeth and how that sets the TMJ. After he thoroughly examines the horse’s mouth, Spencer balances the front teeth first, since studies have shown this has the greatest influence on the TMJ. The incisor work he does is performed with extreme precision, and takes into consideration what is anatomically correct for each individual horse.
He then balances the cheek teeth (molars), to increase front-to-back motion. He does this through maximizing the surface-to-surface contact while maintaining the natural texture and good cutting edges across the whole tooth. This is vital for the horse’s well-being, not only for proper digestion, but even more importantly, for a balanced body through a balanced TMJ.
While working on them, Spencer allows the horses to lower their head into a relaxed position, which in turn allows the TMJ and neck vertebrae to stay in a more natural and relaxed state, as well as creating the ability of the jaw to move as far forward as possible.
There are a couple of major differences between Natural Balance Dentistry and other forms of equine dentistry. The first is that there are never any power tools used, everything is done by hand instead, with some of the most precise tools in the industry. The second is the focus of the work is not on the pathology, or the symptoms—such as hooks, ramps, waves—in the molars, which are all signs of a jaw that is out of alignment and not the real cause of the problem. By continually removing the symptoms, you also reverse the natural bite plane of the molars, which causes instability of the TMJ. This, in turn, affects the whole horse negatively and is what had happened to Rusty.
However, as I’ve heard Spencer say on many occasions, by centering and balancing the TMJ, the stomatognatic system in the horse, which is about 70 percent of any species’ neurology from its shoulders forward, “wakes up” and ultimately creates a cleaner connection to the sacrum and pelvis. Since Spencer started doing the dental care on our horses nearly a decade ago, our horses have been able to hold a consistency in muscle mass, motion, and function and, most importantly, it has helped them carry a more balanced state of mind, even in situations that could have been unsettling.
Of course, the way we work with and handle our horses on a daily basis also plays a major role in their emotional well-being. But by doing everything we can to also keep them physically comfortable—starting with their teeth being as balanced as possible—it effectively removes at least one of the physical variables that can cause unwanted behavior down the line (figs. 2.2 A & B).
2.2 A & B — Unbalanced teeth are one of the biggest causes of problem behavior and one of the most commonly overlooked. A balanced mouth begins with balanced incisors. In photo A, you can clearly see just how out of balance these incisors are. Looking closely, you can see the horse’s tongue sticking out of the left side of his mouth. He is doing this to get relief from the damage done by previous poorly done dental work. This horse is nine years old. In comparison, photo B shows the incisors of a thirteen-year-old horse that has been under the care of a Natural Balance dentist.
After Spencer balanced his teeth, Rusty’s demeanor softened even more. The muscle tension he had been carrying was almost completely gone, the bodywork we did with him was lasting longer, and his emotional tension was nearly nonexistent. Working with his feet was no longer an issue, either, and he stood like a champ to be shod and showed no sign of the kind of worry he previously exhibited when we picked up his feet.
We arrived in Nevada for the movie two weeks prior to the beginning of filming. With us were six of our horses, including Rusty. We went early so that we could acclimate the horses to the heat and dryness of the desert, along with getting a head start on any specific training the horses were going to need for their roles.
Rusty’s particular role was going to be that of a ranch horse. According to the script, his tasks were supposed to be pretty