EMMA: Un Approccio Integrato e Innovativo per Umani e Cavalli

05/10/2026

Quando conobbi Warwick Schiller's Attuned Horsemanship attraverso una conoscente nel 2016 quello che vedevo e sentivo non mi risuonava per niente. Anzi, per dirla tutta la sua modalità da Cowboy macho man
Di addestramento e modalità di stare con i cavalli e “dare ordini” mi faceva ve**re la pelle d’oca.

Un paio di anni fa forse tre, capitai su un suo video dove parlava di come, grazie ad un cavallo in particolare (incredibile come ci sia sempre la fiamma che innesca il fuoco trasformatore nella forma di equino😏) il suo mondo aveva iniziato a cambiare, soprattutto da dentro. Verso il fuori. Il suo sguardo VERSO i cavalli era cambiato si era spostato e appoggiato sul cuore.

Magari il fatto ce utilizzi addestramento a rinforzo “negativo” può non piacere a tutti, io stessa preferisco quello positivo ma a volte bisogna imparare ad andare oltre e dare credito all’uomo per il coraggio di cambiare.

💥🐴🔥

04/10/2026

Si parla tanto di “aiutare i cavalli a regolare il loro sistema nervoso” ma se solo li mettessimo sempre nelle giuste condizioni di vita adatte alla loro specie non ce ne sarebbe bisogno
Mai
Perché loro sanno
Da sempre
Come e quando aiutarsi

Siamo noi che li mettiamo nelle pessime condizioni di sregolatezza
Noi
E solo noi

E prendersi la responsabilità di vederlo e ammetterlo è cosa non grata alla maggior parte o almeno ad una buona parte di chi ha a che fare con loro

We speak so often about helping horses regulate their nervous systems, but sometimes I think we forget that horses already know far more about regulation than we give them credit for.

For millions of years, horses have lived in herds. Their survival has depended on an extraordinary sensitivity to one another and to the world around them. They notice the smallest shift in posture, breathing, movement, tension and energy. They respond to danger together, move together, rest together, graze together, and when the threat has passed, they have the opportunity to settle back into the rhythm of the herd.

This is part of why the herd matters so deeply.
Another horse offers something we simply cannot replicate as humans. Familiar bodies nearby. Shared rhythms. Movement. Touch. Mutual grooming. Resting while another watches. The freedom to move closer or create distance. Hundreds of tiny interactions throughout the day that allow horses to communicate, negotiate boundaries and experience safety in relationship.

And there is something important for us to learn from that.
Sometimes our role is not to teach the horse how to regulate. It is to look honestly at whether the life we have created around them supports the regulation their nervous system is already designed for.

Enough movement. Enough connection. Enough choice. Enough rest. Enough opportunity to simply be a horse.

The more we understand the horse as a sentient, social, deeply relational being, the more our perspective changes.
The herd has always known things we are only beginning to put language to.

Perhaps our job is not always to teach.
Sometimes it is to listen.

18/09/2026

Adesso c’è anche la skin care per il cavallo
Ovviamente che vive in un MAGNIFICO box al
Calduccio, ma rasato con coperta fino a primavera ma con ovviamente servito e riverito.

La pelle del cavallo ha bisogno di:
Aria
Sole
Pioggia
Fango
Alberi per
Grattarsi
Altri cavalli da usare come spazzola
E non prodotti su prodotti su prodotti per avere la pelle liscia morbida pulita e profumata .
Stiamo raggiungendo livelli assurdi
Ma che riflettono tutto quello che si vede sui social di skin care routine e cazzi e mazzi

By the way la skin care mattino e sera con prodotti di tutti i tipi fa malissimo anche alla nostra pelle
Ma li ognuno decide per sé.
I cavalli subiscono le stronzate degli umani e basta.

😭🤮

12/09/2026

12/09/2026

Questo è per tutti quelli che continuano a mo***re cavalli che molto probabilmente hanno questo problema perché non ne hanno la minima idea.
Questo dimostra quanto sia importante e assolutamente necessario AVERE CONOSCENZA di come funziona dentro fuori sopra sotto.
Fatevi assistere da bravi osteopata bodyworker a veterinari quelli che volete

Perché la CONSEGUENZA di avere dolori dovuti a questo collasso è il cavallo definito “stronzo o che non vuole lavorare perché pigro oppure il mio cavallo prima di iniziare deve sgroppare almeno mezz’ora” e un milione di altre CAZZATE che leggo e sento per giustificare in ignoranza totale dei proprietari SUPPORTATA da quella di istruttori di ogni tipo e, purtroppo, anche da veterinari.

Se avete un cavallo
Dovete conoscere tutto e di più.
Io su questo sono e continuerò ad essere LA ROMPICOGLIONI di turno.

With the welcomed addition of Dr Carol Shwetz DVM to this work I’ve been very quiet on the pelvic collapse front….not because there hasn’t been work happening but because joining all the dots together with the breadcrumbs horses bodies leave us has become a recognisable pattern. One that has formed quite the data set for collecting information and recognising patterns. With the formation of Etica Equine Charitable Trust to under take this mammoth task in collating the data. We are lucky to have two academics on the board of trustees to oversee this study.

Organising all the data points and understanding what might be happening at what point is a massive task! The changes we are seeing from hooves to lumbar and up the connections of soft tissues is truely quiet the chain of action and reaction. Compensation seems to play a huge role in the way the body adapts to such a mechanical failure of the skeletal system. The changes to soft tissues are notable and obvious in dissection.

I value working as part of a team so much because this work is truely overwhelming at times. If you follow me on patreon, I’ve been very honest about the toll of the work. This is going to take a community of collaboration. For more information on our pelvic study, check out the Etica website www.eticaequine.com

I have done an updated video on patreon discussing some of the new discussions happening around what the bones are recording and how dissections are leading the conversations.

https://www.patreon.com/Becks_nairn/posts/pelvic-collapse-169186730

11/09/2026

Unpopular opinion time:

We are not entitled to riding our horses, regardless of the reason we do.

Not as owners.
Not as therapy programs.
Not as people who need them for our health.
Not as the people financially benefitting from the horse performing.

And not because the horse is expensive, trained, or labeled in a way that makes us feel justified.

Labels don’t create entitlement or place our needs above another living being.

I have seen incredible therapy programs that truly put the horse first.
I have worked with high level riders who prioritize their horses and their care above showing.
I have seen lesson programs that value the horse over the income they bring in.

But that’s not always the case.

And when we start using labels to justify our access to a horse’s body for riding, it becomes easier to ignore the moments that say we shouldn’t.

When I say “at the expense of the horse,” I’m talking about moments where the horse is not equipped, physically or mentally, for what’s being asked of them.

Pushing through pain, discomfort, or fatigue. Ignoring tension, resistance, or shutdown. BUT CONTINUING because of schedule, money, expectation, or want instead of what the horse is actually capable of that day.

But our wants do not matter above all. When we have another living being in our equation.

And it ALWAYS comes back to this for me.

Whether it’s lessons, therapy, showing, or personal enjoyment, it should never be done at the expense of the horse.

And I think that’s where this post shifts from something most people would agree with
to something far less comfortable in practice.

Because once we add in words like therapy, high value, or expensive, that line can start to feel negotiable.

And it shouldn’t be.

09/09/2026

Sharon May Davis è un autorità nel campo degli studi sul ECVM e altre cose
Lei anni anni aaaanni fa ha iniziato a fare dissezioni a smo***re cavalli e
Guardare dentro per
Capire

Lei è stata la prima ad esempio a dimostrare come anche solo appoggiare una imboccatura nella bocca del cavallo contribuisce a mandare in bacca tutto il treno posteriore la Schiena l’apparato temporomandibolare etc

In Italia nessuno la conosce

Ed in Italia si certi argomenti c’è ancora una paura fottuta
Quindi… meglio continuare a tenere la faccia contro un muro che guardare la verità e capirla
Già…

🚨 THE "ECVM" DEBATE: THE GAME-CHANGING NEW EVIDENCE EVERY HORSE OWNER NEEDS TO SEE 🚨

If you own a Warmblood, Thoroughbred, or sport horse, you’ve probably heard of ECVM (Equine Complex Vertebral Malformation).

For years, a massive debate has raged between horse owners and traditional veterinarians. Owners frequently share heartbreaking stories of horses suffering from unexplained neck stiffness, stumbling, or sudden behavior changes under saddle. Meanwhile, the mainstream veterinary establishment has often remained skeptical, arguing that because up to 40% of some horse populations have these C6/C7 variations without ever showing symptoms, it should be viewed as a "normal anatomical variant," not a disease.

But a groundbreaking new 2026 study has just completely changed the game. Leading researchers Dr. Sharon May-Davis (the anatomist who first discovered the condition), Dr. Audrey DeClue, and Kate Workman have published a peer-reviewed paper in the journal Animals that finally bridges the gap between science, veterinary imaging, and what owners are experiencing on the ground.

Here is exactly what this new research means for YOU and your horse:

1. It highlights the "Domino Effect" Inside the Neck 🧩
Skeptics have long argued that a slight bone variation doesn't automatically mean a horse is in pain. However, this study looked at the most severe form (Grade 4 Aplasia), where a crucial bony anchor point on the 6th neck vertebra (C6) is completely missing and transposed onto the 7th (C7).

By examining these cases, researchers showed that this skeletal defect creates a severe domino effect on the surrounding soft tissue:

The Muscles: The longus colli muscle—the absolute core stabilizer of your horse's neck—is left severely altered or completely asymmetrical because its structural anchor point is missing.

The Blood Flow: In 13 out of 20 cases, the malformation actually deformed the bone channel (foramen transversarium), which could directly disrupt or destabilise the vertebral artery, which supplies vital blood flow to the horse's brain.

2. No More Veterinary Guesswork 📸
In the past, vets struggled to diagnose this accurately on a live horse because standard field X-rays of the lower neck are notoriously hard to align. This study changes that. The researchers successfully established a precise, concrete protocol using specific bony landmarks. Vets can now reliably diagnose this severe structural deficit in live horses using standard field radiographs.

3. It Validates Horse Owners 🐴❤️
If you have been told your horse is just "being difficult," "resisting contact," or "unwilling to work," this paper provides a massive sigh of relief. It indicates that these severe structural variations could be directly tied to localized neck pain, neurological coordination issues, and severe biomechanical instability. It isn't a training issue; it is a physical defect.

What should you do next?

Look at the Whole Horse: Because symptoms like stumbling or stiffness overlap with other issues (like kissing spines, ulcers, or hock arthritis), traditional vets worry owners will stop looking for answers once they see a neck X-ray. Use this new data as a tool, not a catch-all.

Talk to Your Vet: If you have a horse with unresolved, chronic neck pain or unpredictable behavior, ask your veterinarian about this specific 2026 study. Vets now have an exact radiographic blueprint to look closer and get you definitive answers.

Our horses can't speak, so they rely on us to look past the surface. This new research gives us the power to finally see the full picture, make informed breeding decisions, protect horse welfare, and provide our equine partners with the exact care they deserve.

📝 SCIENTIFIC PRECISION UPDATE: To ensure we interpret this brilliant new data with absolute clinical accuracy, it is important to note a specific detail regarding the study's scope!

While the paper provides an incredibly compelling, highly logical anatomical framework for why these horses experience issues—mapping out exactly how the longus colli muscle and vertebral artery are structurally altered—it is an anatomical description of end-stage, symptomatic horses rather than a dynamic biomechanical study. Because it didn't include a healthy control group, strict science means it doesn't prove direct causation or the exact firing mechanics of the pain itself.

What it does definitively prove is a massive game-changer for diagnostics: veterinarians now have a validated radiographic blueprint to accurately identify this severe Grade 4 defect in live horses. It gives us the structural pieces of the puzzle so we can stop guessing and start looking closer! 🎯

If you are interested in reading the paper here is the link below:
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/16/3/482