Peak Performance International LLC

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Peak Performance International LLC

🩻 Dr. Arianna Aaron DC
🦴 Equine Chiropractor
✨️ Equine neuromusculoskeletal expert
🧠 Equine education and best practices

🩻 Dr. Arianna Aaron, DC
🦴 Chiropractor
🐴 Horse + rider performance & soundness
🧠 Education | Biomechanics | Prevention
✈️ FL | NJ
📩 Book ⬇️
peakperformanceequine.net/

07/15/2026

Why magnesium can still be a problem in a well-fed horse

This is one of the reasons I think magnesium deserves more context before it becomes a supplement conversation.

Because the question is not always whether a horse is eating a balanced diet on paper.

It is whether that horse is actually absorbing a sufficient level of magnesium to handle the level of muscular, neurologic, and recovery demand that is being placed on the system.

Magnesium matters because it is crucial for proper muscle function, nerve signaling, and normal neuromuscular regulation.

And as workload rises, so does the pressure on that system.

Increased training demand, increased sweat loss, travel-induced stressors, and greater recovery demand all change the picture.

That is why the issue is not an obvious deficiency. Most of the time it is a horse running more suboptimal as demand starts to build.

And that can show up in ways people dismiss too quickly: tightness, less softness, more reactivity, poorer recovery, or a horse that just feels like it is not handling the work as well as it should.

It is why bloodwork does not make this simple. Most of the body’s magnesium is stored in bone and muscle, not in the bloodstream, and serum values do not reflect magnesium status well at the tissue or functional level.

That is why I think the better question is not just: is this horse deficient?

It is: is this horse handling the workload well, or starting to show signs they might need additional support?

For some horses, that is where magnesium supplementation could become part of the bigger conversation around muscle function, regulation, and recovery.

Not the whole answer. Just part of the picture.

Comment MAGNESIUM and I’ll send you the simple version.

07/14/2026

Upper Cervical Adjustment | Supporting Cervical Control and Self Carriage

Self carriage is not simply where the horse places the head.

It requires the horse to maintain balance, alignment, and postural control without bracing through the neck or relying on constant support from the rider.

The atlas is the first cervical vertebra and sits directly beneath the skull. Motion through the upper cervical region contributes to poll mobility, head and neck positioning, and the horse’s ability to make small postural adjustments during movement.

When motion through this region is reduced, you may notice:

Bracing through the poll or upper neck
Difficulty maintaining a steady head and neck position
Inconsistent poll control
Resistance to cervical retraction
Uneven bend or rotation
Difficulty sustaining self carriage

This week’s Muscle Monday focused on the longus colli, a deep cervical muscle with cranial fibers that attach to the atlas.

The longus colli contributes to cervical flexion, segmental stability, and control of cervical alignment. That makes the relationship between available joint motion and deep muscular control especially important.

The adjustment restores available motion.

But motion alone is not enough.

The horse must also have the neuromuscular control to stabilize and use that motion without returning to bracing through the larger superficial neck muscles.

This is why I assess the soft tissue structures and prepare the surrounding musculature before adjusting. Sometimes the adjustment really is that easy when the soft tissue work has already reduced guarding and prepared the region to move.

An upper cervical adjustment does not create self carriage by itself. It may help restore one part of the mobility needed for the horse to develop better cervical control within the larger movement pattern.

Comment CARRIAGE and I’ll message you the first thing I assess when a horse struggles to maintain self carriage without bracing through the neck.

Book a Performance Assessment if your horse’s poll mobility, cervical control, head and neck posture, or ability to maintain self carriage has changed.

07/13/2026

Muscle Monday | Longus Colli

Self carriage is not simply where the horse places the head.

A horse can appear to be “in a frame” while still bracing through the underside of the neck, leaning on the contact, or relying on the rider to maintain the position.

True self carriage requires the horse to maintain balance, alignment, and postural control without depending on constant support.

The longus colli is one of the deep cervical muscles that contributes to this control.

Located along the underside of the cervical spine, it is formed by overlapping muscle bundles extending from the cranial thoracic region through the neck. Its most cranial fibers attach to the atlas, while other fibers attach segmentally along the cervical vertebrae.

Because the longus colli lies close to the spine, its role is less about creating a large visible movement and more about controlling how the cervical vertebrae move in relation to one another.

It contributes to:

Cervical flexion
Segmental cervical stability
Control of cervical alignment
Coordination between neighboring vertebrae
Postural support through the neck

When deeper cervical control is limited, the horse may compensate by relying more heavily on the larger superficial muscles.

That may look like:

Bracing through the underside of the neck
Difficulty maintaining a steady head and neck position
Resistance during cervical retraction
Inconsistent poll control
Lifting the head without elevating through the base of the neck
Difficulty sustaining self carriage

These signs do not identify one specific muscle, joint restriction, or diagnosis. They may indicate that cervical mobility, comfort, neuromuscular control, and the rest of the horse’s movement pattern need to be assessed together.

Mobility alone is not enough.

The horse must also have the stability and coordination to control that motion during self carriage.

Comment CARRIAGE and I’ll message you the first thing I assess when a horse struggles to maintain cervical posture without bracing.

Book a Performance Assessment if your horse’s cervical control, head and neck posture, or ability to maintain self carriage has changed.

07/08/2026

Performance depends on controlled contraction and controlled relaxation.

That matters even more as horses move into heavier spring and summer work.

At the cellular level, calcium helps turn contraction on. It binds to troponin, exposes the actin-myosin binding sites, and allows the muscle to pull. Relaxation is not just the absence of work. The muscle has to actively clear calcium so it can let go again.

That is where magnesium matters.

Magnesium belongs in this conversation because it supports ATP dependent muscle function and broader neuromuscular regulation. So before talking about magnesium support, it helps to understand why magnesium matters in the first place.

Good movement depends on more than force alone. It depends on how well the horse can contract, release, and keep repeating that cycle as workload rises.

As training volume, heat, sweating, and repeated effort increase, that conversation becomes even more relevant. Working horses are estimated to need more magnesium largely because of sweat losses, which is one reason magnesium support may come up more as demand rises.

For some horses, that is where EZium fits into the bigger conditioning and recovery conversation. Not the whole answer. Just one practical piece of the picture.

Save this if you are increasing work right now!

06/30/2026

Cervical Adjustment | Restoring Motion for Bend & Postural Control

If your horse resists bend, feels stiff through the neck, or seems uneven in the contact, the issue may not just be the contact itself.

It may be how the cervical spine is moving.

The cervical spine plays an important role in balance, posture, and the horse’s ability to bend and carry the neck well in work. The splenius contributes to neck elevation, extension, and lateral flexion, so reduced cervical motion may influence how the horse yields, steadies, and supports the front end.

When motion is reduced through the cervical region, it may influence:
resistance to bend
uneven contact
stiffness through the neck
reduced front end stability
compensation through the shoulder and thoracic sling

And sometimes, when the soft tissue work is done first, the adjustment really is that easy.

That does not mean the neck is always the only driver, and it does not replace veterinary evaluation. It means the cervical region may be part of the movement pattern worth assessing.

Comment BEND and I’ll message you the first thing I check when a horse resists bend or feels uneven in the contact.

Book a Performance Assessment if cervical mobility, bend, or front end balance has changed.

06/29/2026

Splenius | Cervical Lateral Flexion & Postural Control

If your horse resists bend, feels stiff through the neck, or struggles to stay even in the contact, the issue may not be flexibility alone.

It may be cervical control and postural support.

The splenius is a major superficial neck muscle that helps elevate and extend the head and neck. When working one side at a time, it also contributes to lateral bending, which is why it matters so much for bend, contact, and how the horse carries the neck in work.

Anatomical overview

Origin
Nuchal ligament
Spinous processes of cranial thoracic and caudal cervical vertebrae

Insertion
Mastoid region
Transverse processes of the cranial cervical vertebrae

Innervation
Dorsal branches of the cervical spinal nerves

Primary functions
Elevates the head and neck
Extends the neck
Contributes to lateral flexion of the neck
Helps support cervical posture during movement

Clinical relevance
When the splenius is not functioning well, the horse may lose quality in lateral bending, feel less stable through the neck, or become more uneven in the contact. Riders often notice stiffness, resistance to bend, shortened cervical range, or a horse that braces instead of yielding.

Because the neck plays an important role in balance and load distribution, cervical compensation can also influence the shoulder, thoracic sling, and front end posture.

Chiropractic insight
Restrictions through the cervical spine can alter how the splenius and surrounding neck musculature function. Restoring motion, reducing protective tension, and improving neuromuscular coordination helps create the conditions for cleaner bend and better cervical control.

Save this post for reference.

Comment BEND and I’ll message you the first thing I check when a horse resists bend or feels uneven in the contact.

Book a Performance Assessment if cervical mobility, bend, or front end balance has changed.

Watch for this week’s Therapy Thursday post where I’ll share a targeted exercise to support cervical lateral flexion and postural control.

06/13/2026

Your horse drifts in transitions.

Swaps leads.

Feels crooked behind.

And no matter how much you work on straightness, the problem keeps coming back.

What if straightness isn't the problem?

What if straightness is the symptom?

Many horses that struggle to engage behind are actually struggling to stabilize the pelvis, coordinate hind limb placement, and transfer force efficiently through the body.

That can show up as:

• drifting in transitions
• swapping leads
• brushing behind
• reduced canter quality
• difficulty engaging
• loss of straightness

The goal is not to chase the symptom.

The goal is to understand what is driving it.

In this new blog, I break down:

• why horses struggle to engage behind
• the role of pelvic stability
• how the lumbosacral region influences force transfer
• why hind limb placement matters
• how the sartorius contributes to straightness
• why some horses drift, interfere, or swap leads

Because engagement, straightness, and propulsion are not created by strength alone.

They depend on how efficiently the horse controls the pelvis and coordinates the hind limbs under load.

Read the full blog through the link in bio.

Comment ENGAGEMENT and I'll message you the first thing I check when a horse feels weak, crooked, or disconnected behind.

06/09/2026

Lumbosacral Adjustment | Restoring Motion for Pelvic Stability & Hind End Engagement

If your horse struggles to engage behind, feels unstable in transitions, or loses quality in the canter, the issue may not be the limb alone.

It may be how the lumbosacral region is moving.

The lumbosacral joint is the junction between the final lumbar vertebra and the sacrum. It is a key area for force transfer between the hind limbs and the spine.

When motion is reduced through the lumbosacral region, it may influence:
difficulty engaging behind
rough or delayed transitions
loss of quality in the canter
uneven hind limb reach
reduced pelvic control under saddle

It can also contribute to compensation through the pelvis, sacroiliac region, hip, and stifle.

That does not mean the lumbosacral joint is always the primary problem, and it does not replace veterinary evaluation. It means this region may be part of the movement pattern worth assessing.

Comment ENGAGEMENT and I’ll message you the first thing I check when a horse struggles to engage behind or stabilize through transitions.

Book a Performance Assessment if pelvic motion, canter quality, or hind limb engagement has changed.

06/08/2026

Sartorius | Hip Flexor & Adductor

If your horse interferes behind, brushes one leg against the other, or loses clarity in lateral work, the issue may not be straightness alone.

It may be how the horse is controlling the hind limb toward midline.

The sartorius is an important muscle for hind limb mobility and coordination, contributing to controlled limb placement during protraction and stance. As part of the adductor group, it helps guide the hind limb toward midline while coordinating hip and stifle motion during transitions, lateral work, and collected efforts.

Anatomical overview

Origin
Iliac fascia
Insertion tendon of the psoas minor

Insertion
Medial crural fascia
Medial patellar ligament
Tibial tuberosity

Innervation
Femoral nerve

Primary functions
Flexes the hip joint
Extends the stifle
Protracts the limb
Adducts the limb

Clinical relevance
As part of the adductor muscle group, the sartorius helps control how the hind limb moves toward midline and how precisely it is placed during stance and swing phases of the stride. Dysfunction or excessive tone in this muscle may contribute to brushing or interference between the hind limbs, reduced precision in lateral work, difficulty maintaining straightness in transitions, and altered hind limb tracking.

Riders often notice inconsistent foot placement, loss of clarity in leg yield or half pass, and asymmetry in step width.

Chiropractic insight
Restrictions through the lumbar spine, pelvis, or femoral nerve pathway can alter sartorius recruitment and timing. Restoring joint motion, addressing soft tissue tone, and improving neuromuscular coordination through the hip and stifle are important parts of reestablishing clean, symmetrical hind limb mechanics.

Save this post for reference.

Comment COORDINATION and I’ll message you the first thing I check when a horse interferes behind.

Book a Performance Assessment if hind limb tracking or straightness has changed.

Watch for this week’s Therapy Thursday post where I’ll share a targeted exercise to help support and coordinate the sartorius.

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Smithville, NJ
08205

Telephone

+12155205066

Website

https://linktr.ee/peakperformanceintl

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