Equine Rolfing
What we generally term "conformation" in animals, horses and dogs, is actually made up of two components of the body: The nervous system's pre-disposition towards a particular pattern, and the fascial pattern that was inherited from the animals parent's genetic code. We know that both of these patterns are changeable, we see it in ourselves, in our children and in our animals as each of them moves through life. Unfortunately in the case of animals we often believe that what we see is permanent and accept that there is no possibility for change in their body's "shape". This idea leaves us stuck with the acceptance that our horses will "toe-out" and have bad hocks, or our dogs will have hip problems like their Dame did. Fortunately we are wrong and we can help our animals have a more pain free life like we can for ourselves.
What Rolfing has been able to do for people it is also capable of doing for horses.
During the course of my Rolfing Training I worked with my horses to develop a way of Rolfing horses. I knew from being a horseman and an engineer that one couldn't simply apply the 10 session protocol for humans to horses. I also knew that the power of Rolfing would be wasted if all one did when working with the horse was "fix-it" work. (That spot work that addresses a local issue but doesn't integrate the body as a whole). What this meant was that I had to analyze Dr. Rolf's methodology and applying some engineering come up with a method for horses. 
What I came up with was a way of working with the equine body that allows for the same phenomenal results humans derive from Rolfing.
Fascial restrictions can develop through athletic training and overuse, poor posture, injuries and movement habits. Because the fascia has a "plastic" quality, its shape can be changed by the repetitive application of low energy forces. For example, always mounting the horse from the near side can result in chronic torsion in the horse's fascia as well as establishing a repetitive movement pattern in the rider. The pattern becomes evident to the rider when they awkwardly try to do an offside mount or dismount. Unfortunately, once an undesirable shape or pattern is established it will tend to be reinforced as the body tries to avoid irritation and pain by "favoring" the fascial strain. The results are less flexibility and fewer choices for both horse and rider. These repetitive low energy "injuries", which can even be caused by poorly fitting tack or riding out of balance, result in reduced range of motion (ROM). Flexibility and performance suffer and the ground for an acuteinjury is prepared.
The benefits of Rolfing for horses is very similar to that for humans. Of course there's a lot less anecdotal evidence from the horses themselves, but what we can infer is that they:- Move smoother with bigger movement
- Movements have more energy, propulsion
- Are able to learn new movements easier
- Have more energy
- Are more focused under saddle
- Have more confidence/awareness