
You are bound to have a lot of questions when deciding whether physiotherapy is right for your horse, if you can't find the answer you are looking for below please get in touch
Frequently Asked Questions
The Veterinary Surgeons' Act states that complimentary therapies may only be performed under direction of a qualified veterinary surgeon for sick or injured animals. If your horse is currently under veterinary care then a referral will be required before they can receive physiotherapy treatment.
Maintenance and performance treatments for healthy animals do not require a referral from your vet, however your vet will be informed as a courtesy and so that any concerns can be raised should they feel physiotherapy may not be appropriate. Any undiagnosed injury or illness detected during initial consultation will be refrred back to your veterinary surgeon.
Appointments usually take 1-1.5 hours. After taking a full history I will carry out a thorough postural and dynamic assessment of your animal, followed by treatment of the whole body using a range of manual and electrotherapy techniques, focussing on any problem areas. ​
I will usually prescribe some simple exercises and management tips to help your animal to progress between treatments. A comprehensive treatment report is provided for each session so you can monitor your animal's progress. For rehabilitation cases a progressive remedial exercise programme will be provided tailored to you and your horse.
We usually recommend a restful day following routine physiotherapy (with the exception of specially tailored pre-competition treatments) as your animal may feel a little sore or quiet.​
Ideally, we like to allow 5-7 days between seeing an animal for the first time and any competitions, to allow them time to adjust to changes in their musculoskeletal system.
It's amazing what can be achieved with a bit of imagination! Fence posts and potties make good substitutes for cavaletti poles, and you can often find excellent 'equipment' out on a hack - trees for weaving and of course hills are always great for conditioning.​
Whatever your set up, rehabilitative exercise programmes are designed to fit in with you with consideration of available time and resources.
