Does your horse occasionally feel stiff? Do they get tight and tense during ridden work? Have they suffered emotional or physical trauma in the past? Have they been diagnosed with kissing spines, navicular, tendon injuries, osteoarthritis, PSSM, Shivers or other musculoskeletal issue? Is their well-being your priority?
A horse centred approach to treatments ensures that your equine receives gold standard therapy to suit their physical and emotional needs.
As a member of the International Equine Professionals (IEP), I maintain a holistic approach to my sessions with horses and their owners, going beyond just fulfilling physical wellbeing.
My extensive and continuous training from a number of different sources and methodologies allows me to draw from a vast array of techniques and select the most appropriate and effective for each individual at the time of their treatment.
Most often, sessions begin with extensive history taking and a thorough visual assessment before introducing myself and my touch to the horse. If the horse is happy for me to proceed with palpations, a thorough static assessment, which involves assessing for and identifying areas with a notable change in temperature or muscle tone and balance, and restrictions in range of motion through accessible joints as well as areas of sensitivity, weakness or overuse. Following this, I like to observe the horse in motion if possible and appropriate to identify any mobility issues, asymmetries, gait abnormalities or signs of pain.
Treatments vary depending on the results of the assessments and the information I receive from the horse and owner. Ordinarily they may involve a combination of massage, myofascial release techniques, mobilisations, craniosacral techniques, specific stretches alongside a range of electrotherapies:-
Therapeutic ultrasound
ultrasound therapy is highly effective for treatment of :-tight muscles, damaged ligaments, tendons and cartilage.
Ultrasound uses sound waves above the human hearing range of sound to improve circulation and delivery of nutrients
It improves healing and the quality of repair by helping to soften fibrous adhesions and aligning collagenous scar tissue formed when healing.
Ultrasound therapy can also help to reduce pain and inflammation.
Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy
The combined effects of electric and magnetic force explain that pulsing electromagnetic fields induce electrical changes on a cellular level within the body and cell metabolism is influenced.
Disturbances in blood circulation and in metabolism are thought to be major factors of disease development.
The body produces very subtle electromagnetic fields, which occur through chemical reactions within cells and pass through the nervous system as a current.
Pulsing electromagnetic fields influence cell behaviour by inducing electrical changes around and within the cell. Improved blood supply increases the oxygen pressure, activating and regenerating cells. Improved calcium transport increases absorption of calcium in bones and improves the quality of cartilage in joints.
Pulsed electromagnetic field therapy can have incredible uses for treatment of soft tissue injury, chronic pain and even help bone to repair.
H- Wave
H-wave is a form of electrostimulation which relieves pain but also treats the root cause of the pain as well as reducing inflammation.
H – wave can be used to strengthen atrophied muscles after an injury to muscle or nerves, after injuries to bones or joints which have affected normal muscle usage and can be effective in some neurological cases.
Photobiomodulation therapy (AKA LASER therapy)
LASER therapy is the use of light energy to stimulate healing mechanisms in the body. It is extremely effective at reducing inflammation and reducing pain. Endorphins are released in the process which are the feel good hormones and so the patient feels an instant relief. I find it works really well on muscles in chronic contraction or with spasm, in joints affected by osteoarthritis and helps improve the rate and quality of repair of superficial wounds as well.
I cover North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, County Durham and parts of Lancashire, please contact me to find out more