Evelyn Brereton - Ev's Equine Services

30/10/2025

Babies!!!
How young should you have your foal seen? As soon as you can :) The birthing process is a very stressful event on a little nervous system.

Today I got to see baby Flynn at Kyalami Equestrian who is sired by the stunning Andelain Zantorian.

He had a little nap in my arms while I played with the balance of his cranial vault, ready for a fun big life :)

29/10/2025

Sun shine and bone puzzles, that's how today has been going.

Sometimes when I need to explain things, it's easier with the real things. Today Max got to come with me and Sarah McKenzie and Allannah Turner-Hughes explored her bones and put her back together.

This gave us opportunity to discuss many things, from the dysfunctions that Max had to some questions about their own horses.

I love watching and helping people make connections and reach a better understanding about the horses bodies.

28/10/2025

Yep, it's that time of year, where I get to cart around 2 giant diaries as the years over lap. Yes, because I'm not IT savvy enough to make a digital diary work and I'm old enough to really like turning actual pages in a book I can hold. 👵📖

20/10/2025

What I can provide for you and your horse has changed and morphed hugely over the years.

I have studied, practiced, educated myself, practiced, trained and practiced some more.

My sessions with your horse will depend upon a lot of things. Are they presenting with injuries, aare they regular clients, has something changed- owner, location, work load, balance, too many variants to list.
You will find me asking lots of questions, watching your horse and looking at everything (if they're lucky they'll even get a torch light on the butt hole, it's important, trust me 🤣)

My sessions are a mix of osteopathic techniques, firmly based in cranisaceal therapy, with a good dose of deep anatomy understanding from our extensive dissection background and a beautiful sprinkle of intuition.

What I provide is a unique whole body wellness support for your equine friends.
I love my job and I love finding answers to improve the life and comfort for your horses.

13/10/2025

This last week has been a whirl wind of new information, new techniques, new adventures, new people and new friends.

LCAO have phenomenal instructors, genius in their own rights, with great teaching skills and knowledge.

Im half way home and have been busy thinking about which horses will best benefit from the new techniques and organising more trips and learning opportunities.

Shibumi was a fantastic facility with helpful staff and happy horses that are obviously very loved.

02/10/2025

Here at Evs Equine I've always believed that I will continue learning about horses and their bodies and how I can best help, FOREVER.

Learnings are forever coming, from the horse, from educational institutes, from other professionals.

Evs Equine is changing, expanding (only in the knowledge sense, unfortunately not in numbers) and continuously growing.

You will soon notice my practice may change with my studies into Equine Osteopathy, my heart lies in Craniosacral therapy but each session will be essentially guided by the individual horse in front of me.

With my increased study load, unfortunately I've had to scale down my trips away, meaning no travel past the launceston/Tamar region, although I will be available if north west clients wish to travel down there.

Next week I will be interstate (hopefully in some nicer weather than the Tasmanian wild spring) attending the Master Class, meeting more professionals and shoving my brain with as much information as I can.

Please be patient as my diary is very full for the rest of the year and I'm doing my best to show up as the best version of myself for all of the things I'm needed for, between family, my horses, and your horses 🐎

Updates soon!

12/09/2025

Have personally seen this and the dysfunction it can cause. This is real and it's a concern.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/178BEXohf2/

We will go out on a limb here…
Horses need their ribs to be functional.

That should not be a shocking or controversial topic, yet it is. Clinical significance of ECVM is highly controversial between veterinarians. ECVM horses are sometimes missing their first ribs.

I have heard the excuse that these horses have an anatomical variant. That if it was clinically significant or a malformation they could not be competing. That if they can compete with it- it must be a “normal variant” and not a malformation. If that is the logic used then that rule must stand for all – navicular, hock arthritis, OCDs, kissing spine, neck arthritis. As those are all accepted clinically significant diseases. We recognize that horses can be born with, develop early on, or can occur with use but yet often do compete successfully with these conditions.

Yes that missing rib and malformed lower neck can be the cause of pain, reactivity, lameness, girthiness, behavioral concerns, tripping/stumbling ex. Yes, it is a significant diagnosis, similar to the rest mentioned above. Some horses can be managed to have successful careers, and some cannot. However, missing your first rib, having your ventral neck muscles malformed and compressing your brachial plexus in the wrong area is indeed clinically significant, no one will ever convince us otherwise.

All to often, owners have been told heir horse’s necks were normal, but yet the malformation is present. Owners, trainers, and veterinarians who cite one paper determining that ECVM is not clinically significant, ignore their horses’ clinical signs, and discredit ECVM as a possible clinical cause - will always be invited to come see a necropsy with Rexos. Not all ECVM horses are unusable, similar to kissing spines- some struggle while others do not. They all however need support, management, and to be heard when they give subtle signs of pain. When you necropsy a horse who is clinically affected - their bodies so vividly tell a story of disfunction and pain. These horses show their stories of pain so clearly in necropsies. They can have one or more missing ribs, incorrect muscle attachments (thus biomechanics affected), serious nerve entrapments, trachea malformations, and more. It is impossible to walk away thinking this is not clinically significant.

Photo of rudimentary first rib, with abnormal brachial plexus placement trapped under. Yes that would be painful and cause tripping/forelimb lameness.

12/09/2025

My journey started here with Equestricare Equine Sports Therapy 10 years ago.
Im so thankful for the opportunities and the great start I had with Jessica Blackwell through Equestricare.
Moving on to completing the Tissue Mobilisation course, Upledger CranioSacral Therapy with Dr Sandi J Howlett and now I'm head deep in the London College of Animal Osteopathy Equine course which will take me to NSW next month for a week's intensive.

Im super proud of how far Evs Equine has come, the professional and personal friends ive met and made, all over the world and I'm looking forward to always continuing my learnings.

Thankyou all who have share and followed me thus far.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/191CyBPp2U/

05/09/2025

Handsome pants Elvis gets to come on a northern trip with me this week.

That means extra treats for him but also hopefully some good rides/work between clients.

Thankful that Valmont Farms is well set up with yards, arena and fun adventure mountain trail course to play in!

22/08/2025

Juezzy and I checking out some of the range of very clever hoof care products from The Equid Apothecary.
Tasmanian products including Equimud, Foot Sure spray and Equifibre.
I love using these every day tending my hoof care clients 💕

22/08/2025

Respiratory Diaphram.
I LOVE talking about the respiratory diaphragm and it's one of my favourite things to explain to clients and explain at dissections.

I also love this ladies work and here Magestic Horse Functional Therapy, explains the importance of the diaphragm so perfectly.

https://www.facebook.com/share/16bgg153cZ/

My clients know I love the respiratory diaphragm…..but why exactly?

Well, put simply, because the respiratory diaphragm has such a massive influence on the health and wellbeing of your horse. I often refer to it as the ‘pump’ of the body. In an osteopathic approach to treatment, fluid flow is SO important – it directly impacts tissue health, immune function, and the body's natural healing processes. When the diaphragm is restricted from optimal movement in any capacity, the results can be far-reaching. For example:

🐴 Interrupted fluid flow: Fluid exchange is vital for normal physiology, as all the necessary processes of the body occur because fluids flow. If you don’t have good fluid flow (through channels, spaces and across membranes), all systems of the body are impacted and the return to homeostasis is significantly impeded resulting in a reduction in vitality in the body. When this occurs, disease shortly follows. If the respiratory ‘pump’ is not working optimally, then the blood flow (specifically the aorta and vena cava which pass through the diaphragm) as well as the lymphatic, interstitial, and cerebrospinal fluids are affected.

🐴 Postural and functional change: Beyond fluid dynamics, a dysfunctional respiratory diaphragm can lead to significant postural and functional issues. When the diaphragm isn't working optimally, it can influence the mobility of the ribs, creating a cascade of knock-on effects as other muscles compensate for this impaired function. Periarticular muscles like the intercostals may have to work harder than they were designed to, leading to their own dysfunction over time. Other key muscles such as the erector spinae and latissimus dorsi, can be impacted as well as the thoracolumbar fascia. The result is often wider myofascial issues and postural changes.

The Phrenic nerve which innervates the diaphragm originates in the cervical spine, so if there is dysfunction in the diaphragm there can also be dysfunction in the neck and vice versa (as the phrenic nerve also receives information from the fascia covering the organs). The spleen, liver and pancreas are all in communication with the diaphragm (as are many other organs eg. heart, lungs, stomach) so they may also be influenced by dysfunctional diaphragm action.

If there is restriction in the lumbar vertebrae, there may be an issue with the diaphragm (as the crus of the diaphragm attaches into the lumbar vertebrae). The crus of the diaphragm connects into the hindlimb (via the lumbar and psoas connections), so there may be pelvic changes and hindlimb issues. *I write “may” as each horse must be assessed for their individual presentation and the influencing factors (internal and external) taken into consideration as well. We could also hypothesise that if you have an anxious horse, they are most likely not using their diaphragm correctly (and may instead be using their scalene muscles more).

🐴 Cavity pressure gradients and gaseous exchange issues: The interaction between intrathoracic and abdominal pressure is a key component of spinal and pelvic stability. A dysfunctional diaphragm action may affect cavity pressures which can then affect peristalsis through the digestive system (directly impacting the gastrointestinal system). The diaphragm's movement is also fundamental to creating the pressure gradients that drive the entire process of gaseous exchange. An issue with the action of the diaphragm can lead to reduced lung capacity and oxygen intake, and inefficient gaseous exchange. If you have a horse with asthma, you will automatically be thinking about the lungs and respiration, but there are many ways that the horse can experience diaphragmatic disorder with instances of shallow, laboured, inefficient breathing, intermittent coughing etc, occurring every day that might not be noticed because the horse ‘seems’ fine. These horses however may be labelled as ‘lazy’ during exercise because they either fatigue quickly or don’t appear as athletic as others. It could be that their diaphragms aren’t working optimally, and they aren’t breathing efficiently or effectively.

As mentioned earlier, the diaphragm influences fluid flow (and as fluids also act to provide structural support helping to dissipate forces throughout the body and enabling improved shock absorption), if your horse has arthritis, having a functional diaphragm is imperative to help with this shock absorption and support.

So, everything in the body is connected and in constant communication and correlation. Structure and function are reciprocally interrelated (a core osteopathic principle) – if you have a change in one; you have a change in the other. There is also more than one diaphragm in the body and when one diaphragm is impacted; all are impacted – pelvic floor, thoracic inlet, tongue, tentorium cerebelli. This can create a domino effect, leading to multi-layered issues throughout the body.

Just like us, horses are a ‘fluid body’ and fluid mechanics is vital to health and balance. For the restoration of homeostasis; the ability to respond quickly to illness, disease and injury; and the maintenance of health and vitality, we need to have the optimal functioning of the whole body and a large ‘influencer’ on that is the functionality of the diaphragm. The same is true for humans as much as it is for horses.

There are several different osteopathic techniques for addressing the respiratory diaphragm and the choice and application of these will depend on each individual horse’s presentation and current state of health 💙

12/08/2025

It's always lovely to receive feedback, hear how horses are feeling post session, learn where I can improve and what works for your horse.

I recently received this heart warming feedback, and look forward to watching this owner take her horse on a wonderful rehab journey now that his body is on the improve.