Pegasus Veterinary Physiotherapy

31/10/2025

The true horrors for a vet physio 😂

28/10/2025

🪑✨ A “sit” isn’t just a sit - it’s a window into spinal alignment, pelvic control, and limb loading.

This example isn’t a terrible sit, but it does show us some of the most common compensations we need to watch for:

🔍 Pelvis & Lumbar Spine:
Notice how the pelvis is tucked and the lumbar spine is rounded, pushing the tail base underneath the body. This posture opens the hip and hock joints but places increased pressure on the stifle - you can see that here with maximum stifle flexion while the hip and hock are slightly open. Dogs will often also externally rotate the hip to unload those joints.

💡 What we want instead: a straight spine from head to tail and a pelvic position that keeps the lumbosacral region neutral and stable. This distributes load evenly through the limb and core.

🦵 Limb Alignment:
Draw a line from the stifle to the floor - ideally, the stifle should sit in front of the toes. This position brings the full hind limb into maximum, functional flexion without collapsing posture.

🐾 Forelimb Weight Bearing:
Here, the weight is shifted backwards - you can see the forepaws drifting forward and the elbows slightly behind them. Ideally, the forepaws should remain directly under the elbows to keep weight distribution balanced and the thoracic sling engaged.

These small positional details matter. Over time, incorrect posture reinforces poor biomechanics, reduces core activation, and can contribute to repetitive strain - particularly at the lumbosacral junction, hip, and stifle.

📚 As described by Farr, Ramos & Otto (2020), foundational exercises like the Posture Sit and Posture Down are powerful tools for building core stability and proprioceptive memory of correct alignment. These postures don’t just teach dogs how to sit, they teach them how to move safely and efficiently

👉 Try observing your next patient’s sit with these markers in mind. Are they stacking their spine, pelvis, and limbs optimally? Or are they compensating - and telling you exactly where their weaknesses lie?

📆 Join us on 8 November at the Vet Rehab Summit, where experts like Anna Lee Sanders, Jana Gams , Arielle Markley and more help us take our movement based assessment and therapy to new heights!

24/10/2025

Went to a yard to do physio on 3 horses, what do I take pictures of?

Not the horses 😅😂

I’ve had a lovely day working despite the cold, it’s really getting into winter now!

Machines on charge, cleaned and ready to go again tomorrow ❤️

23/10/2025

I love my job and it’s such an honour to help these older dogs be more comfortable in their final months, weeks, and years. But it’s always so hard when one of them passes 💔.
Until we meet again ❤️

22/10/2025

Very useful post here

🚨 Stairs add A LOT of stress to the canine body!!

In this sketch, we can see a large-breed dog descending relatively low, wide steps, and we can clearly see

🔎 The front weight-bearing paw is splayed and flattened, the carpus has dropped, and the thoracic sling is collapsing into a deep “V” at the cervicothoracic junction. All of this shows us just how much force is being transmitted through the limb - and that the limb and thoracic sling isn’t strong enough to support it!

📉 The lumbar spine is kyphotic, the pelvis is flexed and rotated, and the dog is rotating through the spine to achieve the high degrees of limb flexion required for stair descent. These are classic compensation patterns - and they are not what we want to see. Yet, this is how many dogs navigate stairs every single day in their homes.

💡 Research backs this up.
Two key studies demonstrate how stair navigation dramatically changes musculoskeletal demands compared with ramps or slopes:

👉Carr et al., 2013, Exercises in canine physical rehabilitation: Range of motion of the forelimb during stair and ramp ascent. Journal of Small Animal Practice 54(8):409–413.

👉Millard et al., 2010, Kinematic analysis of the pelvic limbs of healthy dogs during stair and decline slope walking. American Journal of Veterinary Research 71(7):734–740.

These studies show that stairs require significantly greater joint flexion and ROM - and therefore greater muscular effort - than incline walking. That increased demand can overload the thoracic sling, carpal stabilisers, lumbar spine, and cervicothoracic junction, especially in dogs with existing pathology or insufficient strength.

👩‍⚕️ How we help as Vetrehabbers:
1. ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES:
🚪Restrict access to stairs for vulnerable dogs - especially large-breed puppies, those with elbow or hip dysplasia, cruciate disease, IVDD, spondylosis, or LS stenosis.
2. EXERCISE
💪 Incorporate targeted strengthening and conditioning before dogs navigate stairs.
🏋️‍♂️ Teach correct technique and posture to reduce compensations and repetitive micro-trauma.

🦴And if this much load is being placed on a large dog, imagine what a small dog experiences as they jump up and down each step. Supervision, strength, and control are not optional - they’re essential for preventing injury.

📆 At the Vet Rehab Summit on 8 November, experts like Anna Lee Sanders, Jana Gams, and Arielle Pechette Markley will dive deep into how we prepare our patients for these real-world challenges - using movement itself as medicine.

19/10/2025

It’s nearly the dreaded time for horse owners. Winter.
So just a gentle reminder that horses (and dogs!) need to be as clean as possible and dry for their physio.
The dry is the most important here as a wet coat impacts the efficacy of my laser as the laser not only has to go through the fur and the skin but then any water that is on either of those.

So if you know I’m coming and your horse is wild and free and lives nakey like duke here. Then please bring them in to dry off as much as possible before hand.

And for the doggies, a coat on their way in works amazing for keeping them dry ❤️

Thanks!

17/10/2025

Love getting these kids of messages.

Kenny had his laser, massage and a bit of PEMFT therapy last night and this morning I received this text from him mum ❤️. He also gave me a little cuddle last night. Like he knows these sessions are helpigg mg him 🥰.

Thank you for your message and for letting me help Kenny be more comfortable. It’s such an honour to be involved with any dogs rehab/ routine physio and it makes my heart happy to know the things we do help, even on the smallest level ❤️.

15/10/2025

When Aladar (the dog I’m treating) isn’t cooperating, but his daughter, Vanya is 😂.

Introducing Bat Dog 🦇 and his faithful sidekick, Pumpkin Puppy 🎃

A pleasure as always seeing these two ❤️

14/10/2025

I had the pleasure of treating this lovely girl recently. She’s only three years old but is starting ridden work and her mum wanted to get her checked over to ensure she has the best start possible. And apart from some little niggles here and there (mostly from an old field injury) she was feeling good and is ready to fully start her ridden education.

Getting youngsters physio really helps catch any minor issues or abnormal gait patterns early and can enable both an owner and a physio to correct them before it becomes ingrained in that horse.

As we always say prevention is better than a cure, and physio is often the best prevention there is ❤️.

I’ll be seeing this lovely lady again in the new year to see how she’s got on ensure she’s ready for a fun filled 2026!

12/10/2025

I got some huge releases from the lovely older lady during her physio session recently ❤️

Socks has regular maintenance to keep her at her best during the colder months ahead

11/10/2025

Duke had a bath ready for being clipped tomorrow, so I now present, Pumpkin Horse.

10/10/2025

It’s world mental health day today and my sons school were doing ‘random acts of kindness’ so I decided to join in. My clients today will be getting some sweets as a thank you for helping me be able to live my dream of helping animals.

Animals have always been my safe space and helped me whenever I’ve struggled and being able to help them live a pain free and more comfortable life is the best feeling ever for me.

Thanks again and remember to be kind, always ###