Helen Tompkins Veterinary Physiotherapy

08/09/2025

Our grass XC is available to hire. To book please head over to the horse monkey website 💻

07/09/2025

New Barnstaple Vets Brannam Vets progressing full steam ahead to opening soon!!

05/09/2025

New info for the Level 4 course!

Well it’s been an exciting year. I confess the eye came off the ball a little bit what with getting married in May – what a fabulous day that was!!! – but now back to …

05/09/2025

ESMA's conference with Professor Denoix a couple of years ago was outstanding. The great man is coming back to see us again. Book your place - he is incredible to watch and a privilege to learn from. A superb opportunity for therapists of ALL levels, vets, farriers and saddlers. Don't miss this!!!
Animal Health Professions Register - AHPR National Association of Veterinary Physiotherapists (NAVP) McTimoney Animal Association Animal Therapists CPD ACPAT - The Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Animal Therapy RCVS - Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Farriery Tuition RAMP-Register of Animal Musculoskeletal Practitioners

04/09/2025

We are changing things at ATSL this year to allow more people to train with us! Check it out!

Well it’s been an exciting year. I confess the eye came off the ball a little bit what with getting married in May – what a fabulous day that was!!! – but now back to …

20/08/2025

IT'S CARROTS AND SUGAR TIME AGAIN 🥕◻️🥕

Carrots are a useful succulent for horses on mostly-dry diets e.g. hay and bucket feed, with limited grass intake.

Carrots are LOW IN SUGAR on a fresh basis at around 5%.

Compare this to a typical sugar content of hay of 8%:
🥕 1 medium carrot (60g) = 3g sugar
🟨 1 small bale slice of typical meadow hay (1kg) = 81g sugar

Owners often consider carrots to be high in sugar but that's on a dry matter basis i.e. if you dry the carrot.

Most of a fresh carrot is water - around 80% - and this means its sugar content is diluted.

Some vets recommend not to feed carrots to overweight, laminitic or EMS horses or ponies, but this is due to the risk of the owner over-feeding carrots (the risk of 1 becomes, 2, becomes 3, becomes half a bucketful) NOT the sugar content of a single carrot.

Please share to help me spread the truth about feeding carrots! 🥕🐴🍏

06/08/2025

Clare is right. Whilst you can feed any number of joint supplements, awareness of body condition, functional anatomy and basic suppling exercises will be your way forward in conjunction with a knowledgeable therapist.
Remember..MOTION IS LOTION. You just need good physiotherapeutic advice as to what KIND of motion is right for your horse. There's no "one size fits all", which is why you should seek properly qualified specialist advice.

THE KEY TO HEALTHY JOINTS? 🐎🔑

Plenty of free movement along with a well-planned and progressive exercise regime that encourages a full range of motion of joints, develops good posture and stability, and generally strengthens the musculoskeletal system.

And maintenance of a healthy body weight i.e. avoiding obesity, along with a well-balanced diet.

These are much more important than any joint supplement you feed.

Now I'm not saying 'don't feed a joint supplement' but what I am saying is that the physical side of this is more important.

Joint supplements are worth trying (providing they are well formulated) and some owners report good results from them - but some find no difference.

My conclusions have come from:
🐎 my knowledge and understanding of the musculoskeletal system (my Masters degree is in Human and Equine Sports Science)
🐎 evidence of the most effective arthritis interventions for humans ('activity and exercise are core treatments for osteoarthritis' according to NICE guidelines)
🐎 what I've found in my own, my friends' and all my owners' horses over the years I've been studying this
🐎 lack of good quality evidence of joint supplements
🐎 reports of both good results and no results with joint supplement use from the many horse owners I work with

Please feel free to share...

And thank you for sharing... it helps me reach more horse owners to spread the word!
🐴🍏🐎💪
(NICE is the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence)

06/08/2025

NEW INDEPENDENT VETERINARY PRACTICE COMING TO BARNSTAPLE THIS AUTUMN

After months of planning, we’re delighted to announce that Brannam Vets, a new family owned independent veterinary practice for North Devon will be opening in Roundswell, Barnstaple this Autumn.

We’ll be attending next week’s North Devon Show so come and meet us on our stand near to the dog arena.

To find out more about us see our website www.brannamvets.co.uk. We’ll also provide regular updates on this page.

We look forward to meeting you

Rachael Headon and Ruth Ferguson

02/08/2025

Useful advice and links

DON'T UNDERFEED BALANCERS!

Do remember that you must feed the full recommended amount of a balancer (a concentrated compound feed, often in pelleted form) for your horse to have a balanced diet.

Don't feed less because you think they 'don't need it'.

If you feed less, your horse won't get enough vitamins and minerals to balance their forage.

If your horse really doesn't need a balancer because they're struggling to lose weight, and/or gaining weight, then swap to a vitamin and mineral supplement instead (mixed with a palatable base feed).

Feel free to share!

ps you can get a free list of the balancers I recommend by commenting 'balancers' below.
🐴🍏

02/08/2025

From September 2025, the Danish Equestrian Federation will restrict double bridles to level 4+ in dressage, part of sweeping horse welfare reforms.

01/08/2025

A new independent veterinary practice in Barnstaple!!

NEW INDEPENDENT VETERINARY PRACTICE COMING TO BARNSTAPLE THIS AUTUMN

After months of planning, we’re delighted to announce that Brannam Vets, a new family owned independent veterinary practice for North Devon will be opening in Roundswell, Barnstaple this Autumn.

We’ll be attending next week’s North Devon Show so come and meet us on our stand near to the dog arena.

To find out more about us see our website www.brannamvets.co.uk. We’ll also provide regular updates on this page.

We look forward to meeting you

Rachael Headon and Ruth Ferguson