Helen Jacks-Hewett - McTimoney Animal Chiropractor

09/12/2025

This!!!

FORAGE ALONE CAN MAKE YOUR HORSE TOO FAT ❗️

And not just grass either!

So it's time to explain this again....

All types of hay (including organic meadow hay) and haylage can all cause obesity.

Don't assume that all fat horses are overfed from a bucket. Some will happily eat double the normal intake of forage if fed ad lib (free choice).

Some owners already know this, but more and more horses and ponies who aren't fed much in a bucket are obese, and there a persistent myth that if you feed natural non-ryegrass hay, they will regulate and stay a healthy weight.

This is simply not true.

Some will overeat more after restriction; some will regulate if fed ad lib (but not many); some will literally eat themselves to death (yes, even on just hay).

Horses are all VERY different so be open minded and MONITOR your horse or pony regularly and carefully.

Also worth noting is that horses and ponies can come down with laminitis on hay-only diets, without grass. This is more unusual than those who get laminitis whilst grazing, but I have come across several cases of the former.

Monitor, monitor, monitor your horses and ponies to avoid and manage obesity, and reduce the risk of laminitis.

Please help spread the word by sharing - thank you
🐴🍏
ps comment webinars for details of my winning the weight challenge talk happening tomorrow evening

08/11/2025

Transitional vertebrae - it feels like more and more coming over the dissection table all the time.

Anecdotally we hear similar stories time and time again… transitional vertebrae horses often do well when racing, endurance, trail riding (straight line work) but struggle with arena work, jumping (bending intensive work) assymetry, hind end dysfunction & disuniting.

08/11/2025

Great to see Pony Club Australia are teaching the next generation about equine behaviour in the context of sporting disciplines 👏

It’s important for all horse trainers and riders to learn how to identify the flight response.

For centuries, the world’s best trainers have emphasised the importance of rhythm and straightness — what we now call self-carriage. A horse that maintains his own rhythm and line shows confidence and relaxation. By contrast, a horse that accelerates suddenly or without being asked — whether under saddle or in hand — is likely showing a fear response.

A common example is the jumping horse that rushes towards a fence. This behaviour is often mistaken for enthusiasm or a “love of jumping”, but in reality, it’s a sign of anxiety. When early training is rushed or unclear, the horse learns to associate fences with fear. The obstacle becomes a trigger to run — both toward and away from it.

Physiologically, a horse showing a strong flight response on a cross-country course has a blood profile similar to one fleeing from predators. That’s why training for rhythm and self-maintenance of speed is essential for both welfare and rider safety. The jump should never cause acceleration; the horse must be trained to maintain a steady rhythm and tempo on his own.

In dressage — and across all disciplines — we should recognise tension as a sign of fear, not excitement or energy. The great classical masters understood this deeply:

▪️ Quickening legs signal the flight response.

▪️ A hollow back reflects tension and fear.

▪️ True impulsion comes only from calm, progressive training.

Understanding the difference between rhythm and rush protects both horse and rider — and ensures training remains fair, ethical, and safe.

22/10/2025

Evidence of a relationship between horse hindlimb peak flight arc asymmetry and rider stirrup force asymmetry Providing further evidence and understanding of horse-saddle-rider interaction

14/10/2025

This horse was 7 years old and his pelvic growth plates hadn’t closed. Why are we in such a hurry to start horses so young!!

12/10/2025

Very proud to have worked on several of the ponies of the winning Wylye Valley Pony Club Team in the run up to HOYS!! Congratulations team, I know just how much hard work and determination you and your parents and supporters have put in. What a well deserved win!! 🥇🏆

Looking forward to giving those ponies a well earned once over! 💙💙💙

🏆PRINCE PHILIP CUP WINNERS🏆

After a thrilling battle which went all the way down to the wire we are pleased to announce our 2025 Champions of the LeMieux Prince Philip Cup WYLYE VALLEY! 💙

💙1st Wylye Valley
❤️2nd North Hereford
💚3rd Atherstone
🖤4th Staff College & Sandhurst
🩵5th North Warwickshire
🤍6th Strathearn

08/10/2025

Wow! 1 in 7 sport horses in the study discussed in this article showed multiple markers of laminitis on X-ray!! This goes to show that laminitis is not just confined to cresty native ponies and less recognised in sport horses.

Insulin dysregulation in sport horses might be underrecognized because these horses don’t always look like your obvious metabolic cases. In a new study, researchers assessed the prevalence of ID and subclinical laminitis in sport horses. ⁣
⁣
One in seven sport horses in the study had multiple radiographic markers of laminitis, highlighting the importance of routine balance films. ⁣

Read more: https://equimanagement.com/research-medical/metabolic/researchers-assess-prevalence-of-id-and-subclinical-laminitis-in-sport-horses/

06/10/2025

𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐜 𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐦 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐯𝐢𝐚 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐧, 𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭

High levels of insulin - commonly associated with excess body fat in a number of breeds and types including native ponies and Spanish horses (PRE/Andalusian) - has a degradative effect on cartilage which long term, is likely to increase the risk of arthritis.

Chronic obesity can have a threefold harmful effects on the joints:

1. excess weight
2. systemic fat (adipose)-tissue related inflammation
3. excess insulin (hyperinsulinaemia) which appears to have a degradative effect on joint cartilage (research shows evidence)

If you want to learn about this and lots more, then my webinar all about nutrition for mobility will be just the thing.

There is also a webinar on what matters for the metabolism which will cover more information relevant to this area.

Comment webinars to get all the details.

🐴🍏

27/09/2025

Great advice here about exercising your horse for weight loss.

How to ride a horse 🏇 so that they burn more calories:

1️⃣ Vary the pace

👉 The best way for a horse to burn calories is to use a combination of trotting and cantering.
👉 Slow cantering (at 7m/s or 15.7mph) uses up to twice as much energy per minute compared with trotting.

2️⃣ Vary the type of work

👉 Include hacking, schooling, lunging, for example.
👉 The size of the circle determines how hard your horse has to work.
👉 The smaller the circle, the more calories will be burned, but this can also increase the risk of injury, especially on a horse that is overweight and/or unfit.

3️⃣ Monitor their heart rate

👉 This is the most reliable way to know how hard the horse is working.
👉 It tells you whether you're working them hard enough, as well as whether you're working them too hard for their current level of fitness.

❗An important rule is to increase the speed (effort), the duration of workouts, or the number of workouts per week, but never more than one of these at a time.

So, in the first few weeks do a 30-minute hack five times a week, then a 45-minute hack five times a week, and so on.

Equine obesity is a serious welfare issue and diet alone won’t solve the problem — burning calories through exercise is also essential. Read the full advice from Dr David Marlin via the link in comments 👇🏼

15/09/2025

Some more interesting girth research just out..

A brand-new peer-reviewed paper has just been published in Animals by Animalweb experts Dr David Marlin and Dr Roberta Blake, alongside co-authors Olivia Randell and Emma Mayhew. Why study girths? The girth – may look simple, but it plays a direct role in how pressure is distributed across the hor...

12/09/2025

Great to see RAMP-Register of Animal Musculoskeletal Practitioners is representing it’s members at BEVA Congress this weekend!

🎉Find us at BEVA stand D22!🎉

We've had a great first day talking to Vets, registrants and industry professionals. Looking forward to another busy day today!