Equine Athletes Veterinary Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation

05/11/2025

An interesting read discussing using movement for rehabilitation that aligns closely with many of our beliefs here at Equine Athletes.
Healthy movement is both the goal and the rehabilitation method for many of the horses we have with us.
That is more complex than just- walk inhand for 10 minutes- because to be successful you need to consider the horse’s: mental state, posture, movement patterns, neurological issues, historic compensations/maladaptions, fitness levels and goals and current injury status.
Most horses need more movement, not less, to recover but the type of movement is important and entirely individual to each horse.

04/11/2025

**We’re Hiring! **
We are looking for a freelance groom local to Grantham to cover staff holidays and weekends. Only occasional days at the moment but might be more regular work in the future if wanted.
Possibly riding if experienced but mostly yard work, turning horses in and out, changing rugs etc.
We are a rehab yard with lots of interesting cases so this could suit a vet physio or vet student or someone with an interest in the rehab side of things.
Must be calm and patient handling horses, small team with a friendly working environment.
Contact Antonia on 07979 538776 to find out more.

02/11/2025

Sunday Round Up: Ellie is learning to balance in canter, Loki is getting stronger, Carlos is finding his stretchy trot, Oti wants to show us his neck ROM, some Pics of Stan and Austin looking handsome 🥰, Annie chillaxing during treatment and my youngest team member, Georgia, is getting the hang of groundwork.

01/11/2025

One of the things I love most when I take on a new horse is listening to them as they tell me what they find hard and what they would like help with.
Carlos says he finds spinal mobility hard- both statically and dynamically - this affects every part of his movement and his ability to move with suppleness and ease.
So we have been trying to help him feel more comfortable with this with a variety of techniques- from balance pads to baited stretches, postural work and learning to stretch forwards and down.
The latest technique we have introduced is some Indiba therapy in the muscles around his thoracic spine to help reduce inflammation and improve mobility in this area.
Thank you to Tallen Veterinary Physiotherapy for helping with this- I am so excited to feel his progress as he begins to feel the benefits 😊.

30/10/2025

Beautiful Ellie is with us for a short while for some targeted strength and conditioning work.

Because she finds working in the school quite difficult at this stage, we are using our wonderful hacking and the canter circle to help her build her core and postural muscles in a way that she finds more enjoyable!

As she gets stronger she will find it easier to work well and then we can ask for short periods of arena work with lots of praise and encouragement 😊.

28/10/2025

Tash Allen has been a vital part of the team here at Equine Athletes Vet Physio for a long time now- check out some of the amazing services she can offer! All of these are also available to any inhouse rehab clients while they are with us 😊.

✨ Reintroduction Time! ✨
For those who are new here (or haven’t seen me for a while) — I’m a Veterinary Physiotherapist passionate about the management of equine pain, rehabilitation, and performance.
I hold a BSc in Equestrian Psychology and Sport Science and a PgDip in Veterinary Physiotherapy (Level 7). I’m also an FEI Permitted Equine Therapist (PET), allowing me to treat at FEI events, and an approved INDIBA® practitioner.
Over the past three years, I’ve been steadily building my experience and caseload — including two years in a small animal out-of-hours emergency and critical care hospital. I then went to work as part of the team at Equine Athletes, while continuing to support my own clients. Antonia's expertise and the array of horses we have in at rehab meaning my skills are continually challenged and evolving.
My practice focuses on biomechanical dysfunction, rehabilitation, and the relationship between movement, behaviour, and pain — both from the ground and under saddle.
I take a multidisciplinary approach to every case, incorporating a range of techniques including:
✨ INDIBA® radiofrequency therapy
✨ Class 3B laser therapy
✨ Myofascial release
✨ Acupressure
✨ Kinesiology taping
✨ Balance and proprioceptive retraining
Collaboration is key — I believe in working as part of a team approach alongside vets, farriers, saddlers, coaches and other msk practitioners to achieve the very best outcomes for each horse.
I’m incredibly passionate about continuing to refine my skills and help both horses and dog perform and feel their best 🐴💪
📩 If you’d like to learn more about my services or discuss how physiotherapy could support your horse, please get in touch! 07896498766

27/10/2025

This article gives an overview of information about kissing spines- both likely causes and treatment options.

I like the fact that multiple treatment options are discussed including: chiropractic treatment, acupuncture, saddle fitting, and a targeted exercise programme alongside both medical and surgical options.

We have worked with a lot of horses diagnosed with kissing spines here at Equine Athletes Vet Physio and firmly believe that there is no ‘one size fits all’ cure. The most effective approach often combines multiple treatment modalities and considers each horse and their owners as individuals to find the best way forward.

We can offer many of these therapies with our inhouse team and work closely with other professionals (vets, farriers, saddle fitters etc) to cover as many bases as possible!

Kissing spines, or overriding dorsal spinous processes (ODSP), are one of the most common causes of chronic back pain and reduced performance in horses, particularly Warmbloods, Thoroughbreds and Quarterhorses. With new advances in diagnostics, biomechanics, and rehabilitation research, veterinarian...

24/10/2025

Exciting day today- new Equine Athletes clothing has arrived! Fantastic, prompt service from 247 Clothing Direct and the new gear looks great 😊.

22/10/2025

Austin Powers having his 1st jump after having Arthramid in his hocks. He is feeling AWESOME- and has apparently been working on a new signature move complete with his own sound effects 🤣🤣

21/10/2025

Some of you may remember the story of our very special ex-racehorse, Bunny. He is 20 years old now and has been with us since he was a yearling. He was a successful racehorse in his prime and won races from NH Bumpers to hurdle races and over fences. He then became a point to point schoolmaster for several young jockeys in his teens and won more races! So it seemed particularly cruel that, in semi retirement, he was struck down with a truly horrible infection from a minor wound in the field. This proved difficult to get on top of despite numerous courses of antibiotics and resulted in Bunny losing most of the skin from his back leg. It was touch and go for a while but Bunny showed what a true warrior he is and fought back! It has taken a year for the wound to close but it is nearly there now and Bunny has long since forgotten about it. He has resumed his leisurely life of hacking around the farm a few days a week and is in great form.

24/02/2025

Something that gives me great joy is hearing that clients of Equine Athletes have been out enjoying their horses 😊.

This weekend was a bumper weekend for EA friends- Chloe Terry attended a xc clinic with her young horse and smashed it! Charlotte L Hall, Sophie S Hall’s fabulous pony, Bunty, had a great time at the Arena Eventing Champs at Aston le Walls as did Sophie Hunt and the wonderful B! Then Sophie Pedlar scored a PB at Adv Med with her super talented boy, Solo.

It made my weekend to hear about them all- keep up the great work guys, I am v excited about the season to come for all of you 👏👏👏

20/02/2025

Meet our gorgeous new rehab client, he is with us to help with his recovery post-surgery for kissing spines.

We start, as always, with inhand postural rehabilitation. For me posture is not a static condition- it is how the horse interacts both with its body and with the world around them.

Often when the horse has been dealing with long term pain and dysfunction they have lost connection with their own body and are stuck in survival mode. This means they will use whatever means they have at their disposal to remain upright and able to run if necessary!

Frequently they will be working overtime with their movement muscles to create stability because they can no longer access their postural muscles to do their job effectively.

This horse is a good example of what this looks like- because his back has been/is painful he has lost muscle tone in his topline. He has to create stability to feel safe so he is overusing his neck and thoracic sling for support. It presents as poor posture- high head and neck and flat through his back with visible muscle tension throughout his body.

Remember he is not doing this by choice, he is doing it because he believes it is the only option he has to remain upright!

We work with him using gentle inhand exercises to show him that he has other options. The bottom pic is only a few days later but he is already looking very different. As yet he needs help to find this posture- Stacie is using a light touch on his chest to help him deactivate his pectorals and reactivate his spinal stabilisers.

Over time he will be able to do this for himself and, eventually, maintain this posture long term as he gets stronger.

I love doing this work because it is hugely rewarding helping horses to help themselves 😊.