Karen Perry Animal Therapy

19/12/2025

Some horses fall asleep while I am treating them. Some horses yawn, lick and chew and release. Others fidget and present the part of body to me that they want treating.

And then there is Lenny. 😂🥰

19/12/2025

18/12/2025

It has been a very busy couple of weeks. Thank you everyone for being patient, Im nearly there!
Here are some of my gorgeous clients 🥰

17/12/2025

And yet some vets still recommend these for kissing spine rehab…

17/12/2025

Whatever the weather, however busy, I cannot resist the lure of the late season rosehip!!

14/12/2025

We have had some chaos here lately, with the hunt turning up unexpectedly last Saturday , galloping all over the neighbouring fields and up and down the road.
My ponies minds were blown by this and it has taken them four days to settle down and return to near normal behaviour.
But when Colin heard the faint cry of hounds this Saturday, in the next village, he returned to over alert status, trembling, panic poohing and unable to settle himself.
There was little point in trying to conduct a self selection session while his nervous system was exploding. So instead, I picked three essential oils that i thought might help, Rose, to reduce adrenalin and balance his mind, Valerian for hysteria, and Frankincense for panic and high anxiety. I put 5-6 drops of each oil on a towell, and slung it over his door.
Herbs and oils are not miracle workers ( although we have had some miraculous results!) they are meant to support the central nervous system and allow the animal to respond more calmly to fearful situations.
Within four minutes Colin had stopped spinning and poohing, and was clearly returning to a more manageable state of mind. Within ten minutes, he was eating his hay and dealing with the situation with much more calmness.
I mean, maybe herb oils are miracle workers after all….🌿

12/12/2025

We love a fennel bulb here! Crisp, crunchy and aromatic, a valuable vegetable to add variety to the diet. Fennel soothes the muscles in the digestive tract, relieves cramp and bloating and helps expell gas. Particularly helpful for sensitive stomachs and horses prone to colic. Fennels expectorant properties also make it ideal for horses with respiratory issues, especially a dry cough and mucus build up. Rich in Vitamin C to aid immunity, Vitamin E to protect from oxidative stress, B vits to support nerves and metabolism and Vitamin A for skin and vision. You can offer fennel as a bulb, as seeds, or as a powder. The essential
Oil is the most powerful way to alleviate inflammation.

11/12/2025

I know I have been banging on about dental work for a few weeks now, but having had two dental procedures myself recently, aswell as the pony having had work done, it is fresh in my head!

I am sitting here with a numb face and a bit of a headache. None of my dental work was painful, but the strain on my jaw and jaw joints ( TMJ’s) was not inconsiderable.

Research , of which there is not much, confirms that TMJ pain in horses is often overlooked, but is a significant cause of performance issues and general discomfort. Post mortem studies and imaging have shown that over 30% of horses have arthritic changes in their temperimandibular joints.

It is definitely important to treat your horse cranially after dental work, as some struggle more than others with having their mouth wide open for periods of time.

But it pales into insignificance to other causes of TMJ pain, particularly our obsession in the horse world to ride with a fixed hand, ride behind the vertical, to demand that the horse “softens” to our vice like grip. This is repetitive strain, and causes a rapid deterioration in any joint, but especially the jaw joint, as the horse opens its mouth to avoid the awful pressure and pain, and even if we strap the mouth shut to avoid the gaping, the tension and pain are still present.

Of course there are other causes of head pain and TMJ issues such as dental abnormalities, poorly fitting tack, secondary issues such as back or hind limb pain, and direct trauma.

Repetitive strain will cause many problems beyond the initial TMJ breakdown, as the hyoid will also be involved, the atlanto-occipital joints ( poll) and certainly C1 and C2, if not all of the cervical joints and beyond, as the pain and trauma cause a domino effect throughout the body.

Most horses are crying out for some form of cranial release, and are very grateful for it. I have plenty of self help exercises for this area, and so many herb oils that will help soothe and soften.

11/12/2025

This is bang on the mark. I love offering medicinal herbs on a self selection basis, as allowing the horse to choose is, in itself, liberating and healing.

💖 CHOICE IS HEALING: Why You and Your Horse Both Need Agency More Than Obedience

Trauma is often present in the absence of choice. This is true for horses, and it is true for us.

When you grow up in environments where saying no was unsafe, where you had to adapt to keep the peace, or where your needs were dismissed, your nervous system learns the same lesson many horses learn:

Keep quiet. Comply. Survive.

That old conditioning shows up in how we move through the world. It shows up in how we parent, how we partner, and how we respond when someone pushes our boundaries. Sometimes it even shows up in how we handle our horses.

So when we start giving horses more agency, we are often learning it ourselves at the same time.

This is why giving choice is healing for both species

Every time you allow your horse to communicate discomfort, you practise listening.
Every time you pause instead of push, your own nervous system gets the message that safety does not rely on control.
Every time you let your horse participate instead of obey, you remind yourself that collaboration is stronger than fear.

It becomes a shared form of repair.

🐴 A horse takes a step back from the saddle whilst being tacked up.
You take a breath instead of forcing the issue.

🐴 A horse hesitates at the trailer/lorry ramp.
You remember that hesitation is communication, not defiance.

🐴 A horse needs a moment to process.
You give it, and in doing so, you give yourself permission to slow down too.

🧠 Bit by bit, both bodies learn:

“I have agency now.”
“I get to contribute, not just comply.”
“I am safe enough to choose.”

This is the heart of ethical horsemanship. It is also the heart of healing.

👉 If you could offer yourself one small act of agency today, what would it be? And what could you offer your horse in return?

09/12/2025

What herbal advice do you need over winter? Im looking at writing more articles and need some feedback! Is there anything herbal that would really help you manage your horse, over the winter initially?

08/12/2025

The gorgeous labrador like Quo, enjoying his post treatment endorphin rush 🥰

07/12/2025

https://paulickreport.com/horse-care-category/fatal-laminitis-case-led-to-new-research-on-corticosteroid-joint-injections?fbclid=IwdGRjcAOiRPZleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEeTZMiyjtr-txW03k6CMpk41isV5BAtZbWDyxoqgwEtikhS7yXqzsTclBDQvg_aem__IQklfL37HY2G5hLrEBjng

Insulin dysregulation, often underdiagnosed in sport horses, may increase the risk of developing laminitis after intra-articular injections of corticosteroids.