Step by Step Veterinary Physiotherapy: For Sport, For Work, For Life.

05/05/2026

Delighted to be an authorised reseller for Hestaband and to visit the brand for further CPD this summer.
Happy to chat, message, email, WhatsApp about your requirements as a professional or owner!

🇬🇧 IT’S OFFICIAL! 🇬🇧

We are so excited to announce a brand-new UK reseller for Hestaband™!

Please welcome
✨ Sarah Smith of Step-by-Step Veterinary Physiotherapy✨

To celebrate the launch, she's offering an INTRODUCTORY SPECIAL until June 8th:

✔ 10% OFF Cotton (5 cm) rolls
✔ FREE shipping when you purchase 3 or more rolls

How to order:
📲WhatsApp 07885 470670 to receive your payment link and order confirmation.

🌐Contact page
Step-by-Step Veterinary Physiotherapy
https://www.stepbystepvetphysiotherapy.co.uk/contact

We are incredibly excited to continue expanding access to Hestaband™ internationally and to partner with professionals who are passionate about helping animals move and feel their best. 💙

05/05/2026

🧡A very honest account which I know will resonate with all therapists who are also current or past owners. Each of us with our own story, but it certainly means we approach professional life with a degree of empathy that is hard to match.
As I embark on not one but 2 horse related new adventures one personal one professional you can’t help but feel a little nervous!
More news later!
Good luck with Tuesday everyone☀️🧡

Psst let me tell you a secret

I am just an owner who has all the same issues as everyone else

You know I do not do bodywork on my own horses,

You know I struggled to catch one of my horses

You know i used to sit on my mounting block looking at a horse that had been so damaged that he couldnt get past who I was as a species to trust that we were not all the same, yet I spent a while not understanding that when he gave more I often wanted to fall in line with what others think I should be doing yet when I realsied rehab for him was to just be a horse with minimal interaction with the one mammal who caused him so much pain, only then when my mind was not focusing on fixing him did he heal.

You know when I was trying to catch one of my horses when they were foals I managed to get a headcollar all done with liberty, yet I hadn't checked the stiffness of the buckle and when I tried to take it off it got stuck so then the foal bogged off and I had to spend ages trying to get hold of him to take it off (with the other horses all running around)

You know Henry that cute pony was a little bit handy with his back legs which made me go umm maybe we will work on that because he is much faster than me, but it did make me a little bit cautious

You know I don't ride my horses they live life on their terms they have the best possible advantage in staying healthy, yet I still lost my 16 yr. old pony to a freak accident in the field

You know my main horse which I owned for many years used to make me feel sick for almost the first year of riding him as he was so spooky

You know sometimes with long covid I have to force myself to go to my horses everyday and in fact this weekend plans have had to be scrapped due to fatique

You know sometimes I just feed, check and come home

You know I have rung a professional and they had to tell me to stop, take a breath and talk slower 😁 yet I am also that calm professional who tells an owner those exact same words.

I may be a therapist, but I am still just an owner to my horses, and I come with all the baggage and worries and yes sometimes a little bit nervous when dealing with my own. I never want to paint a picture of serenity and calm because sometimes it's not. its why I don't edit my videos for a glossy outlook because real life is not like that. My work is all one take, my work is all done with my phone because like you I often am on my own balancing the phone on a wall trying to get a video

If we portray something that you as the owner feels is unobtainable, then I don't think we are doing our job well enough and if all you see is the end result then you will never know the struggle or the work, we have to put in to get there.

I come to your horse as a therapist, but I come also as an owner who gets that not everything is rosy all the time, owning horses can put us through such a range of emotions throughout their lifetime.

We live in a world that to admit that it can be a struggle is somehow admitting that something has failed when often a step back, a turning your horse away for a bit, a not riding today, a not doing anything today can regroup yours and horses' thoughts

When someone says they don't deserve their horse, or it's wasted with them I often answer a horse comes into our life for a reason we may not know it or appreciate at the time but on reflection we realise what such a huge lesson we were taught and not all lessons are meant to be easy or give us the answer it is simply there to teach us

No horse in a safe secure home wished their owner would do more, if we keep wishing we were something else other than our true selves with our horses then we will never appreciate just how lucky we are

03/05/2026

Celebrating five years since qualifying as a veterinary physiotherapist — and a lifetime of learning before that. Read Sarah Smith's reflections on a journey spanning 25 years of learning and her exciting plans for the year ahead.. A thoughtful read for anyone passionate about equine wellbeing. Read more: https://wix.to/RP3V4KX

09/04/2026

09/04/2026

Happy Days. A lovely day visiting some beautiful horses and home to find my application to renew my RAMP membership has been approved.

04/04/2026

This was summer 2022 and the knowledge learned informs the way I practice, every day and every horse. I can smile at how ambitious it was but only now can I truly value it. 🐴

Research project with the University of Nottingham. We have been observing how horses learn a trot pole exercise. Do they have a more dexterous ( or dominant ) pair of legs? Do they use the right and left sides of their bodies evenly? How much do they flex their limbs? Is how they feel written all over their faces? If we change the rein - do they change the leading leg ? Last but not least can physios take meaningful measurements without access to treadmills, multiple high speed cameras and accelerometers?
Well this month these three beauties have been helping me and I am very grateful to their owners and Annemarie Mullen without whom there would be no project.
Our oldest project horse is 23 and back loving life after rehabilitation and our racehorse just 6 and only a year off the track. But today we have a young eventer, a golden oldie and a 2022 Badminton Grass Roots top ten finisher! 

28/03/2026

Case history Saturday : We have welcomed many new lovely horses this spring.

So what do we actually do?
❌I am not a massage therapist, although massage is terrific!
❌I am not a “back lady” although strong backs are vital to our horses.
❌I am not the lady with the INDIBA in the area - although I do have one and they are very useful!
Modern RAMP/NAVP registered physiotherapists do :
✅ Assess the whole horse. The initial meeting is in depth covers static and dynamic tests, your horse’s history (veterinary and athletic), current and previous environments.
✅ Start a comprehensive data set including video, measurements of body condition score, feet and gait using up to date technology including video and analytic apps.
✅ Palpate looking for areas of compensation, which may be under or over developed tight and/or painful.
✅ Apply non pharmaceutical pain relief modalities - we have all accredited Electro physical and manual ones within the practice.
✅ Prescribe exercises to help you and your horse.
✅ Liaise with your vet, farrier and saddle fitter and discuss other complementary activities such as hydrotherapy, and salt therapy.

Crucially empower you with more information about your horse and his way of going to move you forward on your journey together.

This lovely young horse had recently moved to bare foot care and presented with forelimb gait and foot asymmetry with bilateral splints. His muscular development shows areas of hypertrophy and hypertonicity. There is much to come from him with care from his whole devoted team of which I am delighted to be a part.

It’s not too late to get your best friend assessed this spring 07885470670

08/11/2025

 Screen day today, the Vet Rehab Summit is a rich menu of learning and discussion and in the breaks I am writing a blog for the website!
The link is here

https://www.stepbystepvetphysiotherapy.co.uk/post/understanding-equine-normal-behaviour-during-initial-interactions-and-strategies-for-successful-intr

08/11/2025

Are you welcoming a new horse to your yard? It's a moment filled with anticipation! Understanding normal equine behavior during these initial interactions is crucial for fostering lasting relationships. Discover valuable strategies to ensure successful introductions. Read more here: https://wix.to/CQkLGdU

Introducing a new horse to your yard or home can be an exciting yet anxious moment for horse owners and yard managers. Horses are social animals with complex herd behaviour, and their first interactions often set the tone for future relationships. Understanding what normal horse behaviour looks like...