Shropshire Equine Physiotherapy

27/08/2025

The grass situation!

It's the hot topic of the moment so I thought I'd post what I've noticed over the last few weeks, I am not a nutritionist so obviously please refer to them for advice.

There's no grass... Well there's minimal grass, the need for additional forage is definitely there, horses have a requirement for a good amount of fibre through the gut. But I have noticed horses splitting into two categories already:

The poorer doers, there are starting to loose weight, or maybe didn't gain as they usually do over the summer, this is sending them into the winter with minimal reserves to loose.

The good doers... Well somehow these are still GAINING weight, I'm seeing rather alot of porky ponies at the moment, I can only assume that because the fields look bare they've got alot of space, but actually the grass is trying, especially with every tiny rain shower or dew, for these greedy guzzlers they are hunting out every shoot of sugar filled stressed grass.

I noticed myself that when I fenced off some field (due to acorns falling) the grass has actually greened up where rested.

How will this effect the horses from my physiotherapist mind... Well those lean will struggle to gain muscle regardless of work, they will either just maintain or may even start to loose muscle and strength. The porky ones are carrying additional weight through their joints, their muscles are having to overwork just to carry themselves never mind their riders.

Weight management is individual to the horse, seek professional advice if you are unsure of how to manage your horse. We have rain due now, this will most likely cause a flush of grass, especially risky for laminitis risk horses, but also can be a colic or other digestive risk.

Additional note re feeding forage, always feed hay in multiple locations if you have more than one horse, this reduces the chance of defending hay piles so all the horses can get access to it. Obviously they may choose to share but that's up to them!

09/08/2025

Have you ever tried this exercise?

Straddling a pole length wise... Both physical and mentally challenging

Physically this requires opening up of the chest and inner thigh, widening the stance of the horse

Mentally this requires significant proprioception (understanding of where they are placing their feet) as the pole is in their blind spot alot of the time.

Give it a go! It's definitely something to take time over as they do find it very difficult, if they get to the point of being able to stand over the pole, the progression is to walk forward maintaining the straddled position.

Good luck and let me know if you achieve it! As you can see CG wasn't overly impressed and this is as good as I've got so far

26/07/2025

How to get the most out of your physio appointment:

Here are some things that can help me (and other physios!) give your horse the best assesment and treatment possible.

How is your horse going? - pay attention to your riding running up to your appointment, do you consistently find something specific difficult? Is one rein easier? Does your horse tend to land on one canter lead consistently?

History - let us know of any previous injuries your horse has, even if fully healed they can have remaining compensations and wonkyness years later.

Daftness - has anything daft happened recently? Field antics? Rugs ripped? Haynet incidents? These frustrating little things can have an effect on your horse.

Calm horse - does your horse have a specific buddy? Is there a time off day they'll be more settled? Will a haynet help (or make it worse!), a calm horse enables a thorough and deep treatment, stress has a direct effect on the muscles and means treatment is compromised.

Clean horse - within reason! I'm not expecting immaculate! But if possible dry and not crusty, i use alot of manual techniques, massage and stretching, if the coat is overly dirty it can be unpleasant for both me and the horse as my hands don't move well over them.

Do your homework - the exercises given to help support your horse are there to help, I tend to only give two of three in order to not overwhelm you but I can tell if they've not been done ... I can also most definitely tell if they have and it makes me very very happy!

Be realistic/ honest - I don't care if you only ride once and week and if it's been three weeks since you last did because it's January and cold and dark! But having an idea of workload can help me assess how the horse is relative to it's work, a horse working 6 days hard feels very different to one that isn't.

Keep up to date with other professionals - farrier most people are pretty good with, but saddler and dentist can get a bit out of sync easily.

Communication - keep in touch with me! Let me know the good and the bad, I'm almost always available and happy to help.

10/07/2025

Hot weather!

The forecast for the next few days is hot, very hot! I have rescheduled all appointments, physiotherapy in temperatures like these isn't pleasant for either the horse or me, my work warms them further.

Some top tips for keeping your horses happy and healthy in hot weather:

- don't ride, or ride very very early. No harm will come from a few days off, harm can come from overheating

- ensure water is easily accessible at all times, considering putting extra water points in the field to encourage more drinking with less effort.

- provide the coolest environment, for some with lovely old brick stables this can mean keeping the horses in, wooden stables tend to become saunas by lunchtime so horses may be cooler out, or give them a choice of possible.

- hose them off, if you can soaking the horses through can lower their temperature and provide relief for a little while, do not scrape the water off, the evaporation helps, soaking the horse and fly rug can keep them damper longer and so cooler

- light coloured fly rugs on dark horses can actually help them stay cooler.

- Electrolytes help replace athe salts lost through sweating

- don't make any dramatic changes, keeping stress levels low so they stay calm will help them stay cooler, suddenly changing routine or diet can cause stress which can make it harder to stay cool and calm.

- traveling in these temperatures isn't a good idea, unless you have a super fancy air-conditioned lorry, traveling is physically quite demanding on horses as well as mentally stressful, most lorries and trailers are fairly limited on really good airflow and get stuffy easily.

Does it matter if you miss this weekends riding/ competition? Would you be more upset because you didn't ride or because your horse suffered?

Look after yourselves too! I recommend ice-cream 🤣

21/03/2025

I might have mentioned... Once or twice... That I'm running the London marathon this year, in aid of Blue Cross, a few people have said they would like to sponsor me so here is the link to my fundraising page;

https://2025tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/sarah-garthwaite

Every donation is very much appreciated and goes directly to the Blue cross to help animals in need.

26.2 miles around London... In 5 weeks time!!

As you all know... I like animals! Probably more than some humans. I also appear to slightly like running, this however is a bigger challenge, I may have done longer distances previously but this will

01/01/2025

Happy new year to all my wonderful clients... And anyone else!

What are your plans for 2025 with your horses?

Whether your aspirations are national events, or continuing to enjoy their company out and about your local hacking physiotherapy treatment can help them remain comfortable and athletic so you can achieve your dreams!

I recommend treatment every 3-4 months for the average horse, this can vary depending on workload, age and any pre-existing conditions that need management. I find this keeps on top of niggles before they start to become bigger issues that require more intensive treatment and start spoiling your fun.

As well as treating your horse I also suggest exercises you are able to do to help maintain them between sessions, this can be simple things like carrot stretches (a firm favourite with most!) or adding exercises into your ridden work.

As always, any questions feel free to pop me a message!

Hope to see you all soon!

Sarah

P.s picture of my baby boy seeing xc fences for the first time.... Not sure he realises what plans I have for him this year!

18/10/2024

First 2025 appointment is in the diary! 😲

Did say "see you next year", couldn't quite bring myself to say "Merry Ch******s" 🤣

The early you book the more likely you are to get a day and time that suits you perfectly

27/06/2024

*price increases*

Unfortunately I am having to increase my prices, I have held off for as long as possible but costs keep rising, I have done some research and will still be a very fair price for the area.

From the 1st of August:

1 horse : £50
2 horses on the same yard: £45 each
3 or more horses on the same yard: £40 each

Travel costs will remain the same, 50p per mile over 20 miles each way.

24/04/2024

After a good number of comments by my clients about the state of my car i have washed it, my signs are now readable and it's probably a good bit lighter according to the volume of mud on my drive now!

If you could all ensure your lanes, drives and yards are immaculate for me so it doesn't immediately get dirty again 🤣

17/04/2024

What a winter!

Now we are nearing it's end (hopefully!!!) it's a good time to consider the effect it's had on our horses... The answer is it's been hard, very hard on them.

I am consistently seeing issues with horses that I can link to the weather, or more correctly the mud. Horses this winter have had two options... Turnout on mud or lack of turnout, or a combination of the two, reduced turnout and mud when they are out.

How has this effected them?

Well when they've been out every step has required bracing and balancing as limbs slip (even just slightly), or wrenching to pull legs out of deeper mud, or both! Because of this I'm seeing significantly increased discomfort in the stabilising muscle groups such as pectorals, deltoids, shoulder area in general, medial thigh muscles etc, this is then leading to additional compensations through the back, Sacroiliac and generally the whole horse!

If they've had reduced or even in some cases no turnout they've had reduced movement, this leads to reduced mobility in the muscles, they loose the ability to stretch as far, and it leads to reduced volume of muscle, this means the horse is generally weaker.

Both of these situations are harder with a horse that has preexisting conditions, osteoarthritis diagnosis, previous tendon or ligament issues etc

These scenarios lead to both a more uncomfortable horse and a horse that is more vulnerable to further injury, without the muscles working smoothly and correctly other areas can be put under increased strain - tendons and ligaments can be at higher risk.

Now is the time to make sure your horse is functioning to they're very best, work loads are increasing, the sun is shining and we want to have fun with our horses!

Physiotherapy is ideal to get your horse comfortable and assess how they are at this current time, treatment can help soften and release those muscles that have been working too hard to stabilise them, provide pain relief where required and suggest appropriate exercises to strengthen the correct areas.

Feel free to get in touch with any queries!

04/02/2024

Looking forward to this year's adventures?

Is your horse on track to be fit and ready?

Now is the time to be honest with yourself about how much work your horse has been in over the winter, understandably most people do struggle to maintain their horses fitness through the dark and cold.

So as half term and then Easter creeps nearer what's in the diary? Pony club rallies? Fun rides? Clinics? The eventing season?

Think what the equivalent exercise for yourself would be and how you would prepare... Would you go from walking the dog for half an hour to running a half marathon without training? No, you would be a broken person.

Horses will often work off adrenaline rather than true strength and fitness, but this isn't healthy in the long term, it leads to fatigue and increased risk of injury.

Protect your horse and have a better year and future with correct preparation, gradually increasing exercise duration and intensity and keeping on top of maintenance such as physiotherapy (pop me a message!), dental appointments, farriery and saddle fit.
Work needs to be a combination of strength building and cardio fitness and tailored to your chosen discipline.

Think of the NHS Couch to 5Km training plan and translate that to your horse, it's even worth creating a plan and keeping a diary so you are aware of your progression, I am happy to offer support on this, or speak to experienced people around you, instructors etc.

27/08/2023

Autumn is well on the way! Rugs?... Hold off...

Temperatures are starting to drop overnight and I'm starting to see more horses rugged up, however now is the perfect time to remember horses don't feel the cold the same way we do.

- they keep warm through digestion of forage
- they have a natural coat that is weather proof
- they are much more likely to overheat than suffer from cold
- most horses are leaving this summer on the porky side, this is their warming fuel and they should be allowed to loose it

Allowing them to naturally adjust to these gradually decreasing temperatures sets them up for the winter perfectly, if we rug up now the will need more and more rugs as the winter progresses.

As well as potential overheating I see negative effects from excessive rugging on a regular basis, rugs can restrict shoulder movement and the weight of them sitting on the neck and wither can compress the muscle and fascia causing reduced mobility and restriction.
Rugging also limits a horses ability to self groom or mutually groom, reaching round and all over each other is natural stretching.

I am not saying all horses shouldn't be rugged at all, I'm saying remember they are naturally adapted to survive better than us. Each horse is individual, breed, age, environment, work-load, clipping etc.

Just because someone else on your yard is rugging doesn't mean you need to, stand firm to what is best for your horse and you.