Human and Equine Therapist

18/11/2024

03/07/2024

28/05/2024

Don’t make the mistake of adding extra layers of padding, this will just restrict the movement of the spine.

09/04/2024

The comfort and health of the horse is the central key to the horse’s performance and soundness.

09/04/2024

Many times during a massage a horse will “process” what is going on in their body. This is happening because in a massage session you are not only affecting the muscular system, but also the circulatory system, nervous system. Digestive system, respiratory system, skeletal system as well as the endocrine system. Horse’s begin to blink rapidly when they are processing what is happening in their body, like this mare.

09/04/2024

“camped under" horse will stand with legs too far underneath it, causing increased strain to be placed on the ligaments and tendons of the leg.

09/04/2024

Equine sports massage is a hands-on therapeutic manipulation of muscle tissue. It brings a range of benefits for your horse because it: Promotes relaxation, both physically and mentally. Increases flexibility, suppleness and a range of movement.

11/03/2024

When humans feel pain in their muscles, tightness in certain areas they will often have massage treatments. Horses also get tightness and pain in muscles. When they experience discomfort or injured muscles, often it’s only noticed when horses start to display a change in demeanor, constant lameness or perform poorly. Equine sports massage treatment can keeping your horses in the best possible shape and prevent muscle injuries before they become more serious.

11/03/2024

Camped under-
It’s very common to see horses standing under with their front legs and often back legs too. This stance is the result of back pain. A horse will change his base of support to help alleviate the pain in his back.

29/02/2024

02/01/2024

Dear customers , Price increase 👐🏼

Unfortunately due to the continuing increases of insurances, products & fuel I can no longer sustain my current pricing structure.
From the 6th January there will be an increase.
This increase will enable me to continue to provide you or your horse the high standard of treatments you’ve come to expect.

Please remember that I continue to complete CPD skills each year, so I can expand my knowledge.

Please feel free to message me for an updated price list

Thank you for your continued support

Rachel

07/12/2023

Normal is Rarely Common

Having had the honor of attending a dissection by Sharon-May Davis, it really highlighted the fact that oftentimes we’re not dealing with normal physiology of the horse when it comes to fitting. The beautiful soul that was our teacher through the dissection only presented with 17 ribs, with a false rib/transitional vertebra on the near side which, if going by the correct saddle fitting methodology of palpating the last rib and following the curvature upwards, would have landed the end of the saddle support area at L1. The only way to confirm the end of the Saddle Support Area would have been to palpate both sides to ensure it didn’t reach the lumbar spine.

If you go by the incorrect methodology of finding the last rib and going straight up, you would be sitting between L3 and L4..

How many of your fitters check both sides of the horse?
It isn’t a common practice, but it should be, and this horse truly brought home the importance of why. The saddle doesn’t only sit on the left, which is why checking important landmarks on the body needs to often be done on both sides. Not to mention, there is more often than not asymmetry not only in the shoulder size, but also placement. Not taking this into consideration will have cascading effects along the body, and on how the saddle fits the horse, and how the rider is able to be supported (or thrown off balance) by the saddle. Nothing in horses, or in saddle fitting, works exclusively, in a silo, able to be separated from influence or influencing other parts of the body. That simply isn’t how it works.

This is why taking the time to really, truly understand the body in front of you is so important. It’s not just about what looks OK outwardly, but being able to identify underlying structures, anomalies where palpable, and asymmetries that will influence movement and fit.