Echo Hill Equestrian Physical Therapy

03/30/2026

03/26/2026

Today marks our first Giving Day. And moving forward March 26 will be our official Giving Day each year. We chose this date to honor our co-founder, Paul, and continue the work he started.

Give in his memory.

Every gift makes this work possible.
$100 covers one session.
$200 helps shoe a horse.
$500 can cover a portion of our monthly facility rent

Visit our website to donate:
https://horsesspiritshealing.networkforgood.com/projects/237886-the-spirit-of-horses-spirits-healing

03/23/2026

Physical Therapists in Montana can refer for imaging!

Learn more in our APTA Montana members-only resource: https://www.aptamt.com/members/member-resources/

03/19/2026

02/23/2026

When people ask me why my sessions are more than their massage session….even though they use the same things….and have modalities too….and are prescribing things.

Practitioners work best when we work together and within our scope of practice. I’ve invested thousands of dollars and hours into my education and credentials.

I’m not a massage therapist

I’m not a personal trainer or health coach

I’m a board certified clinical specialist in orthopedics with a doctorate in physical therapy, with a graduate credential in equine rehabilitation and hike certifications in functional dry needling, blood flow restriction training, Barbell Rehab Method

To my self-employed friends — I see you. I am you.

And for those who are not self-employed, this is educational.

When you see a service fee, understand that roughly 30% becomes take-home income.

The other 70% sustains the infrastructure required to operate legally, ethically, and professionally.

* Secure booking systems
* Website hosting
* Licensing and mandatory continuing education
* Liability and commercial insurance
* Facility costs and maintenance
* Vehicle, travel, and farm expenses
* Technology platforms and software
* Sanitation standards
* Payment processing fees on every transaction

In my case, fixed annual overhead exceeds six figures before I pay myself. That does not include corporate and personal tax, CPP (both portions as self-employed), accounting, legal fees, marketing, or equipment replacement.

It also does not include the educational investment behind the work.

To date, that investment is approximately a quarter of a million dollars:

✅ BSc in Kinesiology (UBC)
✅ Human Kinetics diploma (Langara College)
✅ Regulated healthcare license (RMT from WCCMT)
✅ Human Osteopathy diploma in progress (CSO)
✅ Multiple equine certification(s)

**And over 25 years of clinical experience

Maintaining credentials is ongoing.

Initial education is a capital investment.
Continuing education is a recurring operational cost.

And then there is time......

👉 A one-hour human appointment requires nearly another hour behind the scenes for charting, sanitation, billing, and communication.

👉 An equine session includes travel, vehicle costs, assistant support, video review, report writing, and follow-up.

👉 One educational webinar can take 150 hours from research to delivery.

Fees reflect the entire structure — not just hands-on time or one-one time.

Self-employment means carrying the whole system: compliance, risk management, infrastructure, sustainability.

Revenue only exists when work is performed.
Expenses exist regardless.

Pricing is not about what an hour feels worth. It is about sustaining a system built on depth of training, experience, and responsibility.

That is the cost of doing business.

02/10/2026

🙌🫶🙌

Yesterday my Olympic dream did not finish the way I dreamt it would. It wasn’t a story book ending or a fairy tail, it was just life. I dared to dream and had worked so hard to achieve it. Because in Downhill ski racing the difference between a strategic line and a catastrophic injury can be as small as 5 inches.

I was simply 5 inches too tight on my line when my right arm hooked inside of the gate, twisting me and resulted in my crash. My ACL and past injuries had nothing to do with my crash whatsoever.

Unfortunately, I sustained a complex tibia fracture that is currently stable but will require multiple surgeries to fix properly.

While yesterday did not end the way I had hoped, and despite the intense physical pain it caused, I have no regrets. Standing in the starting gate yesterday was an incredible feeling that I will never forget. Knowing I stood there having a chance to win was a victory in and of itself. I also knew that racing was a risk. It always was and always will be an incredibly dangerous sport.

And similar to ski racing, we take risks in life. We dream. We love. We jump. And sometimes we fall. Sometimes our hearts are broken. Sometimes we don’t achieve the dreams we know we could have. But that is the also the beauty of life; we can try.

I tried. I dreamt. I jumped.

I hope if you take away anything from my journey it’s that you all have the courage to dare greatly. Life is too short not to take chances on yourself. Because the only failure in life is not trying.

I believe in you, just as you believed in me.

❤️LV

02/05/2026

Ready for a change?

Your dreams don’t work without daily discipline. With horses or with life 🖤🐴

02/05/2026

If you're experiencing financial hardship and are having trouble buying feed for your horses, BHA can help by providing up to 30 days of quality hay at no cost. For program details and to apply, click here: https://beartoothhumane.org/hay-bank/

02/03/2026

As we head into another breeding and foaling season, biosecurity is top of mind for everyone in the industry!

Review our guidelines for proper washing and drying to keep the germs at bay🧴🧼

02/02/2026

🐴🐴 CAUDAL PELVIC TILTS 🐴🐴
I see this exercise completed all over socials where hoof picks are used to get an exaggerated response, and the horse isn’t even held in a stretch for more than a couple of seconds at most! The mobilisation is wonky, stressed and not educating the nervous system.
These should be gradual. If your horse either lacks response or shoots into orbit every time you do this stretch, your horse is not able to complete this exercise correctly and comfortably!
Equally, if you have been recommended to use a hoof pick to get a response and stretch and your horse shoots into a stretch... this is also not what we are looking for.

🎯 AIM
• Increase range of motion of sacroiliac joint, and thoracolumbar spine.
• Encourage engagement of core muscles to release hip flexors.
• Facilitate the relaxation of lumbar back muscles.

✅ Correct
• Smooth backward rotation of the pelvis
• No fidgeting
• Ability to hold the stretch for 15 seconds
• Smooth relaxation of the pelvis back to neutral.

❌ Wrong
• Jerky or sharp rotation
• Dampened or non-existent response
• Inability to hold stretch
• Fidgeting, moving away or weight shifting
• Asymmetrical rotation ie. One side of pelvis stretches more than the other

🧘 Stretch your Horse Manual 🧘
To complete this stretch correctly, I have put together a Stretching Manual for Horse Owners (available via the website!) which provides step by step instructions & cautions.

https://www.vetphysiophyle.co.uk/shop/p/s-t-r-e-t-c-h-your-horse

If your horse is unable to complete this stretch correctly, even with correct aids, please consult the advice of your vet and veterinary physiotherapist.
📸

01/29/2026

We both fight the good fight. But Bradley Blair Osteopath has the good graphics.