EQUINE PERFORMANCE SPECIALIST
Where First Class Veterinary Physiotherapy meets international dressage training
The Veterinary Physiotherapy aspect
​Veterinary Physiotherapy involves identifying weaknesses in movement in the horse, and then using a variety of methods to aid restoring function and strength in horses. Horses with injuries, or those optimising training for maximum performance all benefit from this.
A loss of a horse's normal function may have resulted from: injury, disease, training problems, prolonged period out of exercise or anatomical/conformational abnormalities. Common problems addressed by Veterinary Physiotherapy are wide-ranging, and compensations can complicate this even more. This is where an experienced Physiotherapist offers vital understanding and advice.
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The different modalities I use in treatments include Massage and manual therapies, electrotherapies and Remedial Exercise Programmes. Electrotherapies we currently offer include NMES, H-wave and LASER.
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The Dressage aspect
Horses coming back in to work after an injury, whether it is 3 weeks, 3 months or a year, will have some level of strength loss. The return to work not only REQUIRES patience to give the body and biological tissues time to adjust and respond to increased load, but it forces us as riders to return to the dressage basics, which also takes patience to be done effectively. Many trainers will preach the benefits of riding the classical dressage basics, but most are too pressured by the competitive training process to act on this as much as we should.
Rehabilitation of injured horses with targeted dressage exercises and classical training offers this opportunity. It offers the chance to refocus on balance, rhythm, rhythm and speed control, with softness and thoroughness, and so strengthens horses’ physical ability in, as well as confidence in, their self-carriage.
Few trainers understand the extent of the load that dressage exercises can have, and not all horse physiotherapists are able to identify and improve on elements of training to address the overall picture and training.
Correct Dressage training allows horses to move more independently, symmetrically and correctly. This moves the needles close to correcting patterns of inefficient biomechanics, allowing these patients to benefit from rehabilitation in a truly long-term way.
The elite performance aspect: Why Dressage and Veterinary Physiotherapy belong together?
​The most successful rehabilitation cases, are the ones whose riders make the efforts to improve the biomechanics of their horse in between appointments. Poor biomechanics can result from, and can cause, injury and pain. It is not always possible to entirely change this, however showing horses a way to move their bodies and muscles in a fluid, free, strong and "through" way, is the best antidote to compensations pre- and post-injury.
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Exercises on the ground as part of a physiotherapist prescribed exercise programme, and exercises under saddle as part of a dressage training schedule are crucial methods of strengthening and conditioning our horses' muscles.
