Black Bear Equine Therapy

15/08/2024

A look at my availability for the rest of August!
If you’d like to book before finals, now’s your chance!!
Green days are partial availability so please inquire for times🥰🐴❤️

14/08/2024

**Sappy post incoming**

The other day I got asked “In a perfect world, what would you do for work?”, and I didn’t have to hesitate at all in saying that in a perfect world, I would be doing what I am doing right now.
Since then, I’ve been reflecting on how lucky I am to have found something that truly brings me joy and that I wouldn’t change for the world. Some days are tiring, sure, but most days work doesn’t feel like work at all. I thank the universe everyday for this opportunity to be able to help horses.
I also took a second to reflect on how much my life and situation has changed in the year, how my career has grown and evolved and how lucky I am to have made a few clients into some wonderful friends, who have become some of my biggest supporters.
I absolutely love being able to provide my services, working on horses. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the year brings.

07/08/2024

Let’s talk about the Sacrum.

Being able to work with a very wide variety of horses this season, especially racehorses, it is really interesting to see how the sacrum affects the longevity of the whole horse, and how it affects performance.
Often when working on horses, most of my clients have heard me say that the sacrum isn’t moving properly. Let’s go over the importance of the proper movement of the sacrum.
Let’s start with the anatomy. The sacrum is a large triangular bone made up of the the five sacral vertebrae, which are fused together. This spinal segment plays a huge role in the locomotion of the ENTIRE horse, propelling motion to the front end. The sacrum is not only anatomically important in the role of locomotion, but it also houses the sacral nerves which provide parasympathetic autonomic innervation to the reproductive organs, as well as innervates the muscles of the hind end (such as glutes, femoral biceps, semi-tend, semi-memb, adductors of the hind end, just to name a few of the big ones).
Improper motion of the sacrum can affect the hind end not just in physical restriction, but in proper neural function as well.
Now let’s take a second to think about just HOW important the sacrum is. Every time your horse wants to even think about carrying their hind end properly, pushing off the hind end over a jump, or starting out of a gate, they cannot do so effectively without the proper motion of the sacrum.
Food for thought for racehorses & any horses expected to maintain speed over distances (endurance, eventing, barrel racing); how is a horse expected to be able to effectively maintain speed and stride without proper movement of their sacrum? Short answer: if the sacrum isn’t moving properly, they will not be able to.
However, the sacrum is not the only structure in the hind end. Improper movement of the pelvis, lumbar vertebrae, coxxes, Tuber coxae (hip), stifle, hock, fetlock, and even how the foot is balanced, can affect the motion of the sacrum. Not to the mention that compensation for the front end, proper organ function, saddle fit, and many other factors will play into the motion of the sacrum. Something as simple as getting your horse’s teeth done or at least checked, every year, can ensure proper motion of the TMJ, which will also affect the sacrum.
Taking all of this into consideration, it is important to look at the overall health of your horse, especially at a performance level. Every single aspect factors into the performance of your horse, as well as the movement of the sacrum, down to the one extra scoop of the latest supplement you add into your horses feed.
If you would like to ensure that your horse’s sacrum is moving properly, and how keep it that way, send Black Bear Equine Therapy a message or give us call and we can help you increase the longevity of your horse, while also improving performance, health, happiness and overall well-being!

06/08/2024

Stop by and say hi! I’m sure I’ll see some familiar faces 🥰

We are all set-up with the INDIBA at the Big Bang Barrel Race in Wetaskiwin!
Stop by to get an overall assessment on your horse by our Equine Remedial Therapist, Jamie.
By doing an overall assessment of how your horse is moving it is much more effective to decrease muscle soreness and recovery time after competition with our INDIBA machine!

INDIBA effectively changes the gamma loop within the muscles and decreases soreness.
INDIBA uses radio waves to:

•Increase the volume and intensity of blood flow
•Improve the supply of oxygen and nutrients to the muscle tissue
•Increase tissue temperature
•Increase cellular metabolism
•Control inflammation
•Normalize and optimize cellular activity
•Get an ionic balance
•Accelerates healing by treating around surgical wounds
•Treatment compatible with metal implants
•Provides an analgesic effect

When your horse is moving properly, they will run better. It is something we have seen time and time again this thoroughbred racing season.
We can’t wait to see and meet all of you!!

15/07/2024

Hello all my lovely clients and friends!!

I am back from Europe and busier than ever! I am already booked into the week of the 23rd. July is filling up quick!!

Please if you’re wanting a spot booked for July pm me, text or comment below! I look forward to seeing you all 🥰🥰 Glad to be home!

10/06/2024

Wetaskiwin, Ponoka, Lacombe and Red Deer areas! Last minute cancellation has opened up spots!!

Tuesday June 11th I have availibility in the early evening for 2-4 horses depending on time and location.

Black Bear Equine Therapy offers:

· Advanced massage techniques
· Myofascial and trigger point release
· Osteopathy
· Craniosacral
· TMJ manipulation
· Acupuncture
· Rehabilitation
· Lymph Drainage
· Kinesiology Taping
· Scar Tissue Reduction
· Nutrition plans
· Exercise plans

As well as INDIBA treatments to increase cellular metabolism, decrease soreness and increase performance! Please message for more details.

If you’d like to book/inquire about booking please message/text or call.

06/06/2024

June is filling up FAST!! If you would like to book before July, now’s your chance! Otherwise I will not be taking more bookings until AFTER July 12th due to my trip and to accommodate racehorse scheduling and rehab cases with Sublime once I get back.

Available dates:

June 13th: 2-3 morning slots
June 17th: All day available
June 19th: Morning availability
June 20th: Morning availability
June 24th: Morning availability
June 25th: Morning availability

03/06/2024

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

As most of you all know, my little sister has moved to England!! This means I do have to do my sisterly duties and I will be flying over to visit her🥰

Therefore I do have LIMITED AVAILABILITY for June and July!!
I will be unreachable from June 26th to July 9th. Please, if you’re looking to book before those dates, message, text or call.

03/06/2024

It’s my favourite thing when I get to watch my clients do their thing!!
Was an awesome weekend watching Shelley and Jazz do Grand Entry for Leduc Rodeo. They did amazing!!
😜🐴

20/05/2024

Personalized supplements for all the racehorses and my rehab horses are nearly ready to go!!!

I tailor each and every supplement based on a multitude of factors including ailments, discipline, attitude, nerve testing, character and specific concerns🤗 That was I can ensure every horse is getting EXACTLY what it needs. Nothing more and nothing less.

If you are interested in a nutrition or supplement plan please reach out! Those are my favourite to curate 🥰

20/05/2024

A big welcome home to my little rehab project, Rocky! ❤️
Stay tuned for this guy’s progress throughout the summer.
I’ll be posting more about him in detail but for now I’ll let him settle in.
Can’t wait to see what we can teach eachother 🥰

20/05/2024

!!!!RED DEER WETASKIWIN PONOKA!!!!

Thursday, May 23rd I will be travelling down to red deer. I have some available slots left in the morning. Please message me for details!!

13/05/2024

That feeling when the treatment is just too good 😁😂

24/04/2024

I am FULLY BOOKED until May 15th!

Thank you to everyone who booked! I’m looking forward to working with everyone this competition season🥰🐴

22/04/2024

ONE morning spot left for May 6th.
May 8th is now fully booked!

Busy busy to start the season!

My last available dates for $90 treatments are the mornings of May 6th, 8th and 9th! I have THREE time slots available each morning.
Otherwise my bookings start on May 15th.

Black Bear Equine Therapy specializes in modalities such as:

· Advanced massage techniques
· Myofascial and trigger point release
· Osteopathy
· Craniosacral
· TMJ manipulation
· Acupuncture
· Rehabilitation
· Lymph Drainage
· Kinesiology Taping
· Scar Tissue Reduction
· Nutrition plans
· Exercise plans

***Now working with INDIBA- seperate pricing please inquire for details***

Pm, comment, text or call to book.

22/04/2024

Sharing this again for the beginning of competition season. Do your preventative work people!!

I saw a post shared on my feed today that started off “Tip Tuesday, inject your horse!”. The post went onto say that if your horse is sore, you should inject, and that you should probably look into Lasix as well. This post had over 1,700 shares.

I’m not coming on here to say that you should never inject your horse, or that you shouldn’t prioritize pharmaceutical use, after all, our vets are our best friends. But why are we glorifying jumping into things that sure, may help your horse in the short term, but what about long term?

Why don’t we, as a whole horse community, prior to injections, prioritize diet and exercise? Why don’t we try bodywork before injecting those joints? After all, connected to all of those joints are muscles, tendons and ligaments. We should be prioritizing getting our horses fit and into proper work, instead of using something like Lasix to lower blood pressure and dehydrate our horses before an event.

Did you know that Lasix dehydrates your horse for up to 24 hours after one use? Take into consideration some events are 3-days long… your horse has been dehydrated for nearly 96 hours, if not more. One study showed it can take up to THREE DAYS for the body to completely regain lost fluid from just one treatment. Three day event + three days of recovery = 6 days. What if you have another event the next weekend? Six days turns into 12 and then your horse is dehydrated for nearly half a month. Not to mention Furosemide decreases sodium absorption in the kidneys and interferes with calcium and magnesium transport. For those of you that have taken a biology course in high school or university know that all of those ions are major factors in proper muscle function. A decrease in sodium also leads to more urine output! Research has shown that sodium and chloride losses in the first 4 hours are as high AS 40-50 TIMES that in a normal horse.

Proper work and maintenance is key for every single horse. Bones are used as levers in the body. In other words, every single muscle, tendon or ligament is PULLING on a bone. Wouldn’t you think that maybe, if a tight muscle is pulling on a bone for long enough, it could cause disruptions in that subsequent joint? Or, if a toe is too long for an extended period of time, maybe it would pull on that suspensory, or tendons, that all run over, or attach to, the carpals in that leg? If you aren’t working (or learning how to work) your horse properly, getting proper bodywork or farrier work done, just like in any human athlete (obviously humans don’t have farrier work, think of that more like trying to wear flippers in a 100m sprint, or high heels in a basketball game), your horse WILL break down faster.

So get your injections done, but first consider preventative treatment, such as nutrition and exercise, that may be the cause of the need for injections in the first place. Don’t jump into something that may only bandaid the problem, and put your horse’s longevity and over-all well-being first.

22/04/2024

Busy busy to start the season!

My last available dates for $90 treatments are the mornings of May 6th, 8th and 9th! I have THREE time slots available each morning.
Otherwise my bookings start on May 15th.

Black Bear Equine Therapy specializes in modalities such as:

· Advanced massage techniques
· Myofascial and trigger point release
· Osteopathy
· Craniosacral
· TMJ manipulation
· Acupuncture
· Rehabilitation
· Lymph Drainage
· Kinesiology Taping
· Scar Tissue Reduction
· Nutrition plans
· Exercise plans

***Now working with INDIBA- seperate pricing please inquire for details***

Pm, comment, text or call to book.

18/04/2024

Dear all of my valued clients,

Starting May 15th, my rates will be increased to $100 per horse due to the rising cost of fuel.

Increasing my flat rate will allow me to maintain my zero travel charge policy within an hour of my residence. This will be more cost effective for everyone instead of charging per km.

All haul-in clients will be eligible for a discount, please inquire for rates. The barn is heated as well.

Sheath cleaning and lesson horse rates remain the same.

**Any current scheduled appointments past May 15th will remain at my previous treatment charge of $90 per horse.**

If you would like to book in before the 15th please contact me by messaging my page or shooting me a text at (780) 935-7019.

Thank you for your understanding and continued support!! If you have any questions or concerns please contact me anytime.

With so much love,

Jamie 🥰🐴

15/04/2024

Morning appointments are all booked! I have a couple open appointments in the afternoon

I will be making a trip through Ponoka to Red Deer on Thursday April 18th.
I have morning/late evening appointments available.
Please message me if you would like to book! 🥰🐴🐴

14/04/2024

I will be making a trip through Ponoka to Red Deer on Thursday April 18th.
I have morning/late evening appointments available.
Please message me if you would like to book! 🥰🐴🐴

10/04/2024

Working on the Marchadors for Sublime this week; yesterday&today I got to get my hands on these wonderful horses!!

Marchadors are very popular in Brazil, they’re great cattle horses and with such a sound mind, can excel in other disciplines requiring agility, stamina and speed 🤓

Check out these before and afters of Utopia, one that I worked on today! 🥰🐴

10/04/2024

Announcement #3 🥳🥳

Working with Sublime Stables, I have a very exciting modality that I am able to add to my tool belt! I will be working with a machine called INDIBA.
Sublime Stables Rehab Center are the ONLY ones in Canada offering this service. As most of you know, my hands are my #1 tool and I very very rarely stray from using them.
However, after seeing the benefits of the INDIBA, I think it’s an AMAZING tool, especially for our competitive equine athletes, and is much better, and more effective than other *electric* treatments.
Comparatively, INDIBA does not increase soreness, as I have seen happen with other machines, instead it actually effectively changes the gamma loop within the muscles and decreases soreness.
INDIBA uses radio waves to:

•Increase the volume and intensity of blood flow
•Improve the supply of oxygen and nutrients to the muscle tissue
•Increase tissue temperature
•Increase cellular metabolism
•Control inflammation
•Normalize and optimize cellular activity
•Get an ionic balance
•Accelerates healing by treating around surgical wounds
•Treatment compatible with metal implants
•Provides an analgesic effect

To help introduce INDIBA to our Canadian Equine Community, we are offering one FREE INDIBA demonstration per barn!! 🥳

So if you as a trainer or barn owner would like to book a free session to see the benefits of this machine, please comment down below, pm or text at (780)935-7019.

08/04/2024

Spring is coming and that means sheath cleaning season!!

One of the services I offer which I don’t advertise quite often is sheath cleaning. Both awkward and smelly, I understand why sometimes it’s the most dreaded task!

I offer FREE sheath cleaning with any treatment booked!
For a stand-alone sheath cleaning service it is $40.
**I cannot, and will not, sedate your horse for a sheath cleaning, must be well behaved or owner sedated**
Travel rates may apply.

Please text or pm with any inquiries 🐴

08/04/2024

Announcement #2!!

Black Bear Equine Therapy is so very excited to announce beginning in May I will be moving out to Sherwood Park, and I will be able to welcome… drum roll please… haul-in clients!!
This is very exciting for this fair weather gal!! 😊😊 Rain, snow or shine I can now work on horses.

Please pm or text for haul-in rates. 🥰🐴

06/04/2024

Announcement #1!! I am so excited to be able to work with Sublime 🥰

Sublime Stables is pleased to announce that we have a new member joining our team

Jamie Mottershead is an Equine Remedial Therapist, a 2023 graduate from the Canadian Equine Therapy Institute. With over 8000 hours of anatomy and physiology studies and practice, Jamie specializes in modalities such as:

Osteopathy
Craniosacral
Acupuncture/Acupressure
Advanced Massage Techniques
TMJ Manipulation
Lymph drainage
Kinesiology Taping
Scar Tissue Reduction
Nutrition and Exercise plans

Jamie is very passionate about her work and makes helping horses her top priority. She is very excited to start with Sublime's Rehab team and learn more modalities along the way!

05/04/2024

My face when I get to work all horses all day 🥰🥰

24/03/2024

With the change of season comes a lot of change for Black Bear Equine Therapy!

I have a lot of exciting news to share with all of you! I’m very excited about it. Stay tuned in the next couple weeks to see what I have in store for you all 🥰

22/03/2024

Lovely to have had this first ride back on Epona since I’ve been back from Australia! She was so good.

I have a few spots left in March and am otherwise booking into April! Time to book your spring tune up 🥰

09/02/2024

Very exciting news…

I’m headed on vacation! Again!
Australia (and Taylor Swift) are calling my name as I’m heading back at the end of February to catch one of her concerts.

That being said; if anyone is looking to book in with me in the next 13 days these are the slots I have available:

Tuesday, Feb 13th: Daytime slots
Saturday Feb 17th: Morning/early afternoon
Sunday, Feb 18th: Morning/early afternoon
Monday, Feb 19th: Early afternoon
Tuesday, Feb 20th: Morning/early afternoon

SPOTS ARE LIMITED!!
I will be back on Canadian soil on March 7th and will begin booking as soon as I’m back.

Yay for Taylor Swift and +40 weather! 🥳🐴❤️