Award Equine Physio

30/03/2025

Happy Mother’s Day….
💗 To all the mums who inspire their little people
💗 To all the horse mums who give their 4 legged babies the world
💗 To all Aunties, Granma’s & other female crew who support 4 legged and 2 legged

28/03/2025

We love working as part of a multidisciplinary team, whether that's with vets, farriers, saddle fitters, coaches or other MSK practitioners. It's so great to know that the vets we work with enjoy being part of that team as well, especially because the better the teamwork is, the better the outcomes are for your horses!

26/03/2025

𝗛𝘆𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆... 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗲 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲??
This is an issue that is becoming more and more common. As with most things, but prevention of issues occurring is key when it comes to hypermobility.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄?
There is a list of symptoms, but this is much better diagnosed in humans.
If your horse is big moving, or has a very expressive jump, then it is possible that they are hyper mobile. In humans, joint pain, poor co-ordination, fatigue & joint sprains are a good indicator that you are hypermobile. So this is likely to correlate similarly to horses.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼?
➡There is no cure for hypermobility within your horse, so management of their body is essential. Although many of these horses are super talented, it is critical that their bodies are not pushed until they are strong enough!
➡Human hypermobility management is primarily strength & balance work and regular physiotherapy. This should be no different for your horse.
➡Ensure they have a solid, strong foundation, to reduce the loading onto the joints and allows for them to stabilise themselves better.
🛑 Please.... DO NOT do carrot stretches with a horse you think (or has been diagnosed) as being hypermobile!
➡Work them on varied terrain (in a slow pace), to improve their co-ordination and balance
➡Finally - regular physio sessions, to ensure their bodies are not compensating is also key!

If you are looking to create a strong foundation for your horse, and want guidance from a team of physio's - check out our 𝟭𝟮 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲
Designed for the busy but dedicated rider in mind
www.awardequinephysio.co.uk/strength-challenge

22/03/2025

Another lovely review! It makes us very emotional reading things like this, to see how much of a difference can be made in one lovely little pony's life is the whole reason we do what we do 🥰

21/03/2025

You know your horse needs to be 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴… 💪
You know strength helps everything, including
𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝗷𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 & 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲

But do you know 𝗛𝗢𝗪 to establish true foundational strength ⁉️

Don’t worry most riders don’t!! That’s why we have developed the 𝗔𝗘𝗣 𝟭𝟮 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲!

Guiding you through every step of the process, we will 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸 the changes of your horse as you complete the 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗸𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗲 we tailor for them.
Nothing left to guess work- with our 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝗯𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽 guide and videos

Limited participants per cohort so get your place booked now for a now only £99

https://www.awardequinephysio.co.uk/strength-challenge

16/03/2025

We are sometimes asked... Why are you so expensive?!

Yes, we are not the cheapest - and if you are looking for the cheapest physio then we are not the right fit for you!

💰 You pay for what you get!
💰 We invest in bringing your horse the best physio care possible
💰 Our team are highly trained
💰 Our approach (based on human model) prevents injuries and lack of performance, potentially saving you ££££ in the future

14/03/2025

We love reading reviews like this! Just makes our job even more enjoyable, seeing all the progress this lovely horse has made 🥰

12/03/2025

BORING 🥱 (Yes… I said it… Strength work is Boring!)

But no one likes an injured horse, not you, not us, not anyone. Preventative strength work is a massive thing you can do to help avoid injuries, and it’s completely within your control!

You would not believe the difference that a couple months of strength work will do to a horse’s posture, way of going and, obviously, preventing injuries!

Don’t wait for something to go wrong…get ahead of the game and start getting your horse stronger now!

08/03/2025

Why leave your rehab to chance?! It is fully within your power to set your horse and yourself up for success in your rehab.

But that does mean using the right professionals in the right ways.

Physios are here to help with your horse's journey back to soundness and work from their injury - so use us!!

Don't just leave it down to chance and wishful thinking that your horse will get better - we wish it worked like that, but honestly...it doesn't tend to!

07/03/2025

06/03/2025

𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘄𝗲 𝗯𝗲 𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝘂𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗶𝗱𝘀?

A question we often get asked....

We need to aim to have our horses in 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞, able to stretch down and lift across their backs (whilst staying engaged) 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐚𝐢𝐝𝐬. However, this takes time and skill to achieve...

We 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝 any lunging aids that 'fix' your horse into a position, they don't work and often can lead to other issues further down the road. Some aids that encourage a horse balance and use their bodies correctly can be useful at 𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬.

If in doubt, reach out to your physio who can support you to choose the right approach for you and your horse

01/03/2025

“They are being naughty”

A phrase so often used to describe a horses behaviour - but it is usually a way they express pain and/ or fear

Let’s stamp out the phrase, and instead ask why

26/02/2025

💕 Let’s listen to our horses 💕

Horses are designed not to show pain or weakness (to stop them being eaten by prey), we therefore need to make sure we listen to those small signs that they are in pain….

This varies from horse to horse, but by giving them space and respect to show us and then for us to listen is one of the most important roles we have!

13/02/2025

Hypermobility in horses

Is it really a problem?!

Seeing many horses over the last 13 years in equine practice, the issue of hypermobility (especially in big young performance horses) IS a problem, if not managed!

Rushing these big moving (often hyper mobile) horses, is far too common. To get them through age classes or to climb them up through the levels because they are talented…. But this prevents the foundations being laid through those early years (the basics)… as their ‘ability’ and ‘flashy paces’ over ride the need to establish the basics

💛 Hypermobile horses often have areas of significant stiffness (this is what they rely on!)
💙They are often very weak through their stabilising muscles
💛 They need more stability than non hyper mobile horses
💙 They may need more recovery time after working very hard or travelling a long way
💛 Their work programme, should be heavily loaded onto static strength work and optimising their body balance
💙 Lower limb and other ailments can occur as a result of unmanaged hypermobility in horses
💛 Avoid stretches (carrot stretches) for these types of horses!

❣️Remember- horses are designed to carry on, not show weakness (so not eaten by lions) and often want to do what they are asked.
👀So, look out for small symptoms that your horse may be struggling, get a team of experts around you (even if your horse is not struggling)- so you can ensure you are doing everything possible to prevent issues occurring and your horse is as comfortable as possible!

26/01/2025

⭐️ 𝗗𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗿𝗮𝘄 𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗻𝘀 🙏🙏⭐️

We know that the horses power is created by a complex system; but this system has to be transmitted through the back and then absorbed by the head, neck and forehand.

When looking at the horses connection, we can create a block anywhere along this chain- which will change the horses mechanics and therefore changing the way the horse loads the body.

This block can be a variety of different things- but one can be the use of draw reins! By fixing the horses head (which happens with draw reins) creates a block.. they are unable to lift their back and create a flow of energy from hind end to forelimbs. This change in the whole mechanics of the horse, increases the risk of injury, performance and increasing the risk of pain.

So my plea to you… if you use draw reins- please stop! If you are using them to ‘create a picture’ then focus on your horse engaging the hind quarters and lifting through the back instead. Once strong enough, they will drop through the head… yes this takes longer, but the results will be much better, long lasting and will improve your horses performance, comfort and reduce the risk of pain!

P.S. I know some experienced riders that use them as a safety measure, they use them with care and sympathy as they are very experienced and are able to only use them when needed for safety (I am not meaning in these cases!)

20/01/2025

⭐️Your horses is symmetry is essential to reducing the risk of injuries and improving their wellbeing ⭐️

➡️ At AEP we are committed to helping as many horses as possible and therefore we are offering a movement assessment (using gait analysis) and muscle balance check, free of charge.

For the next 4 weeks- we are offering this consultation service FREE to yards within Surrey, West Sussex and Hampshire

DM us the word ‘symmetry’ to get started today!