Revive Animal Therapy

02/11/2024

The lovely Reddington having his physio 🥰

Physio session for Red today with Revive Animal Therapy. It was his first session with Lauren and she was super thorough. There were a few areas of tightness which isn't surprising after the very busy summer he's had. He's built up a lot of strength and fitness this summer and is working over his back a lot more but it's still a work in progress. Now he's back doing his weekly raised poles sessions, hopefully that will help continue to develop his topline and I've been given some exercises and stretches today to help too.

07/10/2024

THIS!! 👇🥳 I always rave about the benefits of feeding straw but owners are always so worried about impaction. Great to see vets backing straw feeding. Gives them something to eat and keep busy with after they wolf down their hay portions. Keep them moving as much as possible and so will the gut.

FEEDING STRAW
As the quality of hay and haylage is improving, it can be a real struggle to manage overweight and native horses. The addition of straw to the diet of such horses is a useful tool, as it is high in fibre but low in calories. It slows down their eating, especially in horses who gorge, while also reducing the calories, aiding weight loss.

How to use straw as a feed:
✔ Good quality barley straw
✔ Replace up to a quarter of the hay/haylage with straw for horses/ponies - introduce slowly over a few days-week.
✔ Monitor changes in droppings - straw can be linked to impaction colic, but this is usually seen with horses eating large amounts from bedding.
✔ Speak to your vet first if your horse has dental issues, which straw could exacerbate.
✔ Donkeys – The donkey sanctuary recommend that they are fed on 100% straw, and unless underweight do not require hay or haylage!

If you have any questions about feeding straw, or weight control of your horse, get in touch to speak to one of our equine vets. Also check out our ‘Oakhill Equine Vets Fat2Fit Club’ Facebook group!

👉https://www.facebook.com/groups/oakhillequinevetsfat2fitclub

15/08/2024

Did you know rabbits benefit from physio too? 🐰The lovely Boo has pulsed magnet field therapy, red light therapy and massage to help manage osteoarthritis and confirmation complications now she’s and old girl. We’ve also adjusted her diet and introduced an exercise program 💪

Physio really can benefit all animals, little and large!

22/02/2024

💚 We’re back! 🥳 Current “office” conditions are being a dog and baby pillow whilst lining up this years CPD training 😂 Equestrian’s are known for their multi tasking abilities after all!

So! The diary is very much open and already taking bookings. Message to book in or discuss your animals needs 💚 I’m out and about for limited days at the moment so please try and book in advance where possible to avoid waiting.

I love my little man but it’s good to be back! 😁

22/02/2024

Why every animal needs to be assessed in person and a plan created for their current needs 💚

I have seen horses thrive barefoot.

I have seen horses that need a supportive boots/shoeing package to maintain quality of life.

I have seen horses thrive on a grass-free track system.

Equally, I have seen horses flourish when taking them off the track system and into a more 'traditional' management setting which includes grass.

I have seen horses unwind when they are given the opportunity to hang out with conspecifics.

I have seen horses that are so poorly socialised that they need a rehab plan and careful management to help them to feel safe and develop positive associations in a herd-based environment.

I have seen horses that visibly sigh with relief when their exercise schedule is reduced.

I have seen horses breakdown at the reduction of their workload intensity or routine.

I have seen horses graciously carry their terrfied human around a trail ride.

I have seen horses come completely undone at the slightest hint of tension from their rider.

With all the horses I have had the privilege to meet, I have NEVER seen a horse do well out of a one-size-fits-all approach.

Whilst gold standard for horses might look like one collection of traits or variables, gold standard for your horse might not be that for your horse at that particular moment - or ever.

Recognise your horse is an individual, with needs that are founded upon their in-utero, early life and day to day experience.

And surround yourself with professionals that do the same too ❤️

24/01/2024

Love this visualisation for correct progression of training!

07/12/2023

💙 Little update! Most of you know I’m on maternity leave at the moment and last Wednesday saw the safe arrival of little Owen 💙

💙 He’s an absolute light in our life and his furry brothers 🐴🐶 already love him too! 💙

💙 I am still checking my messages and emails but just not as quickly. If you need physio in the meantime, the wonderful Ben Geldard will be covering my workload while I’m off. Just message as normal and we’ll get you booked in 💙

05/10/2023

Been talking about these a lot recently to owners, handy little gadgets!

Can you believe we're already in October? That means it's time for one of the highlights of the equestrian calendar, the Horse of the Year Show - woohoo! 💜 Whether you're attending in person or live streaming snuggled up on your sofa, there's something for everyone - from showjumping to showing, scurry racing to the Summer Knights musical display.

To celebrate, we're offering £20 off purchases of Optimus Lumina red, infrared and blue light therapy devices from today until the close of the show, on Sunday 8th October.

Light therapy is the perfect way to sooth sore muscles and to help your horse warm up for a big class.

Here's how it helps:

💜Improves circulation and blood flow
💜Increases tissue oxygenation
💜Decreases pain and discomfort
💜Relaxes the nervous system
💜Releases beneficial chemicals in the body such as nitric oxide and stimulates ATP production
💜Improves energy, metabolism and cellular functioning
💜Stimulates the body’s own innate healing processes
💜Maintains homeostasis
💜Supports the body in maintaining health and wellness

To order yours, visit https://mtr.cool/apqupzsatn




Live stream available via .tv

01/06/2023

IS GRASS THE DEVIL'S WORK? 👹👿🌱🌱

The usual alarming social media posts about grass are doing the rounds again, which make out it is some evil stuff sent from the devil.

I can't get past the glaring basic nutrition errors about sugar and where it is digested and what it does to the hindgut (🙄). But hey, the writer caught readers' attention and got plenty of shares, which I guess was their intention.

Some horses do just fine on grass, and some prosper and do better when fed plenty of grass. Many prosper too much, getting too fat. Some get ill, and cannot have much grass. Many horses don't have their grass intake changed gradually enough.

But simply demonising grass is not the answer.

The things is, our UK grass - even the diverse, old meadow grass - does oversupply nutrients to many of our horses and ponies.

In that case, just look at the individual horse or pony and adjust the feed (the grass) appropriately.

If your horse or pony reacts to increases in grass intake with gut (or any other) sensitivity, lameness, laminitis, footiness, exuberance, spooking, diarrhoea or any other unwanted symptom, simply adjust their grass intake (strip grazing and grazing muzzles are two ways to do this).

Feeding herbs or probiotics or a bit more stalky hay will not ameliorate the effects of too much rich grass to a horse who has eaten too much if you don't also limit the grass.

You can use these supplements for support, but they are very much a secondary intervention.

The grass isn't so much the issue. It's the individual horse or pony having an inappropriate, unbalanced diet which may have been changed immediately (new field for spring).

And having good feeding management in place will avoid grass becoming the devil's work.

Feel free to share ! 🐴🍏👹

11/03/2023

💚 Good luck to the gorgeous Finn today at Crufts! 💚

Finn has performance maintenance physio a few times a year with prescriptive exercise to help build even muscle tone and increase range of motion. Helping him feel and look his best for the show ring. As you can see, Finn loves his sessions! 💙

30/01/2023

💙 Sleepy Poppy dog enjoying her physio. Poppy has physio on a regular basis to help keep her comfortable after a back injury and with general ageing. A physio exercise program has massively helped to get Poppy back walking for longer and help keep her posture strong to limit compensation. Plus, a princess deserves to feel good, especially at her age 🥰💙

24/01/2023

Same goes for the odd carrot or fibre nugget for stretches. It’s the 10kg of forage that contributes the most sugars.

Friday focus….feed balancers!

Feed balancers will not contribute to your horse or pony gaining weight!

Feed balancers are designed to be fed in small amounts, to ensure that horses and ponies are getting their vits and mins. Even if your horse needs to lose weight, they still need to be fed in the correct amount to be effective; typically 100g per 100kgs of bodyweight.

Those marketed as ‘conditioning’ are misleading as balancers are not fed at high enough rates to be conditioning; they are there to provide a balance of nutrients to support your horses needs, not to supply calories!

Yes, balancers do provide different levels of support depending on individual needs. For example, performance balancers should provide the nutrients needed for harder working horses. Lite balancers should support a diet where forage and / or grass are restricted by providing higher levels of nutrients typically missing or reduced in such diets; the balancer itself will not be sufficient to cause weight loss, the diet as a whole needs to be right. Similarly, stud balancers and senior balancers are there to support the needs of breeding stock, growing youngsters and senior horses.

Marketing and advertising are often cleverly used to make us think that we ‘need’ something and that a particular product will make a difference to our horse or ponies weights. It is the diet around the balancer that will make a difference to your horse or ponies weight; particularly forage and grass as this is what they eat the most of.

So when choosing a balancer, look for something that provides a basic balanced diet, or supports work level, calorie restricted diets or life stage.

05/01/2023

Why a good farrier is worth their weight in gold. Shod or barefoot, whatever works for you and your horse at the time (as it does change) they need to be done right. The bodywork shows it.

This also goes for long dog claws, the change in paw position and limb posture from over grown claws must cause so much discomfort.

👣 In Their Shoes 👣

So over Christmas my lovely hubby gifted me some fabulous new (going out) boots.
Sturdy, leather slip on boots that will inevitably fit that little bit better after some wearing in, as leather boots often do.

I've got funny old feet. I'm mostly between sizes and even sometimes... between, between sizes! 🙈

Why am I writing about my own feet?

Well, like most things in my life, my thoughts on many (human) issues, often correlate to the horse.
I find similarities in everything and I find that as humans, if we can place ourselves in even the most tenuis comparable situation, it can help us to really understand how life can feel for the horse.

So... back to my lovely new boots.

One boot certainly felt tighter than the other because we rarely have matching feet, just like horses.
They are faux fur lined so I knew they may be a little tighter than normal, so the first day I went commando.
After a day out with the family, my ankles were a little sore due to the lack of fabric protection, so next time I went for thin socks.
Thin sock day ended badly. My right foot was very painful around my toes by the end of the day (I also have chilblains) so you can imagine, I was in quite a bit of discomfort! 😣

Next time out, I removed the fur insoles to allow more wiggle room until the leather gives and things went much better! Sorted!

While I was navigating my way through those few days of fashion boot roulet, I constantly compared how I felt to how I think a horse must feel when their feet are causing them discomfort.

Firstly, I was a grumpy arse!
By the end of the day I was uncomfortable and just wanted to be left alone. On the worst day I had to remove my right boot to be comfortable enough to drive.
WOW I thought.....imagine if I couldn't remove my boot?!

Can you see where I'm going here?

My whole body ached, my shoulders were sore from obviously compensating (however minor) and from the tension I'd been holding in my body. I didn't want to eat and I'd developed a head ache.

Now you may think it sounds like I was crippled? I wasn't. My boots were "uncomfortable" at the end of a few hours but nothing so serious I couldn't and wouldn't wear them again.
Let's call it "the wearing in stage wasn't as comfortable as I'd have liked"... but nothing so major I needed to pack it in as a bad job.

I think you all know by now where I went with this experience in my head.

For a few outings, and for the sake of fashion 🤦🏼‍♀️I made myself uncomfortable.
So Imagine how a horse must feel when something equally as uncomfortable is consistently nailed onto their hoof, month after month, year after year?
Unlike my boots, there's no "bedding in" process for the horse, it's discomfort will inevitably just get worse, not better.

I'm going to add right here, right now, this is NOT an "anti-shoe" post!

I'm a massive advocate of BF and all my horses are BF, but I also believe some horses will always need extra help, be that from composite shoes (my preference) or boots etc.

The issue we have is the incorrect, unbalanced shoeing and trimming that seems to be reaching epidemic proportions in this country.

For those few days, I wasn't the most comfortable. My attitude wasn't as easy going (by the end of the day) and my uncomfortable feet effected me both mentally and physically in all sorts of ways.

On my weekly travels I consistently see horses with less than ideal feet. Lots of them!
How on earth do these incredible creatures cope with what we do to them in so many ways, but to have painful feet, the very things that bare our weight .... has to be one of the worst.

I was already of that opinion but my recent less than ideal "shoeing", really brought it home to me.

When horses are accused of being grumpy, fussy eaters, lazy, spooky, hard to catch, won't load/travel etc etc .....there is always a reason, sore and uncomfortable feet being just one of them.

It can be really useful for owners to "put ourselves in their shoes", in many situations, not just sore feet.
You may be surprised where you end up. ❤️🙏🏼

31/12/2022

💙New Year’s resolutions 💙

I haven’t stuck to any of my resolutions for 2022. But I have achieved a lot more than I planned! I got Moon doing horseback archery and hacking out around Burnley instead of jumping a course. I got a dog and have walked more than ever and completed the Yorkshire 3 peaks, I didn’t do Pilates or yoga everyday. I have learnt more skills for my business but I wasn’t as consistent with my social media updates as I hoped.

The past few years have been rough for a lot of people and 2022 has been full on and busier than ever. I think in 2023 we need to give ourselves a break. My resolution for this year is to just see where the year takes me. As a vet physio, I see injury’s stop peoples goals with their animals a lot. Injury’s happen. Set backs happen. Things don’t go to plan. In the words of Harry Potter- we plan, we get there, all hell breaks loose. So go easy on yourself, don’t put too much pressure on your goals. Ask for help when you need it, people will always have your back if you have theirs. I wouldn’t have achieved everything I have this year if it weren’t for some fabulous people. See where the year takes you and enjoy every minute. Happy new year! 💚

24/12/2022

🎅 MERRY CHRISTMAS!! 🎄❤️

Wishing all my clients the happiest of holidays, I hope you all enjoy your celebrations and time to relax. Thank you to each and everyone of you that’s booked in with me this year and let me be part of your animals rehabilitation or competition journey, this jobs so rewarding. It’s been a hell of year, I can’t believe how quick it’s gone! This weeks been no exception trying to get everyone treated before Christmas so heres a throwback picture of a Christmas morning ride on my first pony, Mr Socks 🥰 I’m back at it on Tuesday so contact me if you need anything. But this is a much needed weekend to just enjoy time with friends, family and pets 🐴🐶🐱❤️

And an extra happy Christmas for my giveaway winners! Drop me a message to book your half price session 😁


Jackie Fitzpatrick
Karyn Turnbull
Lisa Greenwood

21/12/2022

💙 WINTER SOLSTICE GIVEAWAY 💙

Happy shortest day!!🥳 It’s only brighter from here on out! To make things a little brighter still and give some of you a little Christmas present I’m giving away 5 50% off vouchers! Yes that’s 5 vouchers!! They can be used for equine or canine physio sessions or equine exercise sessions.

To enter
💙 Like and share this post
💙 Follow this page

Winners will be picked out of a Santa hat on Christmas Eve 🎄

Note- I only cover Lancashire and West Yorkshire 🚙

09/12/2022

Friday focus.....water!!

As I was braking the ice on my horses water buckets this morning and freezing my fingers off pulling the ice out 😂…I thought something about water would be good today! I have made a note to take an old sieve to the yard this afternoon to scrape the ice out of the buckets to save immersing my fingers in freezing cold water 🥶! A good tip I got from someone a few years ago!

My biggest worry this time of the year is my horses water freezing and them not having enough to drink. My water pipes freeze really easily where I have my horses and I know there are many of you that also have this problem! So if we are due freezing weather for days, I always fill up as many buckets and water carriers as I can beforehand, so I do not have to try navigate wheelbarrowing it down the field to where they are! However, this does not always work as even though I put the water carriers inside my feed room, they have on occasion frozen solid!

I try to put water next to their stables to prevent it from freezing so quickly and always take down flasks of boiling water to put into their buckets to try to take the chill off the water and encourage them to drink. Does anyone have any tips to share on ways to prevent water from freezing too quickly?!

I have put the water inside their stables/field shelter, which helps with the freezing issue…but it gets dirty quickly and one of my horses has developed a penchant for pulling the haylage out of the hay racks and dunking it in his water if I put it inside..which causes a real mess and that means we need even more water! They already drink enough as they are mainly eating haylage all the time as the grass has now been eaten off! The trials and tribulations of us horse owners…I can see why non horsey people think we are mad 😂! However, we all love our horses dearly and we wouldn’t have it any other way! A little ‘character building’ is always good!

On a more serious note, here are a few things to be mindful of;

Now that many horses are being stabled for longer and are being fed mainly hay or haylage diets, their need for water will increase and significantly so for those on mainly hay diets, due to the decrease in the water content in the bulk of their diet.

The water content of forage can vary significantly from 80% in spring grass down to 10% in hay, so when you first start stabling your horse, you should notice a massive increase in water intake as the main part of their diet has changed from a high moisture content to a low moisture content. Horses on a hay diet will usually drink more than horses on a haylage diet as the moisture content is haylage is higher; around 30% compared to around 12% in hay. Of course the amount of water drunk is completely dependent upon the individual as some naturally drink more than others.

Water is essential for digestion, aiding the movement of digesta through the gut. It is essential for growth and lactation, for temperature regulation and the excretion of toxins (in the form of urine). It maintains the integrity of cells and tissues and it is present in every bodily fluid. It is an essential nutrient and one that should never be overlooked.

Changing regular supplies of water at least once a day will keep it clean & fresh and will encourage horses to drink & stay hydrated. This is particularly important for stabled horses! Horses have highly sensitive senses of smell and taste and will not eat or drink anything with a smell or taste that they dislike. I think the majority of us have witnessed this at some point when trying to hide a medicine or wormer in a feed!

With this in mind, remember, water absorbs ammonia from the atmosphere, making it stale if topped up, so keeping their water fresh, clean and ensuring that their water buckets are washed out on a daily basis will encourage them to drink and stay hydrated. If your horses are kept out, then ensuring water buckets or troughs are regularly cleaned and kept free from debris such as leaves, twigs, bird poo etc, will also encourage them to drink; they are less likely to drink from dirty water.

Of course, it goes without saying to regularly break and remove any ice that forms in colder weather as they still need to drink lots in lower temperatures!

06/12/2022

💙 The lovely Fred falling asleep after his well earned treatment today. This gorgeous doggo works very hard rounding sheep and loves his regular physio keeping him in tip top condition 🐑🐑💙

30/11/2022

💚 Jack Frost is in the air! 💚

The temperature has definitely dropped now and my horse and dog were absolute hooligans yesterday!
It’s always important to warm them up in weather like this before letting them out in the paddock or off the lead. From stabled or sitting in the house, the muscles and joints have reduced blood flow and can easily be injured. A 5-10 minutes of controlled walking will get the blood circulating and the synovial fluid in the joints moving enough to prepare the body for exercise.

This can be done by slow, on-lead walking with your dog. I use a halti on Jeff, my dog and training treats to work on his heel training so he can walk on a loose lead even when he wants to bounce and spin in a true sight hound fashion! You can in hand walk your horse, ride or long rein even lunge… if you know the can keep it together! 😂 I always like to in-hand walk a good few laps each way if I think the horse will go 0-60 when sent out on the lunge. As having a buck and bounce on the lunge can be more damaging than turning out as they’re on a small circle putting extra strain and twist on their joints at “zoomie” speed.

A short warm up is well worth it though to let them blow off steam in safe manner. Many of my clients will agree, it’s far easier to give them a 5 minute warm up than 5 months of rehab! 💙

25/11/2022

💚 And we’re off on our holibobs down to Somerset in the van- me, Jeff and my better half Sam (our super chauffeur 🥰). I’m out of office until Monday, so will get back to everyone then. It’s not all kicking back for me though, I’ll be on a CPD course tomorrow to learn more techniques with the dogs 🐶💚

18/11/2022

💙 Sometimes, less is more… 💙

We’re approaching the big consumerism season- Black Friday deals, Christmas and January sales. There is so much on the market these days for health and well-being for both us and ever more so, our animals (but twice the price of course 😉). You can buy them “therapeutic” rugs and beds, wraps for every part of the body, a whole cupboard of supplements that takes you an hour to prepare their meals. Some of which are great I’m not denying! I do recommend certain products and herbal remedies to clients on a regular basis. But what I will ALWAYS recommend first, is appropriate exercise, a balanced diet and your time and effort.

There’s a lot of great products out there and your horse or dog might benefit from some. But I just want you to question if your efforts and hard earned cash are best directed at something else. Nothing will beat appropriate exercise and diet and it doesn’t have to be much. Little and often leg stretches and good quality, gut healthy food. The same goes for us. You can follow the trendy diets but my Nana’s advice of everything in moderation will always be the best diet. And nothing heals better than being out in the good old fresh air. Just look at your animals wild ancestors and they didn’t face the same level of disease and dysfunction as today’s domestic animals. They lived off the land and moved constantly.

It frustrates me when clients feel they need to do more than that because it sounds too simple. But if you’re putting the effort in to keep them moving and their bowls/buckets have a wide variety of good quality ingredients in, you’re doing just fine 💚

10/11/2022

🐴 Equine Flu Update - 9th Nov 2022

Over the last month there has been a small increase in minor equine flu outbreaks. This is not uncommon for this time of the year.

These outbreaks all have the following common themes:
• Unvaccinated horses
• Recent arrival from auction
• Recently imported to the UK

It’s good to note that vaccinated horses haven’t been significantly affected, which shows the protection vaccines provide. It’s a good time to check your horse vaccines are up to date!

There are several simple methods to limiting the spread of flu in these scenarios. They are:
✔️ Vaccination of all horses on the yard for equine flu.
✔️ Isolate new arrivals in a separate airspace for a minimum of 10 days (ideally 21 days).
✔️ This particularly applies to unvaccinated new arrivals from sales/abroad!

If you want further advice regarding protecting your yard, or if you have a horse with clinical signs, get in touch to speak to one of our experienced equine vets.

All data and images are from Equiflunet and EDIS (https://equinesurveillance.org/equiflunet/)

08/11/2022

💙Relaxation and softness first, strength second 💙

05/11/2022

💙 Hope everyone’s lovely animals have a safe and relaxed bonfire night and you can enjoy some festivities of some kind 💙 I personally love some sparklers in the garden and enjoy some fudge. Then cosied up inside with the dog and movies on very loud!