E Dixon Equine Performance

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E Dixon Equine Performance

Erin Dixon - Fully Insured Equine Sports Massage & Rehabilitation Therapist.

Offering massage, myofascial release and mobilisation techniques to assist your horse to feel their best, in and around County Durham and North Yorkshire.

15/09/2025

I’m often asked “What do you do with your horses?”.

It’s a great question but it’s slightly complicated. I have 5 horses, two thoroughbreds 26 and 9, a sports horse who is 15, a knabstrupper x who is 14 and a Welsh section A who is 19.

Three are somewhat retired, but that doesn’t mean they don’t do other things. They come out on longreining hacks, in hand walks and lots of groundwork.

I don’t have an arena so it is hard to school through winter. I have access to arenas via hires etc but for the most part I have a grass arena (luckily only walked on when I’m riding so it maintains health well) but on the days that it rains a lot, I often hack or longrein.

This means often in winter, I will only actually ride once or twice per week, other days I’ll do groundwork.

It doesn’t affect your training, it can actually help with many elements such as balance, strengthening, and muscle development.

I also use longreining for confidence. Usually exploring new places for Blaze who is pictured below.

08/09/2025

Another lovely review from a client recently.

This was a demonstration that we set up for the lovely children at a riding school who were completing their summer camp!

The children were lovely, engaged with my in-depth session and I heard they enjoyed practicing on their ponies the next day!

28/08/2025

A lovely review that one of my new clients left me following an initial consultation for Myofascial release therapy recently.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

21/08/2025

🌿Why I Chose to Go Bitless with My Thoroughbred 🌿

When I first started with my Thoroughbred, I thought his resistance around the bridle was just him being difficult. Every time I picked it up, he would back away, especially when the bit came near his face. Once in, he would chomp, grind his teeth, fuss and constantly pull the reins from me. Even after trying a few different, he was still the same. Standing still was a battle, and sometimes even tacking up would end with me being bitten.

At the time, I overlooked it, thinking it was just his way of avoiding work. But looking back, he was clearly trying to tell me something. He has a tiny mouth anyway, and I think that, with him being a sensitive horse anyway, it was just creating a spiral of emotions... a bit like when your shoes just don't fit right and you can't focus on anything else.

Since making the transition to bitless, the difference in him has been incredible. His body feels freer, softer and more open. He carries himself with better balance and self-carriage, and instead of leaning on my hands, he listens to my seat and body far more. We have been able to hack, canter, start lateral work and reintroduce jumping - and through it all, he feels genuinely happier. Though, we still have a long way to go with his education.

The little things mean the most, he now lowers his head willingly for me when tacking up, happily continues eating his hay and hasn't bitten me during tacking up in well over 6 months. He no longer tries to run through the contact or rush off - instead, he feels like a true partner.

This is not a post to persuade anyone to go bitless, every horse is different and this would not work for everyone. It is simply our story. And for us, going bitless has been one of the best decisions I have made for his wellbeing and our partnership.💚

Now, when talking to some people, I am often asked "What are you going to do to compete? You will have to pop a bit back in at some point", and my answer is simply, no. I would much rather Blaze was happy than put him in a position that he is not comfortable. There are many wonderful places that allow bitless horses to compete, and we will be utilising this for the near future, and if (and only if) Blaze is happy to accept a bit again, will we explore the option. But right now, I'm just happy where we are.

Blaze was a racehorse for the first 4 years of his life, and has had to learn how to be a horse again. His previous owners did a wonderful job bringing him back into 'real-life', now it is time for him to explore it in a slightly different way.

Does anyone else ride bitless? If you do, share your story below!

20/08/2025

This morning I visited this beautiful boy for a Myofascial release session.

His owner talked me through a few of her findings following some investigations and we wanted to give myofascial release a try to help alleviate some global tension that he is holding on to.

He responded really nicely and I was glad to see a difference at the end of the session. Hopefully, he is feeling a bit more free and his body can hydrate better for an increased rate of recovery going forward.

Can anyone guess his breed?

18/08/2025

Not the type of 4 legged friend I usually work with but please share if you can!

This beautiful girl is looking for a desperate home as is struggling in her kennel environment!

13/08/2025

Today was a little different for me!

I was asked to perform a demonstration at a beautiful riding school in York, to some of the younger generation who were on a summer camp.

The spectators were such a lovely group, very friendly and despite the 33 degree heat, were up for having a go with some exercises.

They learnt what to look for when trotting up, how to massage their own horses using varied techniques and how to stretch, limb stretches and carrot stretches.

I then demonstrated the use of balance pads and how they can be beneficial before showing the group some remedial pole work to get their brains thinking.

I thoroughly enjoyed rambling on at the polite group and hope that we can do some more things in the future to get them involved with rehab.

📸 picture of the gorgeous lad who was my demonstration partner, and stood like a pro for 1.5 hours in the heat!

11/08/2025

And just like that, I’m already through all of my autumn hay.

That’s approximately 3-4 tonne of hay used late spring/summer.

Luckily, I went on a panic buying spree after my regular supplier messaged me to tell me he had only secured 50% yield and will no longer be able to supply. So, I secured 30 bales … but now onto the next job - storage!

This has put the price up by approximately £20 per bale, but for my horses, good quality forage is what matters most! No one will go hungry this winter.

It has been such a strange year so far, and it’s time to start thinking about what we are going to do once the grass stops growing (not that it has) and the cold nights set in. Nutrition is one of the key factors in horse health and aids muscle restoration and good internal runnings.

Remember- poor nutrition can lead to muscle atrophy and weakness.

If you are struggling for forage, be sure to add your local village groups and ask away. And if you’re really stuck, speak to your nutritionist who may be able to offer some last minute solutions.

05/08/2025

What If We Treated Tension Like Pain?

When a horse is in obvious pain, we act.
We call the vet, we rest and we reassess.
But what about tension?

Tension is quieter, it builds slowly - over days, weeks even years. It doesn't always cause a limp or a buck. Instead, it can show up like this;

- A horse that needs a longer warm-up
- One who always struggles on the same rein
- A jump that's flatter than it used to be
- A stiff poll, a tilted pelvis, a short step
- An 'off' feeling that you just can't explain

These aren't dramatic, but they are important.

Soft tissue therapy works with the muscles, fascia and connective tissues that allow your horse to move, bend, lift and balance.

It can release physical tension, improve flexibility and posture, reduce compensatory patterns, support recovery from injury or box rest, enhance proprioception and performance and promote nervous system relaxation.

Sometimes, just giving the body space to unwind can change how a horse moves, behaves and even how they breathe.

It is not a quick fix. It is a conversation with the body - one that listens, respects and supports, rather than forces.
The earlier we respond to tension, the more we can prevent it becoming pain.

Because every little thing your horse does to cope adds up. Soft tissue therapy helps them to let go of what they no longer need to carry.

28/07/2025

Long day today exercising lots of horses and ponies 🐎

Started the day with my regular rehab racehorse. He had a nice muscular warmup including stretches, before heading into the field to do some backing up, proprioceptive pole work , huge area lunging in walk and trot and finished with long reining. He ground ties very well when he doesn’t want to finish 🙈

Then, it was time for my own bunch to do some work. Took Blaze and Gorse out first for a long rein around the stubble, little pony Gorse got the hang of it and now she no longer struggles with her EMS, will continue to come out with Blaze.

Finished with Mak and Lexie. Mak is 26 and retired so it’s nice to find ways she can still “work” her body. Lexie is one of the most anxious horses you will ever meet, so it was a HUGE deal that she came out of the yard today. She was superb even though Blaze was doing front flips in the field next door!

Took Joy my lurcher for a mooch and I think it shows how I felt after a mammoth morning!

24/07/2025

Well that wasn’t supposed to happen!

Took Blaze for an hour hack around our village, heading down some new roads and tracks for the first time… all was going so well, until I heard an unusual sound.

I looked down, and his hoof boot had managed to twist and he was uncomfortable. So of course, I hopped off to take it off and my short arse couldn’t get back on!

A 30 minute lead walk later and we were home. Blaze walked on the end of the reins like a Labrador , which was a good training exercise since he sometimes spooks on the main road home.

I think it’s important I mention that we see lots in the news regarding poor road users when horses are being hacked, however I met around 25 cars, 4 cyclists a lorry and a few walkers and everyone was lovely. No one rushed, no one flew past us and they all waited for Blaze to move into a driveway or trot to a passing place. We even had quite a few people asking if we were okay since it’s unusual to see a rider leading a fully tacked horse down a road 🙈!

An hour and a bit later we had a good ride/walk in the sunshine and I had the chance to properly break my new riding boots in 🤷‍♀️

P.s : the hoof boots are good and it was not their fault… he’s just wearing his sisters 🤣

Address

Darlington

Telephone

+447702014697

Website

http://www.edixonequineperformance.com/

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