Emma Barber Healing Hands Veterinary Physiotherapy
Professional Veterinary Physiotherapy services, Remedial Groundwork, In-hand and Ridden Coaching.
Putting your horses physical and emotional wellbeing first, while empowering the horse-human relationship. Emma provides Veterinary Physiotherapy, Biomechanical and Rehabilitation training to Equine patients in the Midlands and surrounding areas. As an experienced horsewoman Emma has worked professionally in the equine industry for more than 20years, initially as a freelance groom and qualified ri
ding instructor, going on to qualify as a McTimoney Animal Manipulation therapist and Veterinary Physiotherapist. Emma combines her academic knowledge and practical experience to provide owners with a highly tailored service. Giving owners the skills and knowledge to help their own horses stay in the best possible health. Emma is passionate about improving the well being of all horses, from happy hackers to top competition horses and all those in between.
25/06/2025
I had a ride today on the lovely Martha at Equipilates, and I’m pleased to say she behaved impeccably 🦄
There was great advice and exercises from Lindsay, with some real fine tuning of my position and my understanding of my position in the saddle.
Towards the end of the lesson we worked on flying changes, so now I just need to find a real horse to continue my practice on!
Would highly recommend a lesson to any rider wanting to fine tune their skills!
18/06/2025
We are so lucky to have such great venues locally here in the midlands.
Today I got some free CPD at Pickering Grange Equestrian for a Christian Langeder demo.
I haven’t followed Christians work before, but a client and friend, Kirsti France, recommended him to me.
An interesting demo, which followed much of my ethos of light, mindful work. One to do a little more research around!
Never stop learning!
18/06/2025
A quick video about the environment enrichment I’ve been putting together for Ellin and Eve!
17/06/2025
Not good
16/06/2025
When horses are denied regular contact with other horses, they can experience increased stress, which may manifest as restlessness, stereotypic behaviours (such as weaving or cribbing), and even health issues like digestive or musculoskeletal problems.
Social isolation has also been linked to heightened anxiety, learning difficulties, and a greater risk of injury, as horses deprived of companionship are more likely to become despondent or withdrawn.
Humans can offer comfort and support to horses during periods of social isolation, but cannot fully substitute for the social bonds horses form with other horses.
A recent (2025) study by Janczarek and colleagues examined this issue by measuring heart rate, heart rate variability, and behavioural responses in 12 horses during brief isolation periods.
The researchers found that even with attentive human support, horses still show physiological and behavioural signs of stress when isolated from other horses. Mares, in particular, remained stressed regardless of the type of human interaction.
Janczarek, I., Gazda, I., Barłowska, J., Kurnik, J., & Łuszczyński, J. (2025). Social Isolation of Horses vs. Support Provided by a Human. Animals
15/06/2025
14/06/2025
A big day! As a birthday treat to me I decided it was time to move Eve down to live with Ellin.
She seems to have settled in well, figured out how to work the treat ball in 2 minutes flat, and is happily eating away on a fresh bit of grass.
Hope it all continues to be drama free 🤞🏼
13/06/2025
08/06/2025
So brave 💕🦄
02/06/2025
I was always told you should have the longest possible dressage girth, but the shortest possible GP/jumping girth.
This is to ensure that the dressage girth is away from the elbows, and that the GP girth isn’t sitting up too high under the saddle flap.
01/06/2025
A personal account of horses and pain - long post
As you know I recently made the heart breaking and difficult decision to say goodbye to my horse of 16 years, Sollie.
Sollie had been retried for more years than I can remember, since he started to show subtle behaviours of struggling and not enjoying his ridden work. He had a crashing fall in racing which I am certain caused his issues later in life, and which he was lucky to survive.
Looking back, I realised how many of his difficulties in his ridden work were early indications of his discomfort, and over the years there was a prolonged process of veterinary investigations, diagnosis, and treatments to help support him to continue work.
Sollie could get very tense and feel explosive to ride, often going into a state of freeze which would have to be carefully managed to allow him to come back around without a rearing and spinning fit. I remember I once took him to a show jumping hire, where he started grinding his teeth and was working in a more inverted posture.
At this point I decided to stop jumping him.
In flat work and dressage, he would struggle to relax and work in a softer frame, often feeling as if he would explode at any time and often being told by judges, he needed to be rounder or more forwards.
At this point he was retired from flat work and dressage.
Sollie did continue to be a good boy to hack, but it got to the point where I felt we both weren’t enjoying the experience. Me because of the tension and bubbling explosive feel underneath me as I rode, and him as he just didn’t seem to want to be ridden.
At this point I retried Sollie from ridden work.
To retire Sollie was the best decision I made for him! Believe it or not he actually blossomed! As soon as I wasn’t riding him, he put weight on. The elusive topline that would never develop started to fill out and build, and he just seemed a happier boy going out (often at high speed!) in hand or on the long reins.
This taught me a valuable lesson, HORSES HIDE THEIR PAIN!!!! And they hide it very well.
Let me say that again,
HORSES HIDE THEIR PAIN!!
In the last few years, I again noticed Sollie struggling with his movement and comfort levels, so he was put on equipalazone (bute) to help support him, in more recent years receiving a combination of bute and paracetamol to help keep him as comfortable as possible in his retirement.
Many owners worry about long-term anti-inflammatory use for their horses, fearing it might mask issues or cause kidney and liver problems. However, regular veterinary checks and blood tests can monitor this.
We owe it to our horses to keep them pain-free—not by overusing medication to continue competing, but by providing pain relief alongside a REDUCED OR ADAPTED WORKLOAD. This allows them to enjoy a varied lifestyle while respecting their limitations. It may still include suitable ridden work, just with adjusted expectations.
Personally, I do believe that there are a lot of horses out there currently suffering from pain, especially in the elderly community. It’s our responsibility to support these horses and I guess the take home message from this mega long post is that again,
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Send a message to Emma Barber Healing Hands Veterinary Physiotherapy:
Emma is a highly qualified and fully insured Veterinary Physiotherapist working in Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Staffordshire and Warwickshire boarders.
A Veterinary Physiotherapist and McTimoney Animal Practitioner, Emma offers a combination of manual therapies, electrotherapies and remedial exercise to address musculoskeletal issues in your horse, giving the best chance for your horse to achieve and maintain peak health and well being.
Having worked in the equestrian industry for over 20 years, Emma is uniquely qualified to offer a vast experience of horses and equine management to back up her academic training and knowledge. Not only trained to the level of BHSAI, she also trained with Kelly Marks and the Intelligent Horsemanship Association utilising the methods of Monty Roberts to increase her understanding of horse psychology and behaviour, allowing Emma to work skilfully with even the most nervous or sensitive horse.
As a member of the National Association of Veterinary Physiotherapists (NAVP) and the Register of Animal Musculoskeletal Practitioners (RAMP), Emma works to a strict code of conduct and is required to undertake Continued Professional Development (CPD) meaning you can be confident of receiving the best level of care for your horse.
Emma is a horse owner herself, owing two thoroughbred ex-racehorses. Solid Silver (Sollie) and Ellin’s Tower (Ellin). Both horses have had their own physical issues, with their rehabilitation often discussed on the page! Sollie (18) is now mainly used for hacking, and Ellin (10) has recently had surgery for overriding dorsal spinous processes (ODSP) or Kissing Spines. You can follow her progress on the page.
