It's Tuesday which can only mean one thing, canine clinic day!
Come take a look inside and see what I get up to. Message me today to see how I can help your dog 🐕
#caninemctimoney #caninetherapy #caninerehabilition
Last Wednesday was day 2 of data collection for my MSc project. Baseline measures were taken the previous Wednesday and each horse had completed a week of polework exercises; 1 group ridden and 1 group groundwork.
On day 2 measurements were taken in the morning, firstly of height of pelvis (tuber coxae) to the ground on either side to establish pelvis symmetry. Secondly, horses were walked and trotted over a 30m distance with a tri-axial Accelerometer fitted to either hip. These measured movement in 3 directions; vertically, horizontally and laterally.
Once the measurements were completed, each horse received a McTimoney chiropractic treatment and all adjustments were recorded. Measurements were re-taken one hour post-treatment to see whether a difference was evident in static symmetry and degree of movement.
The horses are currently completing their second week of the exercise programme before measurements are taken again on Wednesday to identify whether either the ridden or the groundwork group maintains any changes more efficiently than the other.
There is still a long way to go with data analysis, but I am excited to see the results. A huge thank you to everyone involved!
Poles, Poles, Poles
For week 2 we’re going to talk about adding poles to your routine. Using poles has multiple benefits including improvement of balance, rhythm, engagement, and proprioceptive awareness and again, it adds variation to your week! Research has shown pole work to increase the range of motion of all four limbs and to increase engagement of the back and abdominal muscles. Ridden poles are also beneficial for developing rider balance and accuracy as well as being a great introduction to jumping.
We tend to keep our poles simple but strive for correctness. This video demonstrates straight poles and diagonal poles but with a few variations that you can try to get the most out of your sessions. Poles can be done at walk, trot and canter with varying benefits for each, but we advise starting with groundwork poles then progressing to ridden in just walk then developing up the gaits as you and your horse become more confident and balanced. As discussed last week, there are benefits to working your horse from the ground, so even once you have developed your ridden poles to still try and add in a mix of ridden and groundwork over poles.
Poles can also be great for rehab but please if rehabbing your horse back from injury make sure you discuss pole work with your vet beforehand and get the ok from them before starting. Following injury horses can adopt altered gait patterns as a way of compensating and poles are a great way of correcting this and ensuring they are using all limbs equally. The walk is by far the most effective gait to start this.
With your straight poles start with one pole at walk and progress to 4 as your horse is happy with these. We also like to add some walk/halt transitions between poles as this can help them engage the core, find their balance, and develop their proprioceptive awareness. It will also help develop the accuracy of your walk/halt transitions without the poles. Transitions will be the focus of next week’s
I just wanted to share this video with you all of a dog I started seeing for physiotherapy in mid-August. Henry was involved in an accident where he collided with a parked car leaving him unable to get to his feet, or to stand unassisted. His owners worked incredibly hard looking after him during this time, encouraged him and kept his spirits up. His physio sessions involved massage, passive range of motion to keep his joints healthy, laser and pulse mag to help reduce inflammation and muscle stim to help with his muscle atrophy. As Henry was off his feet for weeks he lost a lot of muscle mass so is still very weak however, he is becoming stronger by the day and it's so amazing to see him up and about outside! What an incredible dog ♥️
Polework for proprioceptive enhancement and improving gait, muscle strength and joint mobility 🐶
