Herts Horses Hydrotherapy and Physiotherapy Centre

27/10/2023

Busy week for Jess and Chloe on the physio side this week!

If you need to book in for physio this side of Christmas pop us a message as we are filling up! ☺️

**PLEASE REMEMEBR TO ENSURE YOUR HORSE IS DRY AND CLEAN ON THEIR NECKS AND BODIES FOR OUR ARRIVAL NOW THE WEATHER HAS CHANGED** we cannot treat efficiently when horses are damp! Rug up even if it’s a rain sheet please 😃🐴

Picture: one of my lovely event clients Dylan enjoy basking in the sun on Wednesday post treatment 🤍bloomfield.71

22/09/2023

I thought I would share this to all our followers!

Engagement is THE BIGGEST element I constantly go on about- and this doesn’t mean go faster!! Getting engagement takes time in training the horse, especially when the horse may not be naturally built for it e.g straight conformation in the hind limb joints, but we can always encourage engagement.

A lack of engagement could be due to lack of correct training, or is there is discomfort behind this will reduce the amount of correct engagement a horse is able to give.

But worth thinking about when you next get in the saddle! 😀

Have a great weekend!

COLLECTION TO COMBAT KISSING SPINES

Kissing spines seems to be the lameness du jour these days. I’ve seen a bunch of posts and articles on the subject lately. Here are a couple of my observations. Nobody in those posts talks about training proper collection by engagement of the hindquarters. Most only mention lowering the head/neck. The thoracic sling is not, does not, and can not lift up the front end of the horse. That’s the job of the hindquarters.

22/09/2023

What a transformation!!!! 😍

This mare arrived mid august and we said goodbye to her today, look at the difference!
This mare has had hydrotherapy 6 days a week including sessions using the belly bands.

Turnout daily, some stretches daily and just look at the difference!

Seeing is believing !!

Don’t believe the water treadmill can work wonders for your horse? Then just take a look at this 😍😍

14/09/2023

What we have to offer!!

We can offer so much more than just the water treadmill!

Maybe you are going on holiday abs would like your horse kept in work
Or you are struggling with rehabilitation of your four legged friend. WE CAN HELP!!

Get in touch with us for more information, we can’t wait to hear from you 🥰

31/08/2023

We have a couple of spaces becoming available for our livery option! 😃

Short term livery offer
Monday 4th until Thursday 7th September
Monday 18th September

Weekly livery/ long term livery
Availability from week commencing Monday 18th September! ☺️🐴

Get in touch to book!

23/08/2023

Always love treating all our clients! They all mean a lot to us to keep him feeling on top form!

This boy melts my heart every time I see him!

🫶🏼🫶🏼

31/07/2023

Tomorrow we say goodbye to one of our recent rehab inpatients- below is him on arrival and top is him today! Just look how much he has changed 🥰

We love seeing his little face over the door every day, of course Ellen had to get a cheeky photo with him before he departs 🥰

24/07/2023

If you don’t like needles look away!

But I thought this was a great video to show what is entailed with sacroiliac medication. I have a lot of clients who have this done with their horses (not that as a physio I send my clients straight to the vet route) but many horses to struggle in this area!

When we are trying to improve a horses way of going and muscle/ posture it is important to keep an open mind in whether a client needs help from their vet- if a horse is going through a pain cycle it may be necessary to break this cycle!

In a perfect world we wouldn’t medicate, but due to many external factors such as surface, work load, conformation, tack, farriery, denistry, not spotting early enough if your horse is off, riders, trainers- the list is endless if does mean that many horses are being medicated to make sure they are comfortable for the job that is being asked of them, whether that’s hacking or Grand Prix.

Do I think it’s right? No I don’t I think professionals should be more rigorous, take more care, ultimately do better, I think horses shouldn’t just be investigated when there’s a lameness, we should be identifying mild issues way before this. This may be picked up by your therapist, farrier, trainer, dentist, and then vets should be notified and it should be taken seriously- but in my experience this is very rarely the case 😣

So ultimately this is a necessity to keep our horses comfortable…. Which is the most important thing 🫶🏼

19/06/2023

Let’s take a look at the extensor and flexor tendons!

Tendons attach muscles to bones!

the extensor tendon runs down the front of your horse’s leg and extends (straightens) it
the flexor tendons run down the back of your horse’s legs and flexes (bends) it. There are two flexor tendons these are the superficial digital flexor tendon and the deep digital flexor tendon.

The superficial digital flexor tendon divides into two branches at the pastern, and crosses either side of the deep digital flexor tendon to attach onto the back of the long and short pastern bones.

The deep digital flexor tendon continues further down into the hoof, passing over the back of the navicular bone and attaching to the pedal bone. Both flexor tendons have their own check ligament, these anchor to the back of each tendon to the underlying bone, preventing them from overstretching.

16/06/2023

Such a super star on his first session! ⭐️🫶🏼🐴💦

06/06/2023

This week let’s look at the lower limb anatomy!

Here we have labelled the structures for you to have a look at :)

Do you recognise any?

Throughout the week we will discuss injuries seen within the area and how using the water treadmill can be really beneficial to those rehab clients!

Do you know common injuries to this area?

04/06/2023

A huge congratulations to Team WP and winning the 6 year old class with Mara! And gaining a 9 (yes that’s not a typo) for her canter!

Unlike a lot of well bred dressage horses Mara and Max have been brought on slowly after the past few years, they have attended regular hydrotherapy sessions as Vanessa and Hen believe it is an important part of their exercise/ training routine to gain strength and posture without having to be in the school. After each treadmill session they also have a salt water spa session as part of injury prevention treatment from the cold water therapy. Well done to our hydro team for their care in the centre!

We also have regular Physiotherapy and Class 4 Laser Therapy treatments with Jess to ensure the horses bodies are in tip top condition and highlight any areas that need improving.

However, keeping these horses are a huge team effort, along with their trainer, Vets, Farrier, Saddler, Dentist, and I feel MOST importantly their overall management at home from Vanessa and Hen, these horses want for nothing, they have 5* care at home and this is what makes horses like this. 🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼

Well done Vanessa and Hen- the hard work is down to you guys 🥰🥰

11/05/2023

Don’t like doing pole work at home?? Get down to one of these clinics! Poles are such a beneficial exercise for your horse! 🐴

😢 I AM SO SAD TO BE WRITING THIS 😢

But I have taken the decision to cancel all of the evening Polework and gridwork that I had planned at Wing jumping and dressage centre, as it just wasn’t getting enough bookings, and I actually live a 100 mile round-trip from the venue, so if I don’t get two full groups, it doesn’t make it viable to run them.
It is both a disappointing and frustrating as I am constantly asked about doing the grid work clinics, and then them not being well supported… I only have three people coming to a clinic this evening for gridwork ( there were four booked, but one has had to pull out) but as it’s local for me, it isn’t as bad, although I will still be out of the house for over three hours with the travel time, set up time and actual session time, so I will be rethinking whether or not to stop any future grid work sessions which is a shame as I absolutely love them but I have to be realistic as advertising them means I can’t advertise a polework clinic and I have to prioritise which ones are the most financially rewarding at the moment 😕

Anyway, enough of the doom and gloom, here is the upcoming availability for clinics between now and the end of June.
Most of them are bookable via the website, however, if you want to grab a bargain for this Friday or Sunday, you will see that those spaces are massively reduced, and to take advantage of the bargain prices. You will need to drop me a message to book as they are still full price on the website.!

💃🏻 WHAT ….POLE CLINIC
🗓 WHEN …. Friday 12th of May.
📍WHERE …. Wing JDC
🤗 AVAILABILITY …. One space at 10.00, one space at 11.00… these spaces are JUST £20 each 🤩

💃🏻 WHAT ….POLE CLINIC
🗓 WHEN …. Sunday 14th of May
📍WHERE ….Widmer Equestrian Centre
🤗 AVAILABILITY… one space at 11.00 just £20

💃🏻 WHAT ….POLE CLINIC
🗓 WHEN …. Sunday 21st of May
📍WHERE ….Moreton Morrell College
🤗 AVAILABILITY… two spaces at 9 am,one space at 11.00 , one space at 1pm, one space at 2pm

💃🏻 WHAT … SERPENTINE CHALLENGE
🗓 WHEN …. Friday 26th of May.
📍WHERE ….Moreton Morrell College
🤗 AVAILABILITY ….Three spaces at 5.00,

💃🏻 WHAT ….POLE CLINIC
🗓 WHEN …. Saturday 27th of May
📍WHERE ….Shuttleworth College Equine
🤗 AVAILABILITY… two spaces at 11.00, two spaces at 1pm, one space at 2pm

💃🏻 WHAT ….POLE CLINIC
🗓 WHEN ….Sunday 28th of May
📍WHERE …. Catesby Equestrian
🤗 AVAILABILITY …. Three spaces at 10.00, three spaces at 11.00

💃🏻 WHAT ….POLE CLINIC
🗓 WHEN …. Friday the 2nd of June.
📍WHERE …. Wing JDC
🤗 AVAILABILITY …. Four spaces at 10.00, three spaces at 11.00, four spaces at 12.00

💃🏻 WHAT ….POLE CLINIC
🗓 WHEN …. Sunday 4th June
📍WHERE …. Moulton College.
🤗 AVAILABILITY …. two spaces at 11.00 , four spaces at 1pm

💃🏻 WHAT ….POLE CLINIC
🗓 WHEN …. Saturday 10th June
📍WHERE ….Marslands farm equestrian
🤗 AVAILABILITY …. One space at 10..00, three spaces at 11.00, two spaces at 12.00

💃🏻 WHAT ….POLE CLINIC
🗓 WHEN …. Sunday 11th June
📍WHERE …. Wing. JDC
🤗 AVAILABILITY …. Four spaces at 10.00, two spaces at 11.00, four spaces at 12.00

💃🏻 WHAT …. COMPLEX GRIDS.
🗓 WHEN …. Wednesday 14th June
📍WHERE …. Moreton Morrell
🤗 AVAILABILITY …. Two spaces at 6 pm up to 70 cm three spaces at 7 pm 70 to 90 cm

💃🏻 WHAT …. Pole work with small fences.
🗓 WHEN …. Friday 16th of June.
📍WHERE ….Moreton Morrell
🤗 AVAILABILITY …. Four spaces at 5 pm., four spaces at 6 pm

💃🏻 WHAT ….POLE CLINIC
🗓 WHEN …. Saturday 17th of June.
📍WHERE ….Manor Farm Equestrian, Kingsey
🤗 AVAILABILITY …. Two spaces at 10.00, two spaces at 11.00, four spaces at 12.00

💃🏻 WHAT ….POLE CLINIC
🗓 WHEN …. Sunday 25th of June.
📍WHERE ….Tycroes Farm
🤗 AVAILABILITY …. One space at 10.00, one space at 12.00, three spaces at 1 pm

Please Tag any friends on here who you think need to see this or who need to come with you to a fancy footwork clinic,
And don’t forget my Serpentine challenge could win you a bottle of Prosecco!! 😉 😉🤩🦄💃🏻🥳☺️😘🙌🏻🐴

08/05/2023

Let’s talk about the splenius muscle this week 😍

Notebooks at the ready!

24/04/2023

Here’s this weeks muscle!

The trapezius!

These muscle Mondays are a great way to understand more on the way the horse moves! And how they move 😍

17/04/2023

I’m sure you have all heard of the thoracic sling! Well this muscle is important to it’s function!

10/04/2023

Anatomical directions!

You may hear us or your vet use some words that you don’t understand…

As and example: your horse is placing their hind leg more laterally’ well here is a key for you to use to understand these words 🥰

On the treadmill we can closely watch the way a horse is moving and feedback to you with what we see! To help correctly build up your horse! To help prevent injuries 💪🏻

06/04/2023

KISSING SPINE!

The horse’s back is composed of an average of eighteen thoracic vertebrae (however horses can have more or less than this number ), and six lumbar vertebrae.
Each of these vertebrae has a DSP which arise from the body of the vertebrae, pointing upwards. (The vertebrae body protects the spinal cord). When you feel along your horse’s back it’s the DSP that are felt along the midline. These DSPs range in height from around 2-3 inches up to 9 inches! , this is all dependant on the area along the spine.
It’s thought that there should be around a 3-6mm gap in horses between the top of the DSPs. This gap is filled with a strong interspinous ligament. There is also another ligament which runs along the top of the DSPs called the supraspinatus ligament.

Horses that suffer from kissing spine have a issue where the top of the vertebrae are closer than normal. This causes reaction in the processes and damage to the intraspinous ligament. Common area of kissing spine is found around the Thoracic area (T14/T15 - T17/T18) which js under the seat of the rider!

Symptoms you may see with KS:
🐴 poor performance
🐴mild lameness
🐴reluctance to being tacked up, kicking or biting
🐴rearing or bucking when ridden.

We advise speaking to your vet if you have any concerns.

Above we have show a before and after of one of our inpatients who had kissing spine surgery, and how the water treadmill has aided in her rehabilitation to build correct muscle to support her body ready for her ridden career.

03/04/2023

Let’s look at the OBLIQUE!

Little bit more to read for this week!

29/03/2023

We have new livery offers available!

Did you know- a lot of cases are claimable through insurance!? This includes hydro, groundwork and physio! 😍 why not check and find out

28/03/2023

Stretching is a great tool to complement a physiotherapy treatment.

But, please only stretch your horse if you have been taught how to correctly do so, and have consulted with your equine physiotherapist. If executed incorrectly, or inappropriately, it could do more damage than good.

If you are shown how to do the stretch, and have been advised by your physiotherapist to do so, great. Otherwise, consult with your equine physiotherapist BEFORE you start stretching your horse!

27/03/2023

This week! Let’s look at the latissimus dorsi!

Did you know that this is where this muscle is located?

26/03/2023

Amazing finish for Daniella May Equestrian with Frenchie and Classic!

Looks forward to seeing them for a Physiotherapy check up and back at hydrotherapy to continue strengthening! 🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼

20/03/2023

This week it’s the ….

TRAPEZIUS!!

Do you like learning about the equine muscles?