18/01/2015
Susan Brown Dip MCAM. ITEC Dip ESM. Dip VCTC HT. (Assoc) MESMA.
ABOUT/CAREER Susan:
Susan has always been passionate about horses and animals. She has over 40 yrs experience of being involved with horses. She rode from an early age, owned ponies and competed in show jumping as a child. On a professional level since leaving school she worked with Hunters, Polo ponies and then went on to work in the Horse Racing Industry for nearly 25years. During her time in racing she gained vast experience of riding and working with so many horses.
The highlight of her career was obtaining her dual purpose licence to ride back in the 90’s. She rode in various races under Jockey Club rules as an amateur lady Jockey and was very fortunate to ride at Royal Ascot in the prestigious Conde Diamond Stakes ladies Race.
Throughout her time in horse racing Susan worked for various National Hunt and Flat trainers in the UK. She gradually worked her way up to Traveling head girl and then Head Girl. During her post of head girl Susan gained vast experience of working with numerous injuries and pathologies, monitoring soundness and performance issues, working alongside the vets and being responsible for all medical care and rehabilitation of the horses. She gained a good eye for gait issues and lameness and developed her sense of touch by typically feeling over 60 horse’s legs twice a day to detect changes in the limbs such as heat/cold/swelling. Susan also spent several seasons assisting a bloodstock agent working the preliminaries at Newmarket Tattersall’s October Yearling sales. This trained her to develop a keen eye for conformation
Susan has gained invaluable experience working across the pond In Ireland, Dubai and the U.S.A. She was very lucky to work as a work rider for top trainers in Ocala, Florida and Belmont Park Racetrack in New York. It was during her spell on Belmont Park that prompted her to seek a career in equine therapy after seeing various chiropractors and physical therapists working to keep the racehorses in optimum condition She became intrigued by seeing and feeling the differences in the horses before and after treatment and understanding the methods and techniques involved. Due to the nature of her career incurring falls, injuries and strain on the body Susan has regularly benefited from massage and manipulation over the years.
Susan’s experience with top level competition horses has provided her with valuable experience and insight into a range of musculoskeletal conditions and their treatment This has made her able to understand how even small misalignments and tensions can lead to a drop in performance, and how to recognise the clues that may suggest the horse needs physical therapy.
Training
Susan is committed to Continual Professional Development to ensure your horse and you receive the latest and most useful applications of therapeutic techniques and she is also proud to be able to ensure that her training has been of the highest quality. Having initially qualified as a Human Massage Therapist in 2007 Susan then was trained by the world renowned, great and highly respected equine veterinary physiotherapist Mary Bromiley .C.S.P., S.R.P., R.P.T. (USA). MBE. She graduated with a diploma in Equine Sports Massage. She is a member of the Equine Sports Massage Association (ESMA) http://www.equinemassageassociation.co.uk/history_of_equine_sports_massage.html and all her work is covered by professional indemnity insurance. It is interesting to note that all ESMA therapists have also had to take the same ITEC Diploma in human massage, thus giving them a good overall understanding of both horse and rider anatomy and biomechanics.
Susan then studied at the Oxford College of Equine physical therapy (OCEPT). http://www.ocept.info/ The course was the original course in McTimoney-Corley animal manipulation, which has its origins in post-graduate chiropractic education, its predecessor being the animal course run by Oxford College of Chiropractic from 1991 until 2001 (OCEPT first opened its doors in 2002). Susan gained a further diploma in McTimoney-Corley Animal Manipulation and graduated with distinction. Her dissertation involved studying the Effects of Dorso-palmer and Medio-lateral Imbalance on the Musculoskeletal System. This study has given Susan an improved ability to assess a horse for foot balance enabling her to work alongside farrier’s .During consultation Susan will always assess from the foot upwards as foot imbalances can create issues higher up in the horses musculature.
To add to her skill level Susan has completed further training in Myofascial Release and Craniosacral therapy. She has also participated in training clinics with Dr Kerry Ridgeway an internationally known veterinary clinician and chiropractor from Carolina USA.
Susan is currently working towards accreditation as a Certified Kinesio Taping® Practitioner (CKTP). She is undertaking her training with Chartered Physiotherapist Lee Clark BSc MCSP SRP ACPAT KTAI. Lee was one of the elite, eight-strong Olympic team of Equine Physiotherapists working at London 2012. He is also the official physiotherapist for the British Endurance Team.
In October of 2013 Susan trained for a further 7 months with Chiropractor Dr Andrew Glaister on his Applied Equine Biomechanics course at Moreton Morrel College.
Susan is passionate about improving your horse's physical and mental state. Whether it's rehabilitating a horse from an injury or calming a nervous contest horse, that passion shines through. She has a passion for equine anatomy and bio mechanics and strongly believes that improving rider knowledge and really understanding our horses will improve horse performance.
Susan believes in treating the whole horse rather than just the isolated problem. She does not just use massage or manipulation she uses both modalities to complement each other as she strongly believes that one isn’t effective without the other. For example, after applying an adjustment to a joint by manipulation, the adjustment may not hold and the misalignment will reappear if the surrounding soft tissues are tense and in spasm changing the angle of the joint. Vice versa in some cases applying adjustment to a joint in spasm is not effective until the tension has first been addressed with massage and soft tissue release. To bring your horse to its physical and mental peak she gets the best results by blending Sports Massage, Manipulation and mixing remedial exercises, and stretches.
As a member of the Equine Sports Massage Association Susan is constantly working to improve and update her knowledge. She regularly attends conferences and seminars to keep her up to date on current research. She always works with veterinary permission, in accordance with the 1966 Veterinary Surgeons Act and works alongside other professionals, such as your farrier, saddler, nutritionist, and/or equine dentist, in order to provide the best possible care for your animal.
The Equine Sports Massage Association is the product of Mary Bromiley and her foresight to see the many benefits of Equine Massage and a governing body.
Equine Therapy Susan Brown Dip MCAM. ITEC Dip ESM. Dip VCTC HT. (Assoc) MESMA.
