Opal Veterinary Physiotherapy

2 disclaimers here: 1. I am not a dog trainer, this is just for fun! 2. When I’m not in my physio kit, I’m ALWAYS in pyjamas Okay so I love a bit of heel work, but that middle position is second-to-none when it comes to rehabilitation and conditioning. By no means are Riley and I ready for heel work to music, but we love it as an indoor activity when it’s too hot, or just as a fun bit of training! Message me to find out more about how you can incorporate this into your dog’s fitness program 👀

Brie loved her physio session today 😍 The Masterson Method is a great introductory technique, and a tool I use to create a “map” of the horse’s body. Although I integrate this into my sessions, you can also do this at home. DM me to find out more! 🙌

I often say that if I could get all my owners to work together, we'd have the most specialised physio practice in the business!! So many of my owners are intensely interested in their dog's condition and committed to their rehabilitation, they end up becoming something of an expert on the subject! Fudges owners are a brilliant example of this. Fudge's mobility equipment just wasn't working for her; she is a mixed breed so standard sizes don't always fit her, and her degenerative myelopathy is presenting quite uniquely! They knew she needed something special to aid her out and about. They made lots of prototypes to develop the pertect tool for the job. The wheels on Fudge's boot were spinning together and sliding in the holders, causing her foot to be twisted and flicked in unpredictable directions. This not only annoyed her when she was just trying her best to walk, but was putting excessive and unnecessary strain on the joints in the wheeled leg. Her wheels now spin independently, with a central bar which doesn't slide in the holders, giving her even more stability. You can see how much straighter her leg is moving in the final video, and she is so much more confident and comfortable now. Massive well done and hats off to @crescent_tyres and @crescenttyres_mascot for doing such amazing work for Fudge. I think they're after my job 🤪

Your daily exercise motivation 🤩

A dog’s very top layer of skin (epidermis) is around 5-8 cells thick, whereas a human’s can be 12-15 cells thick. This means that dogs are significantly more sensitive to any touch as the epidermis serves to cover the dermis below, which holds all the skin’s sensory nerves. Simply touching a dog can cause a cascade of positive effects within the body. Massage influences cell function, which we can manipulate to achieve a desired outcome. It can calm them, improve the body’s waste removal system and relax muscles. Intention is also a key element of any interaction with a dog. Approaching a dog and trying to do any manual therapy in a rushed or hurried way will rarely yield a good result. This is why I will stop all touch if a dog moves away from me; it is their way of telling me that either they don’t like what I’m doing or need a break. Listen to your dogs. Stop stroking them every once in a while and see if they ask for more; dogs often tolerate touch even when it isn’t welcome. I do this with Riley, as you can see in the last video, I stop stroking him intermittently to make sure the contact is still invited.

✨Carpal Arthritis Management✨ Have you ever wondered what to expect of a physiotherapy treatment for your horse? Well, here’s Brie being a perfect model to demonstrate most of my kit! Brie has carpal arthritis, which means she has reduced range of motion in the affected joint as well as tension resulting from compensatory movement patterns as she attempts to take the weight off the arthritic leg. She gets a wide range of interventions to make her comfortable and keep her mobile! Huge thank you to @margettsgemma for lending Brie to me for the morning, always a pleasure to see her 😍

Sunday Walkies 💪

Fudge has weekly physiotherapy with me, as well as hydrotherapy, acupuncture and cold laser to keep her strong as she unfortunately has a degenerative condition 😔 She is a very opinionated lady, and didn’t like having her anti-knuckling boot on at first! Through trial and error, and her owner’s perseverance and commitment, she is now walking better with it every time 😎 Fudge has not only maintained muscle mass and use of her most affected leg, but has actually made improvements with her strength and walking recently! This dog is an amazing example of how a multimodal approach, as well as dedicated owners can yield amazing results 🤩

Rocky enjoying some laser in the sun 🥰 Emily Prouse Caletto Photography

Somehow we always manage to get the weirdest weather for my sponsored team’s physio days 😅 I’m very grateful for great facilities like this when it’s chucking it down!! 🥰 Thank you to the boys’ owner and rider Emily Prouse from Caletto Photography for the lovely video! ❤️

Welcome to the 3rd instalment of our slow feeding series! ✍️ Aleks Love Independent Animal Feed Advisor In this episode, we discus the importance of fascia, some of the research behind it and how feeding can affect this structure in particular. 🤓 Look out for our final post next week providing you with the tools to make the best decisions for your horse! 🤔

Welcome to the second installment of our slow feeding series! 🐢 In this instalment, Aleks Love Independent Animal Feed Advisor and I cover the importance of correct feed for function, as well as looking at a little bit of research on the effects of eating from a haynet on the body. 👨‍🎓 Next week, we will go through the link between muscle tension and way of going, as well as providing you some alternatives for slow feeding! 🤔

Fun Friday with my favourite gentle giant ✨ Brie is a gorgeous Ardennais! Here she is getting laser treatment to relieve the trigger points in her back. She isn’t the most forthcoming with her releases, however she does give me some clues… Here you can see her: 🧘‍♀️ Blinking and softening her eyes 🧘‍♀️ Twitching her lips 🧘‍♀️ Small amounts of licking and chewing And what you can’t see is increased gut sounds! Another great indicator that tension is being released. She also had some pulsed electromagnetic field therapy for pain relief and swelling management for her arthritis, and this laser treatment was followed up by a massage 👐 Thank you, Brie for letting me in! ❤️

Welcome to the first instalment in our slow feeding mini series 🐴 Aleks from Aleks Love Independent Animal Feed Advisor and I take you through some of the basics of slow feeding and the current welfare issues surrounding it 🤔 Next time, Aleks will be going through the different nutritional requirements of a range of horses 🍽 If you have any questions, don't hesitate to get in touch with either of us!

Teeny tiny Sparky enjoying some cross fibre massage for his tight pectorals today! 🤤 He won a free physiotherapy session for his well deserved 1st place in the ridden veteran class at the Ringstead Charity Horse Show 🥇