Charlotte Hay Veterinary Physiotherapy

04/11/2022

Morning massage and pulse mag treatment for Patrick ☀️ So excited to start my business in the new year 🎆 Watch this space!

28/09/2022

It’s been a while since I last posted on my page but a lot has happened in that time! I have now completed my final year at university and I am now a fully qualified Vet Physio! 💙 This has been my dream since a little girl and I can’t wait to get my business up and running! I’ve had the best summer spent partying and celebrating with friends 💃🏼🕺🏻 I am now in the process of setting up my business ready for clients so watch this space! Thank you to everyone who has followed and supported my journey so far! 🐴🐶

12/07/2021

Am very behind in updating this account so I have a lot of catching up to do 😁 Here’s Rudy and I at the completion of my dissertation! 6 months, 100 pages and 17,000 words later this is my proudest piece of work to date 💖 Cannot wait to expand and further my research into saddles and saddle pad fit in the fourth year 🤩🐴

12/05/2021

Equine muscles & their function 🐴🐴 (not all of the muscles but a few of the main ones) Being a visual learner drawing illustrations on my whiteboard really helps me to picture the muscles under the skin ❤️

12/05/2021

Thank you to everyone who purchased a white board from me last year! These are just a few of the boards I have made and sold! I have got an ongoing waiting list of boards to be made this summer so please message if your interested to be added to the list 💙

12/05/2021

Process of creating my handmade skeleton whiteboards!

12/05/2021

Handmade equine skeleton whiteboard ready for muscle and anatomy revision! 🤩🐴

26/03/2021

Summertime stretching with Todd☀️
The effects of stretching are:
🤎 Increased joint ROM
🤎 Increased flexibility of tissues, muscles and tendons
🤎 Prevent and improve any muscle or joint contracture / pulled muscles or tendons
🤎 Increase suppleness and elasticity
🤎 Prevent tissue shortening
🤎 Decrease periarticular fibrosis
🤎 Elongates the muscle fibers
🤎 Prevents muscle adhesions
🤎 Stretching when performed causes elastic deformation resting in increased resting length
🤎 Stretching over time results in sarcomeres being added to lengthen the muscle

22/03/2021

5 minutes squeezed into 30 seconds - palpation is actually a very slow, thorough and relaxing process but had to speed it up to get a quick overview! 🤩 Palpation is the 3rd part of the initial assessment process after static and dynamic assessment 🤎 I prefer to work from front to back left to right making sure I don’t miss out any key areas🕵️‍♀️ Upon palpation I always talk to the owner about what I’m doing and feeling as I progress, here I got Romeos owner Charlotte to feel across the neck in areas I found tension! It always helps when the owner is interactive and interested to learn as saying out loud helps me learn too! 🤎🐎

21/03/2021

Here I’m performing some effleurage techniques on Soya’s hypotonic semitendinosus 🐎 This technique is used to warm the muscles up 🔥, which increases blood circulation 🩸, stimulates lymphatic drainage 💦, and promotes an opioid response in the brain 🧠 to relieve any localised pain 💊 and also helps to relax and soothe muscles 🛁 = happy horse 💖

20/03/2021

Being a youngster it’s important that Duke has his back checked as his workload increases to make sure he’s coping with everything okay!! 🐎 He really is the cutest and Becca is doing so well with teaching him everything he knows ☀️💖 Becca Peacock

20/03/2021

Have been so inactive with my physio account at the moment due to being busy with my dissertation and puppy and just life really! 📆✍️ Hoping to catch my page up with what’s been going on recently! 🐎 Here’s a photo of two very special boys Muggy & Rudy 🤎

07/02/2021

*** TOP-TIPS FOR THE COMING SNOW ***

If the forecast is correct (IF!) then many of us are set for a fair amount of snow over the next few days from STORM DARCY. Here are some of my TOP-TIPS to keep your horses and ponies healthy!

EXERCISE - If still able to ride, allow longer to warm-up by spending twice as much time in walk and trot to avoid muscle strains. Avoid areas of uneven ground and areas which suddenly change from soft to hard as these are a high risk for injury.

FORAGE - Make sure your horses and ponies have plenty of forage (unless on restricted intake for weight management). This is how the horse keeps itself warm and healthy.

HARD-FEED - If your horse/pony is on hard-feed and cannot be turned out or ridden at all or their activity is much reduced, then reduce their hard-feed. Whilst we advise against sudden changes in diet, a reduction in hard-feed is an exception and will lower the risk of GI issues such as colic.

BRAN MASHES - There is no evidence that bran mashes reduce the risk of colic and may even increase the risk. Whilst it will feel nice to give your horse a warm bran-mash, this is not necessarily a good thing as the sudden introduction of a food your horse does not get every day will cause disturbance to the bacteria in the hindgut. If your horse gets a small bran-mash every day then that's different.

VENTILATION - Unless snow is coming into the stable, avoid closing up top-doors/windows, especially for horses and ponies with a history of respiratory problems such as equine asthma as this could trigger an exacerbation.

RUGS - Temperatures are set to dip but don't be tempted to over-rug as this could make your horse uncomfortable. Swapping to a slightly heavier-weight rug or adding a thin fleece underneath is probably all that is needed for many horses and ponies.

FEET - Snow can "ball-up" in horse's and pony's feet. This is usually worse for those who are shod. Snow and ice can become very hard and lead to tripping, bruising, soft tissue injury, joint injury, hoof cracks and lameness. This can usually be managed by putting vaseline on the frog and sole when the foot is dry (it won't stick if the foot is already wet), putting on hoof boots or by wrapping the feet with vet-wrap. Vaseline and vet-wrap are temporary measures and don't work well for all horses. A longer-term approach is to ask your farrier to put pads on but this is clearly hard to organise at short notice and may only be required for a few days. AVOID USING INDUSTRIAL GREASE/OIL (e.g. AXLE GREASE) - these products have chemicals in which are not kind to the skin/hoof and may lead to dermatitis (inflammation of the skin).

WATER - Many horses and ponies will reduce their water intake in cold weather. This can lead to an increased risk of impaction colic. You can take the chill off buckets when you are at the yard by boiling a kettle or taking a flack of hot water from home. For horses and ponies that have had a previous history of impaction colic, adding in a small amount of oil such as linseed (e.g. 1/2/ to 1 cup a day) or adding in some table salt (1/2 to 1 x 25ml scoop; 2.5 to 5 teaspoons) can help encourage drinking and ease the passage of food.

INCREASED STABLE TIME - If your horse or pony has to spend more time in the stable, consider having a radio to play some quiet and calming music. If your horse really gets stressed by being in then there are many stable toys now available and it may also be worth considering a stable mirror.

WHAT ARE YOUR TOP-TIPS?

28/01/2021

Scientists are rapidly homing in on the specific areas of the equine genome linked to this debilitating condition.

17/11/2020

SHOULD I BE WASHING THE MUD OFF EVERY DAY?

At Penbode Equine Vets we often are asked if horses should have the mud washed off their legs when they come in in the afternoon. After all, mud fever is caused by mud isn't it?.....Well , not quite. Out-wintered horses that spend their days hock-deep in mud rarely suffer from mud fever, and mud fever is rare in wet summers. It seems that it is the constant wetting and CHILLING of legs that is the key predisposing factor. We have shown, by washing just one front leg with a hosepipe and then scanning both front legs with a thermographic camera, that the washed leg remains significantly colder than the unwashed for at least two hours afterwards.

The picture shows a pony that had its legs washed free of mud every day, yet suffered from severe mud fever in all four legs. Once we cleared up the mud fever, on our advice the owner stopped washing and just applied indoor padded leg wraps directly on top on the muddy legs (see photo), to dry and warm them. The legs are never washed, just brushed in the morning. And contrary to what you might expect, it has been completely free of mud fever since.

If you DO decide to wash then it is important to DRY the legs quickly with a DRY towel so that they can warm up quickly. With the exception of heavily feathered horses (where the feathering seems protective) clipping the lower legs (especially the heels) will make drying more efficient and quicker. Waterproofing the lower legs, especially the heels, with an oily barrier (such as Pig Oil or Sudocrem) is also a good additional preventive measure.

Please SHARE if you have friends who might find this useful.

PENBODE EQUINE VETERINARY CLINIC, TAVISTOCK, DEVON Telephone 01822 613838.

06/11/2020

31/10/2020

Always sunshine after rain 🌧🌦⛅️🌤☀️ Went to see the special boy to give him some TLC 💛💛 He’s nearing 30 now and doesn’t he look amazing 🥺🥺

30/10/2020

Fail Friday 😬🥴😂

28/10/2020

Squeezing 2.5 hours into 30 seconds 😅 Recently put myself out there and offered to make and sell revision whiteboards to people in my year and I was overwhelmed with the amount of interest I’ve had!! 🤩 Not only this, students from Moreton Morrell university have reached out and I have also been making boards for them which will be delivered 🥰 So exiting!! I love making these boards, a good project to work on between lectures 🤎🐴

28/10/2020

So I’ve just spent hours editing this logo and it’s still not 100% but I thought it was time for a change and a bit of originality so it can do for now😁💎🔷

28/10/2020

Stretches for back health 💎🤎🐴 Kelli Hoops

27/10/2020

Met this gorgeous girly today 😍 Would you believe she’s only 6 months old!! 🤩 One giant pup!! 🥺 We didn’t get very far with ROM as concentration levels of puppies don’t last very long so we’ll have another go next time 😂 Megan Lines Jo Lines

26/10/2020

A little something to brighten up your Monday morning 😂😂

25/10/2020

Put your head on my shoulder 🥺 He gives the best cuddles in return for the best scratchies 🤎🐴

25/10/2020

Effy really was the queen of carrot stretches today!!🐴👑 Once food was involved she was all over it 😂🥕 Thank you Katie she’s a lovely mare 🥰💘

25/10/2020

Busy day at the stables getting lots of practice 🤎🐴 Billy enjoyed his massage so much he fell asleep for most of it 🥰

24/10/2020

One of my favourite things I’ve taught him 😂 cheeeeesey teeefies 🤣😁
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On the serious subject of teeth.. equine dentistry is an extremely important external factor when assessing a horse 🦷. Once a horse has had their teeth checked prior to a physio treatment, the physio will be able to narrow down any muscular soreness or tension in the jaw / poll to other circumstances🐴. Ruling out external underlying issues can be like putting puzzle pieces together, which can be made that bit faster when all other additional factors are eliminated! 😁🦷
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Equine Teeth facts!!
🦷 Male horses have 40 teeth
🦷 Female horses have 36-40 teeth
🦷 Horses require regular rasping
🦷 Teeth should be checked every 6-12 months
🦷 Horses teeth grow 1/6 inch per year!
🦷 Problems can cause eating difficulties, ridden problems, excessive saliva production

23/10/2020

Wow!! 🤩

23/10/2020

Throwback Friday 🥺😂 I’m so glad I found these pictures the other day!! Here I’m around 11 years old pretending to be a physio and give Soya a stretch after school 😩 As far as I can remember this has been my dream job and I’ve never looked back!! 🤩 10 years down the line and I am now learning how to clinically and professionally treat a horse which is wayyyy harder than practicing it in my stable in a fantasy land all them years ago 😂🐴💝🔮🧚🏻‍♂️

23/10/2020

A few weeks back before an equine practical 🤎🐴 My new matchy matchy folder didn’t come into much use as all practicals have been cancelled at the moment 🥵 Will have to continue practicing lots from home for the time being 👀🙏🏽