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Dr Debbie Prattley BVSc MOst PhD | GradDipAnChiro | Veterinary Acupuncturist |Saddle Fitter|Osteopath

AcuVet Ltd is run by Dr Deb, who provides biomechanical medicine for people (osteopathy) and animals - veterinary acupuncture, trigger point therapy, chiropractic, osteopathy, physiotherapy, saddle fitting and reflocking. Dr Deb is a kiwi vet who has always had an interest in physical therapies and rehabilitation for animals. After graduating from Massey University in 1998, she travelled to the UK

and worked as a locum vet before completing a Master’s degree and then helping to work on the foot and mouth disease outbreak in 2001. Then it was time to come home to a warmer climate and quieter surrounds, and a PhD in animal health surveillance back at Massey. After being treated with acupuncture following a riding accident and seeing the effects of acupuncture and chiropractic on her own horses, Deb decided that these were skills she really needed to have. In 2008 she completed the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society’s certification course and a postgraduate diploma in animal chiropractic from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. She has also completed courses in craniosacral therapy, saddle fitting and reflocking and equine rehabilitation. Following even more years of study, Deb has recently graduated as an osteopath (with ACC registration) and can now treat people too! Animal appointments are available regularly in the lower North Island, please contact me by Facebook message, email ([email protected]) or text/phone (0273838728). Qualifications and coursesBachelor of Veterinary Science (Distinction), Massey UniversityMaster of Research (Bioinformatics), Glasgow UniversityDoctor of Philosophy, Massey UniversityPostgraduate Diploma in Animal Chiropractic (Distinction), RMITCertificate in Veterinary Acupuncture, International Veterinary Acupuncture SocietyASFA Accreditation CourseCranioSacral Therapy 1 & 2, Upledger InstituteEquine CranioSacral Therapy 1 & 2, Upledger InstituteIntroductory Saddle Fitting, Society of Master Saddlers UKSaddle Reflocking, Cumbria School of Saddlery, UKEquine Athletics and Functional Assessment, Animal Rehab Institute, FloridaEquine Touch Levels 1-3Registered with the New Zealand Veterinary Council http://www.vetcouncil.org.nz/Registered with the Osteopathic Council of New Zealand http://www.osteopathiccouncil.org.nz/Member of Osteopaths New Zealand.

05/09/2024

Seminar and workshops coming up!

25/07/2024

Saddle fitting focus!

I quite often have clients who are a bit upset when it turns out their saddle has been hurting their horse, because no one means for that to happen. I often describe my own failings in that department, because way back when, I tried very hard to find a saddle that fitted my own horse. I bought saddles, tried them, adjusted them, made all sorts of elaborate padding systems, sold the saddles, and lost lots of money, and did it all again a few times. (Does that sound familiar to anyone?! Saddle fitters were even rarer than hen's teeth back then.)

In the middle of doing all that, I made my horse's back sorer, when I was trying very hard to get the saddle right. I simply didn't understand what I was doing. Then I went through a lengthy process trying to fix her, which is why I ended up doing all of the training that I did, on top of vet school. It all took a while, but I did fail forwards.

So, mistakes will be made, but I hope that everyone will look forwards out of them and learn. Horses can be very challenging, they're like multi-dimensional puzzles where each little piece needs picking up and looking at and turning over and testing to see if it's ok or not, but we don't always have very good testing equipment.

Do your best, and keep trying 😊

21/07/2024

Saddle Fitting Focus!!

Only 1 week to go! Then we'll be talking dogs for a bit 😺😺

So what does it cost if your saddle doesn’t fit? What if you DON"T KNOW it doesn’t fit?

There’s not just the cost of a saddle fitting session – and if you don’t already know what to look for, you don’t know you need a fitting. Unless your saddle has been properly and RECENTLY fitted by a good saddle fitter, you should be asking questions.

More often than not I’m called out to see ‘naughty’ horses. Bucking, biting, girthy, etc… there are dozens of behavioural signs. At the first visit I’m assessing and treating the horse, and if I see certain pain patterns that I’ve learned to recognise over the years, I ask to see the saddle. 99% of the time those pain patterns match a poorly fitting saddle.

So, there’s the cost of a saddle fitting. There are the costs of usually at least two treatment sessions to help sort the consequences of the bad saddle fit. Often there’s also time off when you can’t ride as they need time to heal strained muscles. Sometimes there’s been development or exacerbation of kissing spines or sacroiliac ligament strains, and then you also need GP equine vet visits, imaging and additional treatment, and possibly lengthy rehabilitation. Not to mention maybe a new saddle.

It would save the horse a lot of discomfort and riders a lot of $$ and down time if everyone knew what to look for!

Saddle fitting workshop registration: https://forms.office.com/r/xHX0CC1v7Q

15/07/2024

***Saddle fitting focus***

Today's question is one I've been asked a few times in the past.

"He's going to grow [or replace grow with build muscle/put on weight etc], can you fit the saddle for what he'll be in a few months?"

Errmm, no. Firstly, the saddle has to sit on something right now, and it can't sit on something that isn't there. Secondly, if only I could predict what would happen in a few months, I'd buy the right lotto ticket! Saddles can only be fitted for the here and now. What we CAN do is keep an eye to the future and have the ability to make some adjustments as needed. Hence the importance of being able to see when that is!

Saddle fitting workshop registration: https://forms.office.com/r/xHX0CC1v7Q

09/07/2024

Saddle fitting focus! 🦄

Welcome to the Tuesday evening edition 🙂

Another question for you tonight. Multichoice.

How often should you get your saddle fit checked?

a - Only once, if you do it right it's done for life.
b - Never, if you bought the saddle with the horse.
c - When your horse tries to throw you off, but only if you know it's not because it was grass-affected.
d - Put any other answers in the comments below! ⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️

07/07/2024

Saddle Fitting Focus!

Happy Sunday evening! First, a workshop update. One of my lovely clients from this last week needs to sell one saddle and buy another. It occurred to us that the workshop would be a great opportunity for participants to bring saddles they no longer need, and to have a look at others on offer. So, anyone coming along is welcome to sell or buy too! (Please note that any transactions will be purely between seller and buyer and will not involve me. Bonus being that by the end of the day you'll have a pretty good idea of what you need 🙂)

Ok, to last night's question - why does the back of a saddle lift?
There were several good answers. The two most common reasons that I see are:

1. Gullet too wide for the horse. This causes the front of the saddle to sit too low, and when the rider is standing in the stirrups during rising trot the front goes low and the back lifts up.

Variation on a theme for this one is if the flocking in the front of the saddle has packed down too much or moved, or a cair panel has split, or the saddle has slid backwards, or the tree/gullet plate is broken.

2. The horse is higher in the withers than the rump and has a big drop in height from withers to the spine under the saddle, or has a very round barrel and forward girth groove that causes the saddle to pull forwards. It takes very little forward movement/gain in height to make the saddle sit pommel-high. In this scenario, when the rider is standing in the stirrups during rising trot, the saddle will lift up at the back but at that moment will be more in balance. It's not very helpful though cos the back of the saddle is floating about in mid-air.

Other variations on this theme are gullet too narrow for the horse, the front of saddle is over-flocked, or too many/too thick saddle cloths are being used.

And either scenario commonly results in a sore horse. 🐎👩‍⚕️

06/07/2024

Saddle fitting focus! 🦄

It might be the middle of winter, but that's the perfect time to be upskilling for the next season. Hence the start of our winter workshops. (If there's a burning topic you have, let me know!) With the saddle fitting workshop scheduled for the end of this month, I decided I'd try and see how many tips I can get in before we get there. And I already have a list of things to talk about from just a couple of visits this week.

So, today's little gem....

Why does your saddle lift up at the back?

Oh actually, now that I've written that as a question, maybe I'll just leave it out there to stimulate the minds of any fellow Saturday-night-in-scrollers out there. And I'll post my answer tomorrow 🙂 Guess that's my inner university lecturer making a comeback!
Answers in the comments please ⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️

And you have to be more specific than "because it doesn't fit"!

03/07/2024

***** SADDLE FITTING WORKSHOP *****

Details below! Saddle fitting is soooo important for your safety and for your horse's welfare, behaviour and performance. When I'm out seeing horses for veterinary rehab/osteopathy/chiropractic visits, poor saddle fit is one of the most common underlying reasons for things going wrong. Those things range from girthiness and bucking, to contributing to kissing spines and sacroiliac problems. Plus a whole host of other behaviours you'd rather not have!

Ideally EVERY rider/owner should be able to identify a reasonable saddle fit from a bad one. You don't have to become a saddle fitter, but you can easily learn what to look for and how to get the basics right. You'll be saving yourself and your horse a whole lot of issues (and $$$!) if you do!

I've had lots of interest in this workshop, so sign up soon to secure your place! https://forms.office.com/r/xHX0CC1v7Q

30/06/2024

***** SAVE THE DATE!!!! *****

I'll be running a saddle fitting workshop for horse riders on Sunday 28 July at Foxton racecourse. It will be hands-on and covering the practical things you need to know about saddle fit - all the things I wish I knew way back when! More details coming later in the week, so watch this space!

24/05/2024

Is your horse grumpy? Girthy? Grumpy? Nippy? Kicky? Bitey? Fidgety? Sensitive? Hates being brushed? Cold-backed? Stiff? Won't go? Won't stop? Won't turn?

Do you want to know why?

Pain is a very common underlying reason for so many of our horse's behaviours. Often those behaviours are things that we think of as being 'just the way they are' or 'they've always been like that'.

Yes, they might have been like that for a long time... but it doesn't mean that it's a good way to be. Untangling horse behaviours can be like trying to work out a complicated 3D jigsaw puzzle. But there are ways to approach the puzzle that can help you to start to see the picture more clearly.

Lucy Scott from Veterinary Behaviour Services NZ and I are running a one-day workshop next Saturday 1st June where we'll help you to understand what it is your horse is trying to communicate to you.

Join us by registering here! https://forms.office.com/r/XTtUGEmyXE

Address

Bulls

Website

http://www.vetrehab.nz/

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