NJS Rehabilitation

17/11/2024

Kindly given permission to share by the owner.

In July this pony came in from the field with a swollen NSH fetlock, with no visible marks, from an unknown injury. With him being young his owner was happy to turn him away for a little while & let whatever the injury was have time to heal. However there was still intermittent swelling for no apparent reasons & after several occasions of bringing him in & riding or watching him move, his owner decided to have him assessed.
My observations noted a pony with naturally small & quite upright feet with his hind interphalangeal (fetlock & coffin) joints, passively, to be considerably mobile. In a straight line & as he went into swing phase his NSH fetlock/foot would invert & then land slightly laterally. This was more obvious when we lunged him on the L rein & his strides would become more asymmetrical the more he did. After a chat with his farrier, we discussed improving support to his mobile NSH foot, from a lateral extension.
I had a lovely message from his owner this morning saying his movement has improved already. We’ve decided to hack him on good surface for 3-4 weeks to improve his strength & straightness & will reassess after that.

03/11/2024

A lovely client review - thank you 😊

“Zoe is an essential part of my mares long term journey. With historical ailments, my mare needs regular attention to keep her supple, developing and able to do the work I need. During the session, my mare leans in, enjoying the massage, and what she sees as a pampering. There is a clear difference in a hour. Really appreciate the deep work Zoe does, and the advice she gives about her current position, development since the last visit, and any stretches we need in between. I would highly recommend Zoe”.

16/10/2024

INDIBA training day at Derby County Football Club:

Speakers for the day:
Stephen Barabas - Director VBS Direct
Julia Trevor - Physiotherapist
John Hartley - Derby County Head Physio
Jamie Buglass - Derby County Sport Performance Physio
Calli Charles - Veterinary Physiotherapist

Another day of learning.
Thanks guys 😃

11/10/2024

Informative day at the IRVAP Annual Conference 2024….

20/07/2024

Lovely to see Finn today 🥰

28/06/2024

APPLE 🥰
I had my ❤️ stolen today by the most adorable 9hh Shetland. It’s very rare that I am required to squat down to treat a patient! 😀

01/06/2024

𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐈𝐁𝐀
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐛𝐚?
A therapeutic modality utilising the power of radio-frequency to enhance the body’s natural healing process. It uses a unique set frequency of 448kHz which has been clinically proven to have effects on cell structure, stimulating tissue repair.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐛𝐚?
It’s a non - invasive treatment
If appropriate, the horse can continue in work.
It can be used alongside other treatment modalities (manual therapy, PRP,IRAP etc)

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐛𝐚?
These are dependent on the stage of injury & the temperature utilised.
Reduced Inflammation
Reduced pain
Reduced muscle spasm/tension
Increased blood flow
Enhanced healing / tissue repair
Improved performance

𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐛𝐚?
It can be used for acute, sub acute or chronic conditions .
It may be introduced as soon as 6 hours after initial injury to promote a healing response.
Alternatively may be used as a maintenance treatment for chronic conditions or enhanced performance.

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐧 / 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐛𝐚 𝐛𝐞 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝?
This will be determined by the type of injury & its duration. With an acute injury, treatment sessions could be 1-3 sessions/ week, sub acute 1 session every 2/3 weeks, chronic conditions could be treated regularly to start & then frequency reduced over time.

𝐈𝐬 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐛𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞?
Yes - policy dependent.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐛𝐚?
Tendon / Ligament injury
Sacro-iliac (SI) conditions
Muscle spasm /tears
Wounds
Osteo-arthritis
Haematoma / Oedema
Fractures

𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐛𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞, 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐃𝐌 𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝟎𝟕𝟗𝟕𝟏𝟗𝟎𝟕𝟖𝟖𝟕.

06/05/2024

Sunny’s hill work.

Encouraging Sunny to engage his “core”muscles & use his hindquarters - the band & over reach boots on his hind limbs to increase his proprioception. Some asymmetry remains but he is working hard to address this.

As an aside, I can also be aware of my own dynamic posture whilst long lining. Having a sense of how my feet are contacting the ground, are they equally relaxed & shock absorbing? Am I using the ground for propulsion, therefore activating my posterior fascial/ muscular chain? Is my pelvis in a neutral posture to dissipate forces through my spine & limbs? Have I equal thoracic rotation to provide elastic & spiral recoil? Are my shoulders relaxed with a decompressed spine to provide connection? All to aid my spinal symmetry & strength & improve my balance. Necessary for riding the rehab horses 😊

21/04/2024

SUNNY.
Referred into NJS for stifle strengthening.
After initial assessment it was obvious that Sunny had a lack of proprioception (awareness of joint position & motion & effort) to his hind quarters & hind limbs, & his centre of balance was too far forward causing him to over use his neck & shoulder muscles.
Without addressing this imbalance, no amount of “strengthening exercises” would work for the stifles, they would only “strengthen” the forehand.
The photos below were taken 10 days apart, after starting targeted exercises to increase hindlimb proprioception. Yes there is still work to do & there is still the tendency to be “on the forehand”, however, hopefully the altered shoulder angulation, extended neck, elevated withers, relaxed abdomen & improved gluteal
musculature are also noticeable.
So now there is an improvement in proprioception the strengthening can begin…

16/04/2024

A recent client:
This pony came into NJS Rehabilitation with considerable atrophy of the thoracolumbar muscles. Amongst other symptoms it was causing him to have bridle issues & to disunite in canter.
After 8 weeks he is returning home, still with further muscle development required but working in a much improved posture, improved contact & correct canter 🙌.

07/03/2024

MEET THE TEAM!

Beattie.

I met Beattie about 8 years ago when we liveried together. Frequently she would help with my horses if I was working or
away from the yard, etc . Her work then was always meticulous & I would often say, when I had my own rehab yard, she would be my first member of staff. Fast forward several years & that’s exactly what happened.
Beattie does the tea time yard duties. Feeds, hay, water, rugs, turn out/bring in & keeps the yard immaculate. Nothing is too
much trouble for her, with her standard reply to any request being “no worries”.

Stacey.

Pictured with Paddy.
Stacey is the newest member of the NJS rehab team. You will see Stacey in the mornings, helping out with all the required yard duties & assisting in any ground work/ ridden work / treatments sessions if needed. Stacey has a wealth of equine experience, having ridden on the junior British Dressage Team, gaining her BHS Stages 1-3, & BHS Performance Coach certification, as well as training with some prestigious names. And she is another person that keeps the yard immaculately clean!

And me….Zoe.
An equine osteopath (treating humans too) with 20+ years experience!Having always wanted to work with horses, I initially gained my BSc Ost for humans (GOsC registered 1999-2022) & Diploma in Animal Osteopathy & then an MSc in Animal Manipulation. I am also a certified JEMS clinical rehabilitation practitioner which crosses both human & equine practices.

I am lucky enough to now have NJS Rehabilitation & work alongside these two amazing girls who are not only conscientious, reliable & hard working but also have “can do” positive attitudes & laugh a lot! 😄

14/02/2024

13/02/2024

FLO - the sweetest & easiest 2 yr old.

SEROMA

Flo suffered a field trauma leaving her with a large seroma over her stifle & gaskin. Drains were stitched into the limb in an attempt to reduce the swelling, although Flo kept removing them!
Treatment consisted of CLASS 3B LASER to start, then INDIBA, soft tissue & passive mobilisation techniques & in hand walking. After 6 weeks the results were good with reduced fibrotic tissue & only some remaining fluid around the stifle, which will hopefully reabsorb completely now Flo is at home again with turn out.
Thank you to Oakhill Veterinary Centre for the referral.

04/02/2024

EARL
Fractured Shoulder

After sustaining a kick from his field buddy on the point of his shoulder, Earl was admitted to Leahurst for surgery. His injuries were extensive with bone fragments (see photo) from his humerus causing tissue damage to the joint membrane, articular cartilage & supra & infraspinatus tendons.
Earl came to NJS following surgery for his rehab program to start. He has to return to Leahurst for 4 IRAP injections over a 4 week period. In the meantime rehab therapy, whilst on box rest, includes:-
INDIBA to reduce pain & inflammation & promote the healing process
EQUIVIBE for neuro & muscular stimulation
OSTEOPATHY - static exercises to reduce compensatory patterns, promote mobility, symmetry & balance.
Progress posts to follow……








Rehab livery stables available.

01/02/2024

Lovely to see what can be achieved with correct training 👏🙌.
Top template July 2023
Bottom template Jan 2024.
Templates courtesy of Amanda Molyneux Saddle Fitting Solutions.

31/12/2023

A Client’s story:

I recently bought Patrick, a 10-year-old 15:2 Connemara that I hoped would become my next ‘dressage dream’ horse. Prior to this, he had been a showjumper and he was on the market because ‘he was not making the height.’
When I first saw him, he was in extremely poor condition but he had good confirmation, athletic movement and was very mannerly. I believed that given rest, time to recuperate and correct training he could recover and be able to do a BD Novice test with ease or an Elementary test - maybe!
Prior to bringing him into work he had regular visits from the Physio to release tightness throughout his body, a saddle fitter checked the fit of the saddle and bridle, a bit fitter recommended a comfortable bit and the dentist checked his teeth regularly.
After about three months of light but consistent work we started to work towards a Prelim test, and all was going well and he showed amazing promise. But this only seemed to last for two weeks before we started to hit significant resistance and evasions for no apparent reason that we could see.
At this point, the next step was a trip to the vets for a thorough examination. Patrick was found to be 4/5 tenths lame in both front feet and X-rays found mild arthritis in the coffin joints and in the left fetlock. The arthritis was treated and I set about a careful rehabilitation programme for him. Also, there were minor anomalies in the neck vertebra but we did not consider this to be an issue.
Over the following year this cycle of events happened another three times and by September 2023 I was at a loss. Everything was being checked again and nothing was showing up that would cause this behaviour and low-grade lameness. All I knew was that I was going to have to do something different because what I had been doing up to now simply was not working. But What ?
Over time I had discovered that Patrick had a lot of ‘quirks’ such as:
• Why was he so anxious? He is not a spooky horse but he did suffer from anxiety.
• Why did he not want to pick his front feet up but he snatched his back feet up so high?
• Why could I not groom his neck, especially near his poll?
• Why was his ‘core’ so weak and he was weak and wobbly even though he was in consistent light work?
• Why was there a small amount of muscle atrophy under the saddle and ‘ what looked like fat pockets’ behind the saddle?
• Why was he showing such severe lameness when the arthritic conditions were only mild ?
• Why did bars fitted to his shoes make him significantly more lame ?
• Why was his right shoulder always sore even after the physio released it every 6 weeks?
• Why did he resist and appear ‘sour’ when asked to do a 30-metre circle in trot !

On their own , you tend to think – ‘it’s just Patrick’ and discount them but when you put them all together is there a picture developing? I re-read the vets report and noted the anomalies in the neck vertebrae. Was it possible he had a sore neck ? This started a whole train of thought about how I could strengthen the whole of his core muscles to help support his neck. I instinctively felt that ‘groundwork’ could be the key but I did not feel skilled enough to undertake this on my own and this is when I met Zoe Swingler who runs NJS Rehabilitation.

When Zoe first examined Patrick, she was able to describe just how he rode by watching him for 10 minutes on the lunge. She explained that his core muscles that should support the rider, his head, and general posture had learned to ‘switch off’ for reasons such as injury or stress and this was the underlying problem. She also believed that the low-grade lameness was due to problems with how his shoulder was working. With careful exercise and treatments, she believed that she could teach these core muscles how to start to work again and overcome the problems in the shoulder.

Over the course of the next nine weeks Zoe worked daily with Patrick doing groundwork for six weeks before starting to ride him.

After nine weeks I brought home a different horse. He was not lame, he was less anxious, he was so much straighter than he had ever been and could work correctly ‘over his back’ in both walk and trot. Canter was still ‘work in progress.’

To achieve this, I believe that Zoe has used her unique combination of experience, skills, and knowledge of:
• the horse’s anatomy and way of going.
• osteopathy to treat problems in Patrick’s musculature system.
• rehabilitation skills to build up and strengthen the musculature system.
• groundwork and ridden skills to bring this all together.
Plus, her own patience and tenacity to work with Patrick every day come wind, rain, or frost.
Zoe spent time with me and my trainer to show us the subtle changes we need to make every time we ride him to firmly establish this new way of going for Patrick. She is also ‘on the end of the phone’ should I need any advice and we have arranged a follow up in a month’s time where she will assess and treat him if it is necessary.

The journey is far from complete but the foundations are now in place and I am now so optimistic for the future.

Thank you, Zoe, for giving me back my ‘dressage dream’ horse.

27/12/2023

INDIBA

NJS Rehabilitation is now providing INDIBA Dual therapy for both horses & humans.
Radio frequency treatments delivered at 448kHz, to promote tissue repair in acute, subacute or chronic conditions OR for prehabilitation & improved performance.
May be used as a sole treatment or in combination with other therapies & manual techniques.
If you would like to discuss the benefits of INDIBA please DM or call.

Yard visits
Out patient appointments at NJS
Rehabilitation livery available.