Kate Stringer Equine Physiotherapist

26/10/2025

I often get asked about various massage pads/devices to use between treatments and my answer is nearly always the same….Get the grooming brushes out!! Not just a quick flick but a good old fashioned groom, that makes your arms ache a bit. Not only will your horse be left gleaming but it is a great, stimulating massage that increases circulation to the muscles, and joints. You will also get to know your horses body, which areas are sensitive and which areas he/she really enjoys a deeper groom. There is a caveat to this though; if your horse is super sensitive and braces against grooming it is not therapeutic, we may need to figure out if this is due to musculoskeletal pain somewhere in the body or find an alternative approach.

25/10/2025

Hands up who has a sensitive Mare!
Absolutely love this post and will have these words in my mind while training my own filly

Sensitivity is sacred.

So are opinionated mares.

The sensitivity that created the first picture is the same sensitivity that let her feel the change in the rhythm of my seat that created the second picture… her very first canter under saddle.

Once we dampen that birthright sensitivity, it’s hard to get back.

Sensitive horses don’t need de-sensitized, they just need to understand.

And opinionated mares like this don’t need knocked down a peg or two.

They need to be allowed to rise into the matriarchial self-assuredness demanded of their sex by nature itself.

26/09/2025

Another day of learning today at the NAVP conference, some really fascinating speakers and a long overdue catch up with some friends. I promise I have managed to squeeze a few clients in between all the learning this week🤣🤣!

17/09/2025

These pictures are fascinating, you can clearly visualise the open growth plates in the young horse and why work appropriate to the age of the horse is so important….

19/08/2025

This happened today!! First ride on Maude!! I have been working with her a few times a week all summer with the help of McNickle Horsemanship . I had never planned to be the person to get on but the groundwork was all in place so the transition to having a rider on board was very easy for her, she showed no sign of being bothered about me being up top rather than on the floor😁. Hopefully another little ride then just some more ponying out hacking next to Smoothie while the weather holds then leave her until the spring to mature and process everything she has learned.

05/08/2025

Absolutely!!

01/08/2025

Love this comparison of the human foot and equine lower limb! Call me a geek but I have always been fascinated by how different species have evolved for their function but the basic anatomy is the same.

Edited to show the third human toe is the equilivant to the horse foot. Also the horse splint bones are thought to be the equivalent of toes 2 and 4 in the human.

What a clever way to illustrate the foot of man and lower leg of the horse.

Drawing taken from “The horse its treatment in health and disease, 1909”.

They have similarities in the bone structure however the biomechanical are quite different.

I love it when I hear folks compare horses feet to human feet and I untangle in my head, what they describe, to see if what they are saying is actually correct. Flipper feet (long toes), stones in shoes (protruding bars) etc.

My journey of biomechanics is in its infancy but it’s a truly amazing topic. I had a great 2 hour conversation with a farrier from the US today, Jeremy V. He explained such a lot to me and helped me understand more about the biomechanics.

When you consider the fetlock on the horse and the cannon bone as one of the directions of force (perpendicular) then there is the pastern line of force at at angle, it’s quite complicated. At stance it’s ok. Start the limb moving then woah……🤯🤯🤯🤯.

27/07/2025

13 years ago today was my first day as a qualified Vet Physio. It had been my dream job since forever and it was a long hard road to get there! I am so grateful to each and every horse and owner who have supported me for the last 13years. I have learnt so much along the way and really do wake up every morning and can’t believe this life is mine to live.

23/07/2025

I really like this diagram, it is simple but really shows how important a balanced hoof is.

An important concept.
Support, suspension and direction of motion.

The DDFT trumps everything.
Too tight or too loose and problems start. Just right and all is good.

Think about the DDFT being too tight where will problems start?

Or too loose? Think caudal foot collapse.

Dr Redden has a lot to share about the DDFT.

Credit R Redden.

23/07/2025

The Brachiocephalic muscle get referred to regularly in my reports so let’s delve a bit deeper into it

The brachiocephlicus is a large, superficial muscle that plays a key role in head, neck and forelimbs movement. It divides into two parts the Cleidocephalicus and the Cleidobrachialis,

Origin - 1st origin mastoid process and the nuchal crest of the skull. 2nd origin Omotransversarius, the wing of the atlas and the transverse processes of C2-C4/5

Insertion - Deltoid tuberosity and crest of humerus

In simple terms it runs from the back of the skull to the upper forelimb! It is has multiple functions,

▪️It helps to flex the neck to either side.
▪️When the forelimb is fixed it extends the head and neck.
▪️When the head and neck are stable it helps to draw the limb forward.

This muscle can become hypertrophied through overuse caused by -

▪️Poor posture and forelimb lameness resulting in using the neck to balance instead of pushing up through the thoracic sling muscles
▪️Poor training practices - similarly to the previous point if the horse is not encouraged to work in self carriage with a free and functional back the front limbs do not provide a vertical support against the pull of gravity and the brachiocephlic comes under strain.
▪️ Anatomical variations - bony abnormalities in the spinal column can cause overuse and strain of the brachiocephlic as the body tries to compensate.
▪️ External injuries - I do see quite a few horses with scarring in this muscle due to old kick and bite injuries as well as damage from pulling back on a headcollar.

When the muscle is hypertrophied it can bulge and be sensitive to touch, it goes hand in hand with atrophy of the trapezius muscles and a weak topline.

To address this postural imbalance we need to to facilitate the relaxation of the brachiocephlic muscle along with activating the thoracic sling muscles to improve posture and function.