Kate Stringer Equine Physiotherapist

20/01/2025

Straightness!! It’s a word we hear a lot when training horses but what does it mean and why is it so important?

A horse will never be completely symmetrical, (their internal organs are not symmetrical so there will always be some degree difference on either side of their body) but we need to always be working towards straightness, A straight horse will use both the left and the right side of its body as evenly as possible with even muscle development. The head and neck need to remain centrally in front of the wither and even if on a circle the bend of the neck should not exceed the bend of the body (which is not very much!) The thoracic sling should be evenly developed and the hind limbs follow the path laid by the front limbs.

The horse who is straight will then not overload one side of his body more than the other which leads to injury, the added weight of the rider on the asymmetrical horse will just add to uneven loading. If we try to increase the power from behind before the horse can use his body evenly it just leads to more crookedness and an even further risk of injury.

Buster and I have gone right back to basics for the winter and been really focusing on some simple exercises to improve straightness in hand. It is really paying off and the improvements in his straightness and willingness to go forwards have been noticeable in our last few lessons.

As always, if you have any questions/need help with this please do get in touch.

09/01/2025

Quiet day today so catching up with some CPD discussing the first 2 years of training the horse with Dr Gerd Heuschmann. A really clear reminder of correct riding and how it relates to biomechanics and long term soundness. I read his book “Tug of War” when it was published many years ago. It was my first introduction to leg movers compared to back movers and changed the way I watched dressage horses!!

08/01/2025

How is everyone handling the freezing weather? I am fortunate enough that my horses can still go out without leading them down an icy yard but I am sick to death of dragging water from the house over frozen ruts of snow!

I think we start to feel a bit guilty that we are not working our horses but depending on the state of your working area you might be doing more harm than good. If your horse is bracing against frozen ground then you are creating patterns of compensation rather than functional healthy movement.

01/01/2025

Happy New Year!! Thankyou to each and every one of you who has supported me, my business and my horses throughout the year. I absolutely appreciate it and feel so blessed to have a job I adore and such lovely clients, many of which I consider to be my friends.

In my younger years I always had goals and resolutions for the year ahead but I am not sure these served me well, I have read that new projects are far more likely to succeed if started in spring than the middle of winter…makes perfect sense!

That said if there is one thing to start doing it is to do more in hand work with your horse, I have found this to be perfect when the weather is bad, time is short and riding does not seem that appealing! We do not have a culture of in hand in the UK and getting started can be daunting.

For me a great start is with basic leading in a safe place, walking with the horse, trying to match their strides, both of you able to make quiet transitions from halt to walk to halt together without disturbing the horses balance and natural rhythm (not always easy!) Then starting to walk a large square with you on the outside supporting the shoulder through the turns will start to mobilise the shoulder and develop the thoracic sling muscles.

Give it a try and if you need any help I am always here!!

Here’s to 2025 and some fun times with our horses 🥂🦄

18/12/2024

I’ve had some company today!! Root is a young rescue who has been with us for a few weeks now, he has been getting to grips with farm life but today was his first outing as physio’s dog! He was a really good boy so a few more outings might be on the calendar!

14/12/2024

I absolutely loved this conversation, definitely worth a listen!

Podcast Episode · The Journey On Podcast · 07/12/2024 · 1h 2m

28/11/2024

This should be really interesting. Steph has turned my preconceptions of how saddles fit riders on its head, the ultimate consequence being I am more comfortable and stable in the saddle than ever, and of course this allows me to be a far easier load for my horse.

04/11/2024

I had a great time at The Association for Working Equitation championships last weekend, a really fun finish to my first season!! It was brilliant to be competing for Team North alongside my fellow vet physio Kirsty Rawden Veterinary Physiotherapy❤️

More years ago than either of us care to remember Kirsty regularly came out on placement with me. She has been doing some really amazing work over the past few years so this was the best opportunity to reconnect over a few drinks and plenty of chat!

30/10/2024

This is really great visual for head and neck position in relation to the back. I often talk about the nod of the head and neck going forward and down, away from the rider rather than up and back towards the rider. This is clearly shown if you watch the nod in this visual. The restrictive rein and shortened neck is causing the back to hollow and the dorsal spinous processes to come closer together, over time this posture predisposes the horse to spinal pathology and back pain along with all the compensation patterns that come with it.

In walk think is my horses head and neck nod going away from me or back towards me. It feels like a subtle difference but it makes all the difference!!

29/10/2024

The arena hedge providing a great browsing opportunity!!

28/10/2024

I have been trying to create variable eating options in my horses pen area. I am lucky enough that there is an ancient burial mound in one of their fields which they like to graze on and in their pen I have put in a high haynet and platform to recreate browsing. Maude especially seems to like the browsing options but you must ensure there are plenty of ground level options alongside it, we are aiming for no more than 10% of feeding to come from this position.
This picture really shows stretching of the hip flexors and squaring of the front limbs. It will help to develop stability in the base of the neck and straightness of the spine. I believe they are fairly easy to make but massive thankyou to cable.tricia who gave me her platform!!

21/10/2024

Due to a cancellation I have space for one fitting next Monday in the Driffield area. Take a look at my website stephaniebloomsaddlefitter.co
where you'll.find lots of information about what I do (eg faqs including explaining I don't check other brands, sorry, and my latest blog post on my new brand, Ghost of Italy) and a booking form.

If you'd like to talk about your issues and weather I think I can solve them, before booking, do give me a shout on Messenger or call on 07799 628057.

Below is the fabulous Lisa Allen of Equimech, specialist in rider fitness, conditioning and ridden biomechanics in her fabulous ErgoX2 dressage saddle.

11/10/2024

Who saw the Northern Lights last night? It has been on my bucket list forever so to see them so clearly in May and again last night is so special.

30/09/2024

This is so interesting for all the grey horse owners. Especially if, like me, you are struggling with their melanomas.

Recent scientific breakthroughs have shed light on the genetic mechanisms behind the greying process in horses and their connection to melanoma susceptibility.

The mutation is particularly common in some breeds, for instance Lipizzaner and Arabian horses.

The key to this phenomena lies in the Syntaxin 17 gene.

Researchers identified three variants of the gene:

G1: The wild type (this is the "normal" or original version of the gene which indicates that the horse will not go grey.)

G2: The variant has two copies of the duplicated sequence. The G2 variant is associated with a gradual/ slow greying process and has no apparent increase in melanoma risk.

G3: The variant has three copies of the duplicated sequence. The G3 variant leads to rapid greying and a significantly elevated risk of melanoma development.

A specific segment of this gene can be duplicated, and the number of these duplications directly influences both the rate of greying and the likelihood of a horse developing melanomas.

The more copies of this duplicated sequence a horse possesses, the more pronounced the greying process and the higher the melanoma risk.

Horses can carry between two and six copies of this sequence, depending on their genetic inheritance.

This discovery has profound implications for horse breeding, since through genetic screening, breeders can now employ tests to predict a horse's melanoma risk from an early age.

Using this knowledge, breeders can make strategic mating choices to influence greying rates and mitigate risks in offspring.

The study genotyped 1,400 horses and 78 breeds/populations and found the G3 variant, associated with rapid greying, is prevalent in 62 breeds, while the G2 variant, linked to slower greying, is found in only eight breeds.

This research could have far-reaching implications for understanding tumor development in horses and may pave the way for improved prevention and treatment strategies for equine melanomas.

Full details - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-51898-2

30/09/2024

Feeling a little smug as I get home before the rain starts!!

31/08/2024

This horse is not the easiest to reach so it is a real moment of magic when you know you have connection and release of tension❤️

16/08/2024

I have been obsessing over gut bacteria for a good few years now and have been trying to feed the good bacteria in my horses, my own and my families guts! This research, whilst not surprising, has such far reaching consequences for health, welfare and performance in all species!

𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐬' 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐠𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐚𝐥𝐬

A ground-breaking study has found that the future success of a racehorse can be predicted by bacteria in the foal's gut when it is just one month old.

The recent veterinary study, which was co-authored by a number of eminent vets including Rossdales Clinical Director and stud vet Oliver Pynn, analysed faecal samples, measuring the bacteria in the digestive systems of more than 50 thoroughbred foals from 5 stud farms across the country within the first four weeks of their life to assess the range and abundance of bacterial species in their gut.

The study found that the greater diversity of bacterial species a foal had in its gut at just four weeks old directly correlated to its future health, and its success on the racecourse.

Read more here https://tinyurl.com/bdmhjyww

01/08/2024

Backing is an exercise I do recommend and can be really useful for engagement and mobility. BUT it is only useful when the horse is in good posture and ready for it! Backing up at the expense of posture, crooked steps or in a hollow frame only serves to strengthen the dysfunction. If your horse is struggling with rein back start with just rocking back from the sternum until you see the wither lift and the neck drop, when this is easy then ask for just one step back and build from there. If your horse hollows or looses straightness you have asked for too much!!

Walking backwards - rein back - step back

This has always been an exercise I recommend and a recent article has used 3D motion capture to explore back and pelvis motion during the movement - Jobst, Zsoldos and Licka, 2024

'A significantly larger maximum and a greater ROM was reached between the withers, thoracic region and sacrum (labelled D-angWmT16S2) in Backwards Walking compared to Forwards walking, indicating a lifting of the back, an effect necessary to facilitate strengthening of the horse’s core and therefore often desired in equine physiotherapy and in equestrian sports (Clayton, 2016; Shakeshaft & Tabor, 2020)'

A few steps backwards - Unmount SD Cardnted - as part of groundwork and before mounting are a really good idea to mobilise your horse's back.

Link to article:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1090023324001412?via%3Dihub