Shannon McCormack BSc Hons EEBW - Animal Therapist

26/11/2018

I now have full ethical approval to analyse the kinematics and kinetics of canines wearing different restraints. This will be analysed using biomechanical markers, Quintec and a Tekscan.

Cannot wait!!

18/11/2018

The BFG, known as Lux, decided that he'd not eat me today but rather fall asleep 😍 this is an amazing reaction from him and just goes to show he was enjoying himself 😍🐴

*I have owners permission to post this video*

19/10/2018

Can't wait to learn 😍

15/10/2018

Three cups of tea and a packet of jelly beans later and I think that's my dissertation proposal done!

12/10/2018

I have a very exciting week ahead! NAVP conference tomorrow with some very interesting speakers and Friday I have a full day of lecturing with Professor Tim Watson!

09/10/2018

This is going to be an extraordinarily interesting conference 😊

04/10/2018

So after doing some revision today I went over my shoulder muscles including the Supra (orange) and Infraspinatus (blue). Both of these muscles are innovated by the suprascapular nerve.

As both of these muscles function in stabilisation of the shoulder joint, atrophy can cause significant gait dysfunction. This can be caused by damaged to the suprascapular nerve, which prevents the neuropathways from feeding into the muscle, causing muscle loss.

I have included a link below to a video to an affected horse below:

https://youtu.be/zIRBjOjMh5g

Note the lack of extension through the shoulder and the abduction of the right forelimb.



02/10/2018

I've been quiet recently, but that is because for the last 2 weeks I've been studying hard at uni! I have a dissertation idea 🙌 for which I am currently writing out the ethics forms for the boards. Exciting times 😊

26/08/2018

Very interesting topic I myself love reading into. If you have an arthritic dog remember you can help reduce disease progression by ensuring your dog has adequate grip on slippy flooring such as laminate by buying 'sticky dots' and tape (can be found on CAM's website - and is a very informative site to read). Though wooden flooring may be an easy to keep clean it might not be the best surface for your beloved canine companion. CAM has a lot of information on arthritis management including information on drug use below 🐶🐕

Note* I am sharing this purely out of interest for the topic.

Chronic pain medication – a tough deal for Vets??

Vets have a myriad of new NSAIDs which are thought to be safer for long-term use in chronic pain such as osteoarthritis. However, there comes a stage in the disease progress of many dogs where these are not enough, or where the dog experiences side-effects meaning they can’t have these medicines. So what next?
There are no other licenced oral medications for long term pain in animals other than good old Pardale-V which is very useful in many cases. So vets are allowed to treat their patients with drugs intended for people within reason. There are very few studies performed on these alternative drugs and no pharma company willing to spend the millions of pounds it takes to get these drugs licenced for veterinary use. So we look at the best evidence we have which is often very weak and based on the experience of a few vets treating a lot of dogs with arthritis. These are called case series which may be published or spoken about in lectures at conferences. Vets are not taught about these drugs when they first train so rely on their postgraduate training exposure. As a result it can be quite variable between one vet to another – how much they know and the level of confidence they have to prescribe such medications off-licence. You have to remember they take responsibility for the well being of your pet. If your vet seems unprepared to try these other drugs it is fair to ask for a referral to a pain clinic – to a vet who is more familiar with this use of human medicines, and this in no way reflects badly on the vet. This is what happens in human general practice – so it is with vets.

14/08/2018

I have spaces available on the 22nd, 24th and 26th of this month for massage. Let me know if you want to book in by contacting me on 07517090857.

02/08/2018

I'm so happy to announce that I have officially PASSED EQ100! I now have to wait for my certificates to come through. Once these have arrived I can then start to massage your horses, ponies and unicorns 😍🐴🦄

A HUGE thank you to all of those that allowed me to use their horses as case-studies. I am very grateful ❤️

27/06/2018

So I passed all my exams and got a solid 2.1 in my dissertation! Which was a lot of hard work!!!

Now I've started putting together some ideas for my next dissertation and started work in revision materials for more upcoming examinations 💪

03/06/2018

Can't go on holiday without finding a pony! Had the experience of a lifetime swimming with the lovely Doukissa! Only a few days left then back to reality 😍

17/05/2018

So yesterday I completed my final exam of year 3. I admit my nerves got the better of me and in my opinion it didn't go too well.

But onwards and upwards. You learn from mistakes and you try again.

I won't be graduating this year as I'm doing the integrated masters portion next!! So this summer I'm cracking on with more learning :)

11/05/2018

4 days till exams start. Do I feel ready? No, but who does? This week I completed my final assignment of the year, my last week of lectures and filmed my EQ100 routine as part of the externship.

All I can say is my head hurts 😂

29/04/2018

UPDATE* This week has been a bit crazy! I handed in my dissertation Monday then immediately after what was meant to be a good day, I had to take the drive back home to say my final goodbyes to a beloved companion.

Now I'm sat in the Cotswolds trying to relax following a very stressful and upsetting week.

As of tomorrow it is back to normal for the final leg of 3rd year! Wish me luck for my exams! 😘

21/03/2018

Another assignment paper has been handed in! A lobby paper suggesting solutions to resolve welfare risks in PMU mares. It worried me to find out equine oestrogens are used in hormone replacement therapy for humans when synthetic hormones are available. It's a very interesting topic to read about!

Next assignment due is my dissertation, so wish me luck! 😁🐕

15/03/2018

So I did it! Presented my poster on my dissertation "A Systematic Review to Analyse Comparative Ground Reaction Force Studies with Sound and Lame Dogs to Determine Whether Peak Vertical Force Values are an Appropriate Way of Measuring Lameness" 😍

14/03/2018

Dissertation poster printed ready for tomorrows presentation!

Photos to come 😊

05/02/2018

Back to knuckling down and getting work done! I'm halfway through my eq100 🙌. My list of work to do is almost endless! Roll on May!!

22/01/2018

Gave a very special pony a nice gentle massage today - he loved every minute of it 😍

14/01/2018

I've finally finished all my assignments for semester A! Which means I have a dissertation to start and equinology to finish :(

I'll be booking in again once I recieve my results and get settled back into university :)

03/01/2018

I've spent a couple of weeks off enjoying my Christmas, New Year and birthday. I shall be avaliable in Febuary for some sessions.

In the mean time, I have an assignment and dissertation to start and results to collect, so wish me luck!! X

12/10/2017

Hi guys,

I'm back again on the 21st-29th and I'd like to fit everyone in at some point, if possible.

Could you all let me know convenient dates and times please? Xx

17/09/2017

Finally recieved my certificate of completion 👌