Alice James Veterinary Physiotherapy

12/05/2025

What an amazing few days at Badminton Horse Trials with Kirsty Chabert, Classic VI (Betty) 🐴 and Opposition Heraldik Girl (Rocket) 🐴.

Both girls were superstars! 🤩 Betty had an amazing clear XC as pathfinder and proved what a class partnership she and Kirsty have. Rocket proved she has all the scope in her little legs to return another day and made some of the difficult questions look easy! You really cannot appreciate the magnitude of the fences until you've walked the course 🫣.

It's lovely to work with the girls when they are at home and a privilege to be able to come and support them at competition. Izzi Kirk and Lee Honeysett did a fantastic job of caring for the girls all week and making sure they looked stunning!

Getting one horse to a 5* is a mammoth task, let alone getting two! Well done to everyone at Team Opposition and thank you for having me be a small part of it. 🐴🤎🖤🥰

National Association of Veterinary Physiotherapists (NAVP)

23/04/2025

While packing lists and route planning get all the attention, this invisible aspect of adventure preparation might be the most important of all.

Tonight's physiotherapy sessions for Val and Mila aren't just about addressing problems—they're an essential part of our adventure planning process. This proactive approach has saved us countless setbacks over the years.

Regular physio appointments help us:

• Identify muscle tension before it affects performance or comfort
• Adjust training plans based on physical findings
• Address minor issues before they become competition-ending problems
• Maintain long-term soundness and career longevity
• Ensure our horses feel their best on training and competition days
• Support me mentally going into competition knowing my horse is in the best shape

Tonight, the physio found mild tension in one spot on Val's left back that we wouldn't have noticed in our daily checks. It wasn't causing lameness or obvious discomfort, but could have developed into something more significant with continued training. Addressing it now means we can still move forward with our preparation for his first ride of the season without interruption.

This is particularly important for Val as he builds back to competition fitness. These maintenance sessions give us confidence that we're progressing appropriately with his work.

Many riders wait until there's a noticeable problem before calling in professionals, but we've found that regular maintenance sessions are one of the best investments in our horses' wellbeing and performance. It's these less visible aspects of preparation that often make the difference between a successful season and a frustrating one.

A big thanks to Alice James Veterinary Physiotherapy for tonight's sessions - I left Mila yawning in her stable tonight!

What preventative care routines do you swear by? Do you use regular physio, chiropractic, massage or other therapies as part of your preparation? I'd love to hear your experiences!

19/04/2025

The Easter bunny wasn't overly enthusiastic about this weekend 🙈🤣 it may have been one too many Easter eggs 🍫🥚😉

April has been super busy and fantastic to catch up with lots of lovely clients and meet some new faces! If you know maintenance treatments are approaching, then drop me a message, as now booking in for May 🐴🐶🥰

05/04/2025

I love being a small part of the team! 🐴🥰

01/03/2025

**** Currently providing complimentary 🐴 hair removal alongside physio ****
🤣 the joys of Spring 😆

22/02/2025

Dare I think it, let alone say it.......... Spring MIGHT be around the corner 🙏🤞😬🫣🤫

Hold tight everyone, we are nearly there!

21/02/2025

Who else is feeling as sleepy and relaxed as this lovely mare? 😆🥰

02/02/2025

I had a great time at an equine practical CPD day on Friday. We had some classroom time in the morning and then it was hands on in the afternoon. I was able to expand some of my manual skills that I already put into practice and add in some new ones! 🐴

24/12/2024

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas 🎄🎁🥂

Thank you to all my lovely clients for your support this year! 🐴🐶 I've really enjoyed working with you and I'm looking forward to seeing you all in 2025. 🎉

(I'm also very lucky to have such obliging animals, that let me take my annual Christmas 🎄 pictures 🙈😆)

21/12/2024

It's been great seeing this guy progress, not only on the treadmill, but also with his treatments 🤎

This lovely chap has come out racing with the aim of retraining for eventing. He's one of the lucky few to not have sustained significant injuries from his duration of race training but he does have musculoskeletal imbalances.
The top picture was taken when he started using the treadmill at the end of October. He was on twice weekly initially, dropping down to once a week after 5 weeks. He had regular physio and chiro to address his asymmetry and compensations, in order to help him develop and work more correctly.
The bottom picture shows him 8 weeks on in his journey and we are so pleased with his progress so far 🥰🐴

FMBs Therapy Systems
Team Opposition
Nicole Pearson
Alice James Veterinary Physiotherapy
Welbac Clinic

26/11/2024

Some of you may know my side hussle is running the Aquastride Equine Water Treadmill on my 'non-physio' days.
I'm not the best at public speaking but doing a few demos for Riding Clubs, Vets and now students, has certainly pushed my out of my comfort zone! 🫣

We had a lovely group of equine students from University Centre Sparsholt join us for an informative talk on the uses of the UWTM and how it fits into life at Team Opposition.

A shout out to Jeffers 🐴, who was a superstar demo pony and particularly enjoyed a lot of fuss and cuddles from everyone after! 🤎🥕

27/10/2024

Tis the season for a bit of Pumpkin spice 🧡🐴

Happy clock change day! It's only 2 months till the shortest day (the highlight of every equestrians Winter!).
May your wellies be hole free, your coats be waterproof and may the odds be ever in your favour.