Elite Equine Bodywork

31/08/2026

I’d like to take a moment to thank everyone who supported me throughout August and booked their horses in for treatment as we headed into show season.

To help get your horses feeling their best and ready for the season ahead, I ran a promotion throughout the month of August. Every client who booked and had their horse treated during August went into the draw to win a $150 Horseland gift voucher.

I am super excited to announce that the winner of the August promotion is…
Grace Elliston!

Congratulations, Grace! I hope you enjoy your $150 Horseland voucher.
Thank you again to everyone who supported me and trusted me with your horses. I truly appreciate it, and I wish you all a fantastic and successful show season!

Should I run another promotion? Let me know in the comments!

25/08/2026

☆ Expressions of interest are now open.

Heather is now taking expressions of interest from horse owners in the Edenhope–Apsley and Penola areas.

These appointments will help formulate the Naracoorte–Mount Gambier run days and, depending on demand and interest, may potentially develop into a three-day trip.

With more than 12 years’ experience in facilitating equine bodywork, equine rehabilitation and exercise physiology, along with 3B cold laser, Heather provides care tailored to each individual horse.

From Shetlands to large performance horses, every horse is welcome—no horse is too small or too tall.

Heather is now welcoming new clients in these areas. If you would like to book an appointment or register your interest, please send Heather a message with your preferred location and details about your horse.
With the days getting longer and spring just around the corner, now is a fantastic opportunity to have your horse checked over after the winter months and help them prepare for the season ahead.

24/08/2026

☆ Attention Valued Clients ☆

Due to high demand, I’m heading back into the Winchelsea and Surf Coast areas to fulfil overflow appointments from my recent trip.

I now have limited availability on:
Wednesday 26 August
Winchelsea and Surf Coast — afternoon appointments available
Friday 28 August
Surf Coast — morning appointments only
If your horse would benefit from a treatment, please send me a DM as soon as possible to secure one of the remaining appointment times.
I look forward to seeing you and your horses soon.

21/08/2026

☆☆ Attention Valued Clients ☆☆

Here it is, folks—the beginning of show season schedule!
The September treatment schedule is now live. Please DM ASAP to secure your spot for September, as some areas are already at 70% capacity.
I look forward to helping your horses feel their best throughout show season.

Cheers H ❤️

18/08/2026

☆☆ Attention Valued Clients ☆☆

A quick update to my treatment schedule for the last week of August, and an explanation of why this change is being made.
Spring begins on 1 September, and requests for September appointments have already commenced.💕
Before I release the September treatment schedule, the month is already sitting at almost 60% capacity.
This is why I have adjusted the final week of August to help accommodate demand and fit in as many appointments as possible.

The revised schedule is:
• Monday 24 August: Horsham
• Tuesday 25 August: Hamilton area
• Wednesday 26 August: Glenormiston, Camperdown and Colac
• Thursday 27 August: Point Lonsdale

September’s treatment schedule will be released in the next few days,I recommend getting in touch as soon as possible if you would like to request an appointment during the first month of Spring.
Thank you for your understanding and continued support. I look forward to seeing you all soon.
Regards Heather 🙂

18/08/2026

☆ Attention Valued Clients☆
Treatment
Pricing Update
— effective 1 September 2026

After more than two years of holding my prices steady, I wish to let you know that my treatment pricing will increase from 1st September 2026.

During this time, I have absorbed significant increases in operating costs, including the rising CPI and fuel prices.
I have also continued to absorb the costs associated with travel, including vehicle insurance, running costs and maintenance.
Unfortunately, I am no longer able to hold my prices at their current level.
The adjustment will be made in line with the CPI index and will help me continue providing the same reliable, professional service and quality of care.
I truly appreciate your understanding and ongoing support.
If you would like to know more about the changes, please contact me directly and I’ll be happy to discuss them with you.
Regards Heather 🙂

13/08/2026

☆☆ Attention Valued Clients ☆☆

Meet Forrest Gump 🥰

Rehabilitation Is More Than a Treatment Session.

A session with me is about far more than providing a treatment for an hour.
With 14 years of experience supporting horse owners, my role is to help you understand your horse more deeply—how they move, how they compensate, how they carry tension, and what they need to develop and maintain health and function in their body.
Meaningful change does not come from an isolated treatment. It comes from understanding the whole horse: their anatomy, biomechanics, nervous system, history, environment and current capacity. It also comes from giving owners the knowledge and practical tools to continue that work between sessions.
Let me introduce you to Forrest Gump, a 16-year-old Arabian whose current discipline is endurance.
Forrest Gump came to my wonderful client, Sue, in January 2025. His previous owner had rescued him after finding him abandoned in the forest at Mount Disappointment in Victoria, on Forest Road. With a name like that, he could not have been called anything other than Forrest Gump.
Since Forrest came to Sue, she has been committed to his ongoing rehabilitation and conditioning. She is not simply Forrest’s owner—she is his human, and an essential part of the team supporting his progress.
That participation is an essential part of the process. My qualifications in equine rehabilitation and exercise physiology provide the framework, but Sue’s consistency, patience and willingness to learn are what help turn that framework into meaningful day-to-day progress for Forrest.
In this video, Forrest is using the bands for the first time. As an Arabian, he is naturally inclined towards a higher head carriage, so the aim is not to force a position. Instead, we are giving him the opportunity to explore a more forward-and-down stretch, find his balance, engage his core and gradually develop the strength required to support his topline and back.
The footage shows Forrest working in a steady, rhythmic trot as he begins to search into the exercise, respond to guidance and explore a more relaxed way of carrying himself. These are small but important steps in building his foundation.
This is what I mean when I talk about facilitating real change. It is not about expecting one session to resolve a lifetime of difficulties. It is about looking beyond the treatment itself and creating a thoughtful, progressive plan that the owner can understand and apply consistently.
After 14 years of working alongside horse owners, this is the part of my work I value most: helping people redefine how their horse moves, develops strength and maintains health in their body.
Sue is not simply booking an occasional treatment for Forrest and hoping for a quick fix. She is working with me as Forrest’s human and as an active participant in his rehabilitation—and that partnership is where the greatest potential for lasting change begins.
This is a fantastic beginning for Forrest Gump. I am looking forward to watching his transformation continue.
Stay tuned.

11/08/2026

✨️Last-Minute Schedule Update! 🐎✨

Due to unexpected availability tomorrow, Wednesday 12th August, I will now be opening up sessions in the service areas listed on the banner.Please see the banner for exact service areas. This is a fantastic opportunity to get in before spring hits! If you have a horse or pony that has been standing around in mud, now is a great time to have a body work session done to help them feel their best.Please message Heather if you would like an appointment tomorrow! 🐴💚

10/08/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BuozvHAm3/

Wow this is brilliant,and something I think we can all understand as we can often be our own worst critic.

This has especially resonated with me as I feel I should be futher along with my riding and in particular my physical strength after my accident in late 23.
But after reading this I am granting myself the grace to say
" It takes as long as it takes"
there is no rush to be at a certain level. The joy is in the time I spend with my boys...not the outside validation from the horse world...🙂

I know quite a few of you will read this and also feel a sense of empowerment.

Grant yourselves permission to go at your own pace. ❤️

You Don't Owe Anyone an Explanation for Your Pace

Let me say something that I think a lot of riders need to hear right now.

You do not owe anyone an explanation for how fast or how slowly you are progressing. Not your coach. Not your riding friends. Not the person at the competition who gives you that look when they find out you are still working at the same level you were last year. Not the voice in your own head that keeps comparing your chapter three to someone else's chapter ten.

Nobody.

And yet — here we are. Quietly apologising for where we are. Shrinking ourselves at the paddock gate. Prefacing every conversation about our riding with disclaimers and excuses before anyone has even asked.

"I know I should be further along by now."

"We're still working on the basics — I know, I know."

"She's not quite ready for competitions yet, but we're getting there."

Sound familiar?

Here is the truth that nobody in this sport talks about loudly enough. There is no timeline you are supposed to be on. There is no universal rulebook that says by this age, at this level, after this many years, you should be here. That rulebook does not exist. Someone just made it up, and we all quietly agreed to follow it without ever questioning whether it had anything to do with us.

Every horse is different. Every rider is different. Every partnership is its own living, breathing thing that develops in its own time — and no amount of pressure, comparison, or apology is going to change that. If anything, it slows everything down. Because the moment you start riding for someone else's timeline instead of your own, you stop listening to your horse. You stop trusting your instincts. You stop enjoying the very thing you fell in love with in the first place.

I have seen riders rush their horses through levels they weren't ready for because they felt embarrassed about being left behind. I have seen talented, dedicated women abandon horses they deeply loved because the progress wasn't happening fast enough to satisfy other people's opinions. I have seen riders at the peak of their ability quietly quit the sport — not because they failed, but because they let someone else's definition of success become their own.

And every single time, I wanted to grab them by the shoulders and say — stop. Just stop.

Your horse does not know what level your friend's horse is competing at. Your horse does not care that the girl you ride with just got her bronze medal while you are still working on your canter transitions. Your horse only knows this moment, this ride, this partnership — and what you bring to it today.

That is the only thing that matters.

Progress in this sport is rarely linear. It doesn't move in a straight line from A to B. It loops and spirals and doubles back on itself. You will have breakthroughs that make you feel like you have finally cracked the code — and then three weeks later you will wonder if you imagined them. You will have horses that teach you things about patience and humility that no clinic ever could. You will have seasons that feel impossibly slow and then one ordinary Tuesday everything will click in a way that takes your breath away.

That is not failure. That is the journey.

So the next time someone asks why you are still at the same level, or why your horse isn't competing yet, or when you are going to move up — you do not owe them an answer. You do not need to justify your decisions, defend your pace, or apologise for where you are.

You are exactly where you need to be. Learning what you need to learn. Growing at the pace that is right for you and your horse.

And that is more than enough. 🐴💛