Balanced Animal Therapy

04/06/2026

Doc's turn
Many years ago our Arabian gelding was suddenly lame.
He adopted an odd wide legged stance in front and for the first few days could barely load his right front.
He was a fit, barefoot endurance horse.
I did my usual palpation and check of joints but found nothing of consequence.
I assumed he had a hoof abscess but there was no palpable heat or digital pulse.
The general consensus was a shoulder injury. Based on his stance and lack of hoof pathology. However, I never agreed!
1 hoof professional, 2 vets, nerve blocks, many hoof poultices and several weeks later and I asked for hoof X-rays.
By this time Doc was barely lame and Dr Neilson queried the expense of this exercise. In his view Doc was clearly getting better and when he was no longer lame I should just start riding him again.
But I wanted to know Why my horse was lame!
How could I safely rehab a horse without a diagnosis?
We were very surprised to see a fracture of the pedal bone. Luckily, a fracture of the extensor process. It appeared to be healing but was not there yet.
The vet agreed I was correct to ask for an X-ray and Doc was definitely not ready for work yet.
As we were a bit out of the way, rather than re X-ray we decided that once Doc had appeared sound at trot for at least 6 weeks, he could be carefully brought back into work.
It's interesting to note that stable rest is still recommended for this type of fracture.
Yet Doc was left in a mildly hilly paddock with his friends. He is a relatively sensible horse but he would also run if the other horses took off. I decided to see how he managed and if the lameness got worse, I would confine him.
After the first week the severe lameness had clearly lessened so he stayed in the paddock
Despite not knowing the type of injury I was again focused on my horse retaining muscle and function.
He was eating hay high, had red light applied to his shoulder (his shoulder area did get sore due to his lameness). And bodywork for all the compensatory areas.
Back then I didn't have Vetkin Tape or Sure Foot Pads, which would have been a tremendous help too.
Again Dr Sharon May-Davis was available via video to assist in care and rehabilitation and I believe she has used Doc as a case study in her presentations on hay high, or postural feeding.
Pictured
About a week after initial injury, note the stance.
A month later eating hay. Now square but still a bit wide.
6 weeks later doing his hay high eating on a slope.
Doc and his mates, Wishes and Cappy.

02/06/2026

The T touch playground can assist in creating calm, confidence, curiosity and independence.

Discover the TTouch Enrichment Playground and explore gentle enrichment ideas, confidence-building, Free Work, and emotional regulation for dogs of all ages.

01/06/2026

My mare, Wishes, fractured her shoulder blade.
That was a few years ago now but my chest still tightens at the memory.
Wishes made a full recovery and has never been lame or shown any shoulder weakness or stiffness in the years since.
Wishes fractured her shoulder blade horizontally, just below the scapula cartilage.
Dr Ian Neilson, the vet, explained to me, 'if the bone displaces there is nothing we can do. My vet training says she should be stabled for 12 weeks...but I know you won't do that. I am interested to see what you do with her.'
He and I had worked together on many injuries, finding a line between the traditional 'lock them up' type recovery, and an active recovery. So he knew I wasn't in favor of long term movement restriction.
Wishes is also claustrophobic and has a Huge personal space bubble so stabling her really wasn't going to work.
I had a small, strong round yard situated on a mild slope in one of my paddocks. It was roughly 15m diameter and was there for quarantine and confinement.
So that's where Wishes lived for the next 8 weeks, still outdoors and near her paddock mates but not able to run around.
Her rehab started on day 3 post injury.
My sole aim in the early weeks was to retain muscle over that shoulder blade. I reasoned the more muscle she had, the less chance of her bones displacing.
To keep the muscle she needed to move and weight bear.
I also believed weight bearing would stimulate the bone to heal more quickly.

The plan that worked:
* Daily postural feeding, hay nets at varied heights, she had 3 or 4 haynets twice a day to ensure she stood in different ways. That slope on the yard, and it's rails, gave me many options. Her feed bin was also hung on the rails at different heights.
*Twice daily red light therapy, I found a way to tie the wrap over the injury site so I could pick up poo and fill haynets.
*Hand walking twice a day. Wishes was well trained and this paid off as I could trust her to walk sensibly. I also took her mate Doc along, as a calm companion.
We started with short walks and slowly increased the distance and difficulty. She used to walk out of her yard quite lame but would get going and look better by the end of the walk.
By the end of 8 weeks we were walking 7km per day!
*Targeted carrot 🥕 stretches that encouraged her to weight bear and load her lame limb in different ways. I had to keep changing these as she would quickly find a way to get the carrot without leaning on her sore leg.
*Bodywork to relieve compensatory areas and increase circulation.

After 8 weeks the Ian came to check Wishes, I was hoping he would give the green light for her to go into a larger area.
He was astonished, visually, he couldn't even pick which was the injured leg. He told me that a horse would usually have quite an obvious atrophy of muscle over the injury site by that stage. Muscle loss that was rarely ever fully regained.
In motion we could still see some shortness in the walk and slight lameness in the trot but the vet felt she could move to a larger area, preferably flat.

The second stage of the plan that worked. The next 4 weeks:
*Wishes moved into a 1/4 acre, again on a slight slope. She did not always walk quietly around, which was horrifying at the time.
*Continued with postural feeding and she also had grazing.
*Continued twice daily hand walking but shorter distances.
*Started walking on large lunge circle on both reins. I had Wishes crossing a track and having to step up a slight gutter and then down again. It was a controlled and balanced walk. The day she chose to step Down onto her lame leg was a day for celebration!
*Progessed to some circles in trot.
*Started to walk over random logs and poles when out walking.

At 12 weeks post injury I moved Wishes to a few acres on the flat for the winter. Luckily someone needed a companion horse for the winter. So Wishes lived with an elderly paddock mate who was not inclined to encourage any galloping around ;)

At that stage the vet passed her to go back into work but I thought a bit longer spell wouldn't hurt, and it was a 🥶 winter.

6 months post injury I brought Wishes carefully back into work and 10 months later she easily completed a 40km ride in very hilly conditions.

I was extremely grateful for the encouragement and wisdom of Dr Sharon May-Davis, during this process. My daughter was also a great help, and of course Doc, who kept Wishes company in those first 8 weeks.

Any of my clients with injured horses will tell you I give 100% to assist them with their horse's recovery. I will also reach out to other professionals for ideas and advice.

Wishes pictured after that 40km ride at Neville. The near side was the injured side.

31/05/2026

Cold 🥶 and wet weather...what do you think of?
Waterproof rugs and gumboots?

Me, I think of injury 🤕

Horses and dogs tend to look at their most exuberant in these conditions but they are also at most risk.

Slip injuries from my case files:

* Worried ph call, "Bruno can hardly move, I have to help him up and then he struggles to get outside then he can't lift his leg to wee.
Bruno, 11 yo male Great Dane. Like most senior giant bread dogs he has a fair bit of arthritis, and has lost some muscle.
But Bruno really doesn't let that stop him running like a goof especially in cold weather.
At my visit I found he had slipped and painfully twisted his spine, straining his back. The fascia of his back had also stiffened in a protective manner and was making movement doubly difficult.
To add to his woes Bruno had flared up the arthritis in his hips, creating more pain and stiffness.
I was able to relieve some of the discomfort and improve circulation for him using red light, massage and gentle joint mobilisations.
The next day Bruno was able to get outside himself but it was a few weeks before he cocked his leg again.

* Early morning call, 'I think Trevor has foundered but it doesn't make sense.'
Trevor 9yo Stock horse gelding.
A relatively fit horse living in a herd in a large paddock.
As I walked towards Trevor my heart sank, he wasn't foundered he had a serious pelvic injury. The vet was called and Trevor was moved to a stable.
He had severe damage to his sacroiliac joint and had fractured 2 points of his pelvis.
The road to recovery was a very long one but about 18 months later Trevor was back team penning.
Trevor's owner, the vet, and I, worked closely together managing his pain and working strategically to maintain as much muscle as possible while the injuries healed.

* 'when you're up this way next can you call in? Seamus bucked when I went to get on him today'
Seamus, 16yo cob gelding.
Now this was so far out of Seamus's normal behavior it was a big red flag. His thoughtful owner understood this and didn't attempt to ride again before I got there, a week later.
Very quickly I ascertained Seamus was likely to have a newly fractured wither. I did some work for him in the compensatory areas and the vet was called.
The vet diagnosed the fractures and was amazed that not much else was different in this tough little horse's behavior.
He was rested and when appropriate started on some gentle stretches and strength building exercises. A few months later he was happily being mounted again

So, after that recent combo of torrential rain, cold wind and slippery ground. Please scheck your animals carefully, and consider their behavior changes as them voicing a difficulty, not being stubborn, lazy or distracted.

Tell us your slip stories!!

30/05/2026

Equine Bodywork
Nowra tomorrow, Sunday, and Wednesday June 6th. Few sessions open.
Dunmore and Illawarra area
This week , Thursday June 7th.
2 appointments available in the morning.
40 years experience with horses.
2 decades as a bodyworker
Educated by some of the best in the world
I give real answers and provide accurate advice and solutions
Cost $100 or $150.

28/05/2026

Howdy Canberrans, how's the weather? Here in Nth QLD it's been balmy during the day and cool at night.
Anyway, not to make you jealous... working in your area 5 to 8 June.
Refreshed and ready to don that puffa jacket ;)
Image of Lake Barrine

23/05/2026

Crocs and Cassowaries!
June 1st I am back at work around Nowra.
June 5 to 8 in Canberra.
PM for bookings.

18/05/2026

Does your horse regularly stand with limbs in 'odd' positions?

This is excellent feedback from your horse that all is not well ❤️‍🩹

This is a symptom of an underlying issue, or multiple issues.

Unusual limb and hoof placement, is usually related to pain, lack of body awareness, hyper mobility, or compensatory posture developed during a previous injury period.

As a bodyworker, I can assess your horse for dysfunction and tension.

I then have multiple therapies I can apply. How your horse responds is more feedback on where the problem may originate from.

I often give you exercises to continue the therapy after my visit.

If it doesn't improve I may refer you to a vet and/or hoof care professional.

16/05/2026

Stanley, 4 Personal Best times at Flyball since I joined his team. Stanley doing jail time for running too fast ;) joking! He's just watching his sister have a therapy session.
I can help your dog too.
Oh 0431387787

14/05/2026

This is the breath, releasing, mobilizing, oxygenation of tissue.

*Moving the pelvis
*Lifting the back
*Releasing the jaw
*Elongating the neck
*Grounding
*Relaxing mind and body
A powerful tool for bodywork sessions, and owners.