JT Veterinary Physio and Coaching

21/08/2025

The Body Doesn’t Lie

I’m a little (a lot) increasingly worried and frustrated about the postures I am seeing horses worked in. I saw a post yesterday of a horse being worked in side reins comparing day one of using them to day two; day one — bracing; day two — horse sucking behind the side reins, opening mouth, compressing the wither (and everything else) to avoid pressure.

The day before that, one professional rider riding a 4 year old hyperflexed with draw reins in one clip and a tight martingale in another.

The day before that, a client told me that another therapist had told them to just shut their horses mouth with a flash to stop contact evasions… when in fact this horse is experiencing significant discomfort.

Today, a video saying if your horse leans on the contact to just give them a sharp upward motion of the rein to get them to sit back… because there surely isn’t a physical or rider issue why they do that!?

IF you DON’T think what you are doing is wrong, LOOK and FEEL your horse.

If you’re ignoring their signals in every other way, their body won’t lie. If you’re doing everything right, they’ll look right.

If you’re constantly battling with the same issues, if your physio keeps noticing a tight poll/lacking muscle/stiffness, if you can see your horses ligament clicking and flicking over the top of their neck every time you change bend, please please widen the gaze and realise — this is not right, this is not normal for their body, what is going wrong?

There is no shame in breaking away from a trainer you’ve used for years; or changing from a saddle you once loved to a new one; or giving your horse a little while off whilst you sort your body out and make sure you’re not hindering them. This is the part of the “sport” (I hate that word in this context) that has been so massively overlooked of late.

Even if you’re a professional rider only riding a horse for 30 mins a week, we are our horses GUARDIANS on this planet. Every interaction means we should care for every part of them whole heartedly. If something isn’t right, they will try and tell us however they can — big or small.

Speech and panic over… resume your day 🙃

15/08/2025

Little Alfie has developed his own little support club out of my clients! It’s not just his owners and other professionals invested in his journey 🥺
So I thought I’d give a little update…
Alfie had a 3 month update with the vets in Liverpool a couple of weeks ago. Even though they were really happy with his progress, they could not work out why he wasn’t using his paws correctly!
We got Alfie a boot called a “no-knuckle” to improve proprioception in his hind paws (hopefully) and support his toes.
But the reality is that if Alfie (who is quite a stubborn little dachshund) doesn’t show signs of walking correctly in another few months, we will be fitting him for some shiny new wheels.
Overall, he has come on so much! He’s now able to wag his tail, he can stand square for longer, he’s able to push himself up onto his hind legs, and has managed to lose weight to help his joints.
His owners have been nothing short of incredible. They have gone with everything I’ve said, carried out all of his daily exercises and taken him to a water treadmill once a week.
I will continue to work with Alfie for as long as I am needed. He is a special little dog with a unique character! And I will keep going for as long as he needs me, whether we get those hind limbs working or not 💪🏻🫶🏻

08/08/2025

I’m not just an animal physiotherapist, I am a mobile animal physiotherapist!
This means that I will travel to you to treat your animal! This could be a house, stable or hired venue visit!
All of my kit fits in the car and is accessible to any animal!
It also cuts out stressful travel time for you and your animal!

01/08/2025

20/07/2025

BEFORE ➡️ AFTER

This area appears sore in many of the horses that I treat. I would say the majority of the time it’s related to saddle fit! Horses can change shape so quickly so I recommend getting them checked at least every 6 months. If you own a young horse, or one that is coming back into work then you might need to see a qualified saddler more regularly!

This mare has other issues that will also make this area sore, so a combination of heat, myofacial release and limb stretches ensured that she was more comfortable.

07/04/2025

✋🏻 ON THE FOREHAND 🤚🏻

So after my posts talking about training aids and the effects, I’ve had a few questions about various things linked to the posts, so I’m going to spend some time answering them ☺️

The first group of questions were all about being ‘on the forehand’, what is it? What does it look like? Do all horses start off on the forehand? Is it detrimental to their comfort/ longevity?

‘On the forehand’ refers to the times when the horse puts too much weight on its front legs rather than the back, therefore it is not in balance.
Horses naturally carry approximately 60% of their weight on their front legs, but they are also not designed to carry the weight of the rider. Therefore in the wild, moving naturally on the forehand does not affect them, however with a rider on board, the ground reaction forces involved with movement through the limbs are greater, and so can be detrimental to their comfort.
When horses carry weight behind more, they become lighter in front and more ‘uphill’. This makes it easier for them to be more athletic.
Imagine running down a steep hill, if you tip forward, your legs will be out behind you. You either roll over or crash to the floor.
Now imagine running downhill but keeping your upper body upright Taking bigger slower steps, with the legs out in front of you. This is how a horse feels when they take the weight behind.

28/03/2025

“Oh they’ve always moved like that!” 🙄

💥LLLT AND JOINTS💥

The cold LASER or Low-Level LASER Therapy uses specific wavelengths of light to promote cellular healing, reduce inflammation and alleviate pain, which makes it a really useful tool when addressing issues in the joints.

If you believe your horse is suffering from joint pain, then the first step is to talk to your vet to assess, then get in touch with me for further support 😊

Joint pain can present in many ways:
❗️Lameness
❗️Swelling
❗️Heat
❗️Stiffness
❗️Decreased performance - reluctance to move forward, stopping at show jumps.
❗️Behavioural changes - fussy when you groom the area, a change in the way they pick up their feet.

25/03/2025

Big big thanks to Amy at ALL Photography for coming at short notice to grab some pictures and videos of the combinations who supported my first strength and conditioning clinic 🫶🏻

I have received so many amazing pictures, videos and Amy has even created some reels that are ready to go onto social media 👌🏻 Clients also got the opportunity to purchase some lovely photos of their unique sessions!

If you’re thinking of doing a photo shoot or want to upgrade your business portfolio, I would highly highly recommend Amy!

22/03/2025

Next up on the training aid discussion ……

❗️The German Training Aid ❗️

This aid attaches to one side of the bit, goes between the front legs, up and over the whithers, down underneath the opposite elbow then to the other side of the bit.

It is sold as ‘designed to encourage your horse to work effectively over his back in a natural way’. HOW??

Well let’s have a look at how it might achieve this (OR NOT!!)

This aid puts pressure on a few different structures that could actually hinder the way the horse moves.

Behind the whither - Any pressure in this region is likely to reduce the horses willingness to ‘lift’ their back, the opposite being thoracic extension (dropping of the back). We have seen this previously from studies carried out on roller pressures. This aid also moves from side to side with the movement of the front legs so could also cause discomfort leading to friction injuries.

Girth area - In 2013 Murray, Guire, Fisher & Fairfax published a study showing that poorly fitting girths caused peak pressures in the girth region. These pressures were the same or greater than those associated with clinical signs of pain in horses. This pressure point is also in the location associated with girth galls which have been attributed to pressure or friction. Again, this was found when investigating girths - which are more or less fixed in position. It could reasonably be assumed then that this aid might cause a greater degree of pressure as it is being pulled forwards by its attachment to the bit and an even greater degree of friction due to the side-side movement caused by shoulder and elbow movement.

Neck - The commonly discussed and so-called ‘broken neck’ is not a reference to a fractured vertebral column but instead is a description of the horses neck when flexed artificially by force (e.g., through training aids) which can cause over-flexion at the junctions of C3, 4, and 5. This aid could easily lead to this overdevelopment of neck musculature as it does not support the horse in a natural posture, and doesn’t provide release.

Shoulder - this training aid suggests that it will bring restrictions and cause pressure behind the elbow. This could lead to reduced elbow mobility that will have a direct impact on shoulder mobility and thus mobility of the entire forelimb.

Mouth - this aid is at risk of ‘jabbing’ and ‘yanking’ the horse’s mouth due to the direct connection to the bit via the girth groove in between the front limbs, and the side to side action created by movement of the front legs.

So as a whole, this aid concentrates full on the head and neck. There’s nothing to encourage the horse to push more from behind. There’s nothing to encourage lift through the abdominals and back. There’s also no release at the front end when the horse finds the correct frame. For me, this is just another ‘aid’ that provides a ‘quick fix’ for head carriage, NOT self carriage!

What are your thoughts?

21/03/2025

❗️DISSECTION IMAGES❗️

Was lucky enough to get into the lab a couple of weeks ago to help out with some dissection materials. I find these opportunities vital to see the muscle groups (superficial and deep), how they interact with each other and how they provide a supportive or dynamic role 💪🏻

08/03/2025

Thank you so much to everyone who supported my strength and conditioning clinic today! The sun shone and I had a blast helping all combinations 💪🏻☀️🥰

A big thank you to and for coming up to take loads of pictures and videos 📸

04/03/2025

🧡RARE AVAILABILITY💚

I have some time through the week to offer schooling sessions/ in hand/ hacking/ rehab opportunities to limited horses whose owners are struggling to get their horses back up to fitness after this winter!

I’m not looking to sit on any horses that are showing extreme behaviours as I’m not getting any younger 🤭 but I’m used to riding a range of different horses from TBs to Welsh Cobs, Connie’s to Andalusians!

I’m also offering confidence boosting assistance if you want to take your horse to a new venue for the first time and would like someone on the ground to help.

Prices will be based on the individual circumstances and what you are looking for/ frequency/ travel time etc