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Tuesday 6:30pm - 8:30pm Wednesday 6:30pm - 8:30pm Thursday 6:30pm - 8:30pm Saturday 6:30pm - 8:30pm Sunday 8am - 6pm

http://Bethrobertsequinephysiotherapy.com/

Beth Roberts Equine Physiotherapy, Ivybridge (2025)

17/08/2025

🔹You’ve heard of rehab, what about prehab?🔹

When we think about physiotherapy, it’s often in the context of rehabilitation—helping a horse recover after injury or surgery🤕.
But what if we could step🐾 in before a problem arises? That’s where prehabilitation comes in.

🔹What is Prehabilitation?
Prehabilitation (or "prehab") is a proactive physiotherapy approach designed to prepare the horse’s body for future demands 📶—whether that’s starting a young horse under saddle, returning to competition after a break, or building resilience in an older horses.

🔹 Why is it important?
Injury prevention 💪– Strengthening key muscle groups and improving flexibility reduces strain on joints, tendons, and ligaments.
Performance readiness 📈– A well-prepared musculoskeletal system copes better with the physical demands of training and competition.
Faster recovery ⏳ – If injury does occur, horses with better baseline strength and balance often bounce back more quickly.

🔹 What does equine prehab look like?
Core stability work – to support the back and pelvis🏇.
Proprioceptive exercises – such as poles, raised walkovers, and varied terrain to sharpen coordination.🔍
Progressive strength training – gentle, structured loading to build resilience📶.
Stretching & mobility – maintaining healthy range of motion and suppleness🤸.

✨🐴Just like human athletes, horses benefit from a conditioning program tailored to their individual needs, discipline, and lifestyle. Prehabilitation is about future-proofing your horse. It can help keep them sound, strong, and ready to perform at their best, ultimately setting them up for success.
👉 If you’d like to know how a prehab program could support your horse, let’s chat!
📧[email protected]
📞07754048988
🖥️www.bethrobertsequinephysiotherapy.com

01/08/2025

🚛Travelling and horses🐎

With some of the bigger shows coming up and the later qualifiers🥇 of the year I know a lot of people will be travelling their horses. However, I think a lot of us forget to consider how travelling impacts the body and the stresses it can have.

Now I don’t know if any of you have stood in a moving trailer or lorry, but balancing is not easy work ⚖️. Now combine this with factors such as eating hay, another horse next door, early mornings, anticipation and a days work, it is still a taxing activity on the muscles and mind💪🧠.

So when you are next going on a day out, consider the following to help your horse:
🔹Leg stretch pre travel- just a 5 minute walk will wake up muscles helping to prevent strain, especially if early in the morning.
🔹Electrolytes- to replace any minerals lost through sweat during travel, also helping to maintain ion balance within muscle cells.
🔹Calmer if your horse is stressy can help to take the edge off and make the journey more enjoyable, taking additional stress off of the body
🔹Hydration- horses generally don’t drink during transport so ensuring the body is well hydrated will help avoid muscle cramping and dehydration during the journey.
🔹Muscle recovery- utilising a massage pad or PEMF rug, and a physio session following a day out will help to relax the stabiliser muscles that have had to work particularly hard that day.

🍀Best of luck to everyone still competing this season, of course enjoy it and consider what you can add into your lorry or trailer to make each journey more comfortable for your horses. These tips and tricks may just help to make the day even that bit more successful🏆.

10/07/2025

Did you know the forelimbs are not actually attached to the body by bone? 🦴
🧬The thoracic sling is a network of muscles, tendons and ligaments that connect the forelimbs to the rest of the body. Crazy right? 🤯

🐎 Horses are natural cranial loaders, carrying roughly 60% of their weight in the forelimbs and 40% behind. Therefore, strength of the thoracic sling is important to support their way of going.

Weakness and/ or injury to these structures can cause:
🔹Poor forelimb placement
🔹Restricted range of motion including shortened stride length and toe dragging
🔹Tension and stiffness around the shoulders
🔹Shoulder instability, particularly noticeable on downhill work
🔹Poor balance
🔹Lameness

☀️With current hot weather causing harder ground, these structures can suffer due to excess concussive forces as mentioned in my previous post. Make sure to check that out for advice on how to minimise the risk.

Equally, for weakness in the thoracic sling there are exercises that can help.
If you suspect this may be the case for your horse, get in touch and get them checked out, it can massively help improve their way of going.
📞 07754048988
📧 [email protected]

Prince nicely modeling a diagram of the thoracic sling 🖌️

03/07/2025

🐴 How Hard Ground Affects Your Horse’s Movement – What Every Owner Should Know 🌾

With the summer in full swing, many of us are riding more but did you know that firm or compacted ground can significantly impact your horse’s movement and long-term soundness?

Here’s what’s happening👇

🦴 Increased Concussion- Hard ground doesn’t absorb shock the way soft footing does. That means every stride sends more concussion up the horse’s leg. Not only does this affect the hooves and joints but also the supporting soft tissue structures of the limbs, particularly in the thoracic sling, which I will discuss at a later date. Over time, this can lead to issues including increased wear of tissue, stress injuries, joint inflammation, bruised soles and hoof brittleness.

🐎 Shortened Stride- Horses may instinctively shorten their stride on harder surfaces to minimize concussive forces and therefore discomfort. You might feel your horse moving more stiffly or being less willing to go forward in order to protect themselves.

⚠️ Higher Risk for Lameness- Repeated work on unforgiving ground can increase risk of injury in the sense of tripping but also contribute to long-term wear and tear—think arthritis, splints, or tendon strain. Especially at faster gaits or during jumping, the risk increases.

What You Can Do:
🔹 Warm up slowly to give joints and muscles time to adapt.
🔹 Keep sessions low impact where possible- this can be a good time to focus on your horses way of going in the slower gaits.
🔹 Use supportive hoof protection (e.g., shoes or boots with shock-absorbing pads).
🔹 Ride in softer footing when possible (well-maintained arenas).
🔹 Monitor your horse—any change in stride, behavior, or willingness can be an early sign something’s not right.
🔹 Utilise physiotherapy for strength and conditioning as well as soft tissue recovery.

👉 Remember: Listening to your horse and adapting your routine can go a long way in keeping them sound and happy for the duration of the season.

03/07/2025

The summer heat can be dangerous to horses, especially when it is made worse by high humidity and they have not had time to adjust. Horses can easily become dehydrated and lethargic in a short space of time. Severe heat stress can cause colic, diarrhoea or collapse, so it is important to keep your horse cool. Young, old and ill horses are more vulnerable so must be monitored carefully.

Always think about the possible causes of overheating, which include the obvious, such as very hot weather, but there are also other causes, such as:

🐎 Exercise
☀️ Prolonged exposure to direct sunlight or turnout without shade
🏠 Poor ventilation in stabling
🚛 Transport
🍕 Obesity
🧥 Inappropriate rugs

More on some of the above over the next few days!

So if my horse is overheating, what would I see and what is heatstroke?

When horses become overheated, they can become angry and agitated but if cooled down before this progresses into other signs this helps prevents heat stroke from developing. Heat stroke happens when the horse has been unable to cool down once becoming overheated.

Signs of heat stroke to watch out for:

🥵 Profuse sweating
🌡 Increased temperature, pulse and respiratory rates
😴 Lethargy and dullness
🥱 A reluctance to work
🤐 Loss of appetite
👣 Staggering and weakness
🫨 Muscle tremors
😵 Collapse

What can you do to cool down your horse if you think they are overheating?

⛱ Move your horse into shade immediately
💦 Cold hosing of the whole body, focusing on the big muscle masses in the hindquarters. Do not put wet towels over them as that just traps the heat. It is best not to scrape off excess water and sweat, but to leave the water to evaporate.
👣 Gentle walking or stand in a breeze / under a fan to help cooling.
🫗 Offer small amounts of cold water to drink (half a bucket, maximum10l) every 30 minutes

If you suspect your horse has a high temperature or is showing any of the above signs (especially after exercise or travel) then please ring the vet practice for advice 📞

03/07/2025

So how can we manage the ragwort in our pasture?

If you have ragwort growing in your horse’s pasture, the best way of removing it is to pull the plants up so that the roots are removed from the ground. However we do need to take some safety precautions and know what to do, so here are some tips for when ‘pulling’ ragwort:

🧤Always wear gloves and cover your arms.

🌱 Try to pull up the plants when they are immature and before they shed seeds – seeds ripen in July & August and are generally shed in September.

🌾 Ensure that all the root is removed as remaining fragments will regrow.

🌧 It will be easier to pull it up when the ground is soft or damp after rain.

🌞 Ragwort is a biennual plant (flowers every two years) and its seeds lie dormant in the ground so the removal of plants will need to be done annually for at least two years.

🎒 When removed, immediately bag the plant or put it into a container which prevents it from spreading seeds whilst transporting it for disposal.

❌ Dispose of it by composting or taking it to your local recycling/composting centre. If there is only a small amount, it may be burned if it is safe to do so and away from buildings, people and animals. Safe and effective disposal of the removed plants is key to preventing further spread. If unsure please follow government guidelines which can be found here -

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/stop-ragwort-and-other-harmful-weeds-from-spreading

❗️ It is vital that all dead ragwort is removed from the pasture as it becomes more palatable and is, therefore, more likely to be eaten

If I think my horse has been eating ragwort how can we check about the liver function?

💉 Taking blood and checking if the liver is functioning well can give us an idea of what is happening but if you are concerned your horse may be having a problem with its liver or toxin ingestion please do give us a ring on the normal office number 📞

25/06/2025

🐴☀️🫗Summer time drinking 🫗☀️🐴

Did you know that the average 500kg horse needs to drink 25 Litres of water daily in normal weather. This only goes up when the weather becomes warmer and your horse loses more water through sweating. This is why it is so important to make sure your horse always has access to fresh, clean water. Take the time to check automatic drinkers and outdoor water sources daily to make sure they’re filling and clean.

But what if my horse doesn't like drinking much?!

Some horses are less keen on drinking than others and may go off their water for various reasons, an example being when away from home at competitions. There are various options that can be tried to increase a horses water intake. Such as -

🫗 Adding extra water to your horses feed, offering warm water rather than cold or adding in soaked feeds into their diet (or increasing the amount of water in the soaked feed).

💦 Introducing a ‘water buffet’ - alongside a bucket of normal clean water you can provide buckets with other flavours of water such as water with table salt added, water with a small amount of molasses in and water with apple juice added. Some horses will prefer one or more of these options over plain water.

🚛 When travelling away from home bringing water from home may be a good idea in order to improve your horses water uptake, some horses only like the flavour of water they’re used to.

What else may need to be considered?

If horses are profusely sweating then they will often also lose electrolytes so adding in electrolytes or using rehydrating type feeds can also be a useful addition to consider.

20/06/2025

☀️ Heat and Horses 🐴
As much as we love this hot weather, unfortunately in the UK weeks like this are a novelty, and just like us our horses are not used to it. So what can you do to help:

🐎 Exercise: try to exercise your horses when the temperatures are cooler, such as first thing in the morning or later in the evening.

💦 Hydration is key so ensure your horses have 24/7 access to clean drinking water. For those who need encouragement to drink, perhaps try a hydration mash or a water additive to make water more appealing.

⚡️Electrolytes: as horses sweat they lose essential minerals and so adding electrolytes to their feed or water will help to regain mineral balance, which ultimately helps to maintain fluid balance as well as nerve and muscle function.

🧽 Sponging/ hosing off helps to remove any sweat and dirt that is trapped under hair, keeping the skin healthy and allowing it to breathe. Additionally it will aid in cool down after exercise in this kind of heat.

🧴 Suncream: a biggie for those pink skinned ponies- using a good equine suncream will really help to protect those pink noses.

💤 Rest: finally, ensuring horses have access to adequate shade and shelter and a safe place to rest is essential, as we all know how the sun can take it out of us.

With temperatures soaring this week, be sure to keep you and your horses safe. Any additional tips people have, be sure to share them in the comment section below👇.

12/06/2025

Did you know Beth Roberts Equine Physiotherapy offers yard discount?🐴💷

It makes sense, if I am coming out to your yard, and multiple horses are needing treatment, to do them all at once right? Therefore, for yards with 5 or more horses being treated on the same day, I offer £5 off each horse’s session.

Got a few more ponies than you anticipated when you got that first one, a riding school, racing yard, livery or competition team? Get them booked in today and save yourself a little extra money. 💸

ℹ️ For more information on prices, please get in touch or visit our website https://www.bethrobertsequinephysiotherapy.com

05/06/2025

🔎Assessment🔎

There are multiple parts that make up the assessment section of a session and there is so much us physios are looking at. So during your session, what can you expect?

🔹 Veterinary history- this helps to gain a general understanding of underlying conditions and previous injuries. It also ensures horses are up to date with general health checks and are healthy to treat.
🔹General understanding of management and goals- gaining insight into how their day to day life is reflecting their condition and how this may be improved to help achieve your goals with them.
🔹Static assessment- looking at everything from body language and demeanour, symmetry left to right, conformation and posture, to visible areas of stress or weakness.
🔹Dynamic assessment- depending on each horse will depend on how far we go with dynamic assessment but it can include walk, trot, backing up and circles, and sometimes watching horses on the lunge in all three gaits.
🔹Joint range of motion- used to assess joint health and areas of restriction.
🔹Palpation- focussing on muscle integrity including suppleness, flexibility, and symmetry.

🎨All of these aspects of assessment help to paint a bigger picture of what’s going on, thus allowing treatment, where appropriate, to be optimal.
Both initial and routine assessments, will include these elements, simply on different levels and depending on what ailments are present.

Think your horse could do with a good assessment to see how you can achieve your goals? Get in touch to book🗓️.

01/06/2025

Vet Consent 📋

As a veterinary physiotherapist, one key element of my job is working closely alongside vets👥. For all veterinary professions, the goal is to provide optimal care and to achieve this, a holistic approach is necessary.

🔹Under the Veterinary Surgeons Act, 1966, veterinary physiotherapists should not act outside of their realm of capabilities. They should also act under the consent of a veterinary surgeon to ensure that musculoskeletal work is appropriate for the animal in question.
💬So when we ask for veterinary consent or referral to treat, it is simply to ensure we can get the whole picture of your horses. We need to understand the history and underlying diagnoses to help the treatment and exercise plan process be more successful. It also ensures that underlying problems can be dealt with effectively and efficiently, and are considered when they may disrupt the use of other therapies or exercises.🐴

If you want us to be able to provide the best support for you and your animals, veterinary physiotherapists should be seen as a cooperative to veterinary surgeons, and not as an alternative🤝.

Veterinary referral forms can be found on our website https://www.bethrobertsequinephysiotherapy.com and will always be sent to you or on your behalf to your vet on enquiry for booking.

For more information, visit our website or get in touch today.
📞07754048988

Beth Roberts Equine Physiotherapy

17/08/2025

01/08/2025

10/07/2025

03/07/2025

03/07/2025

03/07/2025

25/06/2025

20/06/2025

12/06/2025

05/06/2025

01/06/2025

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Tuesday	6:30pm - 8:30pm
Wednesday	6:30pm - 8:30pm
Thursday	6:30pm - 8:30pm
Saturday	6:30pm - 8:30pm
Sunday	8am - 6pm