VetRehab Acuvet

01/05/2025

Are you worried that you’re imagining things?

Do you think your dog is starting to get a little bit stiff when they get up after a sleep? Maybe just the first one or two steps after they stand up? A bit sore after a run around, or not quite wanting to walk as far as they used to?

You know your dog better than anyone. Noticing subtle changes in their behaviour helps us to start looking at why that’s happening.

When we get a diagnosis, we can get in early to support them. When we’re talking osteoarthritis, the sooner we start, the more options we have. There are a LOT more things we can do than just putting them on painkillers.

My dog Louis has arthritis in his elbows. He's on some painkillers now, but I keep the dose down thanks to all the other tools I can use. He had stopped running and playing with my other dog – but now he’s back enjoying himself.

If you're not sure if something's up with your dog, message me to book an appointment and we’ll make a plan. The sooner we start, the better they’ll be in the long run.

28/04/2025

Here are three reasons why I take my arthritic dog for a short walk every day instead of one big weekend warrior workout.

1. Pain and inflammation go DOWN with gentle activity.

2. A wee bit of exercise creates healthier joints and keeps muscles stronger.

3. Keeping up his muscle strength will help him to get into the car when we go out.

And there's a bonus, he thinks I’m the bestest hooman on the planet every time I take him out!

Who else rearranges their life around their dog?

26/04/2025

10/04/2025

Go go Mango!

15/03/2025

I've seen this a fair bit. "The judge said he was in good condition". When in reality the horse/pony is obese and a laminitis risk, if not already footsore.

"Good" condition means not too fat, or too thin.

"[With horses in the show ring] That is a little bit of a perception change that you have to make, that healthy is not fat." -Emily Elek

Time and again I see performance horses and ponies who have a little extra weight on them. It's considered to be appealing in the show ring to have a "fat and shiny" horse with what looks to be a full topline, plodding around the ring. As a hoofcare provider, however, I see something different.. These commonly are ponies or horses that are "footsore," "just can't be barefoot," or "can't walk over stones when not shod." They may have some common "behavioral" issues as well - like refusing jumps, having a shorter or choppier stride, and maybe a little grumpier attitude. But are we just blaming this on "attitude and behavior," when something else is going on?

Emily Elek of Stonewall Ponies chats with me for this week's podcast episode about how she keeps track of the weight on her hunter ponies and horses, and how she sees excess weight affecting performance. We also talk about challenging the notion of "fat is healthy," and ways to feed for fitness without obesity.

You can hear the entire conversation on any podcast app under "The Humble Hoof," or directly at this link: https://thehumblehoof.com/2025/03/14/equine-weight-and-its-effect-on-performance-2/

You can read more at:
https://www.theplaidhorse.com/2025/03/09/size-matters-what-does-your-horse-or-pony-weigh/

Thank you to our amazing sponsors:

Cavallo Hoof Boots is offering 15% off a pair of Trek hoof boots at cavallo-inc.com with code HRN

A special shout out to Grid as New, Mud Control Grids – they are a game changer for any mud issues, big or small! – mudcontrolgrids.com

Also be sure to check out Hay Boss Feeders – haybossfeeders.com – for all your slow-feeding needs. I get my Hay Boss feeders from Mountain Lane Ag Supply in NH!

And thank you to Custom Equine Nutrition for sponsoring our podiatry clinic! Use code "HUMBLEHOOF" to get 5% off your order at customequinenutrition.com

13/03/2025

Beautifully autumnal! Is autumn anyone else's favourite season? 🐶🐕🐴🦄

🥶Brrr... Aotearoa/New Zealand, you're starting the day off chilly! Temperatures dropped to a crisp 3°C in Taumarunui, Taupo at 5°C overnight. It was a photo finish for the warmest places though with Auckland, Whangārei, Tauranga and Milford Sound coming in at 13°C

For the rest of the day, most areas will see sunny skies, with temperatures gradually rising to the mid-20s.
to find your forecast for today, ski on down to: bit.ly/metservicenz

05/09/2024

Seminar and workshops coming up!

25/07/2024

Saddle fitting focus!

I quite often have clients who are a bit upset when it turns out their saddle has been hurting their horse, because no one means for that to happen. I often describe my own failings in that department, because way back when, I tried very hard to find a saddle that fitted my own horse. I bought saddles, tried them, adjusted them, made all sorts of elaborate padding systems, sold the saddles, and lost lots of money, and did it all again a few times. (Does that sound familiar to anyone?! Saddle fitters were even rarer than hen's teeth back then.)

In the middle of doing all that, I made my horse's back sorer, when I was trying very hard to get the saddle right. I simply didn't understand what I was doing. Then I went through a lengthy process trying to fix her, which is why I ended up doing all of the training that I did, on top of vet school. It all took a while, but I did fail forwards.

So, mistakes will be made, but I hope that everyone will look forwards out of them and learn. Horses can be very challenging, they're like multi-dimensional puzzles where each little piece needs picking up and looking at and turning over and testing to see if it's ok or not, but we don't always have very good testing equipment.

Do your best, and keep trying 😊

21/07/2024

Saddle Fitting Focus!!

Only 1 week to go! Then we'll be talking dogs for a bit 😺😺

So what does it cost if your saddle doesn’t fit? What if you DON"T KNOW it doesn’t fit?

There’s not just the cost of a saddle fitting session – and if you don’t already know what to look for, you don’t know you need a fitting. Unless your saddle has been properly and RECENTLY fitted by a good saddle fitter, you should be asking questions.

More often than not I’m called out to see ‘naughty’ horses. Bucking, biting, girthy, etc… there are dozens of behavioural signs. At the first visit I’m assessing and treating the horse, and if I see certain pain patterns that I’ve learned to recognise over the years, I ask to see the saddle. 99% of the time those pain patterns match a poorly fitting saddle.

So, there’s the cost of a saddle fitting. There are the costs of usually at least two treatment sessions to help sort the consequences of the bad saddle fit. Often there’s also time off when you can’t ride as they need time to heal strained muscles. Sometimes there’s been development or exacerbation of kissing spines or sacroiliac ligament strains, and then you also need GP equine vet visits, imaging and additional treatment, and possibly lengthy rehabilitation. Not to mention maybe a new saddle.

It would save the horse a lot of discomfort and riders a lot of $$ and down time if everyone knew what to look for!

Saddle fitting workshop registration: https://forms.office.com/r/xHX0CC1v7Q

15/07/2024

***Saddle fitting focus***

Today's question is one I've been asked a few times in the past.

"He's going to grow [or replace grow with build muscle/put on weight etc], can you fit the saddle for what he'll be in a few months?"

Errmm, no. Firstly, the saddle has to sit on something right now, and it can't sit on something that isn't there. Secondly, if only I could predict what would happen in a few months, I'd buy the right lotto ticket! Saddles can only be fitted for the here and now. What we CAN do is keep an eye to the future and have the ability to make some adjustments as needed. Hence the importance of being able to see when that is!

Saddle fitting workshop registration: https://forms.office.com/r/xHX0CC1v7Q

09/07/2024

Saddle fitting focus! 🦄

Welcome to the Tuesday evening edition 🙂

Another question for you tonight. Multichoice.

How often should you get your saddle fit checked?

a - Only once, if you do it right it's done for life.
b - Never, if you bought the saddle with the horse.
c - When your horse tries to throw you off, but only if you know it's not because it was grass-affected.
d - Put any other answers in the comments below! ⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️

07/07/2024

Saddle Fitting Focus!

Happy Sunday evening! First, a workshop update. One of my lovely clients from this last week needs to sell one saddle and buy another. It occurred to us that the workshop would be a great opportunity for participants to bring saddles they no longer need, and to have a look at others on offer. So, anyone coming along is welcome to sell or buy too! (Please note that any transactions will be purely between seller and buyer and will not involve me. Bonus being that by the end of the day you'll have a pretty good idea of what you need 🙂)

Ok, to last night's question - why does the back of a saddle lift?
There were several good answers. The two most common reasons that I see are:

1. Gullet too wide for the horse. This causes the front of the saddle to sit too low, and when the rider is standing in the stirrups during rising trot the front goes low and the back lifts up.

Variation on a theme for this one is if the flocking in the front of the saddle has packed down too much or moved, or a cair panel has split, or the saddle has slid backwards, or the tree/gullet plate is broken.

2. The horse is higher in the withers than the rump and has a big drop in height from withers to the spine under the saddle, or has a very round barrel and forward girth groove that causes the saddle to pull forwards. It takes very little forward movement/gain in height to make the saddle sit pommel-high. In this scenario, when the rider is standing in the stirrups during rising trot, the saddle will lift up at the back but at that moment will be more in balance. It's not very helpful though cos the back of the saddle is floating about in mid-air.

Other variations on this theme are gullet too narrow for the horse, the front of saddle is over-flocked, or too many/too thick saddle cloths are being used.

And either scenario commonly results in a sore horse. 🐎👩‍⚕️

06/07/2024

Saddle fitting focus! 🦄

It might be the middle of winter, but that's the perfect time to be upskilling for the next season. Hence the start of our winter workshops. (If there's a burning topic you have, let me know!) With the saddle fitting workshop scheduled for the end of this month, I decided I'd try and see how many tips I can get in before we get there. And I already have a list of things to talk about from just a couple of visits this week.

So, today's little gem....

Why does your saddle lift up at the back?

Oh actually, now that I've written that as a question, maybe I'll just leave it out there to stimulate the minds of any fellow Saturday-night-in-scrollers out there. And I'll post my answer tomorrow 🙂 Guess that's my inner university lecturer making a comeback!
Answers in the comments please ⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️

And you have to be more specific than "because it doesn't fit"!

30/05/2023

The very cool Otis the Ocicat has used up a couple of his young lives recently. Luckily he belongs to the very dedicated Jody from Abyrose Wiltshires and he is still here to tell his tales. Cats are neat patients to work with - so long as we do it their way! Laser and veterinary osteopathy for Otis today.