Wendy Felton - BackActive Animal Physiotherapy

01/11/2025

Did you know I use Equicantis? In fact, I have been for years, it's just taken me forever to take full advantage of all the features 🤦‍♀️
This means I can offer you next-level support including:
💥quick and easy upload of yours and your animals' information, giving me more hands-on time with your animal during our appointment.
💥digital session reports including anatomical diagrams with annotations so you can see the areas I've worked on at a glance. I can even take photos of your animal, add them to the report and annotate for extra clarity.
💥professional exercise and rehab plans at the click of a button! Complete with videos and sets and reps to increase your confidence performing the exercises and keep you on track.
💥handy email appointment confirmation and reminders!
💥No tech knowledge required to access reports and plans - they can be sent to you via email link, PDF, or direct to your phone!
Book your appointment today!

29/10/2025

I love the way Yasmin communicates her ethos, and agree 100%. There is a middle ground, but in order to train effectively and ethically, behaviour must be understood. As in all aspects of the world we live in, extreme beliefs either end of the spectrum are often damaging, as is ignorance.

I think some people misunderstand what being kind to your horse means.

They think it's synonymous with not training your horse.

They think being kind means you think asking your horse to do anything is cruel -

They think that kindness is a cover up for incompetence.

Being soft because you "don't have the skills to train the horse"

But these people who confuse kindness for incompetence are the same people who confuse stress or fear with disobedience.

They're the same people who will shame you for training with food, but will happily brandish a whip or spurs.

They'll tell you that your horse is dangerous because you use food, but they wont consider the danger that comes with training methods that invoke fear.

-

I sometimes wonder if people become addicted to the struggle - that training should be hard. The horse should resist. That we should keep going, slop around in the muck and the mire until the horse gives in.

And then I wonder whether training within the horse's genuine threshold feels a little anticlimactic. There is no struggle, no dopamine hit from seeking, struggling and then eventually achieving.

Because when you set everything up for success - you're not going through the struggle of "making the horse do the thing" because we don't "make."

We converse. We comunicate. We read their body language and alter our set up accordingly.

Unwanted behaviour is a language we listen to rather than punish. And we get so good at reading behaviour that "unwanted" is nothing more than a facial expression or a tail swish.

It's not sexy. It's not rearing and bucking and struggling and conquering.

It's just very quietly meeting your horse where they are at every single day and being so consistent with it that it doesn't feel like doing anything at all.

-

A hill that I will die on time and time again:

It take very little skill to force a horse to do something.

It takes considerably more skill to get a horse to do something because they genuinely want to be there.

I know which horse person I would rather be.

https://www.yasminstuartequinephysio.com/the-horse-posture-blueprint

27/06/2025

Over the past few weeks, a flurry of emails from the U.S. Equestrian Federation have hit my inbox about steps the organization is taking to safeguard horse welfare: hair testing, a statement on overuse, a new rule concerning return to play following a horse collapsing at a show. Earlier this year th...

27/06/2025

Jeezus... pentobarbital as a calmer. I've heard it all now. How has the horse world gone so wrong?

Over the past few weeks, a flurry of emails from the U.S. Equestrian Federation have hit my inbox about steps the organization is taking to safeguard horse welfare: hair testing, a statement on overuse, a new rule concerning return to play following a horse collapsing at a show. Earlier this year th...

25/06/2025

Some of you will know that I have taken a step back from treating, and the horse industry in general. After a particularly rough couple of years, I found that the noise from the multitude of opinions, miracle training and treatment methods and Facebook experts, coupled with the turmoil surrounding areas of the equine industry was clouding my ability to provide my clients with the standard of care they deserve.

I had lost energy, motivation and enthusiasm and was exhausted.

So, a major pivot was required, and here I am, working in Equine Event Management and loving it! What I am also loving, is that I can give the few clients I have kept on my books all my attention, and I have stopped letting 'the noise' influence my approach and values.

Feedback like this validates my decision and reminds me why I became an Equine Physiotherapist. So I will continue to help horses on my terms, with limited weekend and evening appointments.

Thank you Carolyn, I'm glad Loulou responded so well to her session!

09/06/2025

I couldn't agree more with this. Not to mention the benefits for the upper respiratory tract, TMJ mobility and normal dental wear from grazing with the head in a lowered position.

*** THE ABSOLUTE NECESSITY of MOVEMENT ***

Movement. An absolutely crucial word in a horse’s vocabulary, and one I use on a daily basis as a vet. Horses are not designed to stand in stables, or small turn out pens with a haynet, 24 hours a day. I am clearly not in the slightest bit anti-stabling, as my horses are stabled overnight throughout the year, but they are out from 7.30am-5pm every day (unless it’s dangerous to do so).

Unless injured, I don’t believe a horse should be confined to a small turn out pen, either. These seem to have become very popular, and whilst obviously better than a stable, a turn out pen barely bigger than a stable isn’t the equivalent of turn out.

As I’ve mentioned, there are obviously times when turn out isn’t possible; the horse is ill or injured; it is too dangerous to turn out due to frozen ground or storms; you need to restrict grazing if prone to laminitis; a livery yard doesn’t want their land trashed when the weather is atrocious; um….no, that’s it.

If you can’t turn out for any reason, and the horse/pony is sound and healthy, then you need to get walking! Horse walkers are fine for some of this walking, and do definitely serve a purpose of keeping horses gently moving when large paddocks aren’t available, but they don’t replace mooching and picking at grass. This article isn’t about grass, but I also truly believe that every horse and pony should be able to pick at grass, even if that means a grazing muzzle, or an hour or so on grass a day. Horses were “designed” to eat green stuff, and to have their heads down and wander around grazing, not to stand around eating from haynets, staring at grass through a fence. It’s our fault (I include myself) if we let them get fat, but I don’t believe that should mean they spend the rest of their lives staring at grass in the distance. I digress. An article for another time!

We all try to do our best for our horses, and I absolutely understand how it feels to be damned if you do, and damned if you don’t. I’ve seen three colics in the past two weeks that I strongly believe were due to lack of movement. A horse’s digestive system needs fairly constant, albeit slow, movement to function correctly. Standing around in small pens or stables doesn’t suffice, and can (and will) lead to problems with the gut. I strongly believe that in hand grazing MUST be used to replace turn out in horses recovering from injury, AS WELL AS in hand walking. Yes, it is extremely time consuming, but if we can’t turn out in a big paddock for whatever reason, then it’s absolutely our responsibility to do the grafting to replace that.

I’ve written before on why I barely ever recommend total box rest for any condition, so I won’t go into that, but I just wanted to get the message across that movement is such a crucial ingredient to keeping horses healthy and happy.

Feel free to share, but not to copy and paste as your own.

Photo of Harold and Alfred several years ago, when Alfred used to think it was perfectly normal to sit like that and watch the world go by 🙈

17/03/2025

𝗙𝗜𝗩𝗘 𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗨𝗧𝗘𝗦 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛 𝗖𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗔𝗨𝗥 𝗕𝗜𝗢𝗠𝗘𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗖𝗦

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗜𝗠𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗔 𝗗𝗬𝗡𝗔𝗠𝗜𝗖 𝗦𝗔𝗗𝗗𝗟𝗘 𝗙𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚

What do you do when you buy a pair of shoes? You select the shoes of choice, try them on and then have a little walk around in them to see how they feel and fit. You wouldn’t purchase a pair of shoes without trying them on and walking in them first. We should afford the same level of detail to our horse’s saddle fit when purchasing a new saddle, or having an existing saddle refitted.

“One of my concerns is that there is a belief that you can fit a saddle statically (without riding), and from an evidence-based perspective, that doesn’t make any sense,” says Russell MacKechnie-Guire. “A saddle that looks in balance statically can behave very differently when it is girthed up, has the weight of a rider and the movement of the horse underneath it. Riders need to ensure that they are present/able to ride for a saddle fitting assessment as riders can’t expect their saddle fitter to make an informed, reliable decision based on the horse stood in the stable.

“We know that lateral saddle slip occurs during motion, particularly in walk and canter and only on one rein and there is no way you can get that level of information from just looking at the saddle on the horse in the stable.”

Russell advises that if you’re having a saddle fit done and the saddle fitter doesn’t request that you are seen ridden in the saddle, you should go as far as terminating that assessment; “it is not acceptable to be able to determine the fit of a saddle without seeing it being ridden in and tested under the conditions in which it is going to be used,” he adds. “So, that should be walk, trot and canter on both reins including circles in a dressage saddle and similarly in a jump saddle but with the added bit of actually jumping in the saddle too. The saddle fitter should stand in the middle of the arena to see the side, front-to-back balance and then in the corner on the long side to see the left-to-right balance. I would advise saddle fitters to use smart phone technology to reinforce what they are seeing providing they conform to GDPR with videos.”

There are rare occasions when you can’t ride the horse during a saddle fitting such as if a horse is recovering from injury that prevents it from being ridden, and if the horse is young and unbacked, but otherwise, every saddle-fitting should include a ridden assessment. Owners need to be mindful of this and challenge the saddle fitter if they say they don’t need to see you ride in it.

“Good saddle fitters should automatically ask you to ride in your saddle, and if they don’t it should be a red flag,” says Russell. “You are paying a reasonable amount of money for a saddle and for the fitting, so you want to know that you are getting a thorough assessment to ensure optimal back health. Given what we know with the affect that saddle fit, design and balance can have on the horse, we are incumbent to ensure that we employ the most detailed possible assessment to ensure the best chances of optimal back health with saddle fit.

“We really must work with our qualified saddle fitters in fitting saddles and avoid the temptation of buying online and fitting by a video or pictures or not at all because the hands-on skills that a qualified saddle fitter have are invaluable to ensuring and safeguarding the horse.”

We all have a duty to safeguard our horses and part of that duty comes discussions. Horse owners need to feel empowered that they can have that relationship with their team to ask that question.

“If your saddle fitter says they don’t need to see you ride in it and you feel uncomfortable demanding that they do, you could say that you want to check that the saddle is comfortable for you as a way out of a confrontational discussion,” advises Russell.

Historically, saddles have been fitted to a horse without a pad or numnah underneath, but thoughts on this have changed.

“It’s fine to see a saddle on the horse without a numnah as a baseline visual, but it’s also important to see it with the equipment that the rider will be using with the saddle because your numnah might have an extra layer of wool which may make the saddle fit differently,” says Russell. “A saddle should be fitted with the girth, pad and any other equipment that will be used. It’s a fit to perform test.”

If you’re having a brand-new saddle fitted, you will go through the same fitting procedure (as a refit) of a static and dynamic assessment, but after an eight to twelve week window to allow the flocking to ‘bed-down’, your saddle fitter should come back to reassess the fit and make any necessary adjustments.

02/12/2024

Girth design and fit is just as important as saddle and bridle fit!

**𝟱-𝗠𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘂𝗿 𝗕𝗶𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗰𝘀**

𝗚𝗶𝗿𝘁𝗵𝘀

The girth plays a vital role as part of the equipment used when riding, so when we are considering saddle fit, we need to consider girth fit too.

“Riders spend a reasonable amount of money on a saddle and then don’t always consider the girth shape or design,” says Russell MacKechnie-Guire. “You can reduce the performance of the saddle and the horse by having a poorly-designed girth, so the fit and suitability should be considered similar to the saddle and the bridle.”

𝗚𝗶𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀

When we think about where the girth pressures are, previously, we believed it was mostly in the sternum region, but in a study in 2013, it showed that the areas of repeatable high pressure are in the region behind the elbows and not on the sternum.

“We used an electronic pressure map placed underneath the girth, robustly measuring the pressure of the girth during locomotion,” says Russell. “The other intriguing thing is that these pressures are related to the movement and timing of the limb, so every time the hoof is loaded, we get pressure behind the elbow which we found in all gaits; walk, trot, canter and gallop, and when jumping. This means that pressure is repeatable every stride. So, if a girth doesn’t fit, or is a poor design in relation to the horse’s conformation, the horse is subject to those areas of high pressure every stride. We found that this can influence joint range of motion, and create asymmetry in the horse and what we know from other research is that horses will develop strategies to alleviate any discomfort caused.”

There are various designs of girth on the market which means horse owners have plenty of options.

“However, what we must be mindful of is designs that claim to alleviate force or pressure on the sternum when they haven’t looked elsewhere on the girth, for example behind the elbows,” says Russell. “If we cut away something, the force has to go somewhere else – you can’t get rid of the forces. That’s something horse owners should consider when interpreting such claims – specifically the social media “literature”, not the scientific literature - because there are a few companies that have cut away parts of the girth which at first glance appears to have “removed” any pressure, which is great, but you still have the total force that has to be distributed somewhere. By removing parts, you are in effect distributing the same “total force” over a smaller area.”

𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

Every horse has a different conformation when it comes to the girth area, and assessing it isn’t always easy.

Russell suggests: “Stand in front of the horse if safe to do so, with the horse standing square, and look at how the legs come out of the chest. Look at the distance between the two forelimbs, and if at the top it looks narrow (like a “V”) this would indicate that the base of support is narrow, in which case the horse may need a girth that is of an appropriate design to suit that conformation.

“You then need to stand on the side of the horse (standing square) and visualise the girth groove. Influenced by anatomy (sternum length), some horses have a forward girth groove which creates quite an angle for the girth to be positioned, and some horses can have a rear girth groove.”

In these cases, girth fit and design in important, but it is essential that riders speak with their saddle fitter, as a girth alone is unlikely to prevent the saddle from travelling forwards or backwards.

Always have that discussion with your horse’s saddle fitter to see what is most appropriate for that horse.

𝗘𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗿 𝗻𝗼𝗻-𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱

“We found no biomechanical differences when using elasticated girths, and found, in some situations, some riders could over-tighten the girth because of the quality of the elastic, so our general comment is that, if you don’t need elastic, don’t use it,” explains Russell. “However, there are a group of horses that do appear to prefer (defined as go better by their owners) in a girth that has short (1/2 – 2cm) strips of elastic on each side. We don’t know the reason for that – work is on-going – but if you need/prefer elastic, have short elastic of good quality strength.”

If you have a saddle that slips to one side, you could try a non-elasticated girth to see if that adds stability, or if you have a girth with elastic on one side and the girth allows, change the side that the elastic is on, and see if the saddle still slips. In the majority of cases, saddle slip is induced by the horse, but a girth that has an elastic component may contribute, but it is unlikely to be the cause.

𝗚𝗶𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀

If using girth covers, Russell suggests using those made from natural fibres/materials where possible.

“What we have to remember with a girth sleeve, is that, while they can add an element of comfort (or satisfy the rider’s fashion), they can also add a lot of extra bulk, so as the limb is coming backwards, you need to check that you aren’t creating pressure due to the increased bulk of the girth cover,” says Russell.

𝗦𝗶𝗴𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗽𝗼𝗼𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗴𝗶𝗿𝘁𝗵

A poorly-fitted or inappropriate girth can cause sores, discomfort, reduce the horse’s performance, and compromise welfare.

“Observe the horse’s behaviour when tacking up, look for reactivity when girthing up such as nipping, ears back, tail swishing and pawing, and any sensitivity after exercise as well as sweat patches under the girth,” Russell advises. “This behaviour is likely indicative of clinical issues that need to be investigated – these subtle indicators when girthing up could be an early indicator that needs looking into, and must not be over looked as “normal.”


𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝘂𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗯𝘂𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗴𝗶𝗿𝘁𝗵

𝗔𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗱

The girth shape and design need to be appropriate for the horse, particularly cut away behind the elbows to allow freedom of movement. We also need to consider the conformation of the horse. Some horses are quite narrow in front and we have to be careful of the degree of the anatomical shaping of the girth that it doesn’t actually cause pressure on the pectoral muscles. That is why it’s important to have a girth fit discussion with your saddle fitter.

𝗟𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝗴𝗶𝗿𝘁𝗵

The position of the buckles and length of girth is another consideration – have the buckles up as high as possible. The buckles should be up as high as possible to remove them away from the high-pressure area behind the elbows.

𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹𝘀

Girths that have a pressure-reducing/distributing material lining are more advantageous than a girth that doesn’t because that can help distribute and dampen some of the forces. We can’t remove the force but we can distribute it more evenly across the girth and reducing the high areas of pressure.

𝗔𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀

Also be mindful that training aids or martingale straps wrapped around the girth will add pressure to the sternum area of the girth, so it’s always better to attach them to a ring on the outside of the girth.

𝗚𝗶𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵

Check the condition of your girth. It’s not acceptable to be riding horses in a girth that has girth cracks on the inside – that is going to cause discomfort.

Have thoughts, questions or comments, share them in the comments and they will be discussed in next weeks 𝟱-𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗨𝗧𝗘𝗦 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛 𝗖𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗔𝗨𝗥 𝗕𝗜𝗢𝗠𝗘𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗖𝗦 - 𝗩𝗟𝗢𝗚

🔭🔭𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘂𝗿🔭🔭

𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘂𝗿 𝗕𝗶𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗰𝘀: https://www.centaurbiomechanics.co.uk

𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘂𝗿 𝗕𝗶𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗩𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗭𝗼𝗻𝗲: https://www.centaurbiomechanics.co.uk/centaur-online/

𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘂𝗿 𝗕𝗶𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵 𝗤𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗢𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗘𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗣𝗗: https://www.centaurbiomechanics.co.uk/webinars-online-cpd-and-education-/

𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘂𝗿 𝗕𝗶𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵: https://www.centaurbiomechanics.co.uk/scientific-research-publications/

05/11/2024

I am opening up my books for a limited number of new clients in the Gloucester area!

☆ Performance assessment
☆ Static and dynamic analysis
☆ Manual therapy incorporating myofascial release, massage, manipulation and mobilisation
☆ Electrotherapies
☆ Exercise prescription and support with exercise programmes

Please call or message 07789 261801 to discuss your requirements.

Here is today's latest new patient, Mylo enjoying a lovely neck extension!

30/10/2024

An outbreak of the neurological form of Equine Herpes Virus has been reported in Gloucestershire. This form of the disease is often fatal and hopefully this outbreak will be confined to one premises. Equine Herpes Virus (EHV) can also cause abortion in pregnant mares, respiratory disease and immunosuppression (I.e. more prone to picking up other infections and performance limiting). Vaccination against EHV can reduce the severity of symptoms and limit the spread of this virus. In pregnant mares vaccines should be given in the 5th,7th and 9th months of pregnancy and in other horses and ponies an initial 2 doses are given between 4 and 6 weeks apart with then 6 monthly booster. For more information about this disease or to book vaccinations please contact the office (01452877595)

06/08/2024

Just had to share this amazing image from Becks Nairn . All these muscles attach (and influence tension in) the tendons in the lower limb. Yes, there are that many, and there are NO muscles below the knee/hock!
Tendons vary in length, and form the attachment points of muscle throughout the body to bone, or sometimes other muscles through tendinous sheets called apneuroses.

Organic engineering of the fore limb! Magic

All of the muscles attached to their lower limb tendons, to see how they operate head to my Patreon page.

https://www.patreon.com/Becks_nairn