Equine Treatment

Does Your Horse Need Treatment?

Osteopathy can either be used to assess the condition of your animal and treat preventatively to aid performance, or it can be used for treat specific conditions, such as inflamed joints, age related muscular tension/soreness, post-operative rehab or after a direct injury and periods of forced rest. Some techniques (e.g. cranial osteopathy, balanced tissue tension and soft tissue massage) are particularly helpful for animals with nervous dispositions, who require a gentler form of treatment. Eleanor also offers Kinesio-taping as an adjunct to treatment.

Location and Frequency

Preventative care is usually prescribed 1-6 times a year, depending on the individual and the activities they undertake, whereas treatment for a condition requires a more regular approach. As a result, we are happy to treat groups of animals outside our key areas on a preventive basis, but those requiring more frequent treatment should ideally be within our catchment area in South Hampshire and East Dorset.

Booking a treatment

If you would like to book a session, please contact me on the form at the end of the page and complete the new patient form below. For further details about appointments and prices, click on the related links below. If you require information regarding a dog or cat please click here to take you to the canine/feline page. If your inquiry is for another animal you can find our exotics/wildlife page here. If you have any other questions or are unsure, please don’t hesitate to contact me using the form at the end of the page so we can discuss your situation in more detail.

Not sure if your horse needs treatment? Below are just some of the signs that might indicate that they do…

Change in behaviour, more ‘aggressive’ or ‘grumpy’

Ears back, tail swishing or trying to bite you when you tack up or tighten the girth

Difficulty with 1 canter lead or tends to go ‘dis-united’

Tail swishing and head tossing whilst being ridden

Taking a lot of effort to contain and ‘work’ the horse together

Doesn’t feel like your horse is jumping to their potential

Bucking or rearing when being ridden

Difficulty holding up a leg for the farrier or leaning on you when you are picking out their feet

Your horse feels ‘stiff’ and warming up takes a long time

Difficulty with lateral work or movements that were previously easy

Horse has to get in deep at a fence to jump or stands off too far every time

Feels like you are riding downhill

Horse shows discomfort when grooming or has areas your horse they like being brushed

Rushing or not moving when ridden

Headshaking, head-shy or just doesn’t like it’s head/ears being touched

Difficulty getting your horse to ‘engage the hindquarters’

Knocking poles whilst jumping or ‘lets a random pole down’

Change in herd dynamics/’pecking order’ in the herd

If you’re still unsure, or for general enquiries, don’t hesitate to contact me below.

Click HERE for equine prices

Please note, in the UK, all practitioners must ask for veterinary consent before assessing or treating an animal (See quote below). It is rarely, if ever, an issue and we have never been declined consent to treat without very good reason, so please do not see this as a barrier to osteopathic care. The law is simply in place for the greater good of the animal, as they cannot communicate pain in the same way that we do, and sadly, some owners try to cut corners to the detriment of the animal. Usually, attaining consent, consists of a simple email or phone call to the vet, when we will ask the vet for any background information that may be of help to the patient.

The Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 and Veterinary Surgery (Exemptions) Order 2015

Physiotherapy, Osteopathic Therapy and Chiropractic Therapy

19.19 The Veterinary Surgeons (Exemptions) Order 2015 (which revokes the Veterinary Surgery (Exemptions) Order 1962) allows the treatment of an animal by physiotherapy if the following conditions are satisfied:

(1) the first condition is that the person providing the treatment is aged 18 or over

(2) the second condition is that the person is acting under the direction of a qualified person who—

(a) has examined the animal, and

(b) has prescribed the treatment of the animal by physiotherapy.

19.20 The Order specifies that a qualified person “means a person who is registered in the Register of Veterinary Surgeons or the Supplementary Veterinary Register”.

19.21 ‘Physiotherapy’ is interpreted as including all kinds of manipulative therapy. It therefore includes osteopathy and chiropractic but would not, for example, include acupuncture or aromatherapy.

Taken from the RVCS website: Click here for link to site.