So, what’s the point in exercise therapy eh? It’s a fair question and, therefore, I thought I’d take the opportunity to explain my thinking behind these sessions. First of all, I’d like to be clear on a few points:
· Exercise therapy isn’t just for horses on rehabilitation- although exercise therapy plays a key part in rehabilitation, this isn’t the only purpose
· Exercise therapy isn’t ‘just pole work’ – poles can be and are often used but this is just a part of a bigger picture
· Exercise therapy isn’t all done on the ground- ridden exercises can be included
· I do not run one session and then repeat it for each horse or group- sessions are tailored to suit each horse (I used to be a teacher and know all about lesson planning!). This is why it is important for me to be able to collect information about you and your horse before the session so I can plan exercises and groupings appropriately. Things might change during the course of the session if the response isn’t what I anticipated – this is all about responding to your needs.
· The day after the session, I will evaluate all that was carried out and email you a week by week, 4 week plan to work on at home- this is really important because this is where the real changes will take place. The sessions allow me to gauge where you and your horse are at, come to understand where you want to be and the time you have available to work on exercise therapy within a typical week. They are also the place where I demonstrate specific exercises, where you learn to carry them out and where feedback can be given. The idea is that you leave feeling confident to go and work on what you’ve learnt at home, much like during a riding lesson.
Why do I want to run the clinics? Well, there aren’t many clinics like this about and, if I am going to be honest, there was a time when I wouldn’t have had a clue where to begin if a vet physio had told me ‘to do some poles’ with my horse. Okay, I’d have been able to walk or trot them over a line of poles but that would have been about as far as it went. I wouldn’t have known what to look out for, how to make sure it was having the desired effect, how long to carry it our for and how often…the list goes on. Exercise therapy is part of my vision for the type of VP I want to be and is at the centre of my practice. My aim is to work with owners so that they can be the ones to lead their horse’s physical improvement- my role is there to provide treatment, then guide and monitor long term improvement…and it is through exercise therapy and working correctly where the long term improvements will take place.
I am going to leave you with a few examples of horses who I carry out exercise therapy with so you can see the diverse range of horses it can help.
Elsa
Elsa is my 4 yr old Connemara x warmblood mare. She was broken in Autumn 2021, had the winter off and came back into work in spring this year. Before she was backed, I did a HUGE amount of exercise therapy with her and used it to help desensitize her, help her to focus on her work, to support her in developing her strength to take the weight of a rider and to help her become balanced in each of her gaits. Elsa is becoming a very confident little horse and she feels really comfortable during her exercise therapy sessions. So much so, I am able to use some of the exercises she has learnt during the sessions to help her become relaxed when she arrives at a new venue, now that she is starting to get out and about a bit more. If I was to be critical, Elsa is slightly longer in the back and shorter in the neck so I am using exercise therapy as a type of ‘prehabilitation’ to help her develop the strength and flexibility she will need during her riding career.
Dolly
Dolly is my 6 yr old warmblood mare. She has been under a rehabilitation program since the end of May 2022. It’s fair to say, exercise therapy wasn’t her favourite thing! However, it has really helped her to get her confidence back in the school and is making a significant impact in the way she uses her body. Her hindlimb engagement has improved and, as a result, her back is becoming much stronger. I have used a variety of pole exercises with Dolly because she gets bored quite easily! I find the poles help to keep her focused and have been key in improving her flexibility- she is now becoming far more equal on each side. Once she was able to be ridden again, a combination of ground and ridden exercises have been used, with exercises also incorporated into our hacks because she doesn’t like to go into the school too regularly.
Ash
Ash isn’t my horse but lives on my yard. He is an 18 yr old Connemara gelding. His owner likes to do dressage and flat work with him, and he gets hacked regularly and jumped from time to time. We have been using exercise therapy to help him maintain his core strength as he gets older, so that he remains comfortable in his work. He also had a tendency to hollow on the lunge, which exercise therapy is helping us to overcome- we haven’t used anything to pull his head down, but instead have encouraged him to engage and use his hindlimbs properly so that he is working correctly over his back. At the moment, I am working with Ash rather than his owner but they’ll be taking over in time…they just don’t know it yet!
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