A visit from the osteopathic vet

emfen1305

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I have been offered a visit from Tom Beech at the end of the month - I have read a couple of posts on here about him and Rob Jackson and wondering whether it is worth spending the money that I don't have! I messaged him off the back of some recommendations on here when I was having saddle fit, wonky horse issues. I've stopped riding and have done only groundwork and poles for 2 months but the saddle fit issues are ongoing which I've posted about on another thread. I was chatting to the dressage judge I was writing for and mentioned the issues and she recommended a chiro/oesteo. I had firmly shoved the expensive osteopathic vet visit out of my head but now I am considering it again so at least it is another box ticked in my quest to spend money!

I know a few people have had direct experience, what should I expect on the day? And what exactly does it cost? I can't find any info anywhere on the actual visit, I'm worried I am going to pay £££s for him to wrench his legs and go after 10 mins. Does he tolerate lots of questions or does he just want to get on with the job? I prefer someone who will let me pick their brains!
 

Britestar

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I haven't used an osteopathic vet, but do use an equine osteopath. It has made a huge difference to my horse, I cannot recommend it enough.
She comes 3/4 times a year to keep him right, and she'll her looking at my new pony before I start re breaking him.
 
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I've seen both Rob Jackson and Tom Beech in action on my yard.

Rob was very much in the camp of pull each leg, gather the cash and get away as quickly as possible. He treated 4 horses on the yard in just under an hour.

Tom really gave the horse a very thorough examination. He spent a lot of time taking a history and talking through the issues. It really felt he was treating the whole horse, he spent a lot of time explaining the horses anatomy and how it was all connected, it really was informative. He left a detailed treatment plan for the horse and arranged to return in 3 months. There was a noticeable improvement in the horse immediately although the effect did wear off over time. The visit cost roughly double the price of the Rob Jackson visit but he did spend considerably more time with both the horse and owner.
 

whiteflower

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Rob was very much in the camp of pull each leg, gather the cash and get away as quickly as possible. He treated 4 horses on the yard in just under an hour.

This, arrived and then left within 20 mins, very disinterested and before I'd even explained horses full history he had decided what the problem was, pulled a couple of legs and said he would email some exercises. He watched the horse trot about 4 strides and said that was enough rather than let me go to the school to trot up properly

Made no difference to the horse at all. Very disappointed as I also went on recommendations from here so was very surprised
 

emfen1305

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I have had that experience with a previous highly recommended osteopath with my old horse. Watched him walk up once and then yanked his leg up in the middle of the yard without explaining what he was doing and then left. Horse was absolutely no different and I was £70 out of pocket. I know that Tom is quite a bit more than this (I'm guessing £200+) so worried it will be a waste of money. I have been recommended a very good Chiropractor so wondering whether to save a bit of money and go with her..
 

Leo Walker

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I've used both and had brilliant results with both. Rob was with me for about 30 mins although the actual treatment itself took less than 10. The horse walked away sound and stayed sound before doing something similar a year or so later. I found Rob very difficult to get hold of and I waited months and months for the appointment. I paid £130 I think, which included travel. I would happily use him again

I had Tom out the second time. He was with me for over an hour. The pony was actual one of his more straightforward cases, in that he had a weird leg issue but no hind gut or other stuff going on as we were already on top of that. I only needed one visit. I know he has done repeat visits to other people. He was very easy to get hold of and was out to me in less than a week. I think this is more down to location than anything else. I paid £220 I think, which included travel. Of the 2 Tom would be my preference with something tricky, but mainly because hes easier to get out to me,

Both times the horse had effectively been written off, the second time no one thought he was coming back. Again he pretty much walked away sound and following a careful rehab went on to stay sound in hard work for some time.

I'm not bothering with normal vets straight off anymore, for any sort of not quite sound but not quite lameness. I'll go straight to Tom or Rob. They will both refer you on if they cant fix it or it needs more conventional vet treatment.
 

Leo Walker

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Just read your OP properly. Tom sat with me for a good 20mins afterwards just chatting generally about the horse. In fact I think I stood up and wrapped it up. He certainly wasnt in a rush to go anywhere. The horse had previously seen vets, an osteo and a chiro and had lots of physio and sports massage and still wasnt right. I spent way more than that then I did on either Tom or Rob. Tom is happy to put it through on insurance as well if he needs to come more than once.
 

electric_circus

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I had a very positive experience with Rob Jackson - horse transformed!! He was there for about an hour, though the horse was trotted up several times at various points during the treatment as he did things, and the difference was obvious from the first ride.
 

Ali27

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I have had Rob three times over the last few years although he is more difficult to get hold of now than when I first had him! I really liked him and thought he was very thorough and he made a big difference! I tried the Osteopathic vet a couple of years ago when I couldn’t get hold of Rob. He was twice the cost despite being only 30 minutes away. The first visit was ok, he then came 2 weeks later and then wanted to come 2 weeks after to manipulate ovaries etc so I cancelled. Have just had a local physio for last few years who at £50 has really helped pony and discovered that saddle was not helping issues. Pony is now going fantastically!
 

emfen1305

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Thanks LW my current horse is yet to be seen by a vet, my physio firmly believes that he is sound and I just need to continue doing what I am doing as he is getting stronger and having been through 2 years of misdiagnosis with my old horse I am being more cautious with running straight to the vet due to a slight unevenness with nothing obvious to look at. It was only because a few people had mentioned an Osteo or Chiropractor that I started thinking and then the text came through today but I am wary of miracle cures (having spend £££s before and not having them) so wondering what makes him so special for the price (not being antagonistic)

Just to note, I am not considering Rob Jackson, this is only about Tom Beech
 

Tiddlypom

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You're in Cheshire, aren't you? I'd recommend Dr Angela Holland. IIRC she's £95 plus travel, which was another £20 for me in S.Cheshire.
She's a very experienced chiropractor vet who used to work at Leahurst before she added the chiropractor training to her CV. You get about an bour for your money, she's very thorough and welcomes lots of questions :).

https://www.equineveterinarywellnessclinic.co.uk/

She specialises in 'loss of performance' issues, but is just as happy helping to keep my creaky wonky Tammy ticking over in work.
 

SEL

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Thanks LW my current horse is yet to be seen by a vet, my physio firmly believes that he is sound and I just need to continue doing what I am doing as he is getting stronger and having been through 2 years of misdiagnosis with my old horse I am being more cautious with running straight to the vet due to a slight unevenness with nothing obvious to look at. It was only because a few people had mentioned an Osteo or Chiropractor that I started thinking and then the text came through today but I am wary of miracle cures (having spend £££s before and not having them) so wondering what makes him so special for the price (not being antagonistic)

Just to note, I am not considering Rob Jackson, this is only about Tom Beech
What did you decide to do? I've got him out to my mare in a couple of weeks. It's pretty much a last ditch attempt to see if he can work out what's wrong / give me pointers for the vets
 

emfen1305

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What did you decide to do? I've got him out to my mare in a couple of weeks. It's pretty much a last ditch attempt to see if he can work out what's wrong / give me pointers for the vets

I’ve booked a chiropractor, i can’t justify the cost at the moment and figured the chiropractor would pick up on anything the vet would need to see anyway and it’s going to be £150 cheaper! But he’s not lame and doesn’t seem uncomfortable I am just wondering if there is something going on that is making him use his right hind a bit weirdly!

I hope he manages to help your mare!
 

eggs

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My vet is also a qualified equine chiropracter. All my horses are noticeably better after she has done a session with them and they don't have any particular problems to start with,
 

Leo Walker

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Mine was seen by both an osteo and a chiro neither of whom helped sadly, so if you have no joy with the chiro I'd have another think about Tom :) Finger crossed for it being sorted first time for you though!
 

blitznbobs

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You're in Cheshire, aren't you? I'd recommend Dr Angela Holland. IIRC she's £95 plus travel, which was another £20 for me in S.Cheshire.
She's a very experienced chiropractor vet who used to work at Leahurst before she added the chiropractor training to her CV. You get about an bour for your money, she's very thorough and welcomes lots of questions :).

https://www.equineveterinarywellnessclinic.co.uk/

She specialises in 'loss of performance' issues, but is just as happy helping to keep my creaky wonky Tammy ticking over in work.

Seconded - in fact I’m getting her out to see my new chap - nothing wrong per se - but was so impressed with her with my mare I swore when I got another horse I’d have her out to assess his
Movement to nip any issues in the bud - and I don’t believe in osteopathy/ choropactics but I do believe in biomechanics which she is amazing at...
 

SEL

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Seconded - in fact I’m getting her out to see my new chap - nothing wrong per se - but was so impressed with her with my mare I swore when I got another horse I’d have her out to assess his
Movement to nip any issues in the bud - and I don’t believe in osteopathy/ choropactics but I do believe in biomechanics which she is amazing at...

It's the biomechanics where I'm hoping Tom will earn his money! She's never had the best action behind but right now it's particularly quirky, even on 2 danilon a day since the vet came at the beginning of Jan.
 

scats

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You're in Cheshire, aren't you? I'd recommend Dr Angela Holland. IIRC she's £95 plus travel, which was another £20 for me in S.Cheshire.
She's a very experienced chiropractor vet who used to work at Leahurst before she added the chiropractor training to her CV. You get about an bour for your money, she's very thorough and welcomes lots of questions :).

https://www.equineveterinarywellnessclinic.co.uk/

She specialises in 'loss of performance' issues, but is just as happy helping to keep my creaky wonky Tammy ticking over in work.

Another vote for Angela here. She picked up on Polly’s issues where so many others had failed.
She’s absolutely brilliant, so thorough and well worth every single penny.
 

Caramac71

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We spent over 3 years trying to fix our mare who had been diagnosed by bone scan with facet joint arthritis but presented more like si issues. We tried conventional treatment (Tilden) and physio rehab, we tried chirovet and acupuncture, various other physio/chiro/osteopaths that were recommended to us, we had Rob Jackson twice... Every one felt there was something more going on than we’d found but nobody got to the bottom of it.

Turned the horse away for 6 months or so as she had intermittent hind lameness and pretty much gave up hope of returning her to any kind of work.

Then after reading recommendations on here I decided to contact Tom for a final opinion as to if it would be worth trying to bring her back into work. He gave one treatment, was with us for nearly 3 hours and was very thorough. He wasn’t overly optimistic but said he couldn’t really give an opinion until he’d seen her 6-8 weeks after treatment, to see how she’d responded. He gave us lots of exercises to do with her, and advice on feed and supplements, and when he returned he was really pleased with her improvement. So he gave a second treatment, including an internal where he found her right ovary to be enlarged. We slowly brought her back into work and she had 2 further treatments (well, one really as when he came for the fourth appointment she didn’t need much doing).

The last visit was over 4 months ago and she’s the best she’s ever been. He has truly worked a miracle with her - if anyone had told me a year ago she’d be how she is now I would never have believed it.

Tom always encouraged us to send video updates and contact him with any questions. We’ve changed yards and feed and he’s always responded to our messages with advice.

Our horse is so much calmer and happier now. She’s not perfect, obviously her issues will never be cured, but she is happy to be ridden now and doesn’t show signs of discomfort like she did previously.

Tom isn’t cheap but I wasted far more money on trying everything else before I found him, and he’s transformed our horse into something rideable. So to my mind is worth every penny. He’s also always taken the time to explain everything and ensure we understand what he’s found, what’s he’s done, what we need to do, etc. He gave us exercises to do that were realistic to our situation, and found ways around improving management of the things we couldn’t control. My biggest regret is not finding him sooner!
 

Leo Walker

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Tom isn’t cheap but I wasted far more money on trying everything else before I found him, and he’s transformed our horse into something rideable. So to my mind is worth every penny. He’s also always taken the time to explain everything and ensure we understand what he’s found, what’s he’s done, what we need to do, etc. He gave us exercises to do that were realistic to our situation, and found ways around improving management of the things we couldn’t control. My biggest regret is not finding him sooner!

I am so glad you got her to this stage. I was "lucky" with mine in that is was a very weird issue, but it was just the one obvious thing and easily sorted. I've said it a few times now and I stand by it, Tom will be my first point of contact for any sort of "not rightness". I've spent so much money on physio/osteo/chiro/vets that what I paid Tom pales in comparison.
 

Caramac71

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I am so glad you got her to this stage. I was "lucky" with mine in that is was a very weird issue, but it was just the one obvious thing and easily sorted. I've said it a few times now and I stand by it, Tom will be my first point of contact for any sort of "not rightness". I've spent so much money on physio/osteo/chiro/vets that what I paid Tom pales in comparison.

Totally agree with that - Tom will always be our first point of call. In fact my daughter said if she ever buys another horse, she’s getting Tom to vet it!

This is the first time I’ve publicly admitted how well the horse is going now as I’m so scared to tempt fate, so please keep fingers crossed I’ve not jinxed it!
 

cundlegreen

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We spent over 3 years trying to fix our mare who had been diagnosed by bone scan with facet joint arthritis but presented more like si issues. We tried conventional treatment (Tilden) and physio rehab, we tried chirovet and acupuncture, various other physio/chiro/osteopaths that were recommended to us, we had Rob Jackson twice... Every one felt there was something more going on than we’d found but nobody got to the bottom of it.

Turned the horse away for 6 months or so as she had intermittent hind lameness and pretty much gave up hope of returning her to any kind of work.

Then after reading recommendations on here I decided to contact Tom for a final opinion as to if it would be worth trying to bring her back into work. He gave one treatment, was with us for nearly 3 hours and was very thorough. He wasn’t overly optimistic but said he couldn’t really give an opinion until he’d seen her 6-8 weeks after treatment, to see how she’d responded. He gave us lots of exercises to do with her, and advice on feed and supplements, and when he returned he was really pleased with her improvement. So he gave a second treatment, including an internal where he found her right ovary to be enlarged. We slowly brought her back into work and she had 2 further treatments (well, one really as when he came for the fourth appointment she didn’t need much doing).

The last visit was over 4 months ago and she’s the best she’s ever been. He has truly worked a miracle with her - if anyone had told me a year ago she’d be how she is now I would never have believed it.

Tom always encouraged us to send video updates and contact him with any questions. We’ve changed yards and feed and he’s always responded to our messages with advice.

Our horse is so much calmer and happier now. She’s not perfect, obviously her issues will never be cured, but she is happy to be ridden now and doesn’t show signs of discomfort like she did previously.

Tom isn’t cheap but I wasted far more money on trying everything else before I found him, and he’s transformed our horse into something rideable. So to my mind is worth every penny. He’s also always taken the time to explain everything and ensure we understand what he’s found, what’s he’s done, what we need to do, etc. He gave us exercises to do that were realistic to our situation, and found ways around improving management of the things we couldn’t control. My biggest regret is not finding him sooner!
I'm interested to see your comment that he gave an internal. Do you mean a rectal examination? I would have thought that was a vet/repro specialist job.
 
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