Back people- How to know if they are any good!

McNally

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We have a pony who gets stiff and one sided and i do like to have his back done often.
Some people have spent ages (upward of an hour) working his muscles, and doing what they do! Now i have used several different people all have taken a long time to sort this pony out- sometimes not very long on my other horse but a minimum of 20 mins or so.

Today i had a new lady who everyone raves about- apparently she's the best around. Everyone tells me how she knows things about their horses with out being told (ie she tells them how the horse is to ride etc)
She looked at my horse first- said nothing wrong and went on to the next one- being the pony. I stupidly told her his normal problem which she agreed- spent all of 5 minutes loosening his neck and then done!
It took less than 10 minutes (including pulling into the yard and driving out again!!)
I felt slightly miffed and done over tbh! To be fair she only charged me for one but i still wasnt overly thrilled!
My boss who recommended her said she's so good she knows exactly the problem so just doesn't waste time?
Thoughts? am i being tight or is this something where time means better treatment?
 
My physio always does an assessment before treatment, they are walked and trotted in hand, turned tightly and backed up, if they are not sound she will usually refer back to vet. She always gets vet permission and does a full report which is sent to the vet. The saddle is usually looked at if she feels she needs to.
I would not be happy with anyone doing such a brief treatment especially if it was the first visit.
 
My physio always does an assessment before treatment, they are walked and trotted in hand, turned tightly and backed up, if they are not sound she will usually refer back to vet. She always gets vet permission and does a full report which is sent to the vet. The saddle is usually looked at if she feels she needs to.
I would not be happy with anyone doing such a brief treatment especially if it was the first visit.

Yep. And as others have said acpat registered people are good. Unregulated, uninsured therapists can be OK but it is a risk, in my opinion, to use someone like this.
www.acpat.org
 
Mine assesses new patients thoroughly but doesn't trot up where she knows horses action and conformation eg knows beau well so identifies issues and treats. Sonic still quite new and action was affected by bad back so still trots up. She explains the problems and shows me how she's spotted them them talks of through how she's correcting them. I've bought horses now knowing what sort of adjustment they'll need and if it's a single visit to fix or lengthy treatment. I then am better set to decide what to pay for horse. I love my physio. She treats me too and can see how my and my horses affect each other.
 
I use the physio who see a lot for our vets and an equine touch person regularly which I think helps a lot .
When I got the equine touch lady in I spoke to the vet and said I am going to get X tp do the horses she said ok if she had said no unless she had a very good reason I would simply change vets .
It is after all up to me what I do with my property.
 
Yes i think i will go back to my old lady- who i was always happy with and assessed them properly before the treatment and who i could actually see making a difference. It was just me trying to save a bit of money and also the fact that so many people have recommended her (from different yards)
 
It's hard to work out who will suit Merry crisis described in her post my idea of the back man from hell so it's personal to .
most vets have a physio they work with and this is good start point but other less conventional people may help too I think you do exactly what you did try one recommended and don't use again if you don't like.
 
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