physio....do you don't you??

[lilym]

do you have your horse checked by a physio ever, what are your opinions on this, we were discussing it at the yard today, i'm having my lad checked as he is so tight on the right rein.....sound lunged ridden etc, but it's his first year of proper work and he may be feeling a bit sore somewhere...my other cob had a huge benefit from her two sessions last year...but some say it's a waste of money and my boy is trying it on as he's young..i know he's not, he's as genuine as they come!!

 

[piebaldsparkle]

Yes, horses are athletes.................now you wouldn't expect a footballer to play without regular physio would you!!!

 

[toffeesmarty]

Mine visits my horses once every 4-6 weeks. Its expensive but she has helped keep at least two of mine sound and able to work wheer I know they would be struggling without her help.

 

[toomanyhorses26]

I hadn't in the past but my horse suffered some back issues and the vet recommended that a physio looked at hime - didn't have a clue where to start so asked for a recommendation which I duly got. The physio then proceeded then to lunge my horse on a ridiculously tight circle given his size and level of fitness/schooling.She then proceeded to tell me my horse was lame in three legs and that I needed a vet out again.Vet then came out couldn't believe what she had asked him to do and pronounced him fit and sound with some minor back muscle wastage which we have sorted with an intensive schooling regime - would just be caeful with who you use and where the recommendations actually come from as even though I went through my vets I didn't feel I received a good service.

 

[hadfos]

Have to say have owned my lad 12 nd half yrs(6mnth old when i bought him)...never had to have a physio....however now he is working

properly

costing me a fortune

...nooo seriously...we went x-country schooling a couple month back and he slipped and fell,just missed me...not long after that his canter became disunited...he is a lazy piglet and when we put poles down he sorted himself out...however i wasnt convinced....vet came out today and confirmed what i thought...needs physio...we expect alot from them,and they do suffer strains and pulls as we do...cant wait for physio to come and sort my lad out as i feel sooo guilty for not picking up on it sooner

...still,we live and learn

 

[jen1]

hmmmm well I don't doubt it helps in some situations but a good friend of mine had 2 different physios look at her horse on quite a few occasions at #60 a go. Horse seemed stiff and was having issues and generally 'cold backed. They did lots of prodding and poking kept wanting to make more appointments, she finally got vet out as the situation wasn't resolved and horse has kissing spines, neither of the physios/back specialists even mentioned KS.......
OK hindsight is a wonderful thing, maybe she should have got vet out first but others at yard were recommending these back specialists saying what wonders they had performed on their horses!

 

[Blimpy]

Jen1, something very similar happened to me. Horse started stopping xc and bucking and generally very unhappy. Useless vet came out to look at him and basically said he was just trying it on. He was checked by numerous chiropractors over the course of about 2 years and while his condition got worse. They all poked, proded him and pulled his legs in all directions. At the start it had no effect but in the end the poor boy was worse after they would see him. Eventually went to a proper vet who after just looking at him standing guessed he had kissing spines. x-rayed him and he was a very bad case of it. So if a "back specialist" can't even suspect this I'd be very doubtful of their use at all.
Physios are probably different seeing as they are supposed to work on muscle and I'm sure in some cases they can do good. but there are alot of people chancing their arm and taking advantage of people who are desperate to find out why their horse isn't quite right.

 

[Scribbles]

My only concern is that with a physio - they WILL find SOMETHING wrong with the horse, because then they get paid for 3 more visits.. Plus whatever they say is wrong with your horse, the best curse (in mine and often their view) is simple rest, which I don't need to pay £50 to be told!

 

[toffeesmarty]

I agree with your points with your concerns. Whilst vets should be a good source recommendations (good and bad) from other horse owners is normally helpful too. However referrals should always be through your vet.
My 'physio/chiropractor' is qualified for both human and equine and we have built up a relationship over several years. Not everyone of 6 horses gets treatment every visit. (They don't need it and I can't afford it!!!!). However, I now know which ones do need treatment when there is a problem or can see when one is likley to occur. Even my 11 year old is aware and tells me if she thinks they aren't going well(going on wrong leg, lack of flexibility on one rein, stiffness or shortness in stride,etc.
Her treatment lasts up to an hour a horse and she works on both the skeleton and musclular symptoms and her results are amazing.

 

[lannerch]

My physio certainly does not find something wrong with every horse, if the horse is fine she will say so, and only charge you a fee for cheaking.

A qualified chartered equine physio, will always need to seek permision from your own vet to examine a horse, and beware there are a lot of people posing as the equivalent of physio's with little or no qualifications.

 

[ladyt25]

Well, I have had mine treated by several different physios over he years whe he has been showing signs of discomfort. nce he just stopped jumping (he'd never refused ever before so it was out of character). Physio we'd used for years treated him and the difference was v v clear.

Have him 'done' as a matter of course now at leats once a year as he does a fair bit of competing and a lot of hacking so i want to ensure he's comfortable. I had a new McTimoney guy out to see him once as he was recommended by a friend. He said there was nothing wrong with my horse and just gave him a nice going over with an electric massager (my horse loved it) and charged me £25 although was there for about an hour (normal costs at that time were £45 for treatment) he certainly did not find something wrong that wasn't.

I now see him regularly (helps he's rather easy on the eye mind!) and have an appoitment on monday in fact as I feel my horse isn't quite right again and keeps landing disunited after jumping. Maybe just muscle strain but I'd rather get him sorted before starting winter SJ season. I def think they (well my physio anyway) are worth the money. I have had one before though who was ok but didn't solve the problem, they just eased it. Really she was just a equine sports massage person more than anything.

 

[eoe]

There are a lot of people out there offering this service, we had a throughbred that had 3 differnt physios out and they just said he was lacking muscle and cold back, when the vet came out he diagnosed kissing spine, guess who got the right diagnosis, yes the vet. We have a bully on our yard and she makes some of the other liveries have a women out every couple of months and she spends all day on my yard treating these horses and I don't think she has ever not found anything wrong with any of them they all receive treatment every time. I have been in this game 30 years and I only had to use a physio on an ex racehorse I had as he was always doing something stupid like getting cast or falling over in the field when he stopped too quickly. If you know your horse you will know when there is something wrong or not please don't be taken in by others who are less knowledgeable. Its like the old saying "A little bit of knowledge is a very dangerous thing" you may end up doing more harm than good, you can do simple exercises with your horses like getting them to bend their neck towards their flanks for a treat and then between their front legs, make sure you always stretch their front legs after tightening the girth. My thinking has always been if you don't think its broke, don't fix it. Yes horses are atheletes and massages are different from physios, please don't get confused, most of you can give your horse a nice massage, just get some lavender oil and a carrier oil, such as Grape Seed Oil (Tescos sell it), put the lavender in the oil shake, place a little on your hands and massage your horse gently, this will cost you about £5 and will do no harm to your horse and he will enjoy it no end. Vets always check out the phsios they recommend, but if you have a bad experience please report it immediately to the vets and they will investigate and if it turns out the physio is not as they thought then they won't recommend to anyone else. My vets always check the physios out by getting their staff to call them out to their horses first, especially when they know there is nothing wrong with the horse.

 

[Scribbles]

So do you have to pay to have your vet out, and then get them to refer on? I was under the assumption they worked very much like dentists or that ilk - just give them a call out.

 

[minesadouble]

We get a chartered physio for our 18 year old jumping pony, she comes out every few months as the pony tends to get 'tight' over her back as she gets very tense when excited and raises her head which compounds the problem. Our physio is wonderful, she gives pony 30 mins work with hands and massager thing, then 30 mins with electrical pad type things and you can see the difference in the pony when she has finished and when she is ridden after treatment. She charges £55.00 for an hours visit and is well worth it. She treats some well known eventers and ame to me reccomended by someone whose opinion I really trust.
I think you need to check your physio is qualified as I do think there are a lot of 'cowboy' physios and 'back men' out there.

 

[MizElz]

We've never had a physio or a back man out.

 

[cruiseline]

My horse's physio, ciro and back man are very valuable members of the team, both with my dressage horses, OH's endurance horses and my daughters showjumpers. They are as important as my farrier, dentist and vet. We fly them over at regular intervals during the season. Our physio is due over in 2 weeks as the horses have just come back into work, our back man will follow in October.

They do not go a month with out being checked over. Even if they don't look like they need it, they just get the 5,000 km check, as we call it.

 

[scotsmare]

I have a great mctimoney lady who comes out every two months, she does manipulation combined with sports massage so I feel that the horses really get the benefit - that said she only sees the ones that are working (which at £60 a go is probably just as well

)

 

[bex777]

I use a mctimoney specialist who probably see's my boy every 2-3 months on average and costs me £35.

I call her when needed, which is fairly frequently as my boy is a bit of a div in the field.

 

[pascoe]

I agree with the sentiments about there being a lot of individuals offering 'back' services and it's confusing.

Generally you get what you pay for and the better qualified and experienced the better result. A lot of confusion comes from the fact that physiotherapy/ physiotherapist are not protected under law and anyone can use the term.

As a result there are all sorts of private 'diplomas' - often achieved from only a weekend of so of courses which say they make you an 'animal physio' there are also all sorts of private organisations which you can join that appear to confer authority to your diploma and sound great but don't always really have credibility.

I'm not saying these don't have a value and you have to make your own mind up about who you choose but if you contrast that with what a properly 'chartered' physiotherapist has to do to train and the way they are regulated and registered with significant organisations it's a no brainer in my view:

1. They have to qualify as Chartered human physios first - min of 3 years degree and training

2. They must be members of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapists, the Health Professions Council and ACPAT (which the animal therapist organisations governed by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapists)

3. They are insured

4. If they are a Chartered Veterinary Physio they will also have completed a full time degree at the Royal Veterinary College where they learn many of the skills taugt on the main Vet School programme. Most probably have 5-7 years academic training and exeperience as a result. Even now there are probably only about 100 in the country which shows how tough it is to qualif.

5. They treat only with the consent of your vet and work closely on partnership with them.

In my view this is about as qualified, regulated and experienced as you can get.

Now, that's not to say that other disciplines and approaches eg: McTimoney don't work - for many people they do and its a good approach to consider all options but there is so much confusion about the differences in approach that people tend to generalise eg: physio is all about muscle and chiro is about moving bones. It's simply not that simple and you need to do your research and make your own mind up.

A good practitioner of any disciple should be able to give you a balanced view of the differences if you ask you because good practitioners understand the differences and value them as much as anyone and want everone to understand them.

Vets also vary in approach - most newer vets operate closely with physios and often have them run clinincs at their practices. Often many vets don't know as much as you'd think about physio - its just like asking your GP about heart surgery!! he'd refer you to a specialist instead! - vets ideally would refer to one of a number of specialists - unfortunately not all practices work in this holistic way so bear this in mind.

My advice is to do your research, ask questions but if in doubt always talk to a Chartered Physio (ideally a Chartered Veterinary Physio) as a good first port of call. If your vet seems unsure a good physio should be quite prepared to speak to them on your behalf and come out with them to see your horse together.

Hope this helps