Physio vs chiro

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L&M

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My new horse struggles with right canter lead, and can sometimes vear to the left in grid work, so my instructor suggested I had somone look at his back to rule out any issues.

He is 6 yrs old and mainly hunted to date, so is still green in his schooling.

He had his teeth checked a few weeks ago and had a new saddle when we purchased back in March.

Which would you go for?

Thanks in advance!
 
Physio - tends to look at the bigger picture, trained also in humans if the horse has typical signs of 'rider unevenness' then they can level the rider out. They also give you exercises to do with the horse, hands on and hands off. They (from my experience) tend to have a broader knowledge base, probably due to their extra training as a physio too.
 
chiropractor without doubt. Mine is trained in humans does both me and the horse. I have used several physios for both me and the horses and they have achieved little. The chiro has achieved wonders on both humans and horses.
 
ACPAT registered physio every time, without doubt. I've wasted so much money on chiropractors who have said and done various things, but horse has never improved. Had one visit from the physio and major improvement. Second visit even better improvement and waiting for third visit early July. The physio is more expensive, but definitely worth it to see the improvement.
 
Suspect the real answer to this is get a good recommendation from someone whose opinion you value. I have a chiro who is brilliant and have used her for years (recommended by my excellent riding instructor), whenever I try anyone else they are just never as good. I have used an expensive vet recommended physio who achieved nothing except took lots of notes gave me some exercises to do and didn't really touch my horse. I think someone good will always be busy and both have useful skills so I would go with whoever is known to achieve good results in your area.
 
There are more therapies out there than physio or chiro. Unfortunately things aren't as simple as one or the other.

Each can have their place either as a stand alone and/or alongside another. Most therapies have an overlap of some sort.

Most people will have a preferred therapy but when you drill down the preference is usually for the person rather than their school of training.

It's hard asking for recommendations too. For example, previously I used someone that I happily recommended but then I learnt more. I trained myself and realised that this person was incorrect in what they were doing. I even got an independent third party in( for my peace of mind) who's findings tied in with mine. This wake up call really put me off recommending anyone as my/your/our perception changes in line with what we experience.

Basically it's up to owners to educate themselves as much as possible and then just trial & error finding what works for you and your horse.

Read up on as many therapies as you can (physio, chiro, reiki, bowen, osteo, massage, McT-C) and the different schools of training for each therapy. From then start looking around and asking about for therapists in your chosen field.

Hope this is of some use.
 
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