When people say they've had the "back person" ??

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emmaln

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Hi all,

I am a certified equine sports massage therapist and when reading posts on here I notice that people will describe a behavioural problem they are having with their horse then at the end write "back, teeth and saddle all checked" almost as a way Of saying so it couldn't possibly be any of that.

I just find myself wondering what "back person" they are using and how regularly?? Very often it seems they might have had their horse checked that year before the behaviour developed but not since, this seems strange to me as we all know that like us horses can injure themselves without us knowing at any time as well as changing shape etc.

Just a general observation as this almost throw away comment frustrates me a little bit, so I just wondered who on here has their horses back checked, how regularly and by who?

Thank you,

Emma
 
My horse had problems couple of years ago, he was really tight through the back and shoulders, we have since found out the cause and have hopefully sorted it.
My 'back lady' was brilliant she came out probaly every 3 months to start with, then every 6 months, he was checked over Monday and she was thrilled with him, just the usual niggles but nothing major, so he will probably get 6-8 month checks now just to make sure everything is going ok with him.
Her name is Hilina Tombs, she is a lovely lady, very patient and very thorough, she has helped totally change my horse, he is now very relaxed and a dream to ride :-)
 
I know it can come across as a throw away remark sometimes but, in my case, I use Gavin Schofield, initially 3 months and now 6 month cycles.

If I ever have a serious concern about behaviour/treatment, I tend to get the vet out (expensive but I tend to err on the side of caution) to check for general soundness and do further investigation as advised.
 
my horses have an mot in the spring after any ice, snow slippy ground has gone , but in between they have checks if any thing crops up ie different way of going, behaviour or if i actually see them do something ie my big horse slipped in the field a few months ago . they are seen by a mctimoney practitioner reccomended by my vets .
 
taz had his back checked 2 and a half months ago and will be done again soon his back is done by a lady called sherie he will be done again in a few weeks when i find a saddle for him as it is currently pointless as he hasnt got a saddle and he is usually checked every 6 months, he has had a previous problem with his back which required treatment once a month but he is currently clear as of the last time he was done :)
 
If I comment that back, teeth and saddle all checked then that means that if a specific behaviour has started - I get a chiroprator out and a saddler out.
With regards to teeth, these are being done 3 monthly just now anyway.

Only problem I had was when pony had an injury to stifle so chiropractor was due to that and pony does get stiff so had a bowen woman out. I have massages and exercises to do with pony.
 
My last horse was a mountain full of problems so for him twice a week for 6 weeks, then once every 10 days for a month, every month, and every other month to keep on top of things. But he needed it and after every session you could really see the difference.

But normal pain free horses every quarter. I suffer with a bad back and I fund that if I keep on top of things then we dint have any issues.

However last horse had issues from before I brought him and should of shown up in the vetting but didn't. Kept him and worked though it. We live and learn.
 
I too use a fully qualified equine (& human) physiotherapist and take her advice as to when I should have her out again (usually twice a year)
 
i use a mctimmony practitioner too and shes brill , i get her twice a year to treat my horses ,unless they have a specific problem , i tend to be cautious because im unbalanced due to back surgery so i assume it must have an effect on the horses.
 
Mine are checked by a physio every 4 weeks so any twinges can be caught early, although I can usually tell beforehand which horse(s) will need a treatment.
 
I have a physiotherapist and have 'maintance' work to do in between treatments. Having treatments around every 8 weeks but I hope that as she gets stronger, we won't need to have them so frequently
 
Mine are checked every 6 months,earlier if needed.
If any unusual behaviour, then its saddle, teeth and back all checked within a couple of weeks:)
I use chris caden-parker
 
When I say mine have had their backs done I mean that they've had a combination of chiropractor and either Bowen therapist or physio. Depending on needs.

I get them done six monthly at least as I prefer to prevent rather than cure.
 
Mine had the chiro out yesterday, we try to get him every 6 months, but he is a very busy man!

But mine is injured at the moment (PSD) so will try and get him out again in a couple of months as my horse gets very sore around his shoulders/neck as he tends to tow himself forward instead of pushing from behind, but difficult to do anything about that with him being injured atm. He loves the back man, esp when he gets to wear the massage pad at the same time as having an in hand massager used on him :rolleyes:
 
Another vote for mctimoney, she comes every six months unless there is a problem. I would have massage to compliment if required as well. I also have mctimoney on my own back and its fab!
 
If I notice any behavioural changes in my horses I immediately call the dentist, saddler and 'back lady', in this instance I use Petra Sones who uses magnetic pulse therapy.
I don't use chiros/physios as if it takes 2 people to manipulate my back/pelvis how can one person manipulate a horse's?!
 
my horses see an equine touch practitioner regularly sometimes as often as weekly if we are working on a problem my vet and the local horse physio work together if I think we have an injury. I did the first two equine touch courses so I can do bits too. saddler comes regularly too especially when they are changing shape a lot that can be monthly at times , for teeth I always use my vet never a dentist after a very bad experience with a horse dentist, they are done yearly with some six monthly and one at the moment being checked every 3 months.
 
I have a qualified human and equine chiro who treats my horse every 6-12 months as necessary. I have a master saddler to check saddle every 12 months. Then the EDT comes out every 6 months to do my horse and my 2 retired oldies. So if I say back, teeth and saddle checked I think that's fair enough! :)
 
broke_but_happy said:
If I notice any behavioural changes in my horses I immediately call the dentist, saddler and 'back lady', in this instance I use Petra Sones who uses magnetic pulse therapy.
I don't use chiros/physios as if it takes 2 people to manipulate my back/pelvis how can one person manipulate a horse's?!
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All I can say is that you cannot have been to a good chiropractor or osteopath!

MAjority of people are saying 'behavioural changes' I can usually tell you from either feel when grooming with muscle tension, or just looking at the way a horse is moving or when riding. Long before behaviour changes take place.

Horses might not have the gift of language but they do 'talk' by subtle changes.

Personally I have yet to find many 'back' people who are really effective. My chiropractor uses Applied Kinnesiology (AK) and the horse chiro. does the same through another person. This takes the guess work out of manipulation and pin points the exact spot(s) where the animal is misaligned.
The way of realigning a horse by feel will put the animal square (say by realigning the pelvis) but often the problem can come from a misalignment in the neck so, without finding this the misalignment will happen again.
Another thing with using AK is being able to alter the muscle memory. If a horse has been misaligned for a while then the muscles are 'trained' to hold the skeleton that way, and unless they are worked on, will continue to do so.
It does take a certain amount of strength to realign but it is a matter more of a knack in knowing how to lift so the horse uses its own weight/strength to get things back in place.
 
A back person to me means a qualified chartered equine physiopherapist. I use Rachel greetham she is excellent if I have a horse without specific problems the check is annual with my horse who has back problems it's at the first sign of soreness.
 
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