Yorkshire Animal Physiotherapy

10/10/2024

How gorgeous are these two, not so little helpers 😍

08/10/2024

Went treating horses with my spaniel in tow what could possibly go wrong 😂

27/02/2024

Really interesting piece. Horses react and behave like they do for a reason. They always have a reason. Also what’s interesting is the effects the dentistry work had on the teeth. Only a short video but worth a look

September 2016- In our Equine CranioSacral Worskhops program we dissected the head, in our ECD One Day Equine Cranium Dissection Workshop of a 5 year old, ...

20/11/2023

Just sharing a genuinely brilliant piece of writing:

Horses need horsemen. It's that simple. I get asked the same questions over and over again and nobody gets it. What level rider is this horse suitable for? I'll tell you, the best one she can get, the best horseman that's willing to buy her. The horse will only ever be as good as the rider. It doesn't matter if it's trained to jump hoops of fire, you're gonna bring it down to your level in no time. Your kid doesn't need a $15,000 horse if they haven't already had $15,000 worth of lessons. You can't buy a violin that will gift you the skill of playing. It's the same for horses. There is no magic horse, only a love for the animal, and a commitment to learning.

Most of you are so unfair and demanding of the horse you miss the forest for the trees. "I want a horse that rides out alone!!" well guess what, you better be ready to spend a year developing that relationship, that bond, that trust, she's not a bike, you can't buy trust.

"I want a horse that can sit and be the same after time off" well friend, this is a commitment to a relationship, not a classic car you take out of the garage twice a year. You can't buy what your looking for.

"I want a horse my kids can ride" you better be ready to teach your kids how to be horsemen, because if the horse has to do it, you'll likely see the inside of an ambulance, or a morgue.

You can't buy trust, you cannot buy what comes with building a relationship with an animal over years of dedication.

Written by
Brittnee Woodward-Whitehead

19/04/2023

🌱🌱** ATYPICAL MYOPATHY **🌱🌱

Unfortunately, we are seeing an increase in the number of horses suffering from Atypical Myopathy this spring. Sycamore seedlings seem to be particularly prevalent and toxic this year.

With spring now well and truly underway, please check your pastures for sycamore tree seedlings. Seedlings and fallen seeds contain a toxin called hypoglycin A (HGA) that can cause Atypical Myopathy (sycamore poisoning) in horses when ingested. The toxin HGA slows or stops energy production in muscles and the heart.

There are a number of things you can do to help prevent ingestion of sycamore seeds & seedlings, and therefore help to prevent Atypical Myopathy:

• Ideally move your horses to pasture where sycamore trees are not in danger of dropping seeds in the autumn or for seedlings to come up in the spring, although we are aware this is not always possible (the “helicopter” seeds can travel up to 200 yards). Alternatively, fence off any areas of the pasture where sycamore seeds have fallen or seedlings are starting to grow.
• Remove sycamore seeds from pastures and pull up (if possible) sycamore seedlings – seedlings should be carefully disposed of because dead seedlings (including seedlings killed using herbicides) are still poisonous.
• Provide supplementary hay/haylage, especially when grazing is poor. However, avoid leaving wet hay on the ground as this can increase the risk
• Provide supplementary concentrate feeding.
• Reduce time spent at pasture.

Not all horses on problem pastures are susceptible (probably depending on genetic factors), but currently it is not possible to tell which horses are high risk.

Atypical myopathy signs include:

- General weakness - difficulty walking and breathing
- Sudden collapse and inability to stand
- Depression - holding head low
- Muscle tremors / trembling
- Signs of colic (but often still have a good appetite)
- Brown or dark red urine

Blood tests can confirm the diagnosis. Sadly the disease is frequently fatal (over 50% of affected horses do not survive), especially if the horse becomes recumbent and unable to get up. However, treatment can be successful in mild cases and if started early enough – if horses survive the first few days then they have a higher chance of surviving, however full recovery can take several months.

If you suspect your horse is showing signs of Atypical Myopathy, please contact your vet immediately – remember that the earlier they can diagnose the disease and initiate treatment, the better the chances of survival.🐴🌱

23/12/2022

Wishing all my clients a wonderful Christmas and a fabulous new year. Thank you for your continued support with my work. Enjoy the time with your family, friends and your special animals little and large.
As usual first day off and I’ve caught the bug that’s going round, feel awful but at least I’ve got the time off to recover 🤣 but as always if you are worried about your horses let me know and I’ll come out bug or not, I’ll just keep my distance! The photo was taken a few years back of my wonderful quarter horse Cowboy Jo in the snow xx

08/09/2022

Rest in peace a very exceptional horse woman
………. Our Queen

23/07/2022

Wow

TOOL USE CONFIRMED IN HORSES

A new German study has confirmed that horses do use tools, however the researchers say this is a rare phenomenon.

Scientists once considered tool use one of the features that set humans apart from other animals and a sign of higher cognitive abilities. A ‘tool’ could be defined as any object manipulated by an animal in order to perform a specific task. Use of a tool can be very simple, for example manipulation of a stick to scratch the animal's back, or an animal waving a stick at another to chase them away.

Tool use has never been shown in horses, but research has found many animals use tools quite adeptly – including birds, elephants, primates, rodents and dolphins.

Equine behaviour scientist Konstanze Krueger and her colleagues have identified 13 unambiguous cases of tool use in equids by twelve horses and one mule. As this subject is difficult to research with conventional methods, the team used crowdsourcing to gather data.

From 635 reports, including 1014 actions, the team found 13 unambiguous cases of tool use. Tool use was associated with restricted management conditions in 12 of the 13 cases, and 8 of the 13 cases involved other equids or humans.

The most frequent tool use, with seven examples, was for foraging, for example, equids using sticks to scrape hay into reach. There were four cases of tool use for social purposes, such as horses using brushes to groom others, just one case of tool use for escape, in which a horse threw a halter when they wished to be turned out, and one case of tool use for comfort, in which a horse scratched his abdomen with a stick.

Krueger said it is important to be aware of possible biases in owner reporting when crowdsourcing. “Collecting data with crowdsourcing methods may introduce biases into the data set. We took care to exclude unreliable or biased reports.” The horses’ current or previous caretakers may have unintentionally reinforced behaviour which may not be obvious to those reporting. “Therefore, we take our findings at face value and provide interpretations that would be appropriate for an unbiased data set.

The team concluded “that horses have the potential to develop behaviour involving tool use, particularly to improve their situation when management conditions are restricted, for example for foraging and improving social contact; however, this remains a rare phenomenon.”

I’m sure we’ve all seen horses that take brushes or feed bowls into their mouths and manipulate them, however for this behaviour to be considered tool use it would need to be used to perform a specific task, without the horse having been trained to do this. Is this something you have seen your horse do?

The study is free to access and very interesting, well worth a read: Krueger, K.; Trager, L.; Farmer, K.; Byrne, R. Tool Use in Horses. Animals 2022, 12, 1876. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12151876

16/07/2022

Sound advice with this hot weather. Stay safe everyone

“HEATSTROKE IS A MEDICAL EMERGENCY”

I’m compelled to keep posting this. I’ve learned of a number of dogs that have died of heatstroke in the recent heatwave.

If you see a horse or person or dog with heatstroke, then cool them down by hosing/spraying water from the outside or house water supply (usually 10-20°C). It doesn't have to be ice-cold to be effective as long as you put a lot on. You may well save a life!

And yes, I know there is a lot of advice about cooling horses, dogs and people which goes against aggressive cooling and advises ice packs in the groin or armpit and using tepid water! It's outdated and ineffective and if you follow it your horse/dog/person is more likely to suffer permanent injury or worse!

If you don't believe me, then listen to the people who do this for a living with people...

"Active cooling via Cold Water Immersion (CWI) is now the standard of care and should be done immediately. This is a Grade IA recommendation.5 The patient should be immersed in ice water 1 to 3°C." http://www.emdocs.net/heat-related-illness-how-to-cool-em-and-what-to-do-after/

10/07/2022

As always so proud of the legend we know and love 🥰 it’s been a pleasure and honour to keep your ponies ticking over

09/07/2022

You never stop learning 🥰 really enjoyed this CPD