Olivia Heath Veterinary Physiotherapy

14/11/2025

🔸 Hindlimb posture 🔸

Hindlimb postures in horses can be categorised into the ideal "normal, neutral" stance and several common deviations, often referred to as conformation faults.

In a well-conformed horse standing squarely on flat ground, the hindlimbs appear vertical when viewed from behind and the side.

From the Side: A straight line dropped from the point of the buttock should touch the point of the hock, run down the back of the cannon bone and fetlock joint, and meet the ground slightly behind the heel. There is a gentle, balanced angle in the hock and stifle joints that allows for efficient shock absorption and power transfer.

From Behind: The legs should be straight and parallel from the point of the buttock down to the hooves, like the first part of the image!

Conformation Faults:

🔸 Sickle Hocks: The hock joint has excessive angulation, and the cannon bone angles forward. This puts excessive strain on the back of the hock and surrounding ligaments, increasing the risk of conditions like bog spavin and bone spavin.
🔸 Straight Hocks: The hocks have minimal angulation. This places increased pressure on the front of the hock joint capsule and predisposes the horse to osteoarthritis and upward fixation of the patella.
🔸 Camped Out: The entire hind leg is set out behind the point of the buttock, rather than directly underneath the horse's body.
🔸Cow Hocks: The hocks turn inward toward each other, while the hooves point outward (toe-out). A mild case can allow for more clearance of the abdomen and a longer stride, which is sometimes desired in certain disciplines, but severe cases increase pressure on the inside of the hocks and stifles, leading to potential bone spavin.
🔸 Bowlegs: The hocks are set too wide apart and point outward, with the cannon bones slanting inward toward the feet, which may be pigeon-toed (pointing inward). This weak conformation places excessive strain on the outside of the leg and results in an inefficient, twisting motion during movement.
🔸 Base Narrow/Wide: The horse stands with its hind feet either too close together (base narrow) or too far apart (base wide) relative to the width of its hocks and thighs.

12/11/2025

This weeks pole work exercise is the Fan!🪭

This versatile exercise is good for all levels or rider and can be ridden in walk, trot or canter!

This exercise targets accuracy, focus, response to rider, coordination, balance, and rhythm.

10/11/2025

✨ ANATOMY SERIES- PART 1️⃣9️⃣ ✨

🦴 Growth Plates 🦴

Growth plates are present in both dogs & horses. They are areas of cartilage near the ends of long bones where bone growth occurs, in some cases there are multiple growth plates in one area. They are crucial for development, with fusion starting from the bottom of the legs up with conversion of cartilage to bone fusing the epiphysis to the diaphysis preventing any further bone growth.

Different growth plates close at different times, with some in the digits closing shortly after birth and others, particularly in the neck, closing much later, sometimes not until age 4 or 7. The variability of age of growth plate closures between breeds and species alike is due to many factors including: the size of the specific breed of the animal, as those that are larger take longer to reach maturity, therefore longer time for growth plates to close. Gender has also been a suggested influence as it has been shown that male dogs take longer to reach maturity compared to female dogs.

Key aspects of growth plates in horses

🦴 Function: Growth plates are made of cartilage and are responsible for a horse's increase in height and bone length.
🦴 Late-closing plates: The growth plates at the base of the neck are among the last to close, with some closing between ages 4 and 7. These are crucial for the height-wise growth of the vertebral canal.
🦴 Risks and issues: Young horses with open growth plates are more susceptible to injury. Rapid growth, improper nutrition, or over-exercise can put stress on growth plates and lead to issues like physitis, a painful inflammation of the growth plate. Other developmental issues, such as osteochondrosis, can also occur.
🦴 Management: Understanding a horse's developmental stage is vital for proper management. For young horses, it is important to avoid over-training, provide a balanced diet, and ensure they have adequate recovery time from exercise to support healthy growth and bone density.

02/11/2025

🐾 Working Dogs 🐾

Working dogs are just as much of an athlete as an agility dog or racing grey hound. Therefore they are more susceptible to musculoskeletal injuries than the generic pet due to the terrain, and physical demands of their job.

As the season is just beginning it’s the perfect time to book in for a pre-season check. The pre and during season checks are essential to ensure that they are fit and healthy whilst preparing them for the next shoot of the season and addressing any small niggles before they become a problem 🐾

Physiotherapy can aid in maintaining a healthy muscle tone and reduce the risk of developing asymmetries or injury. In a physio session we can target specific muscle groups and prescribe targeted exercises to aid in strengthening and conditioning as well as improving core stability which in turn reduces the risk of an injury during training or competing.

📞 07725887352
📧 oliviaheathvetphysio@outlook.com

29/10/2025

🪑✨ A “sit” isn’t just a sit - it’s a window into spinal alignment, pelvic control, and limb loading.

This example isn’t a terrible sit, but it does show us some of the most common compensations we need to watch for:

🔍 Pelvis & Lumbar Spine:
Notice how the pelvis is tucked and the lumbar spine is rounded, pushing the tail base underneath the body. This posture opens the hip and hock joints but places increased pressure on the stifle - you can see that here with maximum stifle flexion while the hip and hock are slightly open. Dogs will often also externally rotate the hip to unload those joints.

💡 What we want instead: a straight spine from head to tail and a pelvic position that keeps the lumbosacral region neutral and stable. This distributes load evenly through the limb and core.

🦵 Limb Alignment:
Draw a line from the stifle to the floor - ideally, the stifle should sit in front of the toes. This position brings the full hind limb into maximum, functional flexion without collapsing posture.

🐾 Forelimb Weight Bearing:
Here, the weight is shifted backwards - you can see the forepaws drifting forward and the elbows slightly behind them. Ideally, the forepaws should remain directly under the elbows to keep weight distribution balanced and the thoracic sling engaged.

These small positional details matter. Over time, incorrect posture reinforces poor biomechanics, reduces core activation, and can contribute to repetitive strain - particularly at the lumbosacral junction, hip, and stifle.

📚 As described by Farr, Ramos & Otto (2020), foundational exercises like the Posture Sit and Posture Down are powerful tools for building core stability and proprioceptive memory of correct alignment. These postures don’t just teach dogs how to sit, they teach them how to move safely and efficiently

👉 Try observing your next patient’s sit with these markers in mind. Are they stacking their spine, pelvis, and limbs optimally? Or are they compensating - and telling you exactly where their weaknesses lie?

📆 Join us on 8 November at the Vet Rehab Summit, where experts like Anna Lee Sanders, Jana Gams , Arielle Markley and more help us take our movement based assessment and therapy to new heights!

28/10/2025

26/10/2025

🌟🌟 NOVEMBER AVAILABILITY 🌟🌟

Availability for November is quickly going, so do get booked in to avoid disappointment!

Current availability:

🌟 Friday 7th 2.30pm, 3pm or 4pm

🌟 Monday 10th 9am

🌟 Friday 14th 3pm or 4pm

🌟 Monday 17th before 1pm

🌟 Tuesday 18th between 11am and 2pm

🌟 Friday 21st before 2pm

🌟 Monday 24th 2.30pm

🌟 Friday 28th 4pm

To book your 🐴 or 🐶 in contact me via one of my pages or:
📞 07725887352
📧 oliviaheathvetphysio@outlook.com

22/10/2025

🚨 Stairs add A LOT of stress to the canine body!!

In this sketch, we can see a large-breed dog descending relatively low, wide steps, and we can clearly see

🔎 The front weight-bearing paw is splayed and flattened, the carpus has dropped, and the thoracic sling is collapsing into a deep “V” at the cervicothoracic junction. All of this shows us just how much force is being transmitted through the limb - and that the limb and thoracic sling isn’t strong enough to support it!

📉 The lumbar spine is kyphotic, the pelvis is flexed and rotated, and the dog is rotating through the spine to achieve the high degrees of limb flexion required for stair descent. These are classic compensation patterns - and they are not what we want to see. Yet, this is how many dogs navigate stairs every single day in their homes.

💡 Research backs this up.
Two key studies demonstrate how stair navigation dramatically changes musculoskeletal demands compared with ramps or slopes:

👉Carr et al., 2013, Exercises in canine physical rehabilitation: Range of motion of the forelimb during stair and ramp ascent. Journal of Small Animal Practice 54(8):409–413.

👉Millard et al., 2010, Kinematic analysis of the pelvic limbs of healthy dogs during stair and decline slope walking. American Journal of Veterinary Research 71(7):734–740.

These studies show that stairs require significantly greater joint flexion and ROM - and therefore greater muscular effort - than incline walking. That increased demand can overload the thoracic sling, carpal stabilisers, lumbar spine, and cervicothoracic junction, especially in dogs with existing pathology or insufficient strength.

👩‍⚕️ How we help as Vetrehabbers:
1. ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES:
🚪Restrict access to stairs for vulnerable dogs - especially large-breed puppies, those with elbow or hip dysplasia, cruciate disease, IVDD, spondylosis, or LS stenosis.
2. EXERCISE
💪 Incorporate targeted strengthening and conditioning before dogs navigate stairs.
🏋️‍♂️ Teach correct technique and posture to reduce compensations and repetitive micro-trauma.

🦴And if this much load is being placed on a large dog, imagine what a small dog experiences as they jump up and down each step. Supervision, strength, and control are not optional - they’re essential for preventing injury.

📆 At the Vet Rehab Summit on 8 November, experts like Anna Lee Sanders, Jana Gams, and Arielle Pechette Markley will dive deep into how we prepare our patients for these real-world challenges - using movement itself as medicine.

17/10/2025

Winter is fast approaching & the cold weather can have a big impact on the animal’s musculoskeletal system regardless of their age and fitness level🐴🐶

It’s also the time of year where the sports seasons change so an end of season/ start of season check is always recommended. Typically the older patients can struggle more at this time of year due to changes in temperature and routines so additional physiotherapy can help to keep them feeling more comfortable.

How the cold can impact your animal:
❄️ Synovial fluid thickens in the joint capsule, reducing movement and influencing joint health
❄️ Muscles can cease up resulting in compensatory tightness and pain
❄️ Blood flow is reduced and pain sensitivity increases

How physio in winter can help your animal:
❄️ completing strengthening and conditioning programmes to help prevent injury, maintain fitness and muscle tone to support your animals better & prepare your animals for the upcoming year and next competition season
❄️ Increasing the feel good hormones
❄️ Increasing blood flow and oxygen to tissues = extra heat to an area
❄️ Supporting those older patients struggling with the cold by reducing joint pain and stiffness
❄️ Reducing tightness in muscles & increases range of motion

Tips to owners to keep their animal comfortable:
🐶 A warm and cosy bed to sleep on
🐴 Exercise sheets- especially for clipped horses, to provide extra warmth to the muscles and joints supporting better mobility
🐶 Coats, jumpers and fleeces- really important for those older arthritic patients
🐴 A proper warm up for 10-15 minutes in walk enter a session and a decent cool down in walk after
🐶 Heat pads over their muscles and joints prior to a walk to reduce stiffness and improve comfort
🐴 Somewhere dry to shelter from the elements
🐶 A proper warm up and cool down on the lead walking for 5-10 minutes, to prevent muscle spasticity, joint inflammation and stiffness
🐴🐶 Avoid standing/washing/swimming in cold water

For more information or to get your 🐴 or 🐶 booked in contact via:
📞 07725887352
📧 oliviaheathvetphysio@outlook.com

15/10/2025

Huge congratulations to Grace and Dexter for coming 4th in the Show Hunters SEIB Insurance Brokers Search for a Star class at Horse of the Year Show!

I am beyond proud of this pair for all that they have achieved this year!🥰

Congratulations Grace and Dexter 🥇🏆❤️

15/10/2025

This weeks pole work exercise from Petplan Equine is the zigzag!

This versatile exercise is good for all levels or rider and can be ridden in trot or canter and gives you a variety of lines to play with. This exercise is great to practise your turns and line to and away from your jump. Set up your fences along the centre line and away you go! You can link all four fences together in a double figure of eight, or make up your own patterns!

This exercise targets accuracy, focus, response to rider, coordination, and rhythm.

13/10/2025

✨ ANATOMY SERIES- PART 1️⃣8️⃣ ✨

Joint anatomy!🦿

A horse's joint is where bones connect to allow movement, primarily comprising of bones, cartilage, a joint capsule with a synovial membrane, and synovial fluid. Key components include hyaline cartilage for cushioning, a fibrous outer joint capsule for stability, and a synovial membrane lining that produces lubricating and nourishing synovial fluid. Ligaments connecting bone to bone, providing stability, while different joint types facilitate movement from slight to extensive. 💪🏼

The Components of a Joint:

🔹 Bones: Form the structural base of the joint, providing strength and protection.
🔹 Cartilage: A smooth, resilient connective tissue that covers the ends of bones, minimizing friction and absorbing shock during movement.
🔹 Joint Capsule: A tough, fibrous sac that encloses the entire joint, providing stability and support.
🔹 Fibrous Layer: The outer layer of the capsule, containing ligaments to hold the bones together.
🔹 Synovial Layer: The inner lining that contains blood vessels, produces synovial fluid, and exchanges nutrients with the blood.
🔹 Synovial Fluid: A viscous liquid within the joint cavity that lubricates the joint and nourishes the cartilage, reducing wear.
🔹 Ligaments: Tough, elastic bands of connective tissue that connect bone to bone, stabilizing the joint.