Dorset and Somerset Veterinary Physiotherapy

01/12/2025

So sad to hear of their passing 😢 What legacies they leave behind

Sleep well Blueberry and Uti, two of the greatest horses of our generation.

It is with immense sadness that we have said goodbye to Valegro and Uthopia and without question, this is a loss that just feels hard to comprehend.

Trying to write a tribute to these two horses feels harder than I imagined. The yard just doesn’t feel the same without them, there’s an emptiness in the air.

Valegro and Uthopia did more than win medals and write history, they gave our sport a golden era. They both showed that greatness can be gentle, sensitive and harmonious and they made a nation proud and inspired so many.

Being part of their journey will always remain one of my proudest achievements and the whole team and myself are deeply grateful for the joy they gave to us at home but also to their fans around the world.

Their entire lives ran in parallel; they travelled to the shows side by side, lived in neighbouring stables, grazed in the same fields and retired together. Their bond and companionship were absolute.

As life as old boys advanced, so too did the health challenges, so allowing them to leave this world together was the final act of loyalty and dignity I felt I could give them, honouring a partnership that had never been separated in life.

They leave behind a huge void, and the yard has changed forever and so have we. They were our family and I will love and miss them always. The impact they had will remain but sadly, we don’t get to keep horses forever.
We only get to carry what they leave inside us. And these two left us so much.

Carl x

Photo credit: Rose Lewis

18/11/2025

We love supporting this dude! Now 10 and competing internationally with his team of ponies that he has helped back and train!

Mad to think it's been so long since the Bossy days Stavroulla Laghos!!

Woodland Way Farm Horsemanship, backing & Training Yard

14/11/2025

Do you do your polework homework? If so, please could you help with this research study by completing this online questionnaire?

🧐DO YOU DO POLE WORK EXERCISE?🧐

Are you a horse owner, rider, trainer, or therapist who uses polework in training, riding or rehab?

Dr Vicki Walker, Dr Russell MacKechnie-Guire, Professor Hilary Clayton, Dr Jo Winfield, Professor Jane Williams and Dr Rachel Murray
are studying international polework practices — and your experience advance our understanding on pole work exercise.

SURVEY ➡️ https://uwe.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5i05P0WNAvWtEeq

🕒 Takes less than 10 minutes

🐴 Focuses on just one horse

🔒 No personal data required

Your contributions will help advance evidence-based horse training!

Thank you 🙏 for supporting equine science!

13/11/2025

Join us this autumn / winter for our series of educational events - for clients, owners, riders, coaches and anyone interested in welfare of the horse and how qualty dentistry can be transformatve!

Our next event is our in-person evening 'Beyond Routine - Raising the Bar in Eqine Dentistry' - an evening of talks, Q&As and light refreshments in Lyndhurst, Hampshire - we have opened the event to more tickets so if you're local to the New Forest area we'd love to see you there!

Then we have a full Seminar Day! A full day of lectures, live demonstrations, a dissection of the horse's head, and practical sessions exploring all aspects of equine dental health.

This educational seminar day is designed for horse owners, coaches, and veterinary paraprofessionals or anyone who wants to deepen their understanding of how dental health affects performance, welfare, and longevity in the horse.

Links for the above and all the events in our bio!

09/11/2025

Lest we forget

04/11/2025

🐴 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐭 — 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡.

This has been on my mind a lot ..
We keep talking about burnout in the horse world — but what if it isn’t burnout?
What if it’s just caring too deeply, for too long, without a break?

Because we don’t clock off at 5pm.
We don’t switch off our phones or our brains.
We lie awake wondering if the one that didn’t finish their feed is okay,
or if the weather’s going to turn the fields into soup again.

We say “I’m fine” while doing twelve things at once, running on coffee, hay dust and stubbornness.
We hold space for everyone else’s horses, emotions, and emergencies — but who holds space for us?

And when we finally show we’re tired, someone always says,
“Well, you chose this life.”
As if loving something means it shouldn’t exhaust you.

But it’s okay to be tired.
It’s okay to need a day off.
It’s okay to love this life and still feel like it’s breaking you sometimes.

Because the truth is, we don’t do it for money, or glory, or thanks.
We do it for the quiet moments —
the old horse resting his nose on your shoulder,
the rescue that finally trusts again,
the little wins no one else sees.

That’s what keeps us here.

So if you’re reading this and you’re running on fumes — you’re not weak.
You’re human. You just care more than most. 💛

Ps. If anyone finds a “self-cleaning stable” or a “field that never turns to mud” setting in real life, please DM me immediately. I’ll sell a kidney for it. 😂

02/11/2025

👇🏼

21/10/2025

✨Join us for our client evening on Wednesday 12th November, 7pm at Stalbridge Village Hall✨

We are pleased to announce that two equine specialists are joining us for our client evening this year!

Endell Equine is one of our local referral hospitals, and we’re very fortunate to have the expertise of Andrew Jones and Sonia Gonzalez-Medina joining us for the evening.

Andrew Jones, Head of the Veterinary Team at Endell Equine, is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons (Large Animal). After several years in Southern California as a hospital clinician and equine surgeon, Andrew developed particular expertise in colic and soft tissue surgery. His main interests include laparoscopic, emergency, and standing surgery, as well as CT imaging. On the night, Andrew will be exploring diagnostic imaging including X-rays, ultrasound, MRI, and CT scans to help our clients better understand referral findings.

Sonia Gonzalez-Medina is a board-certified American Specialist in Large Animal Internal Medicine with extensive international experience. Her work spans the diagnosis and management of respiratory, neurological, muscular, dermatological, endocrine, and infectious diseases, as well as poor performance and critical foal care. Sonia will be guiding us through common eye conditions, explaining what to look for and when it’s time to call the vet.

It promises to be an informative and engaging evening alongside our own veterinary team and we are looking forward to see you there!

This evening is available to our clients - please call the office or email office@gibbsmarshequine.co.uk to book your place!

21/10/2025

Got children? Or not... This one's for you 🤣

Love this so much Crafty Ponies

13/10/2025