Dorset and Somerset Veterinary Physiotherapy

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

30/09/2025

💜 Find your joy 💜

I sometimes find the horse world a hard place to navigate. As a professional I want to be seen to be doing the right thing. But who is to say what is right and what is wrong?

Should I jump my horse? Should I even ride my horse? Should I shoe my horse? Should I compete my horse? Is he fit enough? Is he strong enough to jump and gallop? Am i good enough?

I sometimes find myself trying to answer these questions and in doing so waste so much time and energy. Time and energy I could be using to make memories.

So yesterday, i thought f**k it, on the request of Elmo to the communicator, we headed to a hunter trial. (Yes, he told the communicator he wanted to go to Epworth to jump, his wish is my command!).

We galloped, we jumped, I cheered him over every fence, I grinned, his ears pricked looking for the next fence, we found our joy and in that moment everybody else's opinion didn't matter. It was just me and my boy doing what we love, no expectation other than to find our joy.

I'm not saying you need to go enter a hunter trial, you don't even need to ride your horse. But I'm asking you to stop questioning every little thing, listen to your gut and get out there and find your joy with your horse, whatever that may be.

24/09/2025

With my experience of head injuries/knocks/bashes this will be a very welcome addition to a vet physio's toolkit, too. I imagine for all equine professionals?

I still suffer from the effects years later (both physically and emotionally) and wouldn't wish a head injury on anyone.

Plans are in place for a new safety helmet specifically designed for vets following a meeting between key stakeholders from the equine veterinary sector.

It was held in response to recent research that revealed alarming statistics around head injuries sustained by vets and veterinary staff while carrying out routine care of horses.

“This gap in design and functionality has sparked a collaborative effort to explore what a truly effective and practical helmet for veterinary professionals should look like.”

Read the full story via link in comments.

20/09/2025

Teeny Oakley! 🥰

24/08/2025

📆 Mad to say, but the majority of preplanned September slots for 𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲𝘀 🐴 are now booked! If you need a session but haven't already booked for September, please get in touch asap to secure your slot! If you can't do any of the days marked available, do still message as we may be able to shuffle things around and get you in, especially if we are already in your area on that day ☺️

💧Please note, this is just for horses, there is more availability for dogs (vet physio & hydro) at 💧(Not having to travel between clients gives us so much more time!)

We have the following availability for horses 🐎 some days are restricted to areas.

3rd - PM
15th - PM Yeovil area
17th - PM
18th - PM Blandford/Sturminster Newton area
22nd
23rd- PM Evershot/Yetminster/Buckland Newton area
24th - PM
30th

Additionally, thinking ahead to opening up some more space. Would anyone be interested in Saturday afternoon physio slots with Ellen - say yes or no in the poll!

Lastly, THANK YOU!! I'm so lucky to call this my job (as much as I am in a permanent state of exhaustion 🤣🤣)

📱 07867 483 834
✉️ info@dsvp-rehab.co.uk