22/10/2025
Amen to this!
🤔 Not one professional is the same 🤔
Here's what I mean by this. Lets take my lovely bunch of vet physio girls. We met 12 years ago. Some of us had background in working with top class competition horses, some just owned horses and some very little horse experience at all.
We then all went through the same lectures, but some of us took more information in in the classroom, others took more information in in the practicals.
We then went off and did placements with different physios and learnt different skills.
So even on the day we all passed our exams and got the same title of Veterinary physiotherapist presented to us- our experiences through life would mean we would all treat a horse differently and see things from slightly different perspectives from day one. We were not carbon copies of each other.
10 years on, this divergence has continued. We have followed our own paths, gathered experience through our work and learnt off different people. We continue to learn off each other.
Does that make me better than my fellow professionals? No.
Does that mean that sometimes I can't quite figure something out but somebody else can straight away? Often.
I know how I treat now is VERY different to what I was taught 10 years ago, but thats it, we all bring a unique gift to the table.
So when somebody says to me 'the last therapist didn't tell me that or pick up on that'. That is ok! We all see life through a different lens.
That therapist is no less than me, there's probably things they picked up on that I haven't. I've read reports off other physios before and thought 'bloody hell I don't know anything! ' but I can guarantee they'd read my report and think the same!
So I'm not saying you must frantically use every professional in the area, but it's ok to get a second opinion.
As professionals we should be able to allow that to happen, for the good of the horse and not try bring that other professional down. (I know it's awful for the old imposter syndrome when people go elsewhere!).
We don't have all the answers and by working together, listening and learning, we can collectively improve the lives of horses. Instead of creating a world of ego and divide.
This doesn't just apply to therapists. This applies to vets, hoof care professionals, saddle fitters, behaviourists, trainers, dentists (everyone!).
I also feel it crosses in to different professions. This is holistic. I cannot treat a horse without understanding feet, saddle fit, dentistry, behaviour, nutrition etc. Just because that isn't my area of expertise doesn't mean I don't have valuable knowledge in those areas, so why are we shot down for suggesting there may be an issue in one of these areas? Who is that helping?
The owners who we work for also bring ideas and knowledge to the table through their experiences which is also invaluable. I often feel owners are quickly silenced when faced by professionals. They are often the experts on their own horses. I love nothing more than listening and learning off my clients.
So lets stop trying to bring each other down with ego or getting on the defensive when somebody suggests a different view point. Instead lets open our minds, bring forward our own unique gift and work together to help horses. After all, thats why we entered this profession in the first place, is it not?
