FlexiPets Physiotherapy

FlexiPets Physiotherapy Chartered physiotherapist with a masters degree in veterinary physiotherapy, covering Hants & Wilts

25/11/2025

Thank you manorequestrian_flutterbyfund for inviting me to talk at the seminar day. During my demo we discussed anatomy, the biomechanics of the walk, and the crucial role this frequently overlooked gait plays in promoting strength and suppleness. Lux was a perfect canvas and such a good boy 🐴

My first time painting on a horse! 🐴 🩻 (Shame it’s not Halloween!)
22/11/2025

My first time painting on a horse! 🐴 🩻
(Shame it’s not Halloween!)

Sitting with my diary this evening sorting appts for January, if you want to be organised and get your new year MOT secu...
21/11/2025

Sitting with my diary this evening sorting appts for January, if you want to be organised and get your new year MOT secured - ping me a msg ☺️ from Feb I will be full time self employed 🤯 so I will have more availability and will really appreciate booking ahead of time so I can plan my days easily🤍

🐾🐴 W A L K P O L E S🐴🐾Cavaletti poles may look basic, and a pain to set up and put away, but from a physiotherapy pers...
21/11/2025

🐾🐴 W A L K P O L E S🐴🐾

Cavaletti poles may look basic, and a pain to set up and put away, but from a physiotherapy perspective they’re one of the most valuable tools we can use for improving movement quality in both horses and dogs.

Walking over poles encourages the body to slow down, organise itself and move with intention - promoting better biomechanics rather than simply more movement.

So what are the real benefits?

✅ Improved body awareness (proprioception)
Helps animals understand where their limbs are in space, reducing tripping, improving confidence and supporting safer, more controlled movement patterns - particularly beneficial for senior, post-injury and neurological cases.

✅ Core and postural activation
Pole work stimulates the deep stabilising muscles that support the spine and pelvis, improving posture and helping protect joints and soft tissues from overload.

✅ Increased joint flexion & mobility
Encourages controlled range of motion through shoulders, hips, stifles and the spine - ideal for stiffness, early arthritis and rehabilitation.

✅ Better balance & symmetry
Promotes even weight distribution and helps reduce compensation patterns, leading to more efficient and harmonious movement.

✅ Enhanced coordination & rhythm
Supports smoother stride patterns and improved timing, which is key for both functional movement and athletic performance.

⸻

What this means for ridden horses:

When translated into ridden work, cavaletti training helps create:

✨ Improved topline engagement
By encouraging correct abdominal activation and thoracic lift, poles help the horse work in a more lifted, supported posture under saddle.

✨ Greater hindlimb engagement
Stepping over poles requires increased flexion of the hind limbs, promoting more active hindquarters and better propulsion.

✨ Better stride quality & regularity
Supports a more consistent rhythm, improved step length and enhanced straightness - all foundations of good ridden performance.

✨ Softer, more supple movement
Pole work encourages spinal mobility and elasticity, contributing to improved lateral suppleness and overall rideability.

✨ Improved balance under the rider
A stronger, more stable core allows the horse to carry both themselves and their rider more comfortably and efficiently.

⸻

✨ The beauty of cavaletti work is its versatility.
It can be adapted for almost any level - from rehabilitation and young horses to seasoned competition animals -
simply by adjusting spacing, height and speed.

Used correctly, pole work isn’t just exercise… it’s targeted movement training that supports long-term soundness, comfort and performance.

If you’d like guidance on setting up cavaletti for your horse or dog based on their individual needs, your physio is always happy to help 🩷

❄️ Keeping Senior Dogs Comfortable This Winter ❄️As our dogs get older, colder weather can really highlight those little...
16/11/2025

❄️ Keeping Senior Dogs Comfortable This Winter ❄️

As our dogs get older, colder weather can really highlight those little aches, stiffness and mobility issues. Winter doesn’t have to be uncomfortable though - with a few simple changes, we can make a huge difference to their comfort and quality of life.

Here are my top tips as a veterinary physiotherapist:

🛏️ Warm, Supportive Bedding
Choose something thick and orthopaedic if possible - raised off cold floors (& avoid drafts!). Heat pads or hot water bottles (wrapped safely) can be lovely too.

🧣 Keep Them Warm
A well-fitting coat inside and outside is a game changer for arthritic dogs. Cold muscles = stiffer movement.

🚶 Little & Often Exercise
Large, intense walks can increase soreness. Shorter, regular walks help maintain mobility without overloading joints.

💧 Hydrotherapy / Controlled Exercise
Warm water work can improve joint range, reduce pain and build muscle safely.

🖐️ Regular Physiotherapy & Gentle Home Exercises
Targeted strengthening, mobility exercises and soft tissue work can really slow the progression of stiffness and arthritis.

🍲 Weight Management is Key
Less weight = less pressure on sore joints. Small changes make big improvements.

💊 Speak to Your Vet About Pain Relief & Joint Support or Acupuncture
Modern veterinary pain management can dramatically improve comfort

🧩 Non-Slip Flooring
Mats or runners help confidence and reduce the risk of slips and injuries.

🎬 Watch for Subtle Changes
Slower getting up, lagging behind, licking joints, pacing at night, struggling with stairs or jumping can all be signs of pain - not just “old age”.

Helping senior pets stay happy, mobile and comfortable is one of my favourite parts of the job! 🫶🏼

📸 featuring my own senior, 13 year old Dolly who has suffered with arthritis since just 2 years old 🐶

🥕 C A R R O T S T R E T C H E S 🥕(aka Dynamic Mobilisation Exercises / DME’s)You know… those exercises every therapist ...
16/11/2025

🥕 C A R R O T S T R E T C H E S 🥕
(aka Dynamic Mobilisation Exercises / DME’s)

You know… those exercises every therapist raves about, you swear you’re going to do forever, you nail it for a week, and then suddenly… poof… they vanish into the same pile as “I’ll start Pilates on Monday”.
But hear me out- these little stretches are worth it. And yes, we have science, not just therapist enthusiasm 👩🏻‍⚕️📚

When done correctly & consistently (just a few mins most days), research shows they can:

💪🏼Build Core & Back Strength 💪🏼

• 3 months of regular carrot stretches (to the chest, between knees, between fetlocks & lateral bends) significantly increased the size of the deep spinal stabiliser muscle, multifidus, and reduced left–right asymmetry = a more even, balanced back (Stubbs et al., 2011).
• Racehorses performing DMEs showed increased multifidus cross-sectional area compared with a control group not doing them (Tabor, 2015).

🤸‍♂️ Improve Posture & Spinal Mobility🤸🏼‍♂️

• Carrot stretches encourage active bending and flexion of the horse’s spine, not passive forcing, helping safely mobilise intervertebral joints (Clayton, 2010; Clayton, 2012).
• Over 6–16 weeks, DME programmes have shown changes in thoracolumbar posture and motion, including more dorsal lift and healthier spinal movement patterns (de Oliveira et al., 2015; de Oliveira et al., 2022; BEVA 2025).

🏋️‍♀️ Activate the REAL “Core” - Not Just Neck Yoga 🏋🏽‍♀️

• High-density surface EMG shows these exercises fire deep stabilisers AND long mobilisers — more like equine planks & crunches, not a simple neck stretch (Gamucci et al., 2022; Coll et al., 2023).
• Review papers highlight DME as an evidence-based tool for core strengthening, spinal stability & back pain rehabilitation (Valberg, 2014; Onlinepethealth, 2025).

🐎 Boost Performance & Stride Quality 🐎

• When paired with gymnastic-style training, DMEs are linked with longer strides & bigger epaxial muscles — two key ingredients for athletic performance (de Oliveira et al., 2015).

🕰️ How Often? 🕰️

Most research used 3-5 reps per position, 5 days/week, for 6–12 weeks - so yes, a tiny bit of effort for a big return

⚠️ Important Notes ⚠️

DMEs are not a race for the carrot
…and shouldn’t look like a drunken giraffe. 🦒
Avoid if the horse is:
• Over-reaching & losing balance
• Twisting or leaning
• Showing pain or uninvestigated issues

Technique matters. They are powerful - just not magical.

The best thing to do them is actually a lick, to hold the stretch.

🧠 Take-home message: 🧠

If your therapist has prescribed carrot stretches…
don’t ghost them 👻
Your horse’s spine will thank you.

📸 A superstar client doing her homework

⸻

📚 Selected References 📚
(For those who like the nerdy details 🤓)

• Stubbs, N.C. et al. (2011). Dynamic mobilisation exercises increase cross sectional area of musculus multifidus. Equine Veterinary Journal, 43(5), 522–529.
• Tabor, G. (2015). The effect of dynamic mobilisation exercises on the equine multifidus muscle and thoracic profile. PhD thesis, University of Plymouth.
• de Oliveira, K. et al. (2015). Gymnastic training and dynamic mobilization exercises improve stride quality and increase epaxial muscle size in therapy horses. JEVS, 35(11–12), 888–893.
• Clayton, H.M. et al. (2010, 2012). Studies on dynamic mobilisation exercises and cervical intersegmental motion. Equine Veterinary Journal.
• Gamucci, F. et al. (2022). HD-sEMG evaluation of equine core muscles during DMEs. Animals, 12(6), 785.
• Valberg, S. (2014). Strengthening the horse’s core muscles. CABI Digital Library.
• Onlinepethealth (2025). Strengthening your horse’s back.

I’ve made the very sad but exciting decision to leave my wonderful NHS physio job. My combined human and veterinary phys...
14/11/2025

I’ve made the very sad but exciting decision to leave my wonderful NHS physio job. My combined human and veterinary physio workload has crept from 40 hour weeks to 50–60… and even hit a record 73 hours a couple of weeks ago! Needless to say, it just isn’t sustainable.

From February, I will finally have more space in my diary - which means I can take on new clients for regular maintenance as well as the neurological and orthopaedic cases. And hopefully it also means you won’t be waiting quite so long for appointments 🤣

I’ve got lots of CPD and courses lined up for the year ahead, and I’m genuinely looking forward to having the time to grow, evolve, and become the very best vet physio I can be for your animals 🤍👩🏽‍⚕️

Little Maisie going from strength to strength after a disc extrusion (commonly known as a “slipped disc”) 2 months ago 🐶
13/11/2025

Little Maisie going from strength to strength after a disc extrusion (commonly known as a “slipped disc”) 2 months ago 🐶

📱 N E W N U M B E R 📱07387 993486In my ever improving efforts to establish a better work/life balance, I now have a de...
12/11/2025

📱 N E W N U M B E R 📱

07387 993486

In my ever improving efforts to establish a better work/life balance, I now have a dedicated work phone 😃 my old number is my personal number only, so I would really appreciate if existing clients could save the new number and begin transitioning over to using this.

Also a side note - my preferred method of communication is WhatsApp, sometimes it’s hard to keep up with messaging on multiple different avenues - so this keeps things more simple, organised and I’m less likely to miss msgs here ☺️

Thank you in advance 🤍

Have you ever seen a Black Russian Terrier before? I hadn’t either! Gorgeous Moscow comes in once a month for maintenanc...
08/11/2025

Have you ever seen a Black Russian Terrier before? I hadn’t either! Gorgeous Moscow comes in once a month for maintenance after some age related stiffness in his hindlimbs. He’s going from strength to strength and will do anything for some home made liver cake! 😋

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Tuesday 6pm - 8pm
Wednesday 8am - 8pm
Thursday 8am - 8pm
Friday 5pm - 7pm
Saturday 8am - 11am

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About FlexiPets Physiotherapy

I am a Veterinary Physiotherapist and Chartered (human) Physiotherapist living in Hampshire. I have grown up around a menagerie of animals, smelling of the sweet perfume of horses, fighting the deadweight of snoring, dreaming canines for the duvet, and clearing the pride of cats from the kitchen table to eat breakfast.

Following my love of animals I attended Sparsholt College and completed a National Diploma in Animal Management. After having an Equine Bodyworker to treat my then problem horse and seeing the tremendous effect her work had on relieving her pain, I decided I wanted to channel my studies into rehabilitation and pursue a career promoting the welfare of animals. ​

When my grandma needed to have Physiotherapy on her broken shoulder, I watched the physiotherapist working and continued going through her exercise programme. The rewards I felt from seeing her achieve an increase in range of movement and pain reducing widened my eyes to the effects of physiotherapy. ​

Following this, I attended Barton Peveril College to achieve the Science grades needed to complete a BSc in Physiotherapy, which I went on to do at The University of Southampton. From there I became a Chartered Physiotherapist, and have spent time working in the community and within the acute team of a hospital, as well as doing voluntary work in Sri Lanka. Alongside my professional work I also own a small business "Poppits", making clay replicas of peoples pets which has taken off and keeps me extremely busy. After 6 years of university, I have received my Master of Science in Veterinary Physiotherapy - offering the highest level qualification of veterinary physio, ensuring your pets have the best possible treatment.