Lets Talk Euthanasia

It is often an unpleasant and usually avoided topic.

 

But it is of the upmost importance that we discuss and understand it.

 

Because almost every animal owner will have to make the decision and have their animal humanely euthanised.

 

Now, I am very black and white when it comes to death.

 

It’s going to happen, it’s inevitable, therefore it’s easier to accept it.

But being accepting of death certainly doesn’t make the loss of a beloved pet any easier.

 

Yet, it’s often so much harder in the days and weeks leading up to the realisation that they’re nearing the end and may require you to make the decision of euthanasia.

 

And it’s the uncertainty that makes it hard.

 

How do you know you’re doing the right thing?

 

How do you know when it’s time?

 

What if they somehow got better?

 

And I have no magical answer for you, the truth is what most people say – they will tell you when it’s time.

 

And you’ll just know that they’re ready.

The biggest thing with this, it that you’ll have to be honest with yourself. And with them.

 

You have to accept that they’re ready to go, and you can help make that as easy and pain free as possible.

 

Now, that’s all quite idyllic. And typically, the case with an older, or severely unwell animal.

 

But what about when its much greyer?

 

What about euthanasia for behavioural problems, for example?

 

This certainly is not a straightforward topic, and very much depends on this individual.

 

Lets have the example of a dangerous animal, a horse or dog who has seriously hurt people.

They may act this way because they are afraid, they are in pain, or they have been mistreated.

 

Sadly, with a dangerous animal it’s often all 3 combined.

 

Assuming that they have had every opportunity to rehabilitate them:

-        A vet for their pain

-        A trainer for their fear

-        Patience and compassion for their mistreatment

 

And they are not showing signs of improvement, then euthanasia is likely the best course.

 

And not just for the humans who have been, and will likely further be, injured by the animal.

 

But for the animal themselves.

 

They will be living everyday in fear and pain. Constantly believing they are fighting for their survival, and every human interaction is an extreme threat.

 

And that’s no way to live.

Especially as domestic animals need human intervention and attention for their welfare and survival.

 

Sure, some horses could be turned to pasture if they’re too dangerous to handle.

 

But they still require their hooves to be maintained, their teeth checked, and vaccinations. All of which require handling and restraining.

 

Not to mention if they injured themselves in the field and require medical attention – they could be the most dangerous versions of themselves when they are hurt.

 

There’s also the other grey patch of euthanasia, with horses especially - when they’re no longer ‘fit for purpose’.

 

I would absolutely love it if every horse could be retired and live out their days in a gorgeous field, with lots of other horses, and a nice big barn for shelter, and all the feed, supplements, and medication they could ever possibly need to keep them comfortable for the rest of their days.

However, this is often just not feasible for so many horse owners, and the question of welfare comes into play.

 

Many owners keep their horses on a livery yard, which are expensive!

 

And if their horse no longer fits their needs, and cannot be sold (i.e., due to injury or illness), then possibly euthanasia is best.

Because often, the alternative is much worse.

 

Lets say a horse has severe kissing spines, and cannot be ridden or exercised, but they’re a kind soul and never showed any extreme behaviour changes when ridden or exercised.

 

The owner cannot afford any kind of surgery, nor justify the cost of livery if she cannot ride.

 

There are no retirement liveries nearby, and the horse does not cope well with being out 24/7.

 

What is she to do?

 

She could sell, or loan him out as a companion – and this can be a great alternative!

 

But.

 

There are some awful horror stories of people who will get a horse for cheap that is being sold as a non-ridden companion. And will have every intention of riding it.

 

This is especially dangerous if the horse does not outwardly appear lame or does not display any extreme negative behaviour under saddle.

 

Don’t forget – there are plenty of people who will label a ‘misbehaving’ horse as ‘quirky’ or ‘fresh’ without any further investigation. And will likely ‘ride them through it’ or punish them for it.

Now the horse is being ridden 5+ times a week, unbeknownst to his old owner who believed he now has a perfect life as a companion horse.

 

I understand that these are all specific scenarios. But the examples can be applied to other cases.

 

There is no correct answer for when euthanasia is absolutely necessary, save for extreme cases.

 

But my thought would be that it is better for euthanasia to be a little early, rather than a little late.

 

And I can say this from experience of my two old cats:

-        Meeko became very unwell quickly, I was young and stupid and didn’t have her insured and could not pay for treatment. The vets didn’t know exactly what was wrong with her, yet she was deteriorating daily, despite the few medicines we tried that were within my budget. Eventually the choice was made to euthanise. I hated myself for it for months, years probably, as I felt it was my fault. Yet, as I’ve got older, I understand that it was better for her to go too early, than too late.

-        This was reaffirmed to me 7 years later when I lost Ratty, Meeko’s brother. He had suffered with on-and-off GI tract issues for years. I got him insured after Meeko died, so I was able to pay for treatment for him. When I was going through a relationship break up, Ratty when to stay with family and I only saw him every few weeks. I realised initially that he’d been losing weight, but I assumed this was the stress of being apart from me & in a new place. Eventually I clocked that this weight loss wasn’t stress related, apparently he was eating fine & it was only when my family member casually mentioned that he'd been having bloody diarrhoea that I rushed him to the vet. Turned out he had a large tumour amongst his intestines. It had a strong vascular supply, and was likely too dangerous to operate on, especially as he was underweight. I thought I’ll give him some medicine & some high-calorie food and he’ll be okay! And maybe even we can try the surgery. I got as much as I possibly could for him, he was on a course of pain killers, anti-inflammatories, and other drugs from the vet. I really thought he’d come right. Then I had the call: ‘I’m so sorry, but Ratty died last night’. I was absolutely crushed. I should have seen how ill he really was, the vet and I had set a date for 2 weeks time for euthanasia in case he didn’t come right, but even that was too long. A perfect example of too late.

Although euthanasia is so painful for us humans, the thing that comforts me is this simple fact:

 

They do not know what is happening.

 

They do not understand that they’ll soon be dead. They will not be frightened of it.

 

All they know is that you’re with them, and they’re so loved. And that hopefully you’ve had the luxury of time to spoil them rotten for your last few days together.

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my blog.

 

I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments about topics you’d like me to write about, or any suggestions to improve my blogs.

 

For any other information, or to book a veterinary physiotherapy appointment, please contact me directly.

 

All the best,

Emma, The Biomechanic.

BSc(Hons), FdSc, MIRVAP, RAMP

07861195709

emma@the-biomechanic.co.uk

www.the-biomechanic.co.uk

Is Vet Physio Effective?

 In the grand scheme of veterinary medicine, veterinary physiotherapy is relatively new.

 

It is therefore fairly understandable why some veterinarians, owners, and other animal professionals still consider vet physio a bit of a ‘fad’ or a ‘snake oil’ therapy.

 

This is always sad for me to hear as I have undertaken a 4-year honours degree in veterinary physiotherapy, and I have seen the effects first hand.

 

I am only one person, but I am very much a ‘see it to believe it’ type.

 

If I thought vet physio was any kind of fad, or pseudoscience. I certainly wouldn’t have spend the time, effort and money to become a vet physio. Nor would I be putting myself under the stress of building a business or trying to make myself the best vet physio I possibly can be.

But it does make a difference. A significant difference in many cases.

(See the video of RF therapy on SIJ discomfort here): https://www.facebook.com/share/r/17AsgRiQzE/ 

 

I think the biggest thing that is holding vet physio back from being 100% accepted, is that it’s rarely immediately effective.

 

Vet physio treatment takes time, effort and commitment.

 

You have to continue with the treatment plans, and appointments in order for the effects to be noticeable.

 

Now I’m not naïve.

 

I’m fully aware that this sounds like a scheme!

 

‘Oh yes, just keep doing what I say, and pay me for appointments, and I promise it’ll all be better at the end’

 

But I’m afraid I have no remedy for that, other than to look at the mountains of peer-reviewed, scientific research that demonstrates the effectiveness of veterinary physiotherapy.

 

Not to mention countless case studies, personal accounts and the side note of; if physiotherapy doesn’t help – why are there physiotherapists at every major sporting event? For both humans and animals alike! Surely a waste of time and money at that level?

 

The biggest thing I believe that supports the reasoning of why vet physio takes time to be effective, is the understanding that the dysfunction didn’t happen immediately. So how could it be cured immediately?

 

Of course veterinarians can give painkillers and nerve blocks.

 

And these will have an immediate effect, yet they are rarely, if ever, actually treating the cause. They are typically treating the symptom(s).

 

Please understand, that I am not knocking veterinarians, not for a second.

 

Nerve blocks are often key in identifying an area of pain or dysfunction.

 

And painkillers are of course, often necessary for pain management.

 

But the point still stands that these are not treatments.

 

Quite often, vet physio is in place to enhance veterinary treatment.

If a horse has kissing spines surgery, for example. The veterinarian will almost always recommend a rehabilitation plan to assist with recovery post-surgery.

 

Now the key question here is; ‘how do we know the horse wouldn’t recover just as well without veterinary physiotherapy?’

 

And again, I would have to point you back to scientific papers where there would have been a control group, and a treatment group. Almost always, the treatment group will have had a better, and/or faster outcome than the control group.

 

But I would also ask you to apply common sense.

 

If an animal has had surgery for a MSK issue – surely it stands to reason that they’ll benefit from MSK rehabilitation post-surgery?

 

Take our kissing spines (KS) surgery example …

 

Typically, the veterinarian will have either made incisions to the interspinous ligament or performed a dorsal spinous process (DSP) resection/ostectomy, in order to alleviate the KS condition, and the pain it would have caused.

 

Before surgery, the horse would likely have been in pain due to this KS dysfunction, what are the chances of them not having any compensatory MSK issues?

 

Pretty slim I’d say.

 

And any of those that have few, or minor MSK compensatory issues pre-surgery would almost certainly have had a veterinary physiotherapist working with them to give them the best chances post-surgery.

 

So the horse walks out of a successful surgery, what do we think would give them the best chances of a successful recovery?

-        Complete box rest for weeks on end

-        Pasture rest for months

-        A few weeks of walking

-        A rehabilitation plan to rebuild strength, encourage correct muscle engagement, and eliminate compensatory pain and dysfunction.

 

Seems like a simple answer to me.

And even if you’re not 100% certain that it would be helpful, and surgery has done everything necessary. What’s the harm in at least having a conversation with a veterinary physiotherapist?

 

And again – I am not naïve, I do appreciate that some people simple do not have the time, money, or ability to have a comprehensive vet physio plan following surgery.

 

But if we could wave a magic wand and say that everyone could choose the ideal post MSK surgery care, I’d like to think that everyone would have some sort of rehabilitation plan with a veterinary physiotherapist.

 

Now, most of us would associate vet physio with post-surgery recovery.

 

But that’s only one element that vet physio is beneficial for.

 

Vet physio is also ideal for:

-        Maintenance – both of preexisting conditions, and animals in perfect health

-        Performance enhancement – addressing little niggles and discomforts that may be stopping an animal performing at their best

-        Pain management – This could be alongside pharmaceuticals, or the main source of management

-        Pre-habilitation – Either strengthening the MSK system before surgery, or aiming to get the animal to a point where surgery is no longer required

-        Osteoarthritis / old age support – This can really help the older and/or arthritic animal feel more comfortable and enhance quality of life

-        Peace of mind – if something is not quite right, but you can’t put your finger on it, a vet physio assessment can point you in the right direction of what to do next

And probably a plethora of other things that haven’t come to mind right now.

 

Long and short is that vet physio is incredibly dynamic.

 

There’s plenty that it can do to help, and to make things better, there are even therapists who will specialise in certain areas, meaning you can get an even deeper level of care with certain ailments or concerns.

 

So naturally, I’ll be biased towards the positive, and will say absolutely, vet physio is definitely effective and makes a big difference.

 

I hope after reading this you can have a new-found or reinforced belief and appreciation for the capability and effectiveness of vet physio.

 

If you’re still unsure, or want more information, please feel free to contact me and I will answer any questions honestly and openly!

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my blog.

 

I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments about topics you’d like me to write about, or any suggestions to improve my blogs.

 

For any other information, or to book a veterinary physiotherapy appointment, please contact me directly.

 

All the best,

Emma, The Biomechanic.

BSc(Hons), FdSc, MIRVAP, RAMP

07861195709

emma@the-biomechanic.co.uk

www.the-biomechanic.co.uk

The Inside Scoop of the Grooming Industry

Before I qualified as a vet physio, and started my business, I was a full-time equine groom.

 

I started grooming at 19, and have worked at a range or different yards, for different types of people, and within different disciplines.

 

I have worked for an equine charity, at a livery yard, a private hunting & showing yard, a private eventing yard, a private western reining yard, a racehorse rehab & pre-training yard, and at a high-end show-jumping yard.

 

And although this vast experience of different horses and work environments has been invaluable for my equine knowledge, and vet physio career. It drilled into me again and again that grooming is a hard career path, often with very little progression or recognition.

 

One or two yards out of all of them were respectful and appreciative of my experience and knowledge.

 

Most of them treated me like how they treat most grooms – you’re just a dog’s body. But you must have a wealth of experience, knowledge, capability, competence, adaptability, flexibility, and skill.

 

Basically, they want to pay, and work you as a base level labourer, but with the mind of a seasoned, educated equestrian.

Don’t forget, to be a good groom you need to have a level of knowledge and experience in:

-        - Equine management – not just the day-to-day care, but perhaps clipping, plaiting, bathing, trimming, pulling.

-       -  Stable management – poor stable management can easily lead to poor equine health!

-       -  Field management – You must be able to identify poisonous plants, repair broken fencing, roll and harrow rutty ground, keep troughs clean.

-       -  Equine first aid – Chances are the horse will find the most creative way to injure themselves; you need to be able to treat the wound in the first instance. Especially if it’s severe enough to warrant a vet.

-        - Human first aid – Horses can find creative ways to injure you too!

-        - Equine nutrition and hydration

-        - Equine disease – identification, and treatment.

-       -  Equine farriery – Horse has a shoe hanging off? You may have to get it off before the farrier can get to you.

-        - Equine dentistry – You need to know if the dentist needs to come out sooner rather than later.

-        - Equine gait assessment – Is the horse lame? Which leg? Is it an abscess? Blown tendon? Kicked in the field?  Do we need to get the vet?

-        - Equine riding and exercise – This could include schooling, hacking, lunging, long reining, jumping, hunting, cross country schooling. You don’t learn those skills in a week!

-        - Tack cleaning and maintenance – You’ve got to make sure that £5,000 saddle is properly cleaned and cared for.

-        - Some grooms will have HGV and/or trailer licenses and experience hauling livestock.

 

When it’s all written down, it’s quite a lot, isn’t it? Certainly, worth more than minimum wage for that level of experience and skill?

 

However, there is still the mentality with a lot of equine yards that grooms are 10 a penny, and you can be easily replaced.

 

And that may be true for your entry-level, or inexperienced grooms.

 

But certainly not your good, and seasoned grooms!

 

And don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking the young and inexperienced grooms.  

 

We certainly need the new grooms to come up and start their grooming career!

 

But they are not on the same level yet.

 

And they must learn from someone!

 

And so often, the seasoned, educated, experienced, and competent groom on the same yard, will be practically earning the same wage as the entry-level groom.

Plus, they’ll be expected to take on the responsibility of training up the new groom. Usually without extra pay or even recognition.

 

Would anyone take a job anywhere else if that were the case?

 

Unlikely!

 

So, what’s the point in my ramblings?

 

The fact that good grooms, certainly aren’t 10 a penny.

 

They are actually incredibly rare, and worth their weight in gold.

 

But why are there so few?

Well, I think my aforementioned ramblings should give you a good idea.

 

There are far too many good grooms who are treated as unskilled labourers and paid as such.

 

Yet will be expected to have such vast knowledge of all things equine and will certainly be reprimanded if they are deemed to have made a mistake in their judgement or application of knowledge.

 

Often these mistakes are made due to lack of ability to care for the horses in the manner the grooms see fit.

 

By that, I mean there is often a lack of time or resources to be able to do things properly.

 

Some yards will be expecting grooms to complete the work of 3 people, yet will become irritated with said groom if the work is not completed in a timely fashion, or to a high standard.

 

One thing I have said to a boss before was ‘I can either do it fast, or I can do it well’

Many expect you to do both, and it’s quite often impossible.

 

Even if most of the time you can do things fast and well, every now and again something will fall through the cracks.

 

And man, oh man, will you ever get pulled up on it!

 

This is often when the decent grooms start to lose interest in their role & look for something else.

 

The boss will them replace them with a ’10 a penny’ groom, before realising that, they were actually pushing their decent groom pretty hard.

 

Now they’ve got someone much less experienced, who try as they might, just cannot keep up with the work demand that the old groom was managing.

 

But is the boss likely to hire someone else to help the inexperienced groom out?

 

No. Just flog the dead horse harder.

 

Now, I have bashed grooming employers pretty hard so far.

 

And I’m sure you can appreciate that there is good reason for this.

 

However, I cannot ignore the fact that there are also some pretty awful grooms too.

 

Because I have worked with some!

I have always said to any groom who needs training that I will happily explain the same thing to them 100 times, if I can tell that they are trying their best to understand!

 

But.

 

I have also come across inexperienced grooms who are incredibly arrogant and firmly believe that (for want of a better term) that they are the dogs bollocks.

 

Absolutely untouchable, and (in their mind) completely holding the yard together.

 

Whereas in reality, they are hardly working at the rest of the team are picking up their slack.

 

Sadly, these types of grooms are the ones who often cosy up with the boss, making sure they look golden in all lights & it is in fact everyone else who is the problem.

 

Naturally, the other grooms will eventually start to dwindle away & the ‘golden groom’ will be left alone and will soon be showing their incompetence.

 

The boss then believes that all grooms are incompetent, and liars. And will then treat the next batch of grooms as such.

 

Can you see a bit of a pattern here?

Again, I appreciate that I have very much focused on the negative side of grooming.

 

But there can be the incredible partnership of good groom & good boss!

 

These partnerships are very much the holy grail & don’t come along very often!

 

But it really is incredible when you get to work with horses, and for a boss who respects and appreciates you.

 

This then creates a positive reinforcement loop, where the groom wants to work hard, and do as much as they can for the horses, and the boss.

 

And the boss is happy to give the groom freer rein (pardon the pun) and allow them to make more decisions and amend the yard schedule in a way that suits their working style. As they want the groom to work at the best of their ability and stick around for a long time!

One thing I haven’t mentioned is money.

 

You are probably never going to get rich being a groom.

 

However, some jobs can have brilliant perks.

 

The biggest of which is that many jobs come with free accommodation, and some will also allow you to stable your horse with them, free of charge.

My sister used to say that free accommodation at work is worth about £10k a year, so if you add that onto your existing salary, it’s usually a pretty sweet deal!

 

But, to be honest most grooms aren’t actually too bothered about the money anyway.

 

They do the job for their love of working with horses.

 

And when you have a boss who appreciates you, and provides you with a good working environment, that is more or less what most grooms strive for!

 

Don’t get me wrong … good pay definitely helps!

 

I think my point to this ramble, sorry, blog is simply this:

Employers – be good to your grooms!

Grooms – Work hard and be honest about your abilities!

 

When the right combination comes together, it’s a beautiful partnership!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my blog.

 

I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments about topics you’d like me to write about, or any suggestions to improve my blogs.

 

For any other information, or to book a veterinary physiotherapy appointment, please contact me directly.

 

All the best,

Emma, The Biomechanic.

BSc(Hons), FdSc, MIRVAP, RAMP

07861195709

emma@the-biomechanic.co.uk

www.the-biomechanic.co.uk

My Unsung Inspiration

Following from my last blog about why I decided to become a vet physio, I also wanted to write about the horse who was probably actually the biggest inspiration of all.

 

My Barney.

And I didn’t really connect the dots until recently when I commented on a fellow vet physios Facebook post.

 

But he was what put the idea of vet physio into my head.

 

I acquired Barney whilst I was grooming at a private hunting and showing yard.

 

My boss’s close friend owned Barney and had decided that he should start to take a back seat, and enjoy a slower pace of life.

 

He had come to stay with us previously when he had a tendon injury & I thought he was lovely!

 

One of those who’s a very kind soul but could definitely pull cheeky tricks out of the bag when he wanted to!

 

*Flashbacks to the Badminton fun ride where I had NO brakes for 2 hours!*

I thought that he would be offered to my boss, but it transpired that I was the person in mind!

 

I was a bit take aback at first, but after a brief discussion, my boss made me an offer I couldn’t refuse – free stabling, hay, feed and the ability to ride him in her time. I had to say yes.

 

So, I got my first ever horse!

Barney was what I later called ‘high milage’.

 

One of those ‘been there, done that, got the T shirt’ types.

 

He’d done everything! Pony club, eventing, team chasing, hunting. You name it! He was even ridden by Jonty Evans at one point!

 

And at the time, this was great for me. I wasn’t the most experience of riders, and Barney was certainly a brilliant teacher!

 

Especially when it came to jumping! The sort of horse who says, ‘you just hang on tight; I’ll do the rest!’

 

However, the thing that comes with high milage horses is wear and tear.

 

And he was getting worn out!

 

Although only in body … in his mind he was still a feisty 4-year-old.

 

Especially when I eventually changed jobs & moved to different yard. He became the boss of a huge, 18.2hh irish X horse! Even though Barney himself just about came up to 16hh.

 

But the years of work, and lots of jumping, where starting to show.

 

He would be incredibly stiff if he’d stayed in the stable overnight & his legs would fill.

 

He would hate any schooling work, and would require a long warm-up before he felt supple enough to collect.

 

These were the kind of things that I understood as a groom, and I did as much as I could to keep him comfortable.

 

He had magnetic boots on if he had to be stabled, he’d go on the walker, or loose in the lunge pen if he couldn’t be turned out right away, and he’d always have a long warm up and cool down when working.

 

He was on joint supplements, and sometimes painkillers when necessary. I always ensured he was warm enough and had plenty to eat.

 

At the time, I honestly thought this was enough, and he was mostly pain free!

And I was actually really enjoying doing these ‘extra’ bits and pieces to make him more comfortable.

 

It was brilliant seeing these things making such a difference!

 

But following my vet physio training, and looking back, sadly it’s clear to see that he was not as pain free as I thought.

 

 Now, don’t get me wrong.

 

I tried my best with the information I had at the time and definitely kept his high milage and likely OA in mind.

But did I miss massive signs that he was still uncomfortable?

 

Definitely.

 

As aforementioned, he hated schooling, he really didn’t want to bend or collect.

 

He would rush at jumps as fast as he could.

 

He always favoured a landing leg whilst jumping.

 

He hated to canter whilst hacking and would try to gallop instead.

 

He would almost always have high head carriage

 

At the time I assumed these were just behavioural traits, or habits that he’d picked up.

 

And that may be so sometimes, but for the most part. He was in pain.

 

And I really hate to look back at some of the times I’d misread these signs and pushed him through anyway.

 

However, it’s recognising your mistakes, and having the drive to do better that makes for improvement!

And that’s certainly the case for therapists; the ability to challenge what we think we know, accept we may be wrong, and have the strong desire to learn and do better!

 

As I’m progressing in my veterinary physiotherapy career, I’m realising that I have a special affinity for the golden oldie, and I have a keen interest in osteoarthritis pathology and treatment.

 

And that comes from my beloved Barney.

 

I didn’t always know to do the right things when I had him, but now I can give the best care to every animal I go to treat with him in mind.

 

Thank you, B.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my blog.

 

I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments about topics you’d like me to write about, or any suggestions to improve my blogs.

 

For any other information, or to book a veterinary physiotherapy appointment, please contact me directly.

 

All the best,

Emma, The Biomechanic.

BSc(Hons), FdSc, MIRVAP, RAMP

07861195709

emma@the-biomechanic.co.uk

www.the-biomechanic.co.uk

Why I became a Vet Physio

 Why did I become a vet physio?

 

Money.

 

The end.

 

I joke of course!

 

… You can’t make money working with animals :’)

Becoming a vet physio wasn’t a long-term game plan of mine.

 

To be honest, I’ve never had a long-term game plan, I still don’t!

 

I remember the idea first came to my head when I was working as a groom.

 

I was working on a private, high-end eventing yard in the Cotswolds.

 

I was well paid, had accommodation included, and the workload was perfectly manageable (most of the time).

 

Then, one day I had a sudden realisation that my grooming career had potentially peaked.

 

I wouldn’t have minded, but I was 24, I couldn’t be at the height yet?

 

Plus, I had been a groom for over 5 years at this point, and although I loved it, I didn’t love the idea of doing it forever.

 

I’ll write a blog in due course about why that is … it’ll be a long one!

 

I’d toyed with the idea of becoming an equine massage therapist in the past. But I had no idea where to begin with it, plus, I wanted to make sure I was appropriately trained.

 

I didn’t want to do a 6-week course and be sent out into the world to make it up as I went.

 

I wanted a thorough, in-depth education (a degree, preferably) in something I was passionate about, that would keep me in the world of horses

 

Then my boss got in a veterinary physiotherapist to assess her horses …

 

I hadn’t really heard much about vet physios at the time

 

I knew about equine chiropractors and equine masseurs, but not so much about vet physios

 

(I imagine you can see where this is going…)

 

Well, I must say I was very impressed with what he did

 

This man would watch the horses walk and trot up, and would compile a list of things he could see that could be a current or potential issue

 

And everything he said made sense

 

He’d explain his thought process and show us what he meant where he could, and it was incredible

 

I would watch him work whenever I could, and loved how well he understood everything

 

Plus, once we’d implemented his treatment plans, we started seeing the results he promised us

 

More proof that this man knew what he was talking about, and that vet physio really did work

 

This is when I realised that I’d love to be a vet physio if I could

 

Following some discussions with him, I found that I could complete a degree in veterinary physiotherapy

 

So I started my research, found a uni I liked, applied, and now look! I’m all graduated and stuff!

I enjoyed the idea of vet physio so much, because of the proof of effect I saw

 

I’m very much a ‘see it to believe it’ kind of person

 

I’ll rarely take things at face value, and I like to understand how something works completely before I put my faith in it

 

And now that I am educated in vet physio, and am now emersed in that world, I can see just how much there is to it

 

There are a lot of different avenues to go down, and many things you can specialise in

 

There are countless techniques, and therapies, and ideas going around that the possibilities of what could be done to help an animal seem endless

 And, I think it’s that fact that draws me to vet physio so much

 

It fits perfectly into my unplanned career path, I can go all sorts of ways with vet physio and still be completely involved with it

 

At the moment, I would love to get into lecturing one day, and do that part-time alongside my vet physio business

 

I would also eventually like to do a masters in McTimoney Chiropractics

 

But I’m not beholden to anything, and would certainly love to see what opportunities come my way in the future

 

I mean, if you’d told 19-year-old me, that I’d be a vet physio one day, I wouldn’t have believed you!

 

And now – fully qualified, owning my own business and growing steadily!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my blog.

 

I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments about topics you’d like me to write about, or any suggestions to improve my blogs.

 

For any other information, or to book a veterinary physiotherapy appointment, please contact me directly.

 

All the best,

Emma, The Biomechanic.

BSc(Hons), FdSc, MIRVAP, RAMP

07861195709

emma@the-biomechanic.co.uk

www.the-biomechanic.co.uk