hello!
"I live in a house,
but my home is in the stable"
Anonymous
That just about sums me up! I am the best version of myself when I'm with horses, and this has always been the case. Horses are not the commodities that they have been taken for for such a long time. They are sentient beings, experiencing a rich array of emotions. For me, how they feel matters. A lot. I am always so pleased and encouraged when I meet clients who demonstrate a real understanding and honesty with their equines - it's truly fantastic to meet like-minded equestrians.
This was, in part, why I chose EMA to study my qualifications with. It's Founder, Angela Hall, completely shares my ethos and has devoted many years to helping equines through musculoskeletal therapy, lecturing and practicing all over the world. EMA offer the only Level 5 equine massage qualification course in the UK, but as well as this, I was hugely attracted by the array of CPD opportunities. In addition to my main qualification, I have also completed the Equine Emergency First Aid and Bit & Bridle Assessment CPD courses (and am continuing with others on an ongoing basis - there is ALWAYS more to learn, and that really pleases me!!).
In addition to my equine qualifications, I am a certified Applied Animal Behaviourist, although for various reasons, I decided that manual therapy was the direction I wanted to go in, so, here I am!
Although originally from Northamptonshire, I have lived in Norfolk for the past 9 years. You will often see me around with my Border Collie, Flo, who has grown up with a very early understanding that horses are FAB!!
I really enjoy meeting new clients - the Norfolk horse-folk have been so supportive and I love going back to existing clients to catch up and see how their horses are doing.
I'm always a friendly face, I LOVE my job, and I will always go the extra mile to try to help my clients, both equine and human.
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my learning journey....
.....has been lengthy and intense but hugely enjoyable!
The course I completed was the Advanced Practitioner in Equine Integrative Support Therapies, which is a Level 5 UK Rural Skills accredited course from EMA. This course aligns to Industry and National Occupational Standards which lead to fully insured Therapists.
Having learned about the science behind the musculoskeletal system of the equine, this gives me a fabulous foundation on which to carry out the physical assessments of horses. This is then combined with responses from the horse, along with visual and palpable observations to give me a good picture of what type of therapy may best benefit the horse in front of me.
My training included 578 hours of;
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Practical case studies (60 two hour sessions of MSK therapy along with a detailed written analysis of each)
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Practical tutorials in Yorkshire
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Written assignments (9 total)
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Virtual lectures
This was followed by a 4 hour written exam and a 1.5 hour practical. I gained my qualification with a Distinction.
In addition, I am always committed to Continual Professional Development (CPD), and over the past few years have attended a number of webinars/clinics as well as LOTS of reading! I adhere to the industry standard requirement of 40 hours CPD per year.
Pet Remedy
Since 2016, I have regularly used products from Pet Remedy. This began with my cat, who was having some difficulties with neighbouring cats, and she was showing some fearful behaviours.
My vet recommended Pet Remedy, which I immediately bought, and I noticed that Lucy was finding some comfort and she seemed to be able to regulate her emotions and appear a lot less wary in situations which had begun to worry her.
Pet Remedy works in a very clever way! It's natural ingredients (valerian, vetiver, clary sage and basil) work to mimic the action of GABA (gamma-amino butyric acid), which is a naturally occurring neurotransmitter in mammals, birds and reptiles. This acts on fired-up nerve cells by tricking them that the brain has sent them messages to calm. GABA has also been shown to have a similar response on pain signals, and I, myself, am on Pregabalin for that very reason.
Since then, I have used it with various animals - cats, dogs, and of course, horses. There are multiple situations within a domestic environment which have the potential to cause stress, fear, anxiety, over-arousal in equines. For example, moving to a new yard/home, travelling, the competition environment*, a new horse on the premises, injury, loud and highly stimulating yard environments, husbandry/farriery/vet visits (the list goes on). If we are able to help facilitate a shift from the sympathetic (flight/fight/freeze) state, to a parasympathetic (rest/digest) one during these encounters, our horses have a better opportunity to absorb sensory information whilst feeling safer, happier, calmer. In this way, over time, there is the chance of changing a previously stressful/fearful situation into a more positive, or at least neutral one. This, of course, needs to go hand in hand with empathetic handling and incremental approaches whilst they are under 'threshold' (not in a reactive or worried state, able to receive information and remain calm).
A little anecdote which I love to share, which was originally from one of my vets. She had recommended Pet Remedy to a client with a dog who had some emotional difficulties. The client duly purchased some and used it for the next two weeks. He returned for a check-up and on asking him how his dog was doing, my vet got the response "he's fine, but I've come off my beta-blockers!"
Pet Remedy have carried out various clinical studies into the efficacy of the product, which cover multiple species (including equine). If you are interested in learning more about these, they can be found here Clinical Trials, Pet Remedy, Pet Stress, Natural Pet Relief
In August 2024, I was hugely honoured when I was asked by Pet Remedy to be an Ambassador for the brand. I happily accepted - as well as having a belief in the product, I am also keen to work with ethical companies who are invested in improving the emotional wellbeing of our non-human friends.
*A note on competitions and the use of Pet Remedy - currently Valerian is banned by most competitive organisations/governing bodies so cannot be used on the day of the competition. But watch this space on that one..... (and it is fine to use the day before)
