Blog – Page 6 – The Horse Physio – Sue Palmer

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What is a stretch?

By Sue Palmer on February 21, 2024

The word "stretch" can function as both a verb and a noun. As a verb, it refers to something soft or elastic that is capable of being made longer or wider without tearing or breaking. For example, "my sweater stretched in the wash." It can also mean straightening or extending one's body or a part of one's body to its full length, typically to tighten one's muscles or reach something. For instance, "the cat yawned and stretched." As a noun, it can refer to an act of stretching one's limbs or body, such as "I got up and had a stretch," or a continuous area or expanse of land or water, like "a treacherous stretch of road."

Help me to help 100 horses (or more)

By Sue Palmer on February 8, 2024

Do you live in an area where it's challenging to get access to physio for your horse? Does the cost of physio mean that you can't have your horse treated as often as you'd like? Would you like to be able to do more for your horse? Would you happen to know someone who any of the above applies to? Please help me reach these people and their horses by sharing this blog. I'd love to help 100 horses this month; perhaps it's your horse I can help? If not your horse, wouldn't it feel wonderful knowing that you have made a difference by passing on the information someone needs to support their horse? I'm on a mission to help those who can't get the horse physio assessment and treatment they would like to offer their horse. I've carefully and lovingly created an online course, "Stretching Your Horse: A Guide to Keeping Your Equine Friend Happy and Healthy". There are ten stretching exercises (video included) and lots of information about how, where, when, why and what to stretch.

Clear and consistent communication eases uncertainty

By Sue Palmer on January 30, 2024

“The mistake is thinking that there can be an antidote to the uncertainty.” David Levithan I like to be in control of what’s going on in my life. Don’t we all? Uncertainty makes me anxious, and I fight harder to take back control. It turns out that horses don’t respond well to uncertainty, either. As Intelligent Horsemanship Recommended Trainer Carley O’Callaghan (Considerate Horsemanship) said in a FB post, “When we are not consistent and clear, the horse doesn't understand what's expected. Quickly, you'll find yourself in a situation that's not enjoyable/dangerous with a horse that doesn't understand. When we are being clear with horses, we will quickly find our need to correct the horse becomes less and less. If you feel you’re correcting the same thing over and over, it's time to change the approach and question.”

Have you heard of JOMO?

By Sue Palmer on January 29, 2024

Your friends are meeting up for an all-you-can-eat breakfast at your favourite cafe, but you’ve entered your horse in a show that day. You were really looking forward to the show until you knew that there was the option of meeting your friends instead. You can only do one activity or the other, but you want to do both. You’re suffering from FOMO, the Fear Of Missing Out. We know from scientific studies that too many options make us less happy. Even buying a pint of milk isn’t a simple decision anymore - do you buy skimmed, semi-skimmed, full fat, oat, coconut, soya, almond, or something different?! Can you be sure you’ve made the right choice, or could you be missing out on something better?

What are you doing next?

By Sue Palmer on January 29, 2024

Have you ever found yourself so busy thinking about what’s coming next that you haven’t got any brain space to think about what’s going on right now? I find my head in that place (usually the future) without knowing how I got there. I’m working on a task, and the next thing I know, I’m doing that task automatically and stressing about something that might or might not happen in a week’s time (or a month’s time, or a year’s time, or when I’m 88 years old… my brain doesn’t seem to mind where in the future it takes me!). I tell myself that it’s ‘this one thing’ that I’m worried about, and when ‘this one thing’ is over and done with, then I’ll find calm and contentment once more.

Have you decided your future?

By Sue Palmer on January 29, 2024

“People do not decide their futures, they decide their habits and their habits decide their futures.” —F. M. Alexander” This quote really hit home for me. I’ve never got on well with long-term planning. Sorry - I can hear some of my clients laughing there because I plan ahead more than most, with next year’s diary organised in November for the following January to December. What I mean is, I’ve never managed, for example, to work out where I want to be in 5 years or what income I’m going to achieve, the kind of thing the ‘planning’ books tell you to do.

Was it a regret or a lesson?

By Sue Palmer on January 29, 2024

You know that really embarrassing thing you did a few years ago? The one that still makes you cringe every time you think about it? Do you regret doing it, or could you reframe it more positively as a lesson you’ve learned from?

How to rest and recharge

By Sue Palmer on January 28, 2024

I had an epiphany. Time out is essential! Sitting still is not one of my strong points. I’m usually busy with a horse or with a child. If I am sitting still, it will usually be at my desk, writing, studying, or working on my computer. For years, friends and family have advised me to slow down, take a breather, make some time for myself, and have a rest, or I’ll burn out. Honestly, I do listen, and I do try!

Would your horse choose to be with you?

By Sue Palmer on January 25, 2024

The lady in the stable opposite did nothing but moan. “I’ve been up half the night. No one told me the taps at the yard were frozen. I’ve got far too much to do; I don’t need this.”

Are you in a hurry?

By Sue Palmer on January 23, 2024

It’s an age-old debate. The vast majority of younger horses are backed (‘broken in’) at three or four years old. At this age, the growth plates have not fused, and many horses are unable to function optimally into their teens, potentially through damage that occurred in relation to starting ridden work too early. The usual comment (in the circles that I move in) is that we start our horses too young, and we should give them more time to grow before we ask them to accept the weight of a rider and the pressures that we put upon them as a ridden horse. I want to suggest an alternative viewpoint. We know that the body grows in response to the stresses placed upon it. Bones, muscles, tendons and ligaments develop in response to the stresses placed upon them. If we want health, longevity, and soundness in our horses, then I believe that we should be introducing their bodies to milder versions of these stresses early on. Certainly as early as two years old, and perhaps even as a yearling.

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