Having owned and ridden horses past and present, I have experienced the constant strive for balance between farrier, saddler, physiotherapist and rider to achieve the optimum health of the horse that is fit and comfortable for purpose. However, domestication of the horse vastly contrasts the natural constraints on the horse and requires adaptations of the horse’s physiology to inhabit a stable and carry a rider and tack while performing. Therefore, regular conditioning and devotion to fine tuning the musculoskeletal system is imperative for a healthy and happy horse from the geriatrics, retired horses and happy hackers to all-rounders and top level performance horses.

My love for horses developed like many, from a young age when learning to ride quickly became a lifestyle of longevity. My first ride, my dad’s ex racehorse gave me an early taster of the variety of horse disciplines and structural compromises of the horse, sparking a life-long intrigue into the biomechanics and rehabilitation of horses.

Graduating from Oxford Brookes University in June 2016 with a 1st Class degree in Equine Science and Top Scientist Award, I found I had accumulated a broad range of knowledge to pursue a career in the equine industry having covered subjects such as nutrition, performance physiology, preventative medicine, business and ethics. However, as much as I enjoyed the theory of the course, my second year prompted me to look elsewhere for a more practical career with horses. During the summer of 2015, I then discovered Equinology Inc., educators of equine bodywork in several countries across the world delivering a different approach to equine assessment and massage and addressing almost every muscle within a session.

Before graduating from university I had qualified as an Equine Bodyworker EEBW and joined the International Equine Bodyworkers Association (IEBWA) to begin practicing the profession around my studies. The two worked hand in hand to keep me busy and sparked a real interest in rehabilitation, training and musculoskeletal problems of the riding horse, consequently providing the motivation for my final year projects; investigation of the pessoa and an overall investigation into the effects that 21st domestication has on the equine back. Just a week after final exams, I continued with my massage studies, undertaking two more of the Equinology courses to expand on both my skillset and anatomical knowledge, upon completion gaining an upgrade to a level 2 bodyworker.

Now, I am committed to helping equines and their owners to achieve the desired equilibrium between health and function and have created Box Soft Tissue Therapy to enable me to do so on a regular basis. I am passionate about continuing my education and developing upon both skills and knowledge and regularly attend lectures in association with BSAS, the RVC and independent specialists. I am a great believer that ‘knowledge is power’ and hope this will assist me with maintaining the selection of horses I am fortunate to treat.