Equine Physiotherapy & Rehabilitation
We work with horses of all shapes, sizes and disciplines — from tiny minis to tall sport horses.
Our equine clients include high-performance competitors in show jumping, eventing, dressage, racing, and endurance, as well as pony club mounts, adult all-rounders, pleasure hacks, and beloved paddock pets. We are also delighted to care for donkeys and mules, providing every animal with the same expert, hands-on physiotherapy and support.
Whether you are looking to optimise athletic Performance, support post-injury Recovery, or maintain a senior horse's Quality of Life, we tailor our comprehensive evaluations to your unique partnership.
Physiotherapy for performance
Optimising movement, maintaining excellence, and preventing injury
We work alongside you to uncover the root causes of training hurdles, helping you overcome the barriers holding you and your horse back from achieving your goals.
We can assist with a wide range of performance-related queries, including:
Rideability & Contact Issues: General stiffness, difficulties with rein contact, head tilting to one side, or struggling to turn in one direction.
Canter & Advanced Movement Hurdles: Stiffness on one rein, difficulties with a specific canter lead, problems with canter changes, or coordination and control in advanced dressage movements.
Jumping & Athletic Technique: Poor tracking up, general weakness or low conditioning, poor jump technique, veering to one side over a fence, or struggling to lift their back and sit on the hindquarters.
Symmetry & Balance Challenges: Falling in or out of a circle, struggling to keep a straight line, or noticeable weakness in one leg.
Discomfort-Driven Behaviours: Behavioral changes under saddle or on the ground, such as head tossing, tail swishing, bucking, grumpiness, girthiness, or suddenly refusing jumps.
Proactive Performance Care: Having no current issues, but wanting a proactive check-up to keep them performing at their absolute peak and prevent future injury.
Physiotherapy for recovery
Clinical treatment, rehabilitation, and long-term resilience
When your horse is recovering from trauma, surgery, or injury, we don't just treat the symptoms—we address the underlying causes. Working closely with you and your veterinarian, we design tailored rehabilitation plans to support safe healing and prevent recurrence.
We provide expert care for a wide range of recovery-related queries, including:
Injury & Post-Surgical Rehabilitation: Advanced rehab for tendon and ligament injuries, muscle tears, fractures, joint conditions, and comprehensive recovery following equine surgeries.
Spinal & Pelvic Conditions: Targeted strengthening and rehabilitation for Kissing Spine and sacroiliac (SI) joint problems.
Post-Trauma & Tissue Healing: Targeted management for soreness after a fall, skin injuries, wounds, and the resolution of haematomas and seromas.
Compensatory & Conformation Soreness: Alleviating back pain and muscle wastage caused by poor saddle fit, as well as body soreness stemming from historical hoof balance and alignment issues.
Competition & Workload Recovery: Managing muscle soreness after heavy workouts, intense training sessions, or providing vital maintenance between consecutive days of competition.
Preventative Care: Building long-term strength and stability to prevent previous injuries or movement issues from worsening or recurring.
Physiotherapy for quality of life
Support through comfort, mobility, and everyday wellness
We are dedicated to helping senior equines, paddock companions, and those with chronic conditions experience a good life. Our targeted treatments focus on easing discomfort, maintaining mobility, and empowering you with the tools to support your horse’s daily wellbeing and happiness.
We offer compassionate care for quality of life queries, including:
Chronic Condition Support: Long-term management for osteoarthritis, chronic joint stiffness, and deep muscle soreness.
Managing Old Injuries: Ongoing physical support and compensatory care for historical injuries to keep your horse moving freely as they age.
Environmental & Seasonal Challenges: Practical physical support for horses facing lifestyle stressors, such as managing life on a steep hill or carrying heavy rugs through a cold winter.
Proactive Wellness Checks: Comprehensive assessments for owners who want peace of mind that their horse is truly thriving, comfortable, and living their best possible life.
Inside an Equine Consultation: What to Expect
-
Our Aim: To fully understand what you want to achieve with your horse and identify exactly what is holding you both back, then map out a clear plan to help you meet your goals.
Before your appointment: We will email you a pre-appointment form covering your horse's history, daily routines, and current concerns. We also review notes from your vet, farrier, saddle fitter, dentist, trainer, or anyone else in your support team, so we can look at the whole picture before we arrive.
At the visit: To start, we'll ask further questions and ensure we have a detailed understanding of where you and your horse are, what has happened, and where you wish to get to.
Physical assessment:
Observation of demeanor, posture, hoof balance*, body and muscle condition, and skeletal symmetry.
Movement assessment (walk and trot in-hand, lunge, small circles, rein back, and other specific movement tests), supported by objective gait analysis (Sleip).
Palpation assessment of skeletal landmarks, joints, tendons, ligaments, fascia and muscle.
Manual assessment of range of motion, movement quality, and flexibility of different regions, structures, and tissues.
We may also assess tack* if we feel it could be contributing to the issues described.
Ridden assessments are a valuable opportunity to show us the problems you experience, and can be done as part of the first consultation, but are usually deferred to the next follow up.
Throughout the examination, we explain what we're finding, and at the end we bring it all together, connect it to the issues you've described, and involve you in the development of your horse’s treatment plan.
Treatment at the first appointment will depend on the complexity of the assessment process and what requires priority.
Our goal: leave you with a clear picture of what we found, what it means, and — crucially — a clear action plan between appointments.
Home programs: We know that we can do amazing things with our treatment on the day, but it is what happens afterwards makes the biggest difference. Your horse’s home exercise and management program will make sure that those days in between appointments have the highest possible impact.
We will also discuss whether other members of your multidisciplinary team need to be consulted, such as your vet, farrier, saddle fitter, dentist, coach, etc.
*We are neither formally trained nor qualified in equine farriery or saddle fitting, but we are able to do basic assessments, link our findings to the overall clinical picture, and discuss this with your preferred professional. -
We build on what we found in the previous consultation and what you’ve achieved since, adapting our work as you progress closer toward your goals.
We focus on resolving pain and improving mobility first, so that inhibited muscles can reactivate, good movement patterns can be established, and strengthening and conditioning can begin (See our 5 steps to Success Framework)Whether you're rehabilitating from injury or conditioning for performance, the process is the same: we assess where you and your horse are now, understand what it took to get there, clarify where you want to go, and build a clear plan to get you there.
-
Following a thorough assessment to determine what your horse needs, we may employ a combination of techniques, such as:
Manual therapies (massage, myofascial kinetic lines, scar tissue treatment, lymph drainage, reflex inhibition, Maitland- and Mulligan-style joint mobilisation, stretches, reflex stretches, muscle energy/PNF techniques)
Photobiomodulation therapy (Spectravet laser, Photizo Vetcare LED)
Pulsed electromagnetic field therapy (Westville Biomag)
Electrical muscle stimulation (TENS, NMES, TMM)
Dry needling**
Kinaesiotaping
Exercise prescription - this is a VERY long list. Exercises are selected to be specific for what your horse needs at that point in time. We do get creative in order to get the best results. We think of exercises in terms of:
ground exercises (standing with your horse),
in-hand exercises (leading your horse),
lunge and long-rein exercises,
ridden exercises, and
paddock/stable exercises (setting up the paddock or stable so that your horse achieves some of the mobilisations and stretches that we want them to do, while performing normal behaviours).
Treat the rider! Your horse can only be as straight and balanced as you are. (Learn more about Rider Physio).
We can also recommend and prescribe wearable therapy garments, such as the Equiband, where we see that these will help you achieve your goals.
**only clinicians trained in this technique will use it
Whilst veterinary clearance is not a legal requirement in New Zealand, we proudly operate under a professional, collaborative care model. We work with with your primary veterinarian to ensure our treatments safely complement your horse's overall medical history.
How to Book
Booking an appointment is simple. You can get in touch directly to discuss your horse’s needs, or ask your vet to send a referral if your horse is recovering from injury or surgery.
We’ll take the time to understand your goals, review any relevant veterinary history, and create a tailored treatment plan to support comfort, movement and recovery. Whether it’s performance, rehabilitation or quality of life care, we’re here to help every animal — and their humans — move and feel better.
Wondering if Physio is right for your horse?
You don't have to figure it out alone. Reach out for a friendly, no-obligation chat, and we can help you work out the best next steps.