“All the gear… and quite frankly no idea? – Help Us Spread The Word” – Email 34

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Hi lovely,

Now… Kelly told me that I “‘mustn’t let it go to my head” when she read me Dr Jessica Kidd’s feedback about the new magazine: I negotiated and it was agreed I could let it go to my head for 20 minutes (but no more) 😂

‘I was just reading the IH magazine and it was excellent. The article by Abi is particularly good and extremely well written. I’m going to take that into the hospital to show everyone and then I’m going to cut out and laminate the summary. Sue’ Dyson’s article is also excellent…’

Well… what can I say, we all love a compliment!

So, Kelly has kindly let me give you some snippets from my article which is great, as it’s a topic I feel strongly about…

ELECTROTHERAPIES FOR HORSES

What they are, when to use them… and when not to

Advice everywhere… but not much clarity.

There’s an ever-growing list of devices and “miracle tools” on the market. All promising results. All claiming to be different. Many claiming to be the best.

So who do we trust? And what actually works?

I’m not here to sell you a device or promote one therapy over another. This is about helping you make sense of it all — what these tools actually do, when they can help, when they can hinder, and how to make better decisions for your horse.

So… what are electrotherapies?

They’re tools designed to support rehabilitation, help prevent injury, and improve performance. Some aim to reduce pain, others to stimulate healing in tissues like muscle, tendon, ligament and bone.

But here’s the reality:

They don’t “do everything”.

What they do depends on:

how they work
how deep they reach
which tissues they affect
and how well they’re actually applied

Used well, they can be incredibly useful.

Used poorly, they can waste time… or even do harm.

And this is the bit that really matters…

All the gear… and quite frankly no idea

If you take away one thing from this article, this is probably it. Electrotherapies aren’t magic wands! They are only as effective and as safe as the person applying them.

The real skill isn’t in owning the machine, it’s knowing how to use it appropriately

Anyone applying them should be able to:

assess the horse properly
recognise pain and dysfunction
understand what tissue they’re dealing with and what stage it’s at
know how the therapy works (and its limits)
apply it correctly
assess the response
involve a vet when needed
and say no when it isn’t appropriate

A good therapist will happily leave the machine in the bag if it’s not the right tool.

So what actually works, and when?

That’s what I break down in the full article — looking at the main therapies you’re likely to come across, where they genuinely help, and where they don’t.

If you’d like to read more, you’ll find it in your new magazine.

Members — if it’s not already with you, it should be landing very shortly.

Not a member yet? Now’s a good time. Sharron has even ordered a few extra copies, so if you Join as a Plus Member soon, we’ll get one sent out to you.

More soon,

Abi & the Intelligent Horsemanship Team

Find Out More

Another Great Event From Horses Inside Out…

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Learning to recognise when performance issues may actually be discomfort.

Because as we know, behaviour is communication… and sometimes it’s very subtle.

Dr Sue Dyson’s work around the Ridden Horse Performance Checklist and Pain Ethogram has really shifted how we understand ridden horses. As Ben Chilvers MRCVS puts it:

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This course is all about helping you: