Osteopathy is a manual therapy that is based on the principle that all the bodies systems are inter-related.

Osteopathic philosophy gives a holistic approach to health and stresses the importance of the musculoskeletal system in an animal’s health and well-being. The aim of treatment is to support the body’s self-healing capacity.

“Any variation from the health has a cause, and the cause has a location. It is the business of the osteopath to locate and remove it, doing away with disease and getting health instead.” – A.T. Still, founder of Osteopathy

An osteopath focuses on the whole body, including the soft tissues (such as muscles, ligaments and tendons), the spine and nervous system, and may use a variety of different hands-on methods, including:

• Spinal articulations
• Soft tissue massage techniques
• Articulation and oscillations – gentle rhythmic joint/ tissue movements
• Stretching muscles and joint capsules
• Fascial release
• Rebalancing ligamentous tension
• Neurological input for proprioceptive reset and pain modulation
• Visceral manipulation – gentle movement of the abdominal and pelvic areas.

An Osteopath will consider your horses health from a number of perspectives and plan their intervention accordingly:

(Osteopathic Models of Care)