If your horse is obviously lame, suddenly unsound, or in clear pain, call your vet first. If your horse is sound but feels stiff, uneven, tense or off its game, physiotherapy is a sensible first or parallel step. Equine physiotherapy works alongside your vet, never instead of them.
"My saddle fitter says call the physio, my instructor says call the vet." Conflicting advice is stressful, especially when you are worried about missing something serious. A simple way to think about it helps.
What each professional is for
Your vet diagnoses. They are the ones who can perform nerve blocks, take x-rays and scans, and put a name to a problem. A physiotherapist is a movement and muscle specialist: the person who assesses how your horse moves, treats tension, weakness and asymmetry, and rehabilitates and conditions the body. The two roles are different, and they are at their best together.
When to call the vet first
- Sudden or obvious lameness
- Heat, swelling, or a wound
- Clear pain, distress, or a horse that is not itself
- Anything that needs a diagnosis before it can be treated
When physiotherapy is the right first call
- A sound horse that feels stiff, uneven, or tight on one rein
- A drop in performance with no obvious lameness
- Resistance to grooming, tacking up or schooling
- Maintenance and conditioning for a horse in regular work
What about vet consent in Ireland?
For treating pain or a known injury, best practice is for physiotherapy to happen with your vet's knowledge or referral. That protects your horse and keeps everyone working from the same picture. Routine maintenance on a sound, healthy horse is a different situation. Grace is always happy to liaise with your vet, share her findings, and fit into the plan they have set. Good professionals talk to each other, and that is exactly what you want for your horse.
Still not sure who to call?
Tell Grace what is going on and she will point you the right way, honestly.