As a fully qualified animal chiropractor, I treat animals as well as humans. They can be challenging as they cannot speak to us and tell us what’s wrong but I love being able to help them and make them more comfortable day to day.

Below is a case study of when I worked on Jazz, a lovely big Cleveland Bay cross Thoroughbred mare.

Let’s get started:

Jazz kept trying to buck her owner off, and as she has had no previous problems and is usually an easy ride, her owner, Liz, was very concerned and beginning to lose confidence in riding her.  She spoke with her normal vet and the vet rang me to ask if I would take a look and see what I could find.

After taking a case history, palpating the horse and doing range of motion tests it was clear that Jazz was very uncomfortable behind the saddle and in her pelvis.


After treating Liz’s mare I asked her not to ride her for a couple of days and then hack her for a further two days so her adjustments could settle. Jazz was booked in for a review and follow up in two weeks and Liz was shown some simple stretches to her the tight muscles to relax to their normal length.


As a chiropractor who is trained to treat animals, I offer my owners a free ‘spine check’ of their own just in case the horse is affecting the rider or the rider is affecting the horse. In Liz and Jazz’s case I was really pleased I had done as during the spine check Liz mentioned that she had recently had a slight car accident and had been suffering from low back pain since. It may have been a coincidence but both Liz’s and Jazz’s pain was on the same side and Liz’s pain prevented her being able to sit up straight. Despite her small size, Liz’s backpain and crookedness may well have been the cause of the sudden change in Jazz’s pain change of behaviour.

As chiropractors, we are uniquely placed to treat both horse and rider. Liz will tell you, the difference after Mc Timoney chiropractic treatment for her and her horse meant the she had a happier horse that she felt safe to ride again. I feel that I am working as a part of a team of owner, horse and chiropractor, a doing a job I love.


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