Kate Akers - Veterinary Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation

10/08/2026

Feels great to be back to it…who is happier, me or the ponies? 🤭🐴

02/08/2026

After a little unplanned break due to an emergency surgery 🤦🏼‍♀️ I am currently doing my diary for the rest of August for a phased return to work. Please see below availability and drop me a message if you’d like to book in! If your thinking of a date not listed or a postcode not listed, drop me a message and I’ll see what I can do 🙂

The shows are in full swing and of course the ground is very hard so your horses may need a little TLC! 🐎🐴

12/07/2026

✨ Don’t underestimate the power of a few poles…👌🏽

One of the most common exercises I recommend—whether your horse is coming back from injury, lameness, time off, or simply needs some strength work—is pole work.

And here’s something that surprises a lot of people… walk poles are often more beneficial than trot poles.

Walk poles can help:
🐴 Improve range of motion
🐴 Build core strength
🐴 Encourage the horse to lift through their back
🐴 Improve balance and proprioception

As your horse progresses, trot poles become a brilliant way to develop muscle, improve stride length, coordination and overall performance.

Just to be clear, I’m not suggesting everyone loose schools their horse over poles! 😅 The horse in this photo is my own established mare, and every rehab programme should be tailored to the individual horse.

A little geeky fact… I actually wrote my master’s dissertation on the kinematic effects of pole work on joint range of motions…so this is a subject I’m slightly passionate about! 🤓

Do you use pole work with your horse? I’d love to know—do you prefer walk poles or trot poles, and have you noticed a difference? 👇

08/07/2026

Back pain really can affect how a horse feels, moves and behaves. It affects every horse differently. It doesn’t always have to be kissing spine. Many factors can lead to back pain, including but not limited to - saddle fit, way of going, arthritis, other lameness issues.

The first clip is from April and the second is from July. I’m sure you can agree there is quite the difference! This horse has facet joint arthritis and has made lovely progress with the right treatment plan. But due to the fact she didn’t have obvious kissing spines on xray…a deeper investigation with ultrasound found this issue.

They’ve had steroid treatment from the vet alongside physiotherapy, and are now due some chiropractic and acupuncture work too. A team approach gives the best prognosis! Regular physiotherapy allows you to ensure no issues are brewing and to treat them before they do!

It’s a great reminder that getting the right diagnosis is so important, and that teamwork between the vet and wider support team can make a real difference.

🐎🐴💪🏽😍

05/07/2026

A huge congratulations to all of my clients who have been competing at a very warm Kent County Show this weekend! 👏🏽🏆

Great to see so many of you out having a great time and getting such amazing results! 🙌🏽

I didn’t get to compete this year as Skye is still out of action and Tokyo is not quite there yet…but hopefully next year we will be back! 🤞🏽🙏🏽

Whatever your discipline good maintenance of your horses body helps to get results 💪🏽 here’s this lovely show jumper benefiting from some transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation recently.

28/06/2026

It’s been a very hot few days 🥵 as always nice to see my clients old and new 🥰

Such thanks to those who have moved around appointments to start earlier (I think 5:30am was the record!) and finish later whilst the earth has felt like a sauna! I think the horses appreciate it just as much as I did! And also thanks to my lovely clients who have brought me cold drinks and even ice poles this weekend! 😍🙌🏽

Hopefully with temperatures returning to a bit more normality next week…people can get back to riding and enjoying their ponies! 🐴🐎🏇

25/05/2026

A little update 🙏🏽 more availability pending.

As many of you know, over the past year I made the very difficult decision to step back from an industry that I have loved and dedicated myself to for almost ten years. In order to prioritise both my physical and mental wellbeing, I significantly reduced my client numbers and workload. Following two surgeries and joint injections, I’m pleased to say that I am now feeling healthier and stronger than ever.

During this time, I also chose to pursue another long-standing passion of mine — lecturing. I’m delighted to share that I am soon to qualify as a lecturer in equine, and I will also be taking my Stage 3 coaching qualification in the near future. It has been an incredibly rewarding journey. However, I have greatly missed the hands-on side of my work, and with my health now fully restored, I’ll be moving into lecturing on a more part-time basis to allow for increased availability for physiotherapy appointments once again.

From July onwards, I will have more availability for appointments within the Kent area. If you would like to book your horse in, please feel free to get in touch.

Finally, I would like to sincerely thank all of my clients for their patience, understanding, and support throughout the past year whilst my working hours were limited. I’m also very sorry to those I may have had to disappoint along the way. Your support has meant more than you know ❤️

11/01/2026

It’s that time of year 🤦🏼‍♀️

Schools are frozen 🥶
Roads are slippery 🧊
Horses staying in for longer periods of time 🫣
Motivation at an all time low 🤦🏼‍♀️

Perfect time to teach your horse how to long rein and learn to stretch - you can stay in walk if your arena is too hard!

Long reining is so beneficial regardless of where your horse is in their training. Young or old…I ensure my horse is long reined at least once a week, to allow her to stretch, lift her back and use her body without the added weight of a rider.

It’s physiotherapy in its physical term! Correct moment patterns allow for the body to build muscle in the correct places. It will allow your horse to develop their confidence and strength. A skill I would recommend every horse owner develops 🙌🏽

04/03/2025

10/02/2025

Back pain - one of the biggest reasons people contact me, or other ‘back people’ I use that as a quote as that is what so many use as a blanket term for such an array of practitioners!

Back pain can be caused by a number of factors, and will present its self in so many ways! Some horses may buck or be reactive, whilst others may show you in more subtle ways, which is why it’s important to keep on top of your horses muscle health with routine physiotherapy. A sound horse with a well fitting saddle that is well muscled for the job it is being asked to do generally should not suffer from marked back pain. It is important we get to the route of reoccurring back pain and rule out if there is any of the following (and more!)

🐴 Kissing spine
🐴 Arthritis of the spine/facet joints/lumbar
🐴 Trauma/injury
🐴 Poor saddle fit
🐴 Lameness
🐴 Gastric ulcers
🐴 O***y issues
🐴 Incorrect work load/posture when worked

In this video it shows quite a reactive horse prior to its treatment, whose muscle tone changed significantly following a treatment of Hwave therapy, soft tissue mobilisation and spinal mobilisation.