What is McTimoney & Equine Touch

McTimoney

McTimoney is a technique designed to re-align the spinal column. It is named after John McTimoney who developed the technique. He trained as a human chiropractor in 1950 and then went on to develop the theory on animals. In the 1970's he started to teach his work to enable survival of the technique.

A typical treatment session will assess the horse stood still and also walking and trotting to assess gait/movement, and muscle tone. A dog will be assessed for gait also. Then the whole spine and pelvis will be palpated (felt) to locate any problem areas or misalignments.

A misalignment of a vertebrae is where it has gone out of alignment with its neighbouring vertebrae. This can be one or several vertebrae giving a 'curve' to the spine. The pelvis can also misalign. A misaligned vertebrae can cause pinching on the nerves stemming from that part of the spine, (all nerves for the entire body came from the spinal cord encased in the spine) which can cause discomfort, pain, muscle, wastage and a generally unhappy grumpy animal.

Misalignments are treated with fast, gentle, non-invasive movements to allow the body to let the vertebrae realign with it's neighbours. This process within the horse can continue 24-48 hrs post treatment so a days rest is very beneficial.

This will in turn relieve the pressure on the nerves and the discomfort to the animal. Therefore re-aligning and re-balancing the animal's musculoskeletal system as well as restoring correct function biomechanically and neurologically.

Before treatment, veterinary approval must be gained by law. Treatment of animals is regulated under the Veterinary Act 1966 making it illegal for any person to treat an animal unless they are a veterinary surgeon or a recognised paraprofessional with veterinary consent to treat.

Equine Touch

Equine touch was evolved in 1997 by Jock Ruddock and refined by himself and his wife Ivana. It addresses the horse as a whole and encourages the body's innate healing system to help itself. Equine Touch has been described by equine veterinarians as "The ultimate hands on modality for horses".

Equine touch is a non-diagnostic, non-invasive energy and muscle release discipline that works at a complete, holistic level. It works on the soft tissues of the horse i.e. muscles, tendons and ligaments. The gentle movements rebalance the horse from a cellular level and helps on many other levels - physical, emotional, mental and spiritual - helping to deeply relax and re-energise the horse. Equine Touch also helps with lymphatic drainage.

I have found using McTimoney Therapy and Equine Touch together is an invaluable session for the horse as they both literally work on the entire body, as one problem 9 times out of 10 leads to a tightening elsewhere in the body. When the animal can function correctly there is less disease or infection than in a dysfunctional animal.

I specialise in horses and dogs using the McTimoney technique although I can treat all animals (and have treated sheep and cats). I can use Equine Touch only on horses.