Intelligent Horsemanship Trainer – Sue Palmer
Sue Palmer MCSP aka The Horse Physio
Currently specialising in physiotherapy rather than behavioural work
Stafford, Staffordshire
07976 413488 or [email protected]
www.thehorsephysio.co.uk
Registered with the ACPAT, the RAMP, the IHA, the BHS, the CSP and the HCPC
About Sue…
Sue Palmer MCSP, known as The Horse Physio, is an ACPAT and RAMP Registered Chartered Physiotherapist for horses and riders, an Intelligent Horsemanship Recommended Trainer, a BHSAI, and an award-winning author and educator. She has worked in the equestrian industry for more than 25 years and specialises in the links between pain, behaviour and performance.
Sue qualified as an Intelligent Horsemanship Recommended Trainer in 1998. Through her work with horses experiencing behavioural and performance problems, she increasingly recognised that physical pain or discomfort was often part of the picture. This led her to train as a Chartered Physiotherapist so that she could explore and address the physical side of the horse’s story as well as the behavioural one.
Sue holds a BSc (Hons) in Physiotherapy from King’s College London, an MSc in Veterinary Physiotherapy from the Royal Veterinary College and a BSc (Open) from the Open University. She is registered with ACPAT, RAMP, the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy and the Health and Care Professions Council.
Her work includes routine physiotherapy to support prevention and performance, problem-solving for horses showing changes in behaviour or performance, physiotherapy for riders, and teaching horse owners practical massage and body-awareness skills. She helps horse owners notice more, understand more and make informed decisions about their horse’s comfort, movement and wellbeing.
Sue’s books include:
• Horse Massage for Horse Owners
• Understanding Horse Performance: Brain, Pain or Training?
• Drawn to Horses: A Mother’s Art and a Daughter’s Reflections
• Harmonious Horsemanship: Use of the Ridden Horse Ethogram to Optimise Potential, Partnership and Performance, co-authored with Dr Sue Dyson
• Listening to the Older Horse: Helping Your Horse Live Well in Later Life
Throughout her work, Sue promotes the kind and fair treatment of horses through compassionate, evidence-informed care and education.
Website: https://www.thehorsephysio.co.uk
ACPAT Profile: https://acpat.org/physios?name=sue%20palmer#results
Chartered Society of Physiotherapy: https://www.csp.org.uk
A Q&A with IH Trainer Sue Palmer
(The Intelligent Horsemanship Magazine – Winter 2019)
How long have you been involved with horses? And how did you get involved with them?
My family had a Shetland x called Scottie from when I was very young, I think around 3yrs old. I was lucky enough to come up through the Pony Club and competed at National level with the Riding Club.
Why did you decide to qualify as a Recommended Trainer?
Qualified as a BHSAI and teaching in a local riding school as well as freelancing riding and grooming. I was working with a gipsy horse dealer when a dear friend first took me to watch Monty Roberts. Seeing Monty’s work as a quicker and better way to work with the horses we had through the yard… and I’ve never looked back. I had literally hundreds of horses and people to work with during that time, of all shapes, sizes and backgrounds. I couldn’t have asked for a better training ground.
Over time I realised that many of the behavioural problems I was seeing, especially ridden ones, were caused by physical pain. Our horses can only communicate pain or discomfort to us through their behaviour or performance. With more knowledge, understanding, and acceptance, we can learn to recognise pain or discomfort, and we can do something about it.
I found that all too often when I referred a horse on for treatment of a physical issue and asked the owner to come back to me once it was resolved; the pain was still there when they came back to me. In the spirit of ‘If you want a job done properly, do it yourself’, I was lucky enough to enrol onto a BSc Physiotherapy degree at Kings College London. I qualified as a Chartered Physiotherapist, Sports Massage Therapist and Equine Massage Therapist. Then, I registered with ACPAT (Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Animal Therapy) and RAMP (Register of Animal Musculoskeletal Practitioners) and am now incredibly lucky to treat horses for a living.
I specialise in helping you to figure out whether your horse’s behavioural or performance problem is down to ‘brain, pain or training’ (or at least, which one to focus on first!). Using a combination of the knowledge, skills and experience I’ve gained through the (many) years of working in so many parts of the equestrian world. Sometimes I can help you myself, often I point you in the direction of someone who can help. Like Monty, my passion and my goal is to make the world a better place for horses.
What has been the proudest moment/biggest achievement in your career?
Having ‘Understanding Horse Performance: Brain, Pain or Training?’ published by JA Allen, and producing the DVD to go with it. I am still overwhelmed by the response from the eminent equestrians I asked to write for it, including Monty, Kelly, Lucinda Green, Dr David Marlin, and many more. And I am so pleased that Olympian Richard Davison wrote the foreword after reading the book and liking what he read.
What three things should everyone practice with their horses?
Love. Kindness. Understanding.
IH Trainer Sue Palmer is based in Stafford, Staffordshire.
