​​​​​​​For you and your horse.

 

​Riding places unique demands on the body. As riders, we need to maintain balance, control our posture and movement, apply our aids and continually adapt to a moving base of support beneath us.When injury, restriction, weakness or poor movement control affects our ability to do that, the body finds another way. That can show up in the saddle as instability, gripping, asymmetry, inconsistent contact, difficulty applying the aids or pain.​

 

As a rider, human and equine physiotherapist, this is what interests me. My background in physiotherapy, Sports & Exercise Medicine, equine physiotherapy and elite sport has shaped the way I look at riders - assessing the demands of the task, understanding what the body is doing and developing the skills and physical ability needed to improve.

 

I don't believe better riding comes from simply being told where each part of your body should be. Riders need to understand what they're trying to achieve and why, develop the body awareness to recognise what they're actually doing, and have the physical ability and control to make the change.And riding is different from most sports because what we do also affects the horse beneath us.

 

How we balance, move and apply force influences the horse. Improving as a rider isn't simply about looking better in the saddle. It's about becoming more balanced, controlled and effective in the way we use our body, so we can communicate more clearly and interfere less with the horse beneath us.

 

Better for you. Better for your horse.​

 

Jen Symms​​BSc (Hons) Physiotherapy • MSc Sports and Exercise Medicine • PG Dip Veterinary Physiotherapy ​​