Osteopathic Manual Therapy
for Animals
A holistic approach to whole body health, wellbeing and balance.
Services
Emily provides equine, canine and other animal osteopathic services throughout New England. Horsemanship lessons are available for those interested in learning how their daily handling can speed up the healing process. Clinics and speaking engagements are available as well.
Canine Osteopathy
Canine osteopathy is a holistic, non-invasive and gentle approach to treating dogs by assessing the entire body. Static and dynamic posture, gait and emotional state are all assessed and evaluated.
Treatment is individualized to the dog and will be implemented according to their age, build, temperament and health status.
Equine Osteopathy
Equine osteopathy is a holistic, non-invasive and gentle approach to treating horses. Emily will assess the entirety of your horse through posture evaluation, gait analysis, palpation and joint mobilization. Treatment will be tailored to the individual horse according to its age, build, temperament and health status.
Horsemanship Lessons
The way your horse is handled in daily life will have a large impact on their physical and mental wellbeing. Whether your horse is showing signs of anxiety or they have developed a new behaviour that you know just isn't right, Emily can help evaluate what is going on and guide you through new ways to handle your horse that will bring them calm, confidence and focus.
This service is best implemented as an add on to an Equine Osteopathy session.
Clinics and Speaking
Emily is available to come to your farm or facility and teach clinics on a number of different topics related to osteopathy and your horse's wellbeing.
Clinics are a great way to have Emily out to your facility if you are outside of her normal working radius.
As a riding instructor for more than 20 years, she can also teach clinics on riding problems, fear related behavior and mindset.
Fees: *subject to change at any time
Canine Osteopathy- $125
Equine Osteopathy - $200
Horsemanship Lessons - $85
Clinics/Workshops - TBD
What is Osteopathy?
Animal osteopathy is a drug-free, non-invasive manual therapy that adapts human osteopathic principles to treat animals, most commonly horses and dogs. It utilizes gentle physical manipulation, stretching, and massage to improve the structural integrity of the body and restore natural harmony across its systems.
Core Principles
The practice is built on four fundamental pillars:
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Body Unity: The animal’s body is an interconnected system; an imbalance in one area often affects others.
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Structure Governs Function: Proper physical alignment of bones, muscles, and ligaments is essential for the healthy operation of internal systems.
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Self-Healing: Treatment aims to facilitate the animal’s natural ability to regulate and heal itself by removing "blockages" or restrictions.
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Vascular Health: Known as the "rule of the artery," maintaining unrestricted blood, nerve, and lymphatic flow is vital for tissue health.
What should I expect?
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Once scheduled, you will receive automatic communication from my booking platform, Equigate. Please create a customer portal for ease of access to your session reports.
Ideally, we schedule your animal for 3 consecutive appointments. This provides the best results. However, I understand that this may not be possible for all owners. Individual appointments are always welcome. There is a small discount to booking a 3 appointment package.
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New clients will ideally be scheduled for 3 sessions within a two week period. One session per week for three weeks.
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Treatment 1 allows Emily to evaluate the current state of the animal and to begin removing tension patterns and making small change.
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Treatment 2 is scheduled no more than 7 days after the first and allows Emily to see what changes held and what new patterns may have developed.
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Treatment 3 is scheduled no more that 7 days after the second and is the session where Emily can focus on pinpointing the source of the dysfunction. This session is where we determine if the treatments are holding and providing the correct relief and healing, or if we need to seek another professionals opinion.
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After the third treatment, we will develop a maintenance schedule that best serves the animal and the owner/handler/rider.
Maintaining good mobility is one of the best ways to maintain good health.
What is Osteopathy for?
How will it help my animal?
Animal osteopathy is used for therapeutic, palliative, and preventative care:
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Performance Support: Enhancing range of motion and agility in competitive racehorses or working dogs.
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Rehabilitation: Speeding recovery after surgery or injury (e.g., tendon strains or arthritis).
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Pain Management: Relieving stiffness, lameness, back pain, and joint inflammation.
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Systemic Issues: Helping with digestive disorders, respiratory infections (via lymphatic drainage), and behavioral changes linked to physical discomfort.
I'm on the schedule!
Now what?
Once you have confirmed your appointments with Emily, please read through these points to make sure your appointment goes as smoothly as possible.
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Please make sure your animal is ready prior to the beginning of your appointment. Emily will begin assessment as soon as she arrives.
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Your animal should be clean and dry. Emily will be using her hands on your animal and a dry, clean coat makes assessment much easier.
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Please be prepared to be present for the entirety of the session. If you are unable to be there, please have someone else ready to handle your animal for you.
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Please have all questionnaires filled out before the appointment. This will save time and give Emily a good starting point in evaluating your animal.
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Please be prepared to pay for your appointment ahead of time or on the day. If you are a new client, the first 3 sessions payment are required at the time of your appointment. Cash, Venmo and local (05301) checks are accepted.
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Emily will provide a report of her findings and recommendations after the session. This may take a day or so to email to you.
