"I would have no hesitation recommending Cheryl to anyone who has a horse and would like them to be the very best they can be." Lisa Brice, Northamptonshire

The first time I spoke to Cheryl over the telephone I knew she was the therapist for me and my horses. I had been referred two osteopaths and rang them both to see how I got on with them. I am delighted with my choice and feel that Cheryl is an integral part of our family now. She really takes her time to observe and analyse what is going on for the horses and is happy to discuss what she is seeing and thinking and involve me in the process of working out the best treatment on the day for each horse. She is sensitive to the way the horses react and listens carefully to them about how the treatment is for them. Both of my horses have been a great challenge in terms of their treatment plans; Cheryl says she likes a challenge and she has certainly stepped up to the mark with my two!

Zodiac is a Canadian quarter horse whom I shipped over from Canada in 2006. He didn’t react well to England and seemed to be allergic to everything – grass, pollen, hay – basically just England. I think emotionally the journey really stressed him out and his personality changed from the horse I knew in Canada. There always seemed to be something the matter with him. I spent a small fortune on vet’s bills. He got to the point where he didn’t want to be touched and I decided that I was going to have a thermography report, x rays and stomach scan done in July 2008. The result was the vets saying that he had a chronic muscular back injury and was in a lot of pain, probably never rideable and recommending that he have osteopathy under sedation. They didn’t offer a good prognosis for his recovery. Cheryl and I discussed the situation at length and decided to try weekly cranio-osteopathy sessions. By the end of September 2008 we took Zodiac back to be scanned and the vets couldn’t believe the improvement; he was virtually pain free. With ongoing regular monthly treatments, clever shoeing and keeping him on a pasture paradise arrangement, this year he has been fantastic – fit, healthy and happy!

Pushover is a French thoroughbred and was given to me when he ended his racing and team chasing career. He is now 17 and thanks to Cheryl and my genius farrier, fit and well. Cheryl first treated Pushover when he strained his lumbo-sacral joint and despite doing well he wasn’t doing as well as we really wanted him to. We discovered his right fore is an inch shorter than his left fore leg and so decided after much deliberation to fit a remedial shoe to help him bring his skeleton back into line. A year down the line and miracles have happened, he is now able to hold himself sufficiently straight that he doesn’t need the remedial shoe! He is totally straight. We are doing various exercises to support his muscle development and flexibility and needless to say Cheryl will continue to keep her watchful eye on him.