Caroline Lindsay: BA Hons Sports Therapy

Caroline Lindsay

BA Hons Sports Therapy, 2002

"I am a freelance equine sports therapist."

A North Hertfordshire woman has turned her passion for caring for injured horses into a full-time career after receiving a first class honours degree in Sports Therapy from the University of Luton, where she discovered some amazing similarities between humans and her favourite four-legged friends.

Forty-two-year-old Caroline Lindsay, from Aston near Stevenage, now works as a full-time freelance equine sports therapist and travels to Ireland every month to resolve chronic postural conditions in horses and their owners and enhance their competitive performance.

“I adore my job because it has always been a personal goal of mine to give something back to the very special horses I have owned and worked with,” said Caroline. “Some of my clients call me ‘the horse whisperer’ because horses always relax when I’m around, despite being in pain!"

Caroline often gets people calling her to find out more about her profession. “I have found that I don’t need to advertise because my unusual job attracts a great deal of attention. And they are curious to know why I chose to study human sport therapy, when it’s horses that I work with."

“I have worked with horses all my life and had successfully completed a BTEC in equine athletic performance and rehabilitation, which I thoroughly enjoyed."

“However, I realised that in order to become a top equine therapist, it was essential to graduate as a human therapist, since most of the available techniques originate from that field.”

Caroline also chose Luton because of its proximity to her home near Stevenage and because she was able to study additional subject areas that allowed her to conduct equine research.

She said: “The sports therapy degree at Luton offered the flexibility of some independent study modules which meant that I could focus on equine sports medicine alongside my main subjects."

“My research revealed some surprising similarities between the treatment of human and equine injuries, particularly with tendons in the lower limbs, which can be damaged by sprinting in both species."

“The main difference was in the research resources available – racehorses are a lucrative commodity and need to return to racing as soon as possible. Equine sports medicine research is therefore highly advanced and I feel there is an untapped overlap with human sports medicine which could benefit from the wealth of highly applied literature that is available in veterinary libraries.”

Caroline thoroughly enjoyed studying at Luton, particularly the biomechanics, sports injuries and health psychology modules. Her third year work experience module gave her the opportunity to compare the work of a podiatrist and a farrier and her research was commended by lecturers for exploring certain methods of treating injuries that have been overlooked by modern medicine.

She has continued to add to her manipulation techniques since graduating but is delighted to be able to apply the skills and theory she learned at Luton to her every day work. “My degree wholly and comprehensively applies to my work on a daily basis and I have the advantage of being able to use my therapy on people, who make up 20 per cent of my clientele. I focus mainly on manipulating and realigning posture. It’s wonderful to be gifted with the ability to deal with both humans and animals. I have the best of both worlds!"

“I’m particularly proud of the fact that I have achieved a treatment success rate of virtually 100 per cent to date, often saving horses from euthanasia where others have failed.”

Interview took place in 2005.