Why is team work so important?
Over the last few months I have made a conscious effort to attend assessment days with my clients.
Why?
Besides the obvious reason of hearing exactly what the Vet has to say.
Physically being there makes a HUGE DIFFERENCE!
As a mobile therapist driving around the UK, my main form of communication is my mobile, which means I end up either texting, sending a voice, emailing or on the rare occasion speaking to a Vet, Farrier, Saddle fitter on the phone. This brings up so many red flags:
1️⃣ Communication
If you have never met that other professional - it can be a little awkward and sometimes even scary trying to articulate what you are saying. At the end of the day we all love animals and want the best for them, however my assessment and opinion is subjective and biased on our experience and skill set.
2️⃣ Timing
Ideally I want to talk to the other professional (be it a vet, farrier, saddle fitter etc…) immediately after I’ve assessed the horse, but the reality of that happening, despite technology, is rare.
3️⃣Ego
We all have stress in life and sometimes we can take that out on each other. When you don’t have the opportunity to see someone in person, you have to be very good at verbalising and communication over the phone, which can be influenced by what day and stressors are going on in our lives.
Meeting face to face had so many benefits:
✅ Human connection
This might seem so obvious, but at the end of the day, we are all humans with feelings, thoughts and emotions.
✅ Collective assessment in real time
How many of you have felt and seen your horse look and feel lame and then the vet comes and they trot up like Valero!?!! You immediately think “great, well that was a waste of money”. When you have your therapist there, despite the horse trotting up sound/ looks better, your vet and therapist can have a discussion about repeated patterns of compensation etc..
✅ Clarity and confidence
When your horse is lame/ showing signs of discomfort, all rationale goes out the window! I think it’s harder to be objective about your horse when you have a strong emotional connection to them. This in my opinion can lead to us feeling overwhelmed and lost on what is really going on with your horse. When professionals come together, you as the owner have the chance to step back observe and listen to what experienced people are seeing which takes away the Chinese whispers but more importantly, gives you chance to rationalise and quiet the emotions, allowing you to ask questions, that you may not have asked when you were alone with a vet or alone with a therapist.
I’m curious, have you had the opportunity to come together as a team and assess/ treat?
Comment below and let me know your thoughts ⬇️