Equine Muscle Function Testing Days

Jonathan Jarvis

Is Professor of Sport and Exercise Science at the University of Liverpool. He is an elected member of the Physiological Society and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
His research interest is in the adaptation of muscle to exercise training, and the use of programmed stimulation to activate and rehabilitate weak or disused muscles. He has particular expertise in the design and use of implantable stimulation devices in experimental research. Jonathan is on the Board of Directors of the International Functional Electrical Stimulation Society.

Sheila Schils

has a PhD in Biomechanics/Kinesiology and a Masters in Equine Nutrition. She was a Professor of Equine Science at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls for 20 years, and her teaching and research has focused on the importance of evaluating the biomechanics of the horse when dealing with injury and recovery. In 2001, she began private practice in the field of equine rehabilitation, specializing in the use of functional electrical stimulation (FES) for muscle therapy. Gait analysis of the horse and rider, to develop correct mechanics, is a primary focus of her rehabilitation protocols and she had had the opportunity to work with many top International and Olympic horse/rider teams.

Lindsay St. George

is a Research Fellow at the University of Central Lancashire, England, where she completed her PhD in 2017. She is research active in equine and human biomechanics, with a special interest in using surface electromyography to investigate how equine muscles facilitate movement. She is a 2021 Morris Animal Foundation Fellowship recipient and is working to evaluate the impact of equine lameness on movement and muscle activity with colleagues at Utrecht University and Delsys/Altec Inc. Lindsay is involved in several other national and international equine research collaborations, as well as supervising postgraduate student research.

Gillian Tabor

is a Chartered Physiotherapist and has been working as an ACPAT Veterinary Physiotherapist for 20 years. After adding teaching to her CV at Duchy College, Cornwall, England, in 2013 she joined Hartpury University, England, and is a Senior Lecturer and the Program Manager for the MSc Veterinary Physiotherapy course.

In 2020 Gillian completed her doctorate entitled ‘The use of objective measurement in Veterinary Physiotherapy’. Gillian continues to undertake research in this thematic area both in her own equine projects and via supervising students. She combines knowledge of biomechanics, behavior, and training with physiotherapy. She integrates hands-on treatments, with electrotherapy, to improve the horses’ posture, performance, balance and strength in her own practice in Devon, with the focus on treatment and rehabilitation of competition horses.