Testimonials

Emma Priest competes with her 4 year old Collie X Jack Russell ‘Foxilocks Flyer’ (Foxi) in Canine Agility.  Foxi currently competes at Grade 7, which is the highest possible canine agility grade in the UK. 

Emma and Foxi qualified for the International Kennel Club Agility Festival at Rockingham Castle in August 2014 where they hoped to qualify for the Olympia Kennel Club Agility Stakes and Crufts 2015, as well as World Agility Open tryouts in Europe.  In July 2014, Foxi gained her Silver Warrant which is awarded for exceeding 400 Kennel Club Warrant Points (points are awarded for placings and wins), so Foxi now has letters after her name (AWS)!

Emma says “having regular check ups and treatments with Jackie at Waterside Chiropractic is an essential part of Foxi’s training and general well being.  She gives me 100% every time we compete so I have to make sure she is able to do that by making sure she feels her best.  Having regular treatments has definitely improved her performance.  Aside from competition Foxi is firstly my pet and a very much valued part of my family, she loves having her treatments and you can see a big difference in the way she stands and moves afterwards.  I would recommend Jackie to anyone, she has my complete faith to treat both my dogs and gives me peace of mind knowing that they feel their best!”

Emma Priest

Percy is my ten year old LH Miniature Dachshund. One afternoon I noticed he was a little unsteady on his feet, within hours he could not walk more than two or three steps nor could he raise his leg to go to the toilet. We rushed him to our local Vets who x-rayed him and said he had ‘most likely’ damaged the disks in his spine and needed a spinal operation immediately (‘and that will be £3,500 please’) or to be put to sleep. Before rushing in and getting the Op done, which was my first instinct, I got a second opinion and a referral to Jackie Leftwich.

When Percy first saw Jackie he could not walk more than a few steps, he could not go to the toilet without me supporting his body, he was in pain and clearly unhappy. After only a few moments observation Jackie noted that Percy had in fact misaligned his pelvis which was causing him pain and affecting the muscles around his spine. After twenty minutes of careful manipulation Percy was clearly feeling happier and a little more mobile. After three sessions he was walking almost as normal. After five Chiropractic sessions with Jackie plus crate rest and anti-inflammatory tablets Percy was 100% improved. Now 3 months on Percy is still fit, healthy, bouncing around and chasing his ball as if it never happened.

Words cannot describe how grateful I am to Jackie for, quite literally, saving Percy. I thought I had lost him or at the very least he would be facing life using a trolley to support his back-end. Seeing the dramatic improvement after the very first session was quite unbelievable. My husband and I still cannot quite believe it to this day. Percy now sees Jackie every two months for a ‘tweak’ to ensure all is well– he is always delighted to see her and goes into the treatment room with a wagging tail.

I would not hesitate in recommending Jackie to anyone, losing Percy would have been devastating for me and she is the reason I still have him here sitting by my feet.

Maxine Pears

I would like to say a big thank you for all your help and continued support you have been so kind and Jasper has taken to you so well.

Jaspers illness seems to have been so complicated. He had gone from a dog that enjoyed at least three hours of exercise, playing with doggy friends and walking in the woods, to a dog that was refusing to walk and hunching his back and shivering in pain. After my vet discovered that Jasper suffered with a build up of calcium oxalate crystals, causing issues with his spine he thought that it would be best to refer Jasper to you. You saw Jasper as quickly as we could manage it and have been seeing us regularly since then. All of your treatments have been given with information of what you expect from the process and what you have done. Jasper has been making gradual progress and is now able to walk off the lead and have walks with his friends. He may not be able to manage to walk as far or as long as he could, but he is very happy and is enjoying his life again.

Jasper loves visiting you and getting his cuddles and always seems to enjoy his treatments. I will always be happy to visit you for the treatments that Jasper will continue to need throughout his life and feel that I have made a good friend!

Thank you

Michelle Murkin

I have competed in agility with my dogs for quite a few years and have always used McTimoney practitioners for check-ups and treatments.  The dog I now compete with has been doing agility for several years.  Penny was a stray and is extremely nervous when being handled, for this reason I always thought treatment would be impossible.  When being handled, Penny will generally get worse and worse and become very tense and will thrash around to get away.  Recently, although still getting good places in competition, I ‘felt’ something wasn’t quite right with Penny. 

I contacted Jackie and explained Penny’s problems, but asked would she be prepared to look at her.  Jackie was very supportive and positive on the phone and yes she was more than happy to try.

The first treatment wasn’t easy, but Jackie was not put off by Penny’s behaviour and gently but confidently carried on the treatment with me holding Penny in position.  Penny had her usual moments of being wild and grumpy, but also moments of relaxing and even closed her eyes at times, wow this was a major breakthrough.

On Penny’s 2nd visit I was surprised and delighted that Penny greeted Jackie and after 5 minutes of me holding her, I let go of her and she chose to stand and allowed Jackie to really give her a good treatment, her eyes were closed for most of the time.  I have never seen this dog so relaxed.   Penny’s 3rd visit was the same and this time she jumped up to Jackie to say ‘Hi’, and another relaxed check up & treatment.

The result of these treatments are that Penny seems to be jumping really well now (this photograph was taken after her second treatment).

Thanks to Jackie’s confidence, patience and magic hands I am now able to get Penny checked on a regular basis, something I feel is important for any sporting dog.

Karen Fuller

My 5 year old Leonberger had always done well in the showring, but she began to develop a lopsided and down on pasterns gait, she was also holding her head slightly down, not up and proud as it once was, her rear legs were shaking on rising when getting up after spells of resting.  After seeing the vet to eliminate illness I put this down to early signs of arthritis and resigned myself to this.

On speaking to a fellow Leonberger breeder who had experienced similar problems with one of her Leos, she had been visiting a McTimoney Chiropractor in Surrey and reported excellent results.  She suggested I also visit a McTimoney Chiropractor so I decided to give it a try.  I found Jackie lived close to me so I made an appointment, and so glad I did!!  As soon as Jackie saw Leffey move in walk and trot she diagnosed the problem, a rather bad twisted pelvis (pelvic rotation).  Jackie assured me that it was very treatable.  After no more than 4 sessions the difference was remarkable, Leffey’s gate is now back to excellent, has no shake on rising and holds her head up high at the correct angle.  We have had in total 6 sessions over the past 12 months and it has now been a good 3 months since we last saw Jackie and there is no sign of her needing more treatment.

I found Jackie to be both professional and friendly with a genuine love of dogs.  I am so pleased with the results, I recommend her to others and would use her services without hesitation.  Indeed we were so impressed with Jackie’s skill and obvious love of dogs that my husband went to her with his back pain and Jackie has sorted his back problems out as well, and he is now pain free.

Julie Cole  (Simden Leonbergers  – click here to visit website)

Jessica Sedgwick competes with her 14 year old TB X,  ‘Good Morgan’ (Harvey) in Endurance, riding distances of up to 40km at various competitions throughout the country.  In July 2014, Jess was selected to ride for England at the Home International Endurance Championships in Scotland in August 2014.

“Jackie has been treating Harvey for around a year now and the results have been amazing.  Harvey is a supple, relaxed and much happier horse since Jackie has been treating him and this has reflected in not only his ridden work but also on the ground too.  He bites less and is generally much calmer.  We compete in endurance and it is so reassuring to know that he is 100% comfortable when covering long distances and rough terrain.  His chiropractic treatments have also lead to big improvements in his jumping with us achieving many more clear rounds now.  Thank you so much Jackie for all that you have done for Harvey.”

Riding is a partnership and Waterside Chiropractic believes that it is important for both horse and rider to be as straight and as balanced as possible so that they can work together in harmony without the other compensating for the asymmetries of the other, so both Jess and Harvey have regular chiropractic treatment from Waterside Chiropractic.  Jess has since added to the above testimonial with:

“Harvey really has been fantastic since you have been treating him and I am sure it has contributed to our success and ultimately our selection for the England Team.  Thank you! “

Jess and Harvey

Jackie noticed straight away Rosie’s pelvis was tilted so she done an all over treatment. Rosie was really calm and relaxed throughout the whole treatment. Within 5 days of treatment, although only walking and trotting, I could feel the difference in Rosie, so soft through her whole body and her paces were so much bigger.  I couldn’t wait to feel her canter and jump (Jackie had said that we had to wait a week after treatment).  Rosie’s canter is lovely and her jump is even better and still really soft and relaxed to ride.  Her paces are longer and she is totally level behind.

I would recommend Jackie very highly I am very impressed.

Jackie has done wonders on my 17 year old Arab.  When Jackie first came out to see him 6 months ago he was very lame. The vet had been out and had no idea what was wrong with him, they wanted to take him into their clinic for a lameness investigation but I wasn’t 100% sure that was the answer.  Anyway a friend recommended Jackie and I thought it was worth trying. She was very thorough and honest asking me lots of questions, she said that she may not be able to cure his lameness as we did not know what was the cause of it but that she could make him more comfortable. She has a very calm and considerate manner and he was very relaxed throughout the whole treatment.

After the first one he had so much energy and was so much happier in himself, by the second the improvements were dramatic. Although Zak is not 100% I have been able to lightly work him throughout the summer and hopefully with Jackie’s help he will go from strength to strength. I would highly recommend Jackie.

Dear Jackie

After my Welsh Section A Sparkles had his treatment I let him rest and then done some straight line work with him.  I knew he was feeling much better after three days because when I rode him he was very excited.  Mum said he was acting like a 3 year old.  He was cantering and trotting and jumping the next week.

Sparkles loved it so much that he could canter around a course of jumps (something that we hadn’t been able to do together before). Sparkles jumped a 2 foot jump.  I didn’t know he was going to go over it but it was clear that he was enjoying it.

Thank you for treating my pony and making him feel young and fit again.

Love Annabelle (age 8) and Sparkles (age 20)

Will is an 11 yr old 16.2hh warmblood cross and 13 months ago he suffered a freak injury. He trod on a nail which penetrated the navicular bursa and punctured the tendon in his left hind. He was taken to the equine hospital where he was operated on and his foot was bombarded with antibiotics in an attempt to get rid of the now serious infection. It was touch and go but eventually he pulled through. Next was 6 months of box rest and a gradual return to work. He responded well but the slightest thing and he would be lame on that leg again. I was becoming increasingly upset and unsure how to deal with this and starting to wonder whether Will would ever return to full mobility. Then Jackie came on the scene!!!! Jackie immediately explained that Will’s pelvis had rotated meaning that he was unable to stand square and work with his weight evenly distributed. As he is a big boy this increases his susceptibility to lameness on that left hind. Will has now had 2 full treatments with Jackie and to explain how he now feels I must say he feels happy!! He wants to work and he is carrying himself so much better. We are not out of the woods yet but I cannot thank Jackie enough for her encouragement, professionalism and expertise which have given us a glimpse of the light at the end of the tunnel. We will continue to work with Jackie and I cannot commend her enough to you and your horse.

Thank you so much Jackie xx

Comment received since original testimonial submitted:

“He now feels fantastic! He has never been able to leg yield like that, even before he had his accident!”

Hi, I’m Jess King.  My pony Misty was rushing everything, trying to slow her down has been hard.  She also would turn her head to the left on a right rein, which is quite off putting.  Bending her into a jump was such hard work.  Simple schooling has been leaving me worn out.  It was suggested after being lame a few times, to have her shod.  My Mum wasn’t very keen on this idea as Misty is 12 and never been shod.

A friend gave my Mum Jackie’s phone number.  I was at school when Jackie worked on Misty.  We had to leave her to rest for a few days and then I slowly started doing some work with Misty.  The change in my pony is amazing, she has stopped turning her head to the side, she feels a much smoother ride and she has slowed down, I now get a controlled canter and a super trot.  Misty loves her work now, we have so much fun.  I even jump bare back now 🙂

So from me and my Mum a really BIG thank you, my super pony is now an amazing pony.  Thank you Jackie xx

Comment from Mrs King:

Thank you.  I’m so very pleased at what you have done for Misty and Jess x

Ed had been having difficulty maintaining left lead canter and bending left.  He was also finding it hard to get right lead canter and was very short behind, not covering the ground.  The last time he had jumped, he had thrown Hannah off a stride or two after the jump.  He was found to have a pelvic rotation and other vertebral misalignments which meant that he could not use himself correctly in his work.  On receipt of this telephone message from Hannah, Ed has only had one McTimoney Chiropractic treatment…

“Hi Jackie, just ringing you to say thank you so so much, Ed is amazing!  I’ve just done some cantering and he was really really good, and some jumping, he was incredible!  Thanks very much.”

Since then, Ed has had one more treatment and Hannah is even more thrilled with his progress!