The Whole Horse Podcast | Episode 132 | Understanding equine postural mechanisms with Dr. Karen Gellman

In this episode, marking the end of season seven of the podcast, I spoke with Dr. Karen Gellman. What an incredible journey she has been on, culminating in her dedicating her life and veterinary practice to the study of equine health as it relates specifically to postural mechanisms, as well as sharing this body of knowledge with others.

During our conversation she shares some of the keys to supports horses to live well in gravity, how to support your horse to be healthier and happier through simple changes to their inner and outer environments, how dentistry impacts posture, and some of the physiology playing out when postural mechanisms become a problem. She is indeed a wealth of knowledge. I hope you enjoy our chat!

Access to a PDF for Whole Horse listeners – Equine Dentistry Handout

Dr. Karen Gellman is a graduate of Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine, and has a doctorate from Cornell in animal locomotion biomechanics. She has advanced training and certification in veterinary acupuncture and veterinary chiropractic, and has practiced these and other modalities since 1995.  She is the educational director of DVM Detective, which offers the Postural Rehabilitation training course for veterinarians and other equine professionals. She is also Research Director of Maximum Horsepower Research, and principal investigator on a study on equine posture funded by the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Foundation.

Dr. Karen Gellman holds DVM and PhD degrees from Cornell University in animal locomotion biomechanics. She has advanced training and certification in veterinary acupuncture and veterinary chiropractic, and has practiced these and other holistic modalities since 1995.  Dr. Gellman has taught in multiple professional CE venues, lecturing on posture, biomechanics, and holistic therapies to veterinarians in North America and Europe.  She has been a featured speaker at annual conferences for AHVMA (2014), AVCA (2021), IVCA (2015), IVAS (2012), Danish Veterinary Chiropractic Association (2013-2014), Wild West Veterinary Conference (2010), Norwegian Veterinary Chiropractic Association (2020), Hawaiian State Veterinary Association (2022), New York State Veterinary Medical Society and more.  With Dr. Judith Shoemaker and Elizabeth Reese, she founded “Postural Rehabilitation”, a professional education venue.  Her lectures are featured on The Equine Documentalist, Centaur Biomechanics and Equidemia. Dr. Gellman’s company DVM Detective offers professional training in equine posture to horse professionals, in online and in-person formats, and provides a world wide directory of professionals trained in restoring equine neutral posture.

Dr. Gellman is research director of Maximum Horsepower Research, a private research group with Dr. Judith Shoemaker and Elizabeth Reese.  Maximum Horsepower  was awarded a grant by the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Foundation to study equine posture in 2014.  This ongoing research was featured on the cover of Biology Open in April 2022 along with a peer reviewed article: “Standing Horse Posture: a longer stance is more stable”.  She also has published many veterinary education articles in IVCJ and elsewhere, including the AKC Canine Health Foundation, where a series of articles she wrote with Dr. Shoemaker received top prize from Dog Writers Association of America.

Learn more about the Postural Rehabilitation Professional program or head to http://www.equinesportsmed.com

Download podcast here or listen on iTunes