Equinalysis Australia was launched by
Sophie Whittle in December 2008.
Sophie’s lifelong desire to improve the health and welfare of animals has led her to specialise in Animal Therapies and Biomechanics.
Before launching Equinalysis Australia, Sophie grew up on a semi – rural property in South East Queensland, where she spent her youth riding and looking after a menagerie of pets. Following this love for horses Sophie focused on Eventing, and became fascinated in how horses move and how problems can occur and be prevented. This led to a deeper interest in the subject and graduated from the University of Queensland with a Bachelor of Animal Science. During this time Sophie experienced working within a range of equestrian professions including; thoroughbred racing, warmblood breeding studs, equine hospitals, western sporting disciplines and riding polo ponies.
As a competitor Sophie employed a range of specialists to understand the cause of discomfort and reduced performance in her horses. After witnessing the positive reaction a chiropractic veterinarian gave to a very sore horse, Sophie then investigated the possibilities to study animal manipulation. Within Australia the only option to study at an MSc level is via Veterinary Science Faculty in Animal Chiropractic. Following recommendations from the University in Australia Sophie relocated to the United Kingdom to pursue a Masters Degree in Animal Manipulation at the University of Wales.
During her stay in England Sophie was fortunate enough to work at an international event yard owned by the chef d'equipe for the Swedish Eventing Team. This opportunity allowed Sophie to work at big events such as Badminton and Burley. In the second year Sophie moved to London to prepare horses for the Metropolitan Police. As part of the Masters program Sophie investigated the effects of removing hind shoes from working horses. This study has had considerable interest and was sponsored by Warwickshire University, Centaur Biomechanics and Equinalysis UK. This research allowed Sophie to work along side Russell Guire who is the official gait analyst for the British Equestrian Federation and the World Class Development Program.
