HEALING HANDS

A LIFE STORY FULL OF TWISTS AND TURNS LED DAVID FAIRCLOUGH TO OPEN AN ANIMAL OSTEOPATHY PRACTICE IN NEWHAM, VICTORIA.

Both humans and horses benefit from the therapeutic touch of country osteopath David Fairclough.

DAVID FAIRCLOUGH KNOWS MORE THAN MOST the healing power of animals. Nine years ago, after a series of life-threatening strokes, he used his three horses as a kind of rehab to get his body and brain back on track.

“I had to learn to walk and speak again,” David says of the four strokes he suffered in 24 hours back in 2012. But he used his richly diverse life experiences to help him make a full recovery – and embark on a new career.

And those experiences are extraordinary. Born in Lancashire in the UK, David started his professional life as a builder who was also a keen student of kung fu. This brought him to Australia for the first time, in 1986, to study with William Cheung, the teacher of famed martial artist and actor Bruce Lee. It was kung fu that led David towards osteopathy. “At the higher levels you do something called dim mak, which is the death touch, where you start attacking pressure points,” he recalls. “I started learning that idea, but decided I was going to fix people instead. That’s how I got to healing.”

He trained to become a sports therapist in the UK, then moved to Australia permanently in 1995, meeting his wife Karen in a shop in Sunbury, Victoria (although as it turned out, she too was a Lancastrian, having grown up just half an hour away from his childhood home). His thirst for knowledge led him to study osteopathy at Victoria University, and he gained his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in the discipline. He and Karen, a clinical masseuse, then opened their own osteopathic practice, Gisborne Osteopathy, which has been going for 20 years.

So why the turn towards non-human patients? “I’ve always loved animals,” says David of the recent addition of animal osteopathy to his repertoire of skills. “My sister had a horse, years ago, and I’ve always had dogs.”

About 18 years ago, he and Karen bought a house near Newham on four hectares, and took advantage of the space by adding horses to the family – they now have three: Jack, an Arabian; Harry, a quarter horse; and a thoroughbred called Bobby. “Once you’re into horses, it’s hard to get out,” says David. “You just get too attached.”

So when he realised he was treating a lot of horseriders, he naturally began to think of extending his practice towards their animals. “If a rider is struggling to get into a right lead, say, you look at the body and you think, ‘Well, I can understand that – the pelvis is twisted the wrong way.’ So I’d work on that. But then I started thinking, ‘Maybe the horse is also a bit twisted.’” So once again, >

David treats Jack, a chestnut Arabian. FACING PAGE Karen and David have two dogs: chihuahua Lulu and a mini fox terrier called Minnie (not shown). Australian cattle dog Memphis works on the property.

David and Karen’s four-hectare property offers plenty of space and freedom to wander, horseride and enjoy the sights and sounds of nature.

CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP LEFT Native flowers on Karen and David’s property; David treats his horse Jack; dogs Memphis, Lulu and Minnie; Karen holding chihuahua Lulu; Jack gets a health check. David says horses respond well to their treatments and enjoy the attention, which helps greatly with positive outcomes in their movement and mental attitude.