05/24/2021
Why your horse needs Equine Sports Massage Therapy Immediately...
Horses are superb athletes and prone to injury. Your horse needs equine sports massage immediately to prevent injury, reduce stiffness, and aid healing. While I work with injured animals, my goal as a certified equine sports massage therapist is to prevent injury in the first place.
Horses are made up of 60% muscle. They use 16 muscles to move their ears alone. We have the unique benefit of being able work closely with and ride these amazing animals, giving us a perspective to feel when there is stiffness, hesitation, or unbalance. Unfortunately, by the time you can feel this your horse is in serious need of muscle release. Often behavioral problems can be attributed to your horse letting you know there is pain or discomfort before the symptoms appear physically. The best thing any horse owner can do is prevent these behavioral and physical problems with regular sports massage treatments.
Areas where your horse may have tension can depend on a few factors: breed, conformation, muscle tone, and discipline. In my experience both show jumpers and hunters tend to have the most tension in their crest, neck, deltoid and their hindquarters. Dressage horses are more likely to have tension in their polls, anterior pectorals, obliques, and gluteus muscles.
On another note, we know that some horses are naturally high strung. Their muscle tension often shows itself in behavioral problems or seemingly random spooking. Tension in horses is never healthy and can lead to serious injury. The key is prevention.
Certified Equine Sports Massage Therapists (ESMT), like myself, have worked on a number of top level performance horses in a variety of disciplines from Olympic show jumpers, eventers, barrel racers, and Triple Crown race winners. Sports massage can give a horse the competitive edge, allowing greater flexibility and increasing muscle tone, but all horses no matter the discipline or exercise program will benefit from massage therapy.
Equine sports massage uses the hands, fingers and elbows of the therapist to target tight muscles and acupressure points in the horse. We feel the tension with our bodies and treat accordingly. Touch is the most important factor and is incredibly powerful. We manipulate the soft tissue to loosen muscles, joints, and tendons; increase blood flow and lymphatic activity; and reduce stress. Sports massage is used in all facets of exercise: warm-up; cool down; general maintenance; pre- and post-competition; and post-injury or rehabilitation of both working athletes and pets.
Benefits of Equine Sports Massage:
Remove muscle spasms and adhesions.
Enhance muscle tone and increase range of motion.
Increase circulation, which speeds healing and removes toxins.
Improve digestion, reduce ulcers and preventing colic.
Improve joint health with increase of synovial fluid.
Restore mobility to injured muscle tissue.
Reduce stress.
Increase flexibility.
Prevent muscle pulls and laminitis.
Behavioral & Physical Problems
Massage Can Address:
Head tossing
Stiffness
Trouble picking up leads
Trouble bending
Girthiness and trouble tacking
Aggression (to people and horses)
Chronic laminitis
Ulcers
Cribbing
Pawing
Our work is extremely emotionally satisfying and immediate. As previously mentioned there are times when I first lay my hands on a horse that I can feel the stress and tension vibrating through their bodies. By the time I am done, it is drained away and the horse’s relief is equally palpable. There is huge satisfaction seeing the animal you are working on reacting positively to your touch. Some reactions are subtle and some are much greater.
Subtle Reactions:
Lowered head
Lip quiver
Licking lips and chewing
Cocked hind leg (especially on the side being treated)
Tail Swish
Skin Quiver
Bold Reactions:
Vocalizing: nickers, sneezing, coughing, whinnying
Walking Off
Kicking
Bowing (Yoga Stretch)
Tremor or Body Shake
Urination
Defecation
Initial Evaluation
Some horses are more stoic and hide discomfort easily. Other horses are more sensitive and need a lighter hand. Either way we can tell exactly what is needed when we introduce ourselves and complete our initial evaluation. We often find when a horse is first receiving massage that they are incredibly tight, prone to walking off, and attempting to bite or kick. Remember this is not personal. We are building a new relationship and they are also telling us where they are uncomfortable. Our goal by the end of session is to receive little to no reactions at all. The next session is usually much easier for the horse. We are now more familiar to them and building on the previous massage.
How Long Is an Equine Sports Massage Session?
Initial evaluations are usually an hour to an hour and a half. It is helpful to have your horse in their stall and relatively clean. We start by speaking with the owner or trainer to learn more about the horse. This helps us focus our session. Additionally, this allows us to take our time introducing ourselves to your animal.
When we work regularly with a horse we find that we often need less time to release tension. However, this does depend on the horse and their personality as well. We have some horses that need 45 minutes to release all their tension.
After the Massage
Unlike chiropractic work there is no down time afterward. I encourage hand walking, turnout, or even light riding after a session so that the muscles can continue to stretch and release tension. Massage has immediate benefits that when used regularly can prevent a host of problems and aid in self healing. We often work in conjunction with veterinarians, chiropractors, and acupuncturists to provide a holistic wellness program.
To schedule an appointment, personal message me or email me at [email protected]
