08/25/2025
🤗
🐴The 72-Hour Effect: The Gift That Keeps On Giving
When your horse gets a massage, you’ll notice immediate changes: softer muscles, improved flexibility, and often a calmer demeanor. But the benefits don’t stop when the therapist leaves. In fact, a single session can keep working for up to 72 hours afterward.
Here’s how:
1. Circulation & Lymphatic Support
Massage boosts blood flow and lymphatic drainage. This helps deliver oxygen and nutrients to your horse’s muscles while removing metabolic waste. These improved circulatory effects continue for days, supporting tissue repair and recovery.
2. Nervous System Balance
Horses often live in a state of heightened alertness. Massage activates the parasympathetic nervous system, promoting relaxation and allowing muscles to let go of tension. The nervous system “reset” doesn’t vanish instantly — your horse continues to enjoy the calming effects for 2–3 days.
3. Fascia & Range of Motion
Myofascial release hydrates and loosens connective tissues. Once restrictions are eased, tissues remain more mobile for several days, allowing your horse to move with greater fluidity and less restriction.
4. Biochemical Benefits
Massage stimulates the release of endorphins and nitric oxide, chemicals that reduce pain sensitivity and enhance circulation. These chemical shifts linger in the tissues, extending the therapeutic effects beyond the session.
5. Neuromuscular Integration
Perhaps most importantly, your horse’s body “learns” new movement patterns once restrictions are gone. Over the following days, your horse will explore freer strides, better weight distribution, and improved posture — reinforcing the gains from the massage.
Bottom line: One massage session sets off a cascade of healing responses that can last for 72 hours. That’s why sessions spaced every 2–4 weeks are so effective. Your horse continues to improve long after the hands-on work ends, making massage not just a momentary fix, but a lasting investment in health and performance.
https://koperequine.com/massage-therapy-positively-affects-atp-production-and-ion-balance/
