Equine massage.

[TwoFeather]

Ok, here goes. When I started riding at the farm I go to now I just started riding. I would take carrots for the horses and I would try and interact with them in ways they could understand. I've been watching horses for a long time and have learned a lot about their body language and such.

One of the horses came up with a limp but we could find nothing wrong and having him checked produced no results either. So we figured that massage couldn't hurt so I tried doing some work on him. I'm a licensed massage therapist. but this was the first horse I'd ever worked on. (I have studied equine anatomy and physiology though, I didn't go at this cold.)

To make a long story short, the massage worked. The day after I did the massage, with special attention to the affected leg, the horse was walking fine, limp completely gone.

Since that day that horse has become a real massage hound. He is always coming up to me and trying to get me to do more massage on him. The other horses have also become quite taken with massage. They all seek it when I go over there. I can understand why, massage is wonderful.

I've also noticed that the horses seem to be more willing to saddle up and ride since I've started doing massage for them.

What I was wondering is how many of you have used equine massage, either administered by you or a equine massage therapist, as part of your training ruotine, and if you have what results you have gotten.

[ilovepaints1]

I know someone that had a "massage therapist" out and all he did is pet the horse for 15 minutes and leave so watch out for those types. I do believe that massage and chiropractics can be beneficial if done correctly. I have often thought about going into massage therapy on horses myself it would be a great job. But I have done my own form af deep tissue massage on my horses neck and they love it and I believe it would be great for them but there arent any in my area that I know of that are good.

[TwoFeather]

But I have done my own form af deep tissue massage on my horses neck and they love it and I believe it would be great for them but there arent any in my area that I know of that are good.

Uh, sounds like you already found one to me. After all, what are you, chopped liver?

Doing massage on a horse is not that much different than doing it for a person. You have to work standing up, and there's more of the horse than there is of the human, but the anatomy is amazingly similar.

I wouldn't worry about finding a "real professional" in your area, sounds like your doing just fine.

Of course the problem with the "real professional equine massage therapist" is that there is no governing board to regulate what you need to know and how you should conduct yourself. Unfortunately for the horses it ends up being such a hit or miss proposition that most people give up. There is no reason, especially considering that there is no standard set for equine massage, that you shouldn't do your own horses.

There are a couple of things to remember though. First never do any deep massage without first doing some warm up work such as lighter efleurage (the long flowing strokes) or compressions to warm the tissues and get them ready for the deeper work.

Always, when working on limbs, do efleurage toward the heart. I know this goes against the direction of the hair growth but you need to worry more about blood flow than immediate comfort. The veins have small valves in them that prevent gravity from causing blood to flow back between heart beats. These veins could be damaged if you do efleurage with moderate pressure towards the feet.

I would recomend getting some good books on massage and reading up on it a bit. They don't have to be specific to equine massage, but if they aren't you should get some equine anatomy books and study them also.

[TwoFeather]

Eurika, I found it.

"Tapan's Handbook of Healing Massage Techniques" by Frances M. Tappan and Patricia J. Benjamin. ISBN 0-8385-3676-X

Good book for general massage techniques. It was one of the text books we used at massage school.

[Rocking Horse]

I am not trained as a Massage Therapist, but I have been massaging my horses for 20 years. No formal training at all.

I enjoy it and so do they. They are more relaxed and it actually relaxes me too..
It's great "bonding" time also..

When I was in Palm Beach working as a groom at the Polo grounds I would do all the horses, they loved it and so did the owners

[Sonseeahray's_girl]

I think if I started massaging my horse on a regular basis, that my husband would get jealous!

But seriously, it really does interest me. There is no one local that does it, and I would so go for training if it was close enough.

I will do a little rub on my horse on the back of his neck, and on either side of his spine...he loves it!

[taelesean]

Last year an equine masseuse and chiropractor made a presentation at one of my saddle club's meetings. One of our member brought her horse to be the subject of the demonstration - it was an older gelding who was known to be a little stiff in the shoulder.

This lady got to working on him and he just totally relaxed, I mean Totally Everyone was snickering at the obvious evidence. It was funnier because the masseuse completely ignored it.

According to the masseuse/chiropratctor, the horse's problem was in the oposite rear leg. His owner scheduled him for several more adjustments and he is working again, after a couple of years where it was thought he'd reached retirement.

[allison]

I've been very interested in this subject. I just bought a magazine that had an article about equine massage, I've been wanting to learn more about it. I friend that boards at the same barn as me has a massuse come out every so often and work on her horses. You can see how much the horses like it. I've been thinking it'd be a good idea to have atleast one of my mare's worked on because she had an injury a year ago out in the pasture. The vet said it looks like she went head over heals, and punctured her neck. She was very stiff for a long time afterwards in her neck. I'm sure it would be very beneficial to her. I'm definately going to look into it..

[ilovepaints1]

I keep meaning to buy a horse massage book. Theres nothing like having a horse dose off while you are massaging them thats the ultimate compliment from a horse that they love and trust you.

[KrisRN2005]

I have been using a massage as well as having a chiropractor adjust my horses for a while now. they seem to enjoy the adjustments and are totally relaxed.
I find my mare following me around in the pasture while I'm cleaning attempting to get her neck rubbed on a regular basis!!! I'd say it's a hit here!

[TwoFeather]

But seriously, it really does interest me. There is no one local that does it, and I would so go for training if it was close enough.

There certainly are a bunch of courses out there. Some are low priced, some will give you sticker shock. The thing is, higher price doesn't necessarily mean better quality. You have to really check out the school/course.

As for on line courses and dvds, without being able to view the product first it's a crap shoot.

What I have done so far is simply apply my knowledge of massage to what I've learned about horse anatomy and gotten really good results. I'd highly recommend that you get a copy of the book I mentioned and learn a bit about the techniques of massage then study up on horse anatomy and keep "rubbin them horsies".

I've been thinking it'd be a good idea to have atleast one of my mare's worked on because she had an injury a year ago out in the pasture. The vet said it looks like she went head over heals, and punctured her neck. She was very stiff for a long time afterwards in her neck. I'm sure it would be very beneficial to her. I'm definately going to look into it..

There is a technique in massage for reducing scar tissue, at least the hard lumpy adhesive type of scar tissue anyway. It was developed in the 1800s to treat combat wounds and help reduce loss of function in the limbs of combat wounded men. It's called cross fiber friction and is used to facilitate the formation of healthy scar tissue rather than hard adhesions that can cause limited function. It's applied directly to the site of an injury after the initial injury has healed but before damaging adhesions fully develop. It's also explained in the book I recommended but I'm sure the technique can be found in any other good book about theraputic massage.

The big thing I would look for when if you opt to find an equine massage therapist to help with post injury conditions is finding one who works as part of your horses health care team and not someone who thinks he/she knows better than you and the vet. Ther are certainly some good equine therapists out there. There are also a few people claiming to be equine massage therapists I've met that I wouldn't allow to touch any animal I owned simply because they are so full of themselves. Anyone who isn't willing to listen to the owner and the vet certainly isn't going to "listen" to the horse while doing the massage, and therfore can do more harm than good.

When I work on a new client I always move very, very slowly. I feel my way through the massage. Even with established clients I know well I never rush. If I'm doing the massage for money and I'm so hurting that I have to rush my client so that I can move on to the next one then I have no business doing the massage, I just need to go and get a real job. I want to take my time so that I feel every tight spot. I want to be able to feel when the client, whether he/she is human or horse, flinches ever so slightly at a light touch indicating soreness in that area. If that means I spend a little more than an hour doing a 1 hour massage, so be it.

The thing is, you don't have to find a professional. You know your horse better than anyone. Learn a few basic techniques and do it. Remember, if you don't hurt the animal your not hurting him doing massage. Take it slow and just do what feels right.

All mamals like touch. In fact, they can actually deteriorate if they don't get touch. All massage is is an extended, more focused form of grooming. All mammals groom each other, it's natural.

One little tid bit more and I'll get off of my massage soap box. One of the things I learned in massage school that had the most profound affect on how I view massage and, eventually, on my massage techniques, is this: When the fetus of a mammal is first developing there are three initial tissues that arrise out of the little mass of cells. Form these tissues all of the tissues of the body develop. One type becomes the organs, one type becomes the hard tissues, but the third type is the most interesting to me. It the tissue that the brain, central nervous system, and skin arrise from. That's right, the skin is directly linked to the brain almost from the instance of conception.

What this means is that when we are rubbing our hands over someone's body, be they human or horse, we are in direct contact with their brain on the deepest level. Is it any wonder that when we massage someone they get relaxed, their blood pressure comes down a few notches, and they can sleep better, digest their food better, etc...