Benefits of Massage
45% of a horse’s body weight is made up of their muscles. If even one muscle is tight, it can change the way the others function, which leads to pain and irritation for the horse during movement.
In order to help this, our Equine Massage Therapist will evaluate the horse and see where the problems are. Every horse can benefit from massage. Top athletes and retired old friends all have the same muscles. Massage helps alleviate all kinds of things that can cause a horse to turn up lame or off.
Even after the first massage, there is often a noticeable difference in the horse’s gait and freedom of movement. The horse that is used to having pain with certain movements will soon realize that the pain is gone. With this new freedom, horses tend to be more willing to bend and flex correctly, thus improving overall outcomes in competition and while at rest.
Who Benefits from Massage?
-Dressage -Barrel Racing
-Steer Wrestling -Eventing
-Team Roping -Schoolmasters
-Hunt seat -Calf Tying
-Trail Riding -Jumping
-Pole Bending -Retired/Companion
-Racing -Reining
-Western Dressage -Halter class
-Tie-Down Roping -Carriage/Cart
-Gaited horses -Team Penning
-Working horses -Western Pleasure
-Therapeutic Riding -Yearlings
-Polo -Mounted Shooting
-Ponies -Vaulting
-Trick Riding -Fox Hunting
All horses can benefit from regular massage. In a lot of the sports listed above, the horse tends to move in the same patterns, causing tightness of one side or the other. Massage can help balance the horse, maximize performance, and help prevent injury.
Regular pre-event or post-event massages tend to help the athletes the most. If your horse is a companion, occasional massages when they are acting like they need it will do. Behaviors such as head tossing, not accepting bit pressure, taking shorter strides, etc. could be indicative of the need for a massage.
Horses can be labeled as “head shy” or “cold backed”, when in truth, tight muscles are usually to blame. With massage, these common issues can often be resolved.
