Equine Massage

Massage Therapy

Massage uses the hands, fingers and elbows of the therapist. During the massage, the soft tissue is manipulated with the goal of loosening tight muscles, joints, tendons, scar tissue and edema; increasing blood flow and lymphatic activity. It also reduces stress in your horse. Equine massage is used in exercise warm-up and post-injury or surgery rehabilitation. Massage therapy not only beneficial pre and post competition, it can reduce the chances of injury and indeed speed up the healing process when injury has already occurred. Therapists have to have a thorough understanding of equine anatomy.

Horses are athletes – from the hacking pleasure horse right through to the top level competition horse. Horses have adapted over time to carrying the weight of a rider on their back and to the demands we place on them, and we have the responsibility to make sure they can do this as comfortably as possible.

Equine Massage can help to prevent injury to your horse as well as aid recovery. A massage is a thoroughly enjoyable experience for the majority of horses! 

Benefits of equine muscular treatments:

  • Increase and improve circulation/blood flow
  • Warms the muscles
  • Removes lactic acid
  • Relieves muscle fatigue
  • Releases muscle spasm
  • Improves muscle tone and elasticity
  • Improve range of movement
  • Reduces risk of pulled muscles
  • Minimise stiffness
  • Improve and reduce muscle trophy/wastage
  • Induces rapid cell renewal and tissue repair
  • Speeds up recovery
  • Increase joint movement and flexibility
  • Helps ease painful, sore joints
  • Helps keep joints flexible
  • Other Benefits
  • Relax the nervous system
  • Assist in co-ordination
  • An effective way of identifying injury post-competition

Massage Techniques

Stroking

Stroking is a rhythmical light movement using relaxed hands, fingers or thumb tips.

Effleurage

Effleurage is the use of long, slow, rhythmic movements used to warm tissue, weave massage movements together or finish massage work by properly draining tissues of lymph.

Petrissage

Petrissage is a massage movement used once the soft tissues have been warmed up through stroking and effleurage.

Cross Fibre Friction

These movements are applied when very local work is required.

Tapotement

This percussion technique is a dynamic, rhythmic technique which can be applied using

one or two hands to perform hacking, cupping or pounding movements.

Stress Point Therapy

Stress point and trigger point therapy, are very effective techniques in which direct, focal pressure is applied to a target area of muscle soreness/spasm which increases blood flow (hyperaemia) to the area.

Stretching & Mobilisation can have many benefits including:

  • Increase range of motion, suppleness and improving efficiency of movement.
  • Help to maintain flexibility post physical treatment.
  • Reduce the risk of injury to joints, muscles and tendons by maintaining a healthy musculoskeletal system.
  • Increase mental and physical relaxation.
  • Enhance development of body awareness, co-ordination and proprioception.
  • Reduce muscular soreness, stiffness and tension.
  • By removing tension from a muscle it will allow improved circulation, bringing oxygen and nutrients for growth and repair and removing waste products.
  • Also stretching can be used for pain relief, rehabilitation and injury prevention.
  • Passive stretches should be performed by your therapist who knows the normal range and plane of movement of joints and knows how to safely and effectively perform the stretch. Also the tissue must be warmed thoroughly, either through exercise or massage, prior to stretching.

Fascia

What is FASCIA?

Fascia is a layer of fibrous tissue . A structure  of connective tissue that surrounds muscles, muscle groups , blood vessels, binding some structures together, while permitting others to slide smoothly over each other. Fascia are bundles of collagen fibers that are similar to ligaments and tendons except that ligaments join one bone to another, tendons join muscle to bone and fascia surround muscle or other structures.