EQUINE MASSAGE
WHAT IS IT?
WHAT CAN IT DO FOR A HORSE?
INTRODUCTION
Massaging
the body to reduce pain and increase comfort is an ancient form of health care
that has been used for thousands of years in cultures throughout the
world. It lost favor in our culture when
antibiotics and other "miracle" drugs were introduced in the late
1940s and early 1950s.
Even as
recently as 1980, massage was still being thought of as an enjoyable, relaxing
experience indulged in by people who went to spas and resorts; it was not
considered to have health benefits. But
today the health-care community recognizes massage as an effective option for
many of the aches and pains that afflict a large portion of our population.
As
massage benefits have become better understood, acceptance of massage has
enjoyed resurgence, and massage has been shown to be especially effective with
horses.
A
horse’s primary value today is in its performance ability—whether breeding,
competition or pleasure riding. The
majority of our horses, therefore, are asked to carry riders or pull
weight. These activities increase the
chances that they will suffer from muscular and skeletal aches and pains just
as we do. If a horse can’t perform, then
most horse owners don’t want to keep them.
Something needs to be done to allow them to perform, and massage offers
a way of making horses comfortable, enhancing performance and prolonging their
“useful” lives.
This
course provides students with a greater understanding of the wide variety of
massage techniques that can be successfully used on horses. The course covers different kinds of massage,
when to use it, when not to use it. We
will also look at the equine anatomy and gaits, and the stresses and pain that
can be caused by the different types of riding we do.
Finally,
you’ll learn how to do a full body massage, gaining a complete understanding
and knowledge of the important areas of the horse’s body to be massaged and the
specific techniques to be used.
DEFINING EQUINE MASSAGE
Massage
is a broad term for a process of using our hands to loosen tightness and
relieve tension and soreness within the muscles of a body (horse as well as
human).
Massage
accomplishes its effects without the use of drugs, medical procedures, machines
or needles. Massage uses the human hands
to achieve its results. Massage loosens
and releases tension in muscles and facilitates the repair of muscle
damage. As muscles relax there is a
reduction of the pain and discomfort that occurs when there is cramping,
tightening or tearing in muscles.
But
massage can also be done with a more specific intent when the person doing the
massage has greater in-depth knowledge of how the individual muscles work, how
the entire muscle system works and what kinds of problems can occur within the
muscles. Throughout this course you will
be learning massage that has the “specific intent” of rebalancing the entire
muscle structure and bringing it into anatomical balance as well as relieving
tightness and soreness in the muscles.
Successful
massage applies the most appropriate of the many techniques available for
treating specific muscle problems while understanding how the massage will also
affect other systems of the body.
There
are many ways in which massage can contribute to the health and comfort of a
horse.
It can
either be relaxing or energizing in its broad applications, or it can be very
specific in intent (as when working on scar tissue, pain in a specific area or
joint constriction).
Heat
generated by massage will increase blood flow in an area, thereby helping in
improving circulation and correcting metabolic imbalances. This, in turn, speeds the removal of waste
products such as carbon dioxide, lactic acid and other by-products of metabolism.
Massage
can also assists in the release of mental tension as body tension is decreased.
When
you complete this course you will know how to evaluate the condition of a horse
and how to use the most effective massage techniques for the greatest benefit
to the horse.
THE GOALS OF EQUINE MASSAGE:
The
basic goals of equine massage therapy are:
1. Decrease pain and discomfort in
the horse’s body that is caused by tension, stiffness and tightness in the
muscles.
2. Aid in the healing process in
injured muscles.
3. Allow the body to move without
pain and with greater efficiency.
4. Return an injured horse, or one
that is not working to its full potential, to full function.
5. Prevent injuries from occurring
or re-occurring.
HOW MASSAGE ACHIEVES THESE
GOALS
1. Massage releases cramping and
tightening in the muscular system, thereby reducing pain.
2. As muscles relax, there is a
release of endorphins that help reduce pain.
3. Massage increases the blood and
lymph supply to an area, bringing oxygen into the area and carrying away
metabolic waste such as lactic acid and carbon dioxide. This increased blood and lymph flow promotes
healing of an injured area.
4. As massage loosens tight
muscles, there is a corresponding ability for correct, comfortable movement in
the muscular system.
5. As muscles loosen, constriction
around joints is released. This allows
greater mobility and better movement in the skeletal system.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF MASSAGE THAT
CAN BE USED EFFECTIVELY ON HORSES
There
are many different types of massage that can be used to elicit specific results
or responses within a body.
1. Swedish, or relaxation,
massage. This type of massage has the primary intent
of relaxation and improved circulation.
It has a calming, soothing effect.
The techniques used involve long, smooth, gliding strokes that follow the
contours of the muscles. The pressure is
firm, but gentle, constantly adjusting to the horse’s responses. It resembles a good, deep grooming, but there
are two important differences. You will
have a knowledge of the anatomy beneath the skin and will be will be able to
feel what is normal and not normal, so you’ll know when more specialized types
of massage are appropriate. And you will
be capable of applying the more specialized forms of massage. This type of massage would be appropriate for
high-strung, nervous horses that need to relax, or for competition horses
needing to relax between classes or at the end of a long day. Relaxation massage is the foundation for all
other types of massage.
2. Sports Massage. This is a branch of massage that has had a
significant impact on human athletes and their attitudes toward conditioning
and training. It has also had a great
impact on the training and conditioning of horses. Sports massage goes beyond just massage and
involves itself with all phases of a horse’s training. In addition to general massage training, you
need more specialized knowledge of horses—their anatomy, their gaits and
movement and the physiology of muscles and how they work. You need to understand the total concept of
athletic training, not just how massage can facilitate and complement
training. Sports massage is a powerful
tool to mitigate the effects of the stress of athletic training and bring
muscles back to a healthy state. The
massage can be used for maintaining flexibility and good health in the body’s
tissues, in the prevention of injuries and in rehabilitation if an injury
should occur.
3. Stimulation massage. This is a type of sports massage that is most
often used on athletes just prior to competition; it is usually referred to as
“pre-event” massage. While most massage
is used to loosen and relax the body, stimulation massage is used to energize
and bring horses to a keen edge in anticipation of activities that involve
significant, forceful expenditure of energy.
The strokes used in such a situation would be quick, brisk and
energetic. The intent would be to
increase circulation and sensory stimulation and warm up the muscles in
preparation for athletic events.
4. Injury Rehabilitation. This is an area of primary importance in both
human and equine massage. Injuries to
horses are something that all horse owners have to face at one time or
another. Some of these injuries will be
minor, some may be severe enough to require medical treatment, but there will
come a time when healing is complete and the rehabilitation process is ready to
start.
With a minor injury, often just going
back to the normal work routine will be all the rehabilitation that is
necessary.
Serious injuries will require much
more, and the timing of when the horse is started back to work can be crucial
in determining how successful the horse will be.
Massage can significantly reduce the
time involved in rehabilitation. Anyone doing injury rehab work will need
knowledge of correct movement patterns and anatomy, as well as a wide variety
of massage techniques for dealing with the muscular problems.
Injury rehab work may also involve
developing specific exercises, either from the ground or under saddle that will
address specific movement and gait problems resulting from the injury. With good horse skills and experience, you
have an advantage in this area.
In addition to the primary injury
site, you may also have to deal with some special processes that can occur in
the body when dealing with a painful injury.
Two major ones are “compensation” and “splinting”. I will describe these in a later section.
5. Performance Enhancement. By loosening muscles and freeing joints for
better movement, the performance of the horse can become more fluid. The horse will show greater flexibility,
suppleness and agility, and the horse’s responses to the rider’s aids will be
quicker due to better nerve responses.
6. Injury Prevention and
Maintenance Massage. Some injuries develop slowly. These types of injuries are usually the
result of poor or incorrect use of a horse’s body, rather than a fall or other
accident. The rider is seldom aware of
the subtle early signs of this incorrect use; they are not usually aware until
the problem becomes more advanced and the horse is beginning to react
openly—either in a physical way (going unsound) or in a mental way (attitude
and behavior problems).
The same basic process of loosening
muscles and freeing joints by using performance enhancement massage can be a
major factor in preventing muscle injuries.
Massage performed on a regular schedule can detect and resolve muscle
imbalances before they become problems.
Many top competitors use a regular schedule of maintenance
massages for their horses and have assistants skilled in equine massage that
travel with them, monitoring their horses on a daily basis.
Maintenance massage on a regular basis can be very
beneficial to older horses that often suffer chronic health problems. Such massage can aid stall-bound horses where
circulation problems are common.
7. Structural Massage and
Rehabilitative Exercises. Every joint in a body (horse, human, other
vertebrate animals) is designed to work in specific ways. Some joints can only move in one
direction—the knee of the horse (carpal bone of the horse’s front legs) is one
of these. Some joints can move in
multiple directions—the horse’s neck vertebrae and the human shoulder joint are
good examples of this. Muscles allow and
control the movement of joints.
Structural massage balances the muscles in such a way that the joints
can work to the maximum of their design.
It is a highly specialized area of massage whose aim is the re-balancing
of the entire muscle structure of a body.
Performing such massage requires systemically going through the entire
muscle structure, balancing the different muscle groups and pairs and balancing
the different areas of the body (head/neck, torso and haunches) in relationship
to each other. Such study can pinpoint
the areas where the rider will meet resistance in the horse’s body. The massage can release that tension and
resistance. This type of massage can be
especially valuable when working with crooked horses, and in injury
rehabilitation. It is a more involved
process than other types of massage and is usually done in a series of sessions
combined with Rehabilitative Exercises.
Rehabilitative Exercises are closely associated with Structural Massage
and they involve using specific exercises performed from the ground or under
saddle. Its primary emphasis is
movement—evaluating the gaits and developing the appropriate exercises to
correct specific muscle dysfunctions after the massage has loosened and
prepared the muscles.
WHEN NOT TO USE
MASSAGE—CONTRA-INDICATIONS
This
course is all about the ways in which massage can be of great value in
affecting changes in a horse—in physical comfort, mental attitude and improved
performance. But it is also important to
know what it cannot do, when it is inappropriate to use it and how to recognize
a situation or condition that will not respond to massage.
Primary
contra-indications.
1. Massage should not be used
during the acute stage (first 24 to 48 hours) of an injury or illness.
2. It should not be used when
there is heat, inflammation and swelling present.
3. It should not be used in the
presence of a fever.
4. It should not be used when
there is bleeding.
5. “Nodding” lameness. Nodding of the head and neck, as the horse is
moving is usually a sign of some kind of lower leg or foot problem. This should be checked by a veterinarian or
farrier. There is one situation in which
“nodding” when moving could be from a muscular condition and I will describe
this in the section on Body Reading, but it is best to have it checked first.
All of
the above conditions indicate a medical problem and should be treated as such
by a veterinarian.
RECOGNIZING A VETERINARY
PROBLEM
All of
the contra-indications listed above are pretty easy to distinguish and
understand, but there are other times when there may be a veterinary problem
and the signs are not so obvious.
How can
you know if massage is appropriate or if there is a subtle, undiagnosed
veterinary problem?
Massage,
when used in appropriate situations, will produce improvements in a horse’s
comfort and movement with each session.
If, instead, the horse begins to look more uncomfortable or the movement
problem becomes more obvious, this would be a signal that a veterinarian should
be called.
Does
this mean that the massage caused the problem or injury? No!
Massage is a non-invasive; it will not cause unsoundness, but it can
expose an undiagnosed medical condition. When faced with an injury or painful
situation, a horse’s body will begin to cope with the discomfort or pain by
tightening muscles and shifting and reorganizing its weight; when the massage
loosens the muscles, the protection is taken away and the injury can become
obvious.
There
are two primary ways that the body can provide protection to an injured area.
One is
know as “splinting”, the other is “compensation”.
Splinting
happens when the muscles around an injury tighten in order to support and
protect the injured area, in much the same way that we put a splint or cast on
a broken bone to protect it.
Compensation
is the process of shifting and reorganizing the weight or changing movement
patterns in order to relieve the pressure on an injured area.
Splinting
occurs around the injury, compensation occurs in other areas of the body away
from the injury.
When
muscles tighten and go into spasms in response to an injury, either as in
splinting or in compensation, it is an automatic process. But there is no automatic process for the
muscles to release that tension, after an injury has healed; they stay that way
until there is some kind of intervention that releases them. This is a
condition where massage is an appropriate approach for loosening and
rebalancing the muscles. If the injury
has indeed healed, you will quickly see an improvement in the horse’s level of
comfort and his way of moving.
But
suppose the injury has not healed and the splinting or compensation is what has
allowed the horse to function sufficiently well that it is difficult to detect
the exact problem. In this case, if massage is used to loosen and rebalance the
muscles, the sudden loss of support to an injured area that had been depending
upon that support will quickly cause the horse to show signs of pain and
discomfort. The injury has been exposed
and this is the time to call a vet. If
nothing is done, the muscles will gradually tighten and readjust again in order
to protect the injury, and again it will become difficult to detect the
problem.
CASE
HISTORY EXAMPLES
Cherry
was an eight-year-old TB mare. In the
previous year she had had a foal and there was a problem during the
birthing. The foal’s hoof tore the
membrane between the rectum and vagina.
Fortunately, the tear was close to the outside and the veterinarian was
able to repair the damage.
But a
year later the mare was not moving as well as she had before having the
foal. Her trot was stilted and she could
not hold a right lead canter.
Massage
sessions, plus some simple exercises under saddle, produced significant
improvement.
Cherry’s
problem was a good example of splinting.
All of the muscles around the rectum and vagina had gone into spasms in
response to the pain of the birthing injury.
This injury had had medical attention and was fully healed, but the
muscles were still in spasms.
When
the spasms were eased, the mare was able to resume normal movement.
George
was a completely different situation. He
had an undiagnosed tear in the ligament that supports the fetlock joint of his
right foreleg. In response to the pain
he tightened the muscles in the right shoulder in an effort to keep weight off
the right fetlock.
The
problem was seen as tightness in the shoulder, while the fetlock tear went
undetected. After massage, George looked
worse and seemed more uncomfortable.
The
owner took George to a university veterinary school where radiographs and
testing discovered the true problem and appropriate medical care was started.
In
George’s case, loosening muscles that were trying to protect an active injury
made the condition appear worse, which indicated massage was not the answer and
further diagnostic work was needed.
George’s
torn ligament did mend and with appropriate massage for the compensations he
went on into his late 20’s as a fully sound riding horse.