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Kelley Walker of Performance Horse Therapies Pty Ltd is a qualified EMT masseuse (equine myofunctional therapy) and also treats horses with BioScan Light Therapy. Here she talks about why massage should be a routine part of horse care and maintenance.
How many times have you heard someone say that they have worked their horse through a slight lameness, or have you ever come across someone who was pushing their horse so hard to achieve those higher points in dressage, paying for lesson after lesson, but wouldn’t even consider some sort of bodywork to maintain the muscle suppleness required for the work being asked of that horse?
Ever considered how many horses out there would have a case of “Monday-itis”? The owner arrives at the paddock on a Saturday, after not riding all week due to many reasons, but does not even stop to consider the fact that the horse is physically not in shape or in good muscular health to deal with a lengthy hack out or an fairly intense lesson with an instructor. Perhaps he is ridden two days in a row, only to be put back in the paddock Sunday afternoon for another week of no work.
We should briefly (and basically) look at the skeletal and muscular anatomy of a horse.
The skeleton of the horse supports soft tissues, providing the framework of the horse’s body. It protects internal organs such as the heart and lungs, it is the leverage that provides for the attachment of ligaments, muscles and tendons. It provides mineral storage, particularly that of calcium and phosphorus, and it enables blood cell production in the marrow of many of the bones.
Muscles are of course the engine to all movement and total up to approximately 40-50% of a horse’s body weight. Muscles attach to the skeleton via tendons and movement occurs when the muscles contract which causes the bones and bony parts to move.
Muscles are made up of millions of fibres. When they become damaged, they contract and lessen the blood flow into the muscle. Over time, the injury can worsen, until movement is lessened and lameness becomes visibly noticed.
If the capacity of one muscle is reduced it can cause problems with the surrounding muscles, restricting the gliding motion. Performance and movement are determined by the muscles’ abilities to contract and glide, so needless to say when movement is restricted the horse is certainly not performing to the best of its ability!
Owners should consider using massage as part of the ongoing care and maintenance of their equine partners. It should be considered if your horse has received a blow; if he has done too much work when he is not physically fit enough; if there have been quick cool downs after hard heating work as often excess lactic acid occurs (“tying up”); or if the posture is not in balance or the tack is poor fitting.
The benefits of massage are many:-
The best prevention of muscular damage is that of prevention itself and massage is certainly able to assist in maintaining good, supple and healthy muscle. It is something that should be regular and routine in all competition stables.
Kelley Walker can be contacted on 0427 962 552 or (03) 5962 9072
kelley@bigpond.net.au
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MASSAGE
....WHY IT SHOULD BE USED REGULARLY
Monday-it
for the horse is that dreadful feeling of muscular tightness, so
stiff that the first couple of strides, before the blood begins to
circulate and flow, are incredibly painful. Meanwhile the owner is
somewhere commenting on how stiff THEY feel and that they could do
with a “good old massage” but don’t even stop to consider that it
may be desperately needed by the horse that has carted its own
weight and that of the rider around for the entire weekend.
The
front legs of a horse carry 75% of a horse’s weight and they are not
attached to the skeleton via bony attachments. Amazingly the front
legs are purely held there with ligament and tendon attachments.
Massage
is actually a very important tool as it encourages healing by
creating blood flow through muscle, re-oxygenation of damaged muscle
and moves toxins out of the system. Massage relaxes contracted
muscle, which in turn removes the strain from the connective tissue
and allows for the realignment of bones. It maintains a good and
healthy range of motion by releasing fascial tightness. 