WHAT IS EQUINE SPORTS MASSAGE THERAPY?

More and more horse owners and trainers are realizing that a thorough training program includes not only the exercise and building of muscles in the horse, but also caring for the wear-and-tear and minor injuries to the muscles. A report from Tufts University, School of Veterinarian Medicine states that musculoskeletal problems are the most common cause of poor performance in horses.

Equine Sports Massage Therapy is designed to care for muscles in two ways.  First it relieves muscular pain and then assists in the prevention of injuries to those muscles.  Sports massage for our equine athletes is different than other forms of massage in that it focuses on the cause of muscle dysfunction and not just the symptoms.  This is a hands-on application of human sports massage techniques recognized worldwide.

Our horses use their muscles to walk, trot, canter, jump, pirouette, roll on the ground, play in their pastures, etc…  They use muscles from their head to their tail and, like human athletes, they get stiff, sore and build up tension in those muscles.  When muscles are sore or injured, horses, like humans, will compensate by over-using opposing muscles causing them to become sore too.  This muscle pain can lead to problems with performance and attitude.

As a lifelong lover of horses and a horse owner, I know how frustrating it is to deal with “mystery injuries”. We have all had to endure our horse being “off” for no apparent reason and losing valuable riding and training time. This is what led me to equine sports massage therapy. So many of our horse’s performance and behavioral problems are due to muscular pain, and now I can relieve that pain! It gives me tremendous satisfaction to help our equine partners. -- Gail Smith