WINTEC 2000 All Purpose Saddle
$499.00
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Give Your Horse an Improved Outlook on Life!!
by Gayle Bach-Watson
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Our equine companions cannot talk. They are unable to tell us where it hurts, or what feels better. Body language is the only indication if something is working or not. A swish of the tail, a step away or even a kick or bite say "ouch!" Heavy sighing or chewing all say "aaah."
We all know how relaxing a good massage is, particularly after hard training, competition, or a stressful day. Serious athletes generally spend an hour a day on the massage table as part of their training, so it makes sense to treat athletic horses the same way.
According to a recent report from the Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine, musculoskeletal problems are the most common cause of poor performance of the horse. Equine massage directly addresses these problems and allows your horse to complete at full potential. Since skeletal muscle comprises sixty percent of a horse's total body weight, it only makes sense that attention before or after a riding session can improve your horse's performance and mood.
Massage therapy is easily learned, easily applied and costs very little.
Massage is a very old remedy, with descriptions of its proper application appearing in Chinese literature some 3,000 years ago. There also is evidence that early-day Egyptians, Romans, Japanese, Persians, Arabs, and Greeks practiced massage. The word massage is derived from two sources. One is the Arabic verb mass, "to touch," and the other is the Greek word massein, "to knead."
Horse massage is not just about rubbing a horse. There is a particular sequence to use, to ensure all the muscles are worked, and there are certain pressure points to cover. Elaine Winter, ESMT, LMT, LCSW, a massage therapist in Salt Lake City, Utah, puts it this way: "When massage is employed with knowledge and skill, it not only treats specific health problems in horses, but also improves their general health. After massage treatment, the 'feel-good' sensation derived erases much of the nervous tension and anxiety. That sensation will convey a sense of satisfaction and reconnection with life that subconsciously promotes recovery and improvement."
Winter says that there are at least four sensations that the massage therapist perceives with the hands. They are called the four Ts:
Temperature--The normal body temperature of a horse is 99-100.5° Fahrenheit. Any change in the temperature of a horse suggests that certain problems exist.
Texture--The density and elasticity of the skin and the muscle fibers.
Tenderness--The degree to which the animal responds to your touch is proportional to the severity and stressfulness of the condition.
Tension--Too much tightness means less blood circulation, fewer nutrients, less oxygen. Tension will increase toxin buildup, creating an underlying inflammation-trigger points, stress points, or scar tissue buildup after trauma.
"The key to a successful massage," says Winter, "lies in the heightened perception of the practitioner's fingers and mastering of the four T's and of pressure, contact, rhythm, timing, and sequencing."
Mimi Porter of Lexington, Ky., author of the book, Equine Sports Therapy says, "Massage should begin with stroking to accustom the animal to the therapist's touch and to allow the therapist to search for areas of
spasm and tenderness. The strokes should be of even pressure and run longitudinally along the muscle following the direction in which the hair lies. The initial stroking should be superficial rather than deep to create a sedating effect and avoid creating protective muscle contractions.
"As the horse relaxes, the strokes can become deeper, stimulating blood vessels and lymph channels. Deeper stroking should be in the direction of venous flow, or toward the heart.
"It is usually recommended that one begins the massage away from the afflicted area. As the patient relaxes, the therapist can work gradually toward the affected area.
The benefits are more than a relaxed and happy horse. Massage helps to prevent injuries and enhances the horse's performance in several ways. It increases muscle tone and range of motion, and reduces inflammation and swelling in joints and stimulates circulation. Massage can help promote relaxation to avoid injury, and, when injury occurs, massage can help assist healing by reducing stress and anxiety and increasing circulation.
Basic massage techniques can also be used to help calm down a frightened or upset horse. Many horses experience stress which they are unable to deal with. Is your horse being bullied during turnout? Have you recently changed stables and moved your horse? Is your mare in season or in foal? Have you recently increased your horse's training schedule or changed disciplines? All of these and more can lead to a horse which is carrying tension, making your equine friend moody, grumpy, tense, and much more prone to injury. A quiet massage can put your horse in a
receptive mood, and improve your partnership.
Treat your horse like the athlete he is. Try an equine massage and see your horse's attitude and performance change. Get ready for a horse with an improved outlook on life!!
With reference and credit to Les Sellnow, Felicia Spencer, Kathleen Renfro, Elaine Winter, and Mimi Porter.
Gayle Bach-Watson has been involved with horses almost all her life, but with a special interest since her rescue of a registered thoroughbred gelding, which was to be sent to the meat market in 1979. He lived for another twenty (20) years, a very happy and healthy horse. More recently, she has become a distributor for Nikken, a developer and manufacturer of magnetic and far-infrared products for health and wellness. Having benefited from the products, as well as seeing the results in others, she has introduced the use of the products with horses, establishing The Relaxed Horse A Mobile Equine Spa. She merges the traditional massage with the magnetic and far-infrared products to create a complete equine treatment. She has applied her services at various stables and stud farms throughout the area, and has just started working with the horses at the Laurel Race Track. For more information, Gayle Bach-Watson may be reached at 301-831-3874.
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