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Equine Massage
Performance Horse
Compensation
Tack: Fitting
Rehabilitating
All materials © 2004 Galadriel Billington
http://lorienstable.com
Equine Massage:
Much More than a Day at the Spa
Sports massage is
becoming much more
well-known in human
athletics, but is not yet
common in the equine
industry.
Equine sports massage
has many applications,
much more than a
simple relaxation
technique.
The Equine Sports
Massage Therapist has
a large number of tools
for use in evaluating
and maintaining
horses.
Performance
Working Out
Exertion typically makes
us feel sore.
●
Schooling, endurance
building, or even long
pleasure rides may
cause a horse to feel
sore.
Performance
Horses vs People
●
●
When our muscles are
feeling tired and stiff,
we can get a backrub,
take a hot bath, do
some stretches...All of
these stimulate
circulation and help
muscles to relax.
A horse can't do any of
these himself.
Performance Horse Massage
●
Sports Massage can
help horses:
–
Prepare for exertion
(Pre-Performance),
and
–
Recover fully from
exertion (PostPerformance).
–
Stay comfortable and
fit (Maintenance)
Pre-Performance
●
During exercise,
circulation flows more
rapidly through the
muscles,
–
–
bringing oxygen and
glucose to the muscles.
bringing warmth &
elasticity to the
muscles. Cold muscles
are literally “cold” and
more brittle.
●
●
Pre-performance
massage can stimulate
circulation, to prepare
the horse physically
for exercise.
Massage techniques
can also be used to
influence the horse's
mood: calming or
revving up.
Post-Performance
●
During exercise,
circulation flows more
rapidly through the
muscles,
–
–
bringing oxygen and
glucose to the muscles.
bringing warmth &
elasticity to the
muscles. Cold muscles
are literally “cold” and
more brittle.
●
●
Post-performance
massage can restimulate circulation,
to help the horse fully
recover from exercise.
Massage techniques
can also be used to
influence the horse's
mood: end of the day,
or continued exertion.
Post-Performance
●
●
During exercise,
muscles accumulate
“fatigue poisons,”
byproducts of muscle
contraction/relaxation.
These contribute to the
sore, heavy, and weary
feelings in a muscle
after exertion.
●
●
Suddenly ceasing
exercise can redirect
circulation to the rest
of the body.
Without increased
circulation, the
“fatigue poisons”
remain stagnant in the
muscles.
Post-Performance
●
●
Slowing the
circulation gradually
(instead of rapidly)
helps to flush out
remaining fatigue
poisons.
Turning the horse out
after exercise also
helps to prevent
sore/weary muscles.
●
●
●
A horse's environment
may not allow for
turnout after exercise.
Stalled horses have a
lower circulation rate.
Post-exercise massage
can re-stimulate the
circulation, and assist
in full recovery from
exertion.
Performance Horse:
Maintenance Massage
●
●
Even strong, well
developed muscles
should be flexible and
loose.
When a horse
exercises frequently
and does not have any
way to keep his
muscles elastic, they
become hard and tight.
Performance Horse:
Maintenance Massage
●
●
Massage can help to
preserve a horse's
dexterity, even when
he has built strong
muscles.
Better elasticity allows
better flexion and
extension, and overall
comfort for the horse.
Compensation
Fatigue
Sudden Changes
Fatigue and Compensation
●
●
After heavy exertion, a
horse may begin to
fatigue.
When a muscle group
is fatigued, the horse
may begin using a
different set of
muscles.
●
●
The horse
compensates for
fatigue by using
muscles which are not
well suited to the
exercise.
These muscles may
become sore much
more quickly.
Fatigue and Compensation
●
●
A horse who is often
worked to the point of
fatigue may build a lot
of excess tension in
the muscle groups
used for
compensation.
Massage can help
identify, relax, and
soothe these muscles.
Fatigue and Compensation:
Forced Positions
●
When a horse is forced
to hold a position for
too long without a
break, he can develop
“cramps” or muscle
spasms.
●
These are the same as
muscle cramps in
people from
overexertion or
holding an
uncomfortable
position.
Fatigue and Compensation:
Forced Positions
●
●
When a horse
develops cramps from
overexertion, he
begins to compensate
for the cramping by
using his body poorly.
He may go hollow, fall
on the forehand, or
simply change his
posture to one which
is less efficient.
Fatigue and Compensation:
Forced Positions
●
Spasm Inducing
Movements:
–
Staying on the bit for
too long, especially
when unfit
–
Repeatedly schooling
one movement without
a break
–
“Gadgets” designed to
force a position
Fatigue and Compensation:
Forced Positions
●
●
Pausing to stretch
regularly will help to
prevent such
discomfort (and the
ensuing
compensation).
Massage can help
soothe any spasms
resulting from
cramping & forced
positions.
Sudden Changes
●
When a horse
experiences an abrupt
change, he must alter
his way of going to
accommodate.
–
Hoof Shape/Shoes
–
Footing (grass, sand,
clay, rocks, roots)
–
Terrain (flat, hills)
–
Injury
●
●
The horse can't take a
break, and return to his
previous way of going.
He must abruptly
change the way he
uses his muscles. This
sudden change may
cause muscular
discomfort.
Sudden Changes
Examples--Injury/Lameness
●
●
Dramatic change in his
way of going can
cause soreness in the
rest of his body.
A typical example may
be a horse who goes
lame in a foreleg, then
goes lame in the other
foreleg from overuse.
●
A horse with front end
lameness can result in
extra weight carrying
on the hind end; the
hindquarter muscles
will be stressed and
forced to rapid
overdevelopment.
Sudden Changes:
Hindquarter development due to front
end lameness
Sudden Changes
Examples—Hoof Shape
●
●
A new trim style or a
new shoe can affect
the horse's stride.
Sudden change (even
relatively minor
change) may change
the muscle demands in
–
Blue areas show positions of
muscle knot groups after heels
lowered by new farrier.
the legs,
–
the shoulder &
hindquarter,
–
and even in the back.
Sudden Changes
●
●
Changes in one area of
the body affect the
whole body.
After a radical change,
the horse may develop
muscle spasms, and
may even travel
unevenly, due to the
demands on his
muscles.
●
●
Massage can help
pinpoint and reduce
the spasms.
The equine massage
therapist uses
understanding of the
location and use of
each muscle, to
evaluate and soothe
discomfort & spasm.
Tack
Tack Fit
(saddles, bridles, bits, girths)
Progressive Tension Buildup
Expectation of Discomfort
Tack: Fitting and Comfort
●
●
The fit of a saddle is a
dominating concern in
equine performance.
A horse with poor
saddle fit may
experience physical
emotional damage.
Working is painful, so
he attempts to evade
working.
Tack: Pressure Points
●
●
●
A poorly fitting saddle
creates pressure
points.
Pressure greater than 2
psi can cut off
circulation at that
point.
Muscle tissues start to
die after just 20
minutes without
circulation.
Saddle Fits:
Fits
Narrow
Bridges
Wide
Tack: Muscle Wastage
●
●
“Wasted muscle,” or
any area around the
spine that looks
“sucked in,” has
usually been damaged
by pressure points.
Wasted muscle does
not heal
independently.
Tack: Muscle Wastage
●
➔
Massage can be used
to help heal wasted
muscle.
Manual stretching
helps break up scar
tissue to allow
replacement with
healthy tissue.
●
➔
Massage can be used
to help heal wasted
muscle.
Rubbing motions can
stimulate circulation,
to bring in oxygen and
nutrients to deprived
tissue.
Tack: Muscle Wastage
and Massage Treatment
Comparison wither
tracings of a mare with
muscle wastage:
●
The pink tracing was
just 6 weeks after the
white tracing. There
was no change in the
mare's exercise. The
mare received only
massage treatment.
Tack: Muscle Wastage and
Progressive Tension
●
●
A horse with muscle
wastage often also has
a buildup of back
tension.
This buildup of
tension may also be
found in a horse
without muscle
wastage.
●
●
When a horse feels
discomfort, he will
often tense his back.
This is partly due to
emotional tension—
just as people build
tension in the upper
back.
Progressive Tension Building
●
When the saddle
pinches, the severity
of the pinch can be
reduced by tensing the
back. The saddle
“digs” less into the
tight, contracted
muscle.
●
●
●
When the horse travels
with his back tensed,
he is “hollow.”
His steps are less fluid
and there is more
concussion from the
impact of his strides.
He does not absorb the
concussion well due to
the angle of his steps.
Progressive Tension Building
●
●
Back tension,
therefore, can cause a
horse's movement to
be more painful and
more damaging.
The shoulders and
hindquarters build
more tension when the
back is tight, they
attempt to take less
concussion.
●
●
As previously stated,
even a strong muscle
should be flexible, not
tight.
When a horse has
constant tightness in
his back, shoulders,
and hips, the strength
of the muscle tightness
is enough to affect the
skeleton.
Progressive Tension Building-Skeletal Changes
●
●
The longissimus
muscle runs alongside
the spine, from in front
of the wither to behind
the hip.
This muscle also
attaches to the spinous
processes of the
vertebrae.
Progressive Tension Building-Skeletal Changes
●
●
When the longissimus
develops tension &
constriction, it pulls at
the tips of those
vertebrae.
Any of the vertebrae
may be affected, but
the lumbar vertebrae
are the least stable.
Progressive Tension Building-Skeletal Changes
●
When the back muscle
becomes extremely
tight, it can tilt the
vertebrae, and in some
cases even pull them a
significant distance.
Progressive Tension Building-Skeletal Changes
●
●
“Kissing Spine” is the
unsoundness
associated with
rubbing spinous
processes.
Many horses have
noticeable skeletal
changes, without
obvious lameness.
●
The changes
introduced by the
supertight longissimus
cause:
–
Stiffness in the spine,
–
Less ability to use the
back muscles (hollow)
–
Extra concussion/badly
absorbed concussion
on the joints
Progressive Tension Building-Skeletal Changes
●
●
A horse with lumbar
changes is not working
at the level he could
be.
Typically lumbar
changes are the result
of progressive tension
building over months
or years.
●
●
●
Treatment will also
take time.
Massage and rest will
allow the muscle to
relax.
When the horse
returns to work, his
tack should be
carefully managed.
Progressive Tension Building-Before & After Treatment
More slope in croup
●Improved angle of pelvis
●More curve in back behind wither
●Less lift to lumbar area
●
Improvements:
Progressive Tension Building-Skeletal Changes
●
●
●
Not all changes can be
fully reversed.
If the tips of the
spinous processes are
rubbing, they may
begin to ossify.
The vertebrae will
eventually fuse
together where they
are touching.
●
●
When a spine has
fused, relaxing the
muscle will not undo
the change.
Therapeutic massage
can help make a horse
more comfortable.
The muscle issues are
still active. These can
be soothed.
Progressive Tension Building-Fused Spine
With massage treatment,
the muscles in this
gelding's back are
beginning to fill out
again.
Without any movement
in the back, it is nearly
impossible to flex the
longissimus to build
strength.
Equine Massage:
Applicable Everywhere
Equine Massage can be
used to:
–
Maintain and enhance
performance horses
–
Keep injured horses
comfortable
–
Help horses recover
from physical issues
–
Generally evaluate and
support horse's
condition
Further Information
For more information
about equine massage
or saddle fitting, you
are welcome to visit
my website:
http://lorienstable.com
Articles on riding,
training, saddle fitting,
and equine massage.
All materials © 2004 Galadriel Billington