We’ve all seen it, an hour long session with the trainer and your horse is sore the next day, pinned ears when you saddle up, cross firing at the canter, lameness. While many issues horses exhibit are considered behavioral, some have roots in pain. Today’s article will look at using massage therapy and chiropractic’s to relieve the pain or ” behavioral issue” and create a more willing partner vs traditional methods.
I admit, I’m guilty. I had a horse who cross fired at the canter. I considered this a training issue, he tossed his head when asked to canter, I considered that a training issue. After 5 years of owning this horse and using multiple training techniques and going to clinics his “training/behavior issues” still existed.
People have visited massage therapist and chiropractors for years. Its a common practice in humans, you dislocate a hip, shoulder, need your back realigned, pain in joints. A visit to your chiropractor and/or massage therapist and you feel like a new person.
So why not use this practice in horses?
Horse’s get sore muscles, their spines get out of alignment, and yet we rarely think maybe the pain they experience from this causes some of the behavior and training issues we see. From a Holistic stand point, it doesn’t make sense to feed a supplement, or a pain killer that mask’s whats going on.
What is Massage therapy for Horses? Massage Therapy for horses, relaxes muscles, stretches muscles and joints, and allows soft tissue manipulation to allow bones and joints to return to normal positions, Massage therapy reduces muscle spasms.
Chiropractic Therapy is the use of force to realign bones and joints within the horses body, not focusing on the soft tissue or muscle. Like a human chiropractic treatment the focus is on the position of bone.
Many horses benefit from both massage and chiropractic work, others benefit more from one or the other. Its always important to involve your vet when choosing a massage or chiropractic therapist for your horse.
Does it work? From personal experience the answer is “yes.”
After 2 sessions my gelding could canter correctly, stopped tossing head when asked to canter, and become more joyful to ride. A friend also had her gelding worked on, his extension increased, the stiffness left his hindquarters and he was able to begin jumping.
For More Information Visit the following websites.
Equi-Sports Massage – Austin Texas
Texas Equine Massage – serving central Texas
Dr. Dagan – Chiropractic Irving, Texas
Motion Chiropractic – Austin, Texas
If you would like additional information on equine massage, please email LydiaBagley@aggienetwork.com, if you are massage therapist/ or chiropractor in this area please email me and I will add you to my reference list.
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