Benefits of Massage
45% of a horse’s body weight is made up of their muscles. If even one muscle is tight, it can change the way the others function, which leads to pain and irritation for the horse during movement.
In order to help this, our Equine Massage Therapist will evaluate the horse and see where the problems are. Every horse can benefit from massage. Top athletes and retired old friends all have the same muscles. Massage helps alleviate all kinds of things that can cause a horse to turn up lame or off.
Even after the first massage, there is often a noticeable difference in the horse’s gait and freedom of movement. The horse that is used to having pain with certain movements will soon realize that the pain is gone. With this new freedom, horses tend to be more willing to bend and flex correctly, thus improving overall outcomes in competition and while at rest.
Disiplines
-Dressage -Barrel Racing
-Steer Wrestling -Eventing
-Team Roping -Schoolmasters
-Hunt seat -Calf Tying
-Trail Riding -Jumping
-Pole Bending -Retired/Companion
-Racing -Reining
-Western Dressage -Halter class
-Tie-Down Roping -Carriage/Cart
-Gaited horses -Team Penning
-Working horses -Western Pleasure
-Therapeutic Riding -Yearlings
-Polo -Mounted Shooting
-Ponies -Vaulting
-Trick Riding -Fox Hunting
All horses can benefit from regular massage. In a lot of the sports listed above, the horse tends to move in the same patterns, causing tightness of one side or the other. Massage can help balance the horse, maximize performance, and help prevent injury.
Regular pre-event or post-event massages tend to help these athletes the most. If your horse is a companion, occasional massages when they are acting like they need it will do. Behaviors such as head tossing, not accepting bit pressure, taking shorter strides, etc. could be indicative of the need for a massage.
Horses can be labeled as “head shy” or “cold backed”, when in truth, tight muscles are usually to blame. With massage, these common issues can often be resolved.
CryoTherapy with Subzero
What is Cryotherapy? Great question. Cryotherapy is cold therapy using liquid CO2 which is non-invasive and safe. The CO2 comes from the subzero machine at -110 Fahrenheit which cools the skin to 32 degrees Fahrenheit in a few seconds.
Because of this, the CO2 is a great, more efficient way to deliver the benefits of cold therapies like ice boots or soaking. Not to mention you can use it on all parts of the body other than the eyes.
Cryotherapy can be used to reduce pain, treat injuries, swelling, general inflammation, hoof issues, accelerate wound healing, post competition recovery. It also improves circulation, enhance muscle recovery, and even can prevent injury.
Red Light Therapy
Red Light therapy is a treatment for pain, inflammation, swelling, arthritis, or just general discomfort for horses and people alike.
Red light is exactly what it sounds like; a red light. The wave length of light is 600 nm to 850 nm which is what is compatible with the mitochondria of cells to increase ATP production. It also increases collagen production, accelerates tissue repair from wounds, burns, or surgical incisions.
Red light can be used on every part of the body except the eyes. It is a great addition to massage to help with joints and other tendons that aren’t treated with massage. It is also really helpful for injury healing regardless of the area.
Red light therapy is offered to horses, dogs, and people. Treatment time is approximately 15 minutes per body part. Smaller areas will be a shorter treatment time.
