Page 18 - Appaloosas Now October/November 2020

Equine
Massage
HBy Laurel Statz
ow would you know that your horse will benefit
from massage? What is the take-away message on this? First, I will say that there is hardly a horse out there that will not benefit from massage.
Let us look at the benefits of massage. The number one benefit of massage is increased circulation. Circulation means blood flow increased to the tissues. This blood flow carries in healing oxygen and nutrients to the muscles and carries away toxins and waste products. The action of massage breaks up adhesions and scar tissue, which reduces mobility and flexibility. Think about shortened stride, less reach, and inability to bend.
From the benefit of increased circulation come all these other great benefits:
• Relaxation and stress reduction
• Increased flexibility
• Increased range of motion
• Reduction of swelling
• Faster healing of injuries
• Prevents atrophy or wasting away of un
used muscles (when one muscle is painful or non-working, nearby muscles try to take up the slack, but it isn’t efficient and the injured muscles start to waste)
• Loosens and softens scar tissue
• Loosens and softens connective tissue
• Lengthens shortened muscles
• Releases endorphins
• Can boost athletic performance
What are some signs that your horse needs a massage? There are many, and each horse is unique. Generally,
the horse is not performing at their former level or is not progressing and seems sore. Sometimes chronic tendon issues are a sign of shortened muscles. A horse may be dragging a hind lead or not even picking up correct leads or is short strided. In other cases, you might have a horse that is reluctant to move forward,
or he may be uncharacteristically grumpy, pinning his ears, girthy, flighty, or does not want to be caught in the pasture. Their work may be better to one side, moreso than their usual. Or it may be difficult for them to bend one direction or either direction. Add these to the list; scuffing toes, acting up. It could be any of a very long list of items. Every horse is different.
I have seen horses fresh back from the trainer, where they learned a lot and worked very hard. In these cases, the horse in front of me has extremely taut muscles. I refer to these horses as “Stone Ponies.” The owner is often pleased and will slap on those muscles stating something to the effect of “just look what
great condition my horse is in; he is in such athletic condition.” All I can think is, “that ain’t good.” Healthy muscles can be firm and should be pliable. Rock hard muscle is screaming for blood and oxygen. Get those muscles that feel like cement some massage. Overly tense muscles are short, and they are setting the horse up for tendon issues and other injuries farther down the chain of muscles, besides the fact they don’t feel
18 Appaloosas Now - October/November
“Muscles of the upper foreleg have been chalked. The tendons for these muscles are below the knee or hock. The muscles work in unison so tense shortened muscles farther up the chain, take away available length to the tendons, contributing to pulled or otherwise injured, lower leg tendons.”