Learn the Basic Movements of Equine Massage Therapy
Equine massage is a very broad subject and many books have been written about the subject. I am not able to provide you with all the information that you would receive from reading a whole book. What I am going to teach you is the Basic Equine Massage Movements (sometimes called manipulations or techniques) and share with you what you won't find in most books - "Tricks of the Trade" I have learned through my years of education and experience.
Equine Massage Therapy is broken down into specific movements. These movements can affect the horse either through the horse's muscle tissue or the horse's nervous system. Quite often, both are affected at the same time. As mentioned before, one of the great benefits of equine therapy is not only the physical body, but the mental and emotional state of the horse as well. This happens by moving the horse from the Sympathetic (stressed) state to the Parasympathetic (relaxed) state. This is called the "Relaxation Response".
I am going to cover some of the basic equine massage movements. I will give a brief description of what the movement is, when to use the movement, and how to apply the movement. Once the weather is better, I will be able to get to the photos and videos. I thank you for understanding that this is a new site and I am trying to get it done as quickly as possible.
I will also try to point out which movements are used most in Equine Sports Massage Therapy since this seems to be of interest to many people. The movements that I have available at this time are:
There are a few more that I can add at a later date, but these are the main movements used in equine massage. The different versions of equine massage therapy such as Swedish, Therapeutic, and Equine Sports Massage all contain these different movements applied in different sequences.
By performing a thorough Equine Evaluation first, you can decide which movements will be the best for your horse.
I will try to make a seperate page about how to form a sequence or routine in the near future. But here are just a few tips about how to make a routine or sequence to get you started.
The typical order for an equine therapy session is:
Start slow with strokings and effleurage.
Prepare the area with petrissage.
Move into the therapeutic movements such as compression and friction.
Go back to petrissage and effleurage to drain the area.
During the session, you can intersperse:
Tapotements to loosen or stimulate areas.
Shaking to release tension and increase circulation.
Be sure to walk your horse briskly after the session. If you feel it is Ok, you may ride your horse lightly. The purpose of this exercise is to get the blood flowing through the horse's body to help increase the circulation even further and to remove any toxins or waste products released during the session.
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If you are having a hard time making up a sequence for your horse, a good book about equine therapy that has a variety of different sequences is:
