About Two Bays Equine Massage Therapy
Two Bays Equine Massage Therapy is the workings of Kaitlin McDonald, a life-long equine addict. This page exists to keep existing and new clients up-to-date with my comings and goings!
Two Bays Equine Massage Therapy Description
Benefits of Body Work for your horse:
Any horse stands to benefit from regular body work sessions. Each massage session provides a thorough physical assessment, when any new areas of tension or sensitivity can be noted. Finding these developments early on is important as they can then be dealt with before they can escalate into a significant problem. A comfortable horse is better able to do his job and is much more enjoyable to be around than one who is in pain.
Body Work for the Sport Horse:
Regular body work will help to enhance and maintain your horse’s performance and physical comfort at his peak levels. When restrictions are present in the muscle and fascia, the range of motion of those tissues and the joints they are associated with is reduced. This will increase the strain of activity on your horse’s body as he will be forced to compensate for these limitations by changing his body mechanics. Stride length is an indication of range of motion in the limbs, and a horse with reduced range of motion will need to take an increased number of strides to cover a given distance. This reduced efficiency of movement not only affects the ability of your horse to perform, but puts increased stress on his muscular, skeletal and cardiopulmonary systems because he is forced to work against his body to achieve movement. A horse with muscular restrictions will end up using other muscle groups excessively, or too little, to guard and /or compensate for the restriction. Because of this, a minor issue in a single muscle group can eventually lead to wide-spread body soreness and even lameness if not addressed early on.
Through massage, MFR and passive stretching the full range of motion can be restored to each of your horse’s joints, allowing him to use his body with maximum efficiency. For the racehorse even a slightly longer stride could be a difference of lengths. The dressage horse will be capable of executing better, more impressive extensions. The endurance or eventing horse will have increased stamina. The jumping horse will be able to make the strides within lines more easily and jump out with greater agility.
Body Work for the Injured Horse:
Massage and MFR are very useful tools in providing comfort and assisting with healing injuries when used under veterinary supervision or as one aspect of a physical rehabilitation program. In the case of muscular trauma, after the initial healing stages have occurred massage, MFR and stretching can encourage scar tissue to form in patterns which will have a minimal impact on the function of the muscle group once the healing process is complete. Disorganized and excessive scar tissue is effectively a muscular restriction and will result in a reduced range of motion.
Body Work for the Non-working Horse:
The comfort and relaxation provided by body work is just as valuable to your beloved pasture ornament as it is to a high performance sport horse. The retired horse is still likely to develop muscle soreness, and the occasional use horse is even more likely to do so. The regular physical assessment provided by massage therapy can be very beneficial in detecting and dealing with mild changes in your horse before they would otherwise be apparent.
It is important to note that body work is intended as an adjunct to conventional veterinary care, complementary therapies, and proper training and conditioning methods and does not attempt to cure anything by itself. Veterinary input should always be primary in your horse’s care program.