Before go to the points of How to Massage Your Horse, Winston Churchill once said ‘No hour of life is wasted that is spent in the saddle’. I guess we all can agree with this quote from the bottom of our hearts. We love our equines greatly by taking good care of them and showering them with our love.
But, Massage Your Horse is just like us, they also get tired from daily activities and need to relieve themselves of all the stress from time to time. To make them feel relaxed and at ease, ever considered giving your equine friend a massage?
Not Massage Your Horse will take their soreness away, but also help improve your bond with your beloved horse. So, if you wish to give a good rub to your steed but you don’t know how, then read along to find out how you can do it.
Avoiding injury during massage to your horse
Accidents can be prevented from happening if the right measures are taken. Any injury to you or your horse should be avoided as much as possible. Make sure your nails are clipped so it doesn’t hurt your horse while you massage its coat. When massaging an equine it is better to be accompanied with a handler in case you need help.
As you Massage Your Horse, make sure that you keep both your hands on the horse’s body. This safety precaution will allow you to push away the horse in a situation where it becomes violent by the amount of pressure applied.
Evaluating body language of Horse
Before you start Massage Your Horse, evaluate your horse’s body language by checking for stiff muscles. Begin your massage by first checking its poll and neck followed by its shoulder and pectorals.
Then, move on to its withers and back and end it with its hips. Remember, our goal is to check for softness or stiffness of the muscles. As you begin to massage your steed, keep tabs on the movement of their eyes, ears, legs and tail as it will give you a better idea of how your horse feels.
Massage Your Horse will help you understand the amount of pressure to be applied as well. Your horse may also move his skin to give you signals so keep an eye out on that as well.
Following sequential massage pattern
When you Massage Your Horse, follow a sequential pattern. Always start with the poll and work your way towards the tail. Also, another thing to keep in mind is, always finish massaging one side then, move on to the other side.
This way you don’t miss a single point of massage. If your horse feels pain in only one area of its body, it is okay to massage only that particular part.
However, it would be more beneficial for your horse to receive a complete massage as all muscles depend on each other for best coordination. We do suggest you to make a checklist of all essential body parts you should massage.
To give the best massage to your horse, it is recommended that each part of the body must be massaged three times. Start by applying light pressure and then increase it each time by evaluating your horse’s body language.
Horse Massage procedure
- Start with the neck and work your way upwards to poll. Use your fingertips to apply pressure and build up the pressure gradually.
- After massaging poll area, move your hands towards the end of the neck area and apply same pressure on cervical spine area. A technique that can be recommended while massaging neck area is called ‘wave motion’. As you massage upwards and downwards, keep your hand relaxed and move it in a wave-like motion.
- For shoulder muscles, make a fist and massage using circular motions.
- For pectoral muscles, apply pressure by fingertips, check for stiffness and gradually increase pressure.
- When massaging the forearm, movement should be from top to bottom by using pressure from thumbs.
- Withers require two massaging techniques. Start by applying minute pressure using wave-like motion. Afterwards, massage muscles up and down. This technique is known as ‘mountains and valleys’ and it helps loosen muscles better.
- For croup and hip, use mountains and valley technique with three fingers. Begin with your horse’s back and work towards croup and at last the top of the tail. It is recommended that, when massaging the hips, circular motion should be used.
We are sure that your horse will feel rejuvenated with a much needed massage. Now that you have relieved your horse from the stress, why not give it a makeover by using horse clippers?
After the much needed clipping session pat your equine friend on the back for being patient all along!
Video: Benefits of Massage your Horse on beck and neck
Reference to Massage Your Horse at home
- Equine Massage Therapy for Horses And Ponies By Horse-Advice
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