What is Equine Massage
History and skills
Horse massage along with other animal massage has benefited to have roots in ancient practice in conjunction with many other alternative treatments. Hieroglyphics from early Egyptian times shows massage being used as a treatment to heal animals and horses.
A philosopher named Flavius Arrianus recommended a full-body massage to treat dogs and horses he stated that massage would "knit and strengthen the limbs, make the hair soft and its hue glossy, and cleanse the impurities of the skin"
Experiments looking into the study of benefits of massage on animals started as early as 1800's and in the 1980's Touch research Institute commenced an investigation on the vital work on tactile stimulation. On present day work is being commenced with animals and the biological process of touch.
Author of Equine Massage: A
practical guide, Jean-Pierre Hourdebaigt also stated "horse massage was
practiced recently by the Hopi Indians of the American Southwest. And in
ancient Rome and China for centuries, horses owned by gentry have been
curried, brushed and rubbed down as part of routine care"
Even though human massage has been around for hundreds of years equine massage was first recognised and perfected by Jack Meagher, originally a sports masseuse for human athletes Jack transferred his skills onto horses and specialising in proprietary stress-point method (based on deep pressure and compressions). Even though Jack is now deceased his teachings and theories have now expanded and massage has become and increasingly popular and recognised therapy for horses.
"Equine Sports Massage Therapy is the therapeutic application of hands-on massage techniques for the purpose of increasing circulation, relaxing muscle spasms, relieving tension, enhancing muscle tone, and increasing range of motion in high performance horses."
Equine massage is the process of manually using the hands to find any tension in a horses body and then using different strokes and methods to help ease any tension and allow the blood cells to circulate more freely to the area, this also allows the horse to relax.
The different skills used are as such;
Stroking - rhymical light movement using relaxed hands
Effleurage - long, slow rhythmic movements used to warm muscles
Petrissage - Covers movements such as; Kneading, compression, squeezing, picking up, wringing and skin rolling
Kneading - small half circles overlapping each other, pushing outwards
Compression - Rhythmically applying pressure with either a closed fist or palm of hand similar to kneading but without gliding action
Muscle Squeezing - With extended fingers and palm grasp and squeeze the muscles
Cross Fibre Friction - Common movement used to help breakdown adhesions and scar tissue
