The purpose and Benefits of Equine Massage.

July 2022

Horses in the wild use self-healing to recover from injury, whether this be from self-medicating with herbs or by using the anti-inflammatory effects of walking through cold water to aid healing of an injury. The ability to self-heal in domesticated horses has lessened over generations due to reliance placed upon their owners for care. The way we care for our horses differs considerably from how they care for themselves in their natural environment. We often have to confine them to a stable, feed from a hay net and require them to exercise in ways their anatomy didn't evolve for. 

All these things can cause subtle stresses and tension to our horse's minds and bodies which can accumulate and become symptomatic, presenting as ailments such as colic or lameness amongst other things. Massage aims to pick up on these subtle tensions and treat them before they manifest and cause a problem.

Massage has a range of benefits which can help to promote healing and improve general wellbeing in a similar way that it does for humans. By relaxing and working on muscle groups and fascia, and improving circulation, self-healing is optimised. Endorphins are released which help to ease pain and stress.

Aside from promoting healing from injury, massage therapy can be carried out to help prepare and condition muscles and fascia in preparation for, for example, an event or performance, and also to relax muscles and fascia following an event or performance. 

Massage can be applied to all horses and ponies regardless of whether they are a 30-year-old pony pottering around a field or an 8-year-old 5-star eventer, although veterinary advice is advised to ensure that there are no underlying issues which may mean that massage is not suitable for your horse or pony.

Essentially, massage helps by:

• Enhancing muscle tone
• Increasing range of movement
• Reducing inflammation and swelling in the joints, thereby relieving pain
• Assisting on body balance as treating the body as a whole
• Promoting healing by increasing the flow of nutrients to the muscles, and carrying away excessive fluids and toxins in the lymph and circulatory system
• Creating a positive effect on the contractual and release process of the muscles. When tension is released, muscles relax
• Helping produce endorphins, natural pain killers
• Helping maintain the whole body in better physical condition
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When people think of equine massage, they often think of an equine Physiotherapist. Equine sports massage differs from Physiotherapy; however, both work hand-in-hand.

Where Physiotherapy focuses on healing a specific part of the body (i.e., as a corrective treatment), massage therapy is more of a maintenance treatment which focuses on the whole horse rather than a specific area. Massage therapy is therefore a great way of supplementing Physiotherapy by helping to promote healing in between Physiotherapy sessions and even beyond. 

Whilst massage does provide a number of health benefits, it should not be considered as an alternative to professional veterinary advice.

- Equiphoria Ltd. 

'Happy Horses. Always'

Further Reading

1. 8 ways equine massage could help your horse - Horse & Hound (13.08.17)
2. Can your horse benefit from massage therapy? - Holistic Animal Studies (27.02.17)
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