Ceaser is currently having massages every 5 weeks after pulling himself being silly at camp in the Summer. It's been a long (and expensive) road to getting him right again, but I'm finally happy to say that Amy my lovely massage lady thinks we've got it cracked. There wasn't anything particularly wrong but I had just noticed he was sore in his back and began to be reluctant to go forward. After several chats later with Amy we arrived at the conclusion that the day he spent most of the time on two legs, rearing up at his door whilst at camp must have resulted in him pulling something. I know...he gets wound up, my bank balance takes the brunt. But hey, what's an attractive bank balance?Since then we've been massaging him every 5 weeks, doing various stretches with him, putting the massage pad on daily and various other things. Amy finally thinks we're ready to go a little longer than 5 weeks now which is fabulous news.
I'm a big fan of equine massage therapy and believe that all horses should be checked on a regular basis, especially those on periods of box rest, competition horses and those with previous injuries.
Over 60% of horses body weight is muscle and I believe it's important to look after these. Small injuries can take up to 90 days to become apparent, by which time they may have caused more serious injury.
We put a lot of strain our equines muscles on a day-to-day basis, through road work, jumping, dressage and even working in the arena, so I find it important to help look after them. Equine sports massage can increase the rang of movement and increase and improve circulation as well as much more. It's proven that they can benefit the well being of the animal and aid mental relaxation.
When Ziggy first came to me he was very reluctant to pick his hind legs up and hated to have anywhere behind his saddle touched. It would have been very easy to put this down to being naughty, but upon investigation when I thought something wasn't quite right we found his hind hamstrings to be extremely tight and in constant spasm. After just one session he immediately allowed us to start picking up his hind legs and brush his bum.Ziggy has now gone from having massages every 3/4 weeks to every 5 weeks, which is great. He now also allows all four feet to be picked up and loves being scratched anywhere.
Sara was also treated to a massage today, which was her first ever. I have noticed in the last month or so her neck had been clicking a lot as she moved and was keen to get it checked out. Thankfully Amy saw nothing immediately wrong and gave her a good check over. She thoroughly enjoyed it and will now have them regularly to keep her feeling fit and healthy.
Which leads me to....well me! I was telling someone last week about how many massages the ponies get and why, when they abruptly stopped me and said "So, how many times a month do you get a massage?". To which I could reply "well none!". After getting in my car and reflecting back on that moment I thought about all the times I've questioned why Ceaser feels stiff on one rein and sometimes Ziggy is the same. Maybe it's me? So you'll be glad to know, I'm booked in for Monday! Let's hope I'm in as good shape as Ceaser, Sara and Ziggy! Now hang on, I need to move slowly so my back doesn't click when I get up!
If you're interested in having Amy out to your horse then follow the link on the right hand side of my blog. Just click her logo and it'll take you straight to her page!
Good for you, I hope you enjoy!
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