Equine Massage Therapy | Horse Massage

A: The two go hand in hand. My experience tells me that any horse that is stabled, ridden, driven or used for breeding needs bodywork. If you look at how a horse is put together (no collar bone, for example), he is not perfectly suited to carrying a rider on his back. True, most of them soldier on to do their jobs, but when we ride we are relying heavily on the musculature of their backs to support us. This in turn can stress the spine and other joints, causing subluxations -- or a joint being "out" to some degree. This can result in pain, stiffness, guarded movement or the inability to move properly – you get the picture.

Your chiropractor works to keep the spine in proper alignment, along with other joints. This helps keep the spinal nerves free to do their jobs of communicating with the rest of the body (we’re keeping things REALLY simple here), and this in turn plays mightily into the overall health and disposition of the horse. From my own experience I can tell you that the right chiropractor can make a night-and-day difference in the way your horse moves and behaves. (This doesn’t, however, replace regular veterinary care.)

Dr. Rick Kaufman, who practices in western Colorado, has a good way of describing how equine chiropractic works and why it's important to start horses at a very young age: http://www.avcadoctors.com/equinechiropractic.htm

Massage complements a good chiropractic adjustment. Some chiropractors like a horse to be massaged prior to an adjustment so the horse’s body is easier to work with. Or, massage might be used a couple days afterward to alleviate any soreness, keep the horse moving comfortably and help maintain the adjustment.

As an aside, I would like to offer observations by a fine trainer I have worked with and also a chiropractor who has done some nice work on my horse. That is, very frequently a horse and rider team will have similar chiropractic issues. It sounds a bit out there, but then I looked at Obi and myself. I’ve got issues with my right knee and sacroiliac. Obi as well tends to go out in his sacroiliac, and has had his right hock adjusted a few times. The human knee and equine hock aren't the same thing (like, if your horse’s hock happens to flex in the same direction as your knee, I’d say you’ve got some BIG issues), but they do appear on the same relative parts of the body.  The stifle is actually more like the human knee in its function and location of the patella. I digress. Obi and I have had “withers” issues at the same time as well. I can’t say why it happens, only that it does. (Session ends with “Twilight Zone” theme.)