Equine Massage: A Practical Guide (4 page)

12.15

Jaw Rocking: Right side of the horse ..................277

13.1

The Spine and Skull .............................................279

13.2

Relationship Between the Three Articulations.......280

13.3

Lines of Compensation Network ..........................281

13.4

Diagonal Lines of Compensation Between

Skull and Shoulders ..............................................282

13.5

Diagonal Lines of Compensation Between

Shoulders and Hips ...............................................283

13.6

Diagonal Lines of Compensation Between

Skull and Hips ......................................................284

13.7

Diagonal Lines of Compensation Summary ..........285

13.8

Transversal Lines of Compensation .......................286

13.9

Side Lines of Compensation..................................288

13.10

Transversal and Side Lines of Compensation

Summary ..............................................................290

13.11

External Lines of Compensation Summary

with the Center of Gravity ...................................292

13.12

Internal Lines of Compensation ............................293

List of Figures

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13.13

Internal Lines with Transversal and Side Lines of Compensation.......................................................294

13.14

Internal and External Lines of Compensation

with Center of Gravity .........................................297

14.1

A Horse’s Center of Gravity..................................299

16.1

Case Study............................................................322

16.2

Example of Filled-out Case Study.........................323

Congratulations! You have made a wonderful investment in your future by purchasing this revised edition of
Equine Massage: A
Practical Guide
.This book is a complete course on equine massage, hydrotherapy, stretching, and much more. In time, the knowledge you gain from this book will allow you to increase your understanding of your horse’s locomotor system, as well as improve your palpation skills and your finesse of muscular tension evaluation and massage skills.

Until the advent of the holistic health movement, massage as a form of therapy had been neglected in human health care in traditional Western medicine, and almost totally ignored in animal health care.The massage touch has a very strong healing influence on horses of all ages and conditions. It is widely used to prevent and relieve stress as well as to assist in recovery from injuries.

Massage techniques safely affect the whole body by regulating the circulatory, muscular, and nervous systems and their interdependent functioning. Massage will relax your animal when excitable, and give him strength and flexibility when tired. It helps to dispel toxins and increase oxygenation for a better metabolism, leading to enhanced performance and shorter recuperation time. Over time, it also will help soften sharp character traits.

Life is a constant process of learning that brings deeper understanding and appreciation of one’s skill. The inspiration for this book originated with my first experience with equine massage more than 25 years ago. Since then, I have had the privilege to share valuable information with many other equine professionals as well as the students who attended my hands-on practical sessions.

The athlete horse has received so much attention in the last few years that new modalities have become part of equine maintenance, and myofascial massage has become mainstream in the last 10 years.

Also, saddle fitting has become a very important topic of discussion, as has the study of muscular compensation. With this revised edition, I am very pleased to bring you the latest valuable information on all these topics to improve your massage performance.

This book is not intended to be used as a substitute for the medical advice of a licensed veterinarian. Rather, it is designed to give practical assistance to the horse owner or equine professional to better cope with everyday situations in the lives of our equine friends.

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Regular massage applications create a great bonding experience between you and your horse. One of the most valuable and pleasurable experiences in my life has been to see this book bring great satisfaction to both horses and owners.

I hope you, too, will benefit from it.

Jean-Pierre Hourdebaigt, LMT

President Massage Awareness Inc.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

To all horses, thank you for sharing with me your majesty, stories, needs, and secrets, and for inspiring me to write this book.

To horse people, my gratitude for your years of participation in my seminars; for sharing your knowledge; and for giving me your feedback, support, and encouragement. Like your horses, you have been a source of inspiration to me. I also wish to thank the following people:

Brigitte Hourdebaigt, whose love and encouragement make my life a beautiful reality.

Cindy Teevens, for her support over the years, for her knowledge of and talent for desktop publishing and photography.

Shari Seymour and Colleen Boyle, whose artistic talents and illustrations brought this book to life.

Shaun Finucane, D.V.M., from Sydenham Veterinary Services, for verifying the medical content of the book.

Cathy Brown, for giving me support and encouragement throughout.

Helene Coulombe, for her valuable professional input.

Burt, Nancy, and Jennifer Grundy, for allowing us to photograph their beautiful animals.

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Performance horses, like human athletes, work very hard to achieve top results. Strong emphasis has been put on training, nutrition, and preventive and palliative care to help horses reach their maximum potential: to run faster, to jump higher, and to accurately execute technically difficult maneuvers. Unfortunately, such performances result in more injuries, pain, and prematurely worn-out animals. For a while, strong drugs were the solution to these problems—the “miraculous fix”—but over time, the indus-try realized the not-so-desirable, occasionally negative, side effects of these drugs.

The horse world has strongly benefited from the progress of modern medicine. The development and application of sports therapy for humans has progressed tremendously in the last several decades.The benefits of alternative treatments such as massage therapy, physiotherapy, chiropractic, acupuncture, and herbology no longer need to be proven. Such therapies have become widely accepted and recognized by the traditional medical community.

Sports massage therapy techniques have kept pace with the changing methods of training, playing a very important role in prevention therapy and in recovery from injury. These massage techniques have led to a much richer relationship with the animal, resulting in better care for their needs. Through this evolution, the horse has kept his noble and loyal character, his heart, and his ever readiness for flight.

A more holistic approach using alternative medicine is now preferred by many trainers and riders. “Holistic” means that in order to create an environment for the maintenance or restoration of health, we must consider the horse in his totality—the sum of his physical and psychological traits—rather than treat each symptom separately. We must take into consideration all the various factors affecting both the internal and external environment of the horse.

How we view this complex totality can affect the animal for good or ill. Any dysfunction of the musculoskeletal system requires that an overall assessment be made as to the causative factors.We know that the body will strive to heal, repair, and maintain itself—if the right conditions are present. In order to help with the healing capacity of the body, the horse’s emotional stability, lifestyle, nutri-tional balance, exercise, and hygiene programs, as well as structural soundness, are our responsibility. Massage therapy helps us to trigger the body into getting itself back to optimal health.

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Equine Massage

If you don’t correct the factors responsible for the problems you are treating (whether postural, occupational, habitual, emotional, or musculoskeletal in origin), the treatment of symptoms provides only short-term value, and chances are good that the symptoms may return!

Massage therapy is the manipulation of the soft tissues of the body in order to achieve specific goals of drainage, relaxation, or stimulation, and of resolving muscle-related problems such as trigger points and stress points. It contributes to the overall economy of the body and to its ability to function efficiently. It greatly improves circulation, thereby promoting a good supply of nutrients to the muscle groups. Massage therapy also reduces stress on the nervous system, helping the psychophysiologic self-regulation factors between body and mind. Massage therapy’s healing function has been known to speed up recovery from injury.

Furthermore, massage increases our emotional bonding with the animal—and especially the young horse—which learns to relax and accepts being handled better. Not all animals enjoy being touched. “Touch shyness” is an indication of problems or a phobia. Careful and frequent applications of gentle massages will lessen the phobia.

Massage is a terrific diagnostic tool.You will be able to feel and detect any abnormalities and problems much sooner than by sight. Massage will help you avoid possible complications that could be very costly to treat.

Massage therapy is easily learned, easily applied, and costs very little. It is one of the oldest forms of therapy; it has been used by people from ancient times to the present. Forms of equine massage therapy were practiced by the ancient Chinese and Romans and more recently by the Hopi Indians of the western United States.

Beginning Your Journey

In this book, you will find everything you need and want to know about massage movements, pressures, rhythms, techniques, and sequences. Different routines are specially designed for different situations. You will learn about the various areas of stress in a working animal and how these areas of stress can be present in horses of various disciplines.You will learn how to apply myofascial massage, how to treat equine temporomandibular dysfunction syndrome and equine compensation syndrome, and you will also learn how improper saddle fitting can be corrected through massage and what you can do to ensure a proper fit.

After you have satisfied your curiosity and familiarized yourself with the content by scanning the book, proceed with the study of
Introduction

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the material. Before you begin chapter 1, review the basic anatomical terms presented in figure IN.1.These basic terms will help you remain oriented throughout your study of this book. I recommend that you then proceed to read the book from cover to cover. Finally, go through it again, this time taking notes, and duplicating the drawings.This will help you fully absorb the material presented.

Maximizing Your Study

Having a life doesn’t leave much free time for hobbies or studies.

For your academic studying, 1-hour sessions work best. It is easier and faster to study little sections at a time than large ones at once. For your hands on palpation sessions, 1-hour sessions work best, too. The compliance of the horse you will practice on will also play a factor.

Good habits are the key to success.To get a good start, spend at least 1 hour a day minimum, up to 5–6 hours of study per week in the beginning. Be creative and stay focused.The few moments spent each day on studying are a small price to pay for the knowledge, happiness, and success that will be yours when finished with this home study course.

In order to get the most out of your study of massage, it’s important that you make sure you’ve absorbed all of the material you’ve read. If, at any point in the text, you become confused, go back and review the previous sections. Doing so should clear up any confu-sion.You can’t afford to progress in your education with parts of your knowledge remaining unclear. It would make your overall study much harder, and would ultimately affect your performance.

At first, absorbing all the information in this guide may seem to be a rather large task to undertake. But remember, the equine massage knowledge you are developing will stay with you for a lifetime. Take it one step at a time, and before you know it, you will have absorbed a lot and feel pretty confident. Persist and you will succeed. Read and study every day!

Making It a Fun Experience

Quiz yourself regularly over each chapter and each chart. Doing so will really help you grasp the essence of this material. To help my students, I offer various musculoskeletal charts, a stress point location poster, and work books containing hundreds of questions. These tools can be found on my website at www.

massageawareness.com.

A part of making the learning process a fun experience is to give yourself rewards as you complete each section of the course.

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Equine Massage

Enjoy the learning process. Relax, take lots of deep breaths, and smile. Do not forget to appreciate the learning experience you are going through, as well as the deep bond you are developing with your horse during the hands-on periods.

On Going Learning

Be patient in your learning process as everything takes time to mature.As you combine this material with your instincts as a horse person, you will soon be confident in your evaluation and palpation of the equine muscular anatomy, and in the application of massage techniques and routines.Your horse will love you for it.

The key to the successful use of massage therapy is the ability to sense accurately what your hands are feeling, to have a knowledge of the structures worked on, and to understand the movement or technique being employed and what its effect will be.