Celebrating 8 Years!

Equine Massage Therapy

Thank you for your interest in equine bodywork and horse massage therapy. A growing number of trainers, owners and riders are becoming more informed and discovering new ways to help the hard-working athletes that we ride.

What is Horse Massage?

There are many names for the work that I do. It is called equine bodywork, deep pressure massage, equine sports massage, therapeutic bodywork, or deep muscle therapy. The style of bodywork that I perform is not a soft massage; it is a deep tissue sports massage. I am working to:
  • Break up adhesions in the muscles
  • Relieve pain
  • Bring suppleness and circulation to the whole body
  • Balance and bring flexibility to the skeleton
  • Provide an assessment of your horse’s current condition

I believe in a holistic approach and combine the elements of bodywork, gait analysis, trigger point therapies, acupressure and my intuitive abilities to best help your horse. In every session I work on the horse’s head, poll and neck, withers, shoulders, forelegs (including tendons, ligaments and joints), back, ribs, lumbar spine, pelvis and hind end, hocks, hind legs and the tail. It’s a tip to tail session and the horses respond very well to it. I am certified as an Equine Body Worker (EBW), the certification given by Equinology, Inc., a top rated school for Equine bodywork and anatomy studies. Every session that I do includes follow-up instructions and stretching assignments for the owner to do in my absence. This is the way to give the horse the most benefit in between sessions.
Benefits of Massage

  • Balances and aligns the horse’s body
  • Assists the trainer and rider by removing pain related behaviors
  • Relaxes tense muscles and tense horses
  • Increases range of motion in the shoulders and legs, resulting in greater reach and willingness to stride forward
  • Provides a full hands on assessment of your horse’s body and legs, addressing issues before they result in possible injuries
  • It stimulates the lympathic and immune systems
  • Restores vitality to tired, aching bodies
  • Breaks down muscle adhesions, brings smoothness and suppleness back to aching muscles
  • Assesses saddle fit issues
  • Improves disposition and performance
  • Stimulates blood and circulation
  • Reduces tactile defensiveness
  • IT FEELS GOOD!
How do I Know If My Horse Will Benefit?

Is your horse demonstrating any of the following behaviors or issues?

  • Pinning ears when you saddle or tighten the cinch?
  • Shortened stride?
  • Restricted gait?
  • Tripping?  Limping?
  • Not taking a lead or cross firing at the canter?
  • Kicking out at the canter transition?
  • Stiff to warm up?
  • Cold backed?
  • Performance inconsistent in workouts?
  • Performance getting worse?
  • Neck stiff to one side more than the other?
  • Resistant to flexing?
  • Resistant to lateral work?
  • Pain from an old injury?
  • Head tossing?
  • Avoiding coming on to the bit?
  • Difficulty bending one way more than the other?
  • Loss of power or balance?
  • Cranky while working?
  • Possible injury that the vet cannot solve with standard procedures?
Good bodywork benefits any horse, regardless of your sport.  My clients’ disciplines include dressage, hunter/jumpers, eventing, roping & barrel racing, cutting, 4-H competitors, trail riding, pleasure, show horses, gaited horses, endurance riding, retired and rehabilitating horses, and beloved pets.

“The day after you worked on Cassie

she had more forward moving gaits than ever before.

She’s my school horse and I have to keep her healthy.”

Sandi Reynolds, Skyview Farms, Canby, OR
How Long Is a Session?

A typical session lasts about an hour.  When there are deeper problems, the session lasts longer.  The first session, which always includes a saddle fit assessment after the bodywork, lasts approximately an hour and fifteen minutes.

“Solace has been 90 percent better since you’ve done her.

It has lasted months!”

Kathleen Miller, Beaverton, OR
Why Do I Believe in This Work?

I have seen hundreds of horses helped with just one session.  I am able to discover pain that the horse has been living with for perhaps a very long time.  When I can bring relief to their pain, the horse’s response is amazing.  They breathe deeply, sigh, blow their nose, touch me with their head or muzzle in gratitude, yawn and stretch, crack their own necks, and many other amazing signs of pain relief.  Whoever is witnessing this feels the depth of the horse’s response – their reactions are very easy to read.  At the end of every session, I have a strong, positive feeling that I have just delivered some great medicine.  I am grateful to every owner who asks for help for their horse.  And the horses truly express their gratitude.  I believe in it because the horses tell me that it’s working for them.

How Is It Different Than Chiropractic Adjustments?

When a veterinary chiropractor works on a horse, they are concentrating on adjusting the skeleton, mostly in the neck and pelvis.  They don’t typically add massage or saddle fit assessment to their session.  Their work will not be looking for muscle related pain in the horse.

Massage works very well to supple the muscles which are holding the bones in (or out of) proper alignment.  The adjustment lasts longer because the muscle issues are addressed, and I believe very strongly (having a skeleton myself) that many chiropractic issues can be solved by good bodywork.

“Thank you sooo much for the massage.

I rode Abu last night and he felt so much looser.

He fell into collection much easier than normal.”

Jewel Parisi, Canby, OR