Equine Therassage

Equine Sports Massage Therapy

 

Becky Bailey - ITEC Dip Equine, ITEC Dip Human, MESMA, MCThA

 

Areas covered include—Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, West Midlands

 

Telephone: 07739 018476                email

The Massage Session—What will happen?

With either referral or consent from the vet usually responsible for your horse, the initial massage session will include a consultation to retrieve a full history of the equine subject.  This will include age, sex, discipline, assessment of conformation, details regarding exercise and diet, when horse last competed, note of any changes in way of going.

 

With all this information to hand, the massage therapist will ask you to sign a owner/trainer consent form, of which you will receive a copy. 

 

It is important when conducting a massage that the horse is in a quiet environment, free from as many distractions as possible, which can prevent the horse relaxing.  This includes owners/riders/trainers popping their heads over the door to ‘see how you’re doing?’.  Please do not be offended if you are respectfully requested not to watch the massage session.  It is after all, your money being wasted if the horse doesn’t relax because ‘mum’ is watching!

 

Unless the massage is for a specific injury/tension, the massage therapist will conduct a full body massage and will provide additional focus on areas of tension that become apparent through the session.

 

Upon completion of the massage, the therapist will discuss any findings and if necessary, demonstrate some techniques you can employ yourself betweens sessions.   If your horse has a specific injury, it may be necessary for further sessions to assist recovery.  If the massage was part of routine maintenance plan, they will book another appointment with you at a suitable interval.

 

As part of the health team responsible for the welfare of your horse, the therapist will liaise with your vet to discuss the session, particularly if feedback was requested from the vet responsible for the horse.  If during the session, the therapist discovered any areas of the concern, they will advise the owner/rider to request a veterinary visit, and discuss this with the vet as part of the post massage summary.