Sports Massage
Craniosacral
Myofascial
Trigger Point Therapy
and
Vibrational Fascia Release
Muscular stress limits a free range of movement, be it dressage, jumping, eventing, endurance or hacking. A horse requires use of all its muscle movement freely to achieve optimum performance.
Continuous repetitive exercises with horses could have a negative impact on balance, development and cadence of a horse. Overuse of muscles can cause spams or injury, which in turn could lead to unbalanced musculo-skeletal conditions very often seen as intermittent lameness in horses.
Fascia is a biological fabric that holds the entire inside of our body together. All organs, muscles, nerves and every part inside our body is kept in place by fascia. It is similar to a spiderweb, elastic yet very strong.
It is the unique characteristics of fascia that leads to the development of nerve-related repetitive strain injury symptoms. Fascia responds to stress and strain in some unique ways. First, fascia has the ability to become tough and plastic-like. This leads to the sheath around nerves to become taut and less resilient. This inhibits the normal movement of the nerve through its pathway.
In order to recover from a repetitive strain injury that involves nerves, it is imperative that any adhesion of the affected nerve to the surrounding tissue must be released. Because it is often hard to pinpoint the exact location of an adhesion which is affecting a nerve, it becomes necessary to release the entire pathway of the nerve so that the normal mobility of the nerve is restored.
In order for any equine body practitioner to be successful, it is imperative that one has a sound knowledge of equine psychology too. Not just experience, but a plausible scientific education in order to analyze equine behaviour successfully.
Continuous repetitive exercises with horses could have a negative impact on balance, development and cadence of a horse. Overuse of muscles can cause spams or injury, which in turn could lead to unbalanced musculo-skeletal conditions very often seen as intermittent lameness in horses.
Fascia is a biological fabric that holds the entire inside of our body together. All organs, muscles, nerves and every part inside our body is kept in place by fascia. It is similar to a spiderweb, elastic yet very strong.
It is the unique characteristics of fascia that leads to the development of nerve-related repetitive strain injury symptoms. Fascia responds to stress and strain in some unique ways. First, fascia has the ability to become tough and plastic-like. This leads to the sheath around nerves to become taut and less resilient. This inhibits the normal movement of the nerve through its pathway.
In order to recover from a repetitive strain injury that involves nerves, it is imperative that any adhesion of the affected nerve to the surrounding tissue must be released. Because it is often hard to pinpoint the exact location of an adhesion which is affecting a nerve, it becomes necessary to release the entire pathway of the nerve so that the normal mobility of the nerve is restored.
In order for any equine body practitioner to be successful, it is imperative that one has a sound knowledge of equine psychology too. Not just experience, but a plausible scientific education in order to analyze equine behaviour successfully.
Stress and Pain research
Because stress tends to increase muscle tension, it also tends to increase pain. The severity and duration of many musculo-skeletal conditions are increased with stress (Hertling & Kessler, 1996).
If someone is recovering from an injury, or some type of painful condition it's important to keep their stress level in check. This is because the sustained neuro-muscular tension associated with chronic stress can create an environment conducive to trigger point development and activation (McQuillan, 2008). Trigger points can remain in the body long after the original condition has subsided, and are frequently a significant factor in chronic pain.
There are more studies available on the net, Google if you are interested.
The techniques do not replace veterinary care or any other equine body work modalities.
If someone is recovering from an injury, or some type of painful condition it's important to keep their stress level in check. This is because the sustained neuro-muscular tension associated with chronic stress can create an environment conducive to trigger point development and activation (McQuillan, 2008). Trigger points can remain in the body long after the original condition has subsided, and are frequently a significant factor in chronic pain.
There are more studies available on the net, Google if you are interested.
The techniques do not replace veterinary care or any other equine body work modalities.
About the techniques
The specific techniques used is an approach where one works directly on the neuromuscular system of the horse (what is neuromuscular) by means of Myofascial releases(fascia/connective tissue), soft tissue mobilization, craniosacral therapy and Musculoskeletal unwinding.
The neuromuscular system is directly related to gait and limb function.
This method enables the horse to make a connection between a specific muscular/nerve location and the brain and to release stress in the specific area. The techniques applied are specifically designed so that one does not invoke the innate fight/flight or brace instinct in the animal.
We use the horse’s response to touch, to locate and release accumulated stress in the connective tissue and muscles. The method applied has its effect on the major junctions in the horse’s body that are most often affected by accumulated stress from repetitive movement:
The neuromuscular system is directly related to gait and limb function.
This method enables the horse to make a connection between a specific muscular/nerve location and the brain and to release stress in the specific area. The techniques applied are specifically designed so that one does not invoke the innate fight/flight or brace instinct in the animal.
We use the horse’s response to touch, to locate and release accumulated stress in the connective tissue and muscles. The method applied has its effect on the major junctions in the horse’s body that are most often affected by accumulated stress from repetitive movement:
I work on areas to encourage a natural free range of motion
Images and video's on this site are indicative of end results.
It is an entire process to get the horse into a natural relaxed state to achieve positive results. If one attempts the end result without following the correct methodology you could cause severe harm to the horse, putting him out of work or possibly causing it to be unsound for an extensive period.
It is of the utmost importance that one has a sound and knowledgeable understanding of equine behaviour, physiology and psychology before attempting neuromuscular equine body work, soft tissue mobilization, myofascial releases and or craniosacral therapy - for your own safety.
Regardless of how desensitized your horse is, you are still working with an animal which has an innate survival instinct ... be safe.
The techniques are not a replacement for veterinary care
It is an entire process to get the horse into a natural relaxed state to achieve positive results. If one attempts the end result without following the correct methodology you could cause severe harm to the horse, putting him out of work or possibly causing it to be unsound for an extensive period.
It is of the utmost importance that one has a sound and knowledgeable understanding of equine behaviour, physiology and psychology before attempting neuromuscular equine body work, soft tissue mobilization, myofascial releases and or craniosacral therapy - for your own safety.
Regardless of how desensitized your horse is, you are still working with an animal which has an innate survival instinct ... be safe.
The techniques are not a replacement for veterinary care
Working in a relaxed state
Once you successfully get the horse to relax through the poll, cervical spine, wither and scapula areas, you will be able to successfully increase the free range of motion in the forearm, scapula and pectoral areas.Poll release - is probably one of the most difficult releases due to the survival instinct of the horse.
The Back
There are many contributing factors that causes back pain in horses:
- Ill fitting tack
- Compromised equine posture
- Rider posture
- Injuries
- Compensation due to injury elsewhere
End result
Once you have worked through the entire horse, at a pace the horse sets, you will achieve mobility through the entire horse. From the poll to the dock of the tail when applying a light rocking technique.