Equine Sports Massage is the application of professional massage techniques and manual stretching applied to the equine through gentle non-invasive, hands-on techniques of the body’s soft tissues to benefit the nervous, muscular, lymphatic and circulatory system. The horse is worked region to region releasing tension and contraction.  Freeing restrictions in the body not only promotes physical and mental well being but improved muscle balance and elasticity enhancing your horses overall performance.  Each session is tailored to the particular needs of each horse.

When you think that a horses body weight consists of over 60% skeletal muscle massage therapy makes perfect sense. No human athlete would make do without massage as part of his or her conditioning and maintenance programme so why not horses?  The equine after all is a supreme athlete.

Short History

The healing benefits of massage for humans have been recognised since antiquity.  Now these benefits are becoming increasingly well recognised for our Equine friends. However, equine massage is something of a rediscovered art since, traditionally, grooms were expected to practise some rudimentary massage skills.

Equine massage was first brought to international status by an American human sports massage therapist called Jack Meagher.  French Olympic medalist and later trainer to the French Olympic team Mr. LeGeof first allowed Meagher to work on a horse with a shoulder problem.  Mr. LeGeof was highly skeptical at first but Jack Meagher helped to such a degree that he went on to work for the US Equestrian Team at the 1976 Olympics, who won silver.  The results simply spoke for themselves.

Whilst massage and complimentary therapy may have gained popularity in recent years they have been around for centuries.  Ancient civilizations have long recognized the health benefits of massage for humans.  Whilst equine acupuncture is relatively new in western veterinary practices the first Chinese veterinary textbook was written in 659 B.C. "Bole's Cannon of Veterinary Acupuncture".  In China they were treating equines with acupuncture for things like colic and founder around 3000 years ago.