When you think that a horse’s body weight consists of over 60% skeletal muscle massage therapy makes good sense. No human athlete would make do without massage as part of his or her conditioning and maintenance programme and horses benefit just as much.

Most injuries are accumulative and don't happen overnight.  They can be due to different factors such as micro-traumas, training programmes, bad footing, asymmetry of rider, saddlery, conformation and so on. Present problems can also be the result of old unresolved issues and injuries.

The main difference between horses and humans is that people stop training when they experience pain and discomfort and seek help.  Horses are not so fortunate and usually have to continue work or training.  Sometimes muscle discomfort is mistaken for bad behaviour, laziness or simply not recognised.  It is often not until a horse is unsound that it is thought to have a problem. But lameness isn’t the only sign of pain, weakness or discomfort.  There are more subtle iindications such as:

• Asymmetry in movement
• Not being able to get correct canter lead
• Reluctance to perform lateral movements
• Refusing to jump
• Sudden change in temperament