Free Equine Massage: A Practical Guide by Jean-Pierre Hourdebaigt

inflammation and irritation of the tissues.
    For the same reason, do not spend more than 5 to 10 minutes on a small area such as the poll or stifle. Judge the situation carefully.
    Consider the state of the tissues and the horse’s tolerance at the time of treatment.And always relieve any inflammation by following the massage with lots of drainage and cold hydrotherapy (chapter 4).
    Plan and evaluate your treatment mentally before you start, keeping track of time as you move around the body. With practice, this will become second nature to you.
    When to Massage Your Horse
    Basically, any time is a good time to massage your horse, but you want to choose the moment when your horse will be most receptive. Depending on your goals and the situation at hand, you need to find the optimum time in order to achieve the best results.
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    Equine Massage
    The most effective way to use massage therapy is to integrate the massage movements into your everyday way of working with your animal. For example, you can massage right after grooming, after exercise, or when putting your horse away for the night.You can massage for a few minutes over a small area, such as the back, right after unsaddling. You can choose a morning or evening schedule for a thorough, full-body session. You are the judge; common sense is the rule. If you try to work an animal during feeding time, well, good luck.
    In any case always observe these guidelines:
    ❖ Always do a “health” check to ensure that there are no prevailing contraindications prior to massaging the animal (page 47).
    ❖ Develop a routine and base your work on it. A repetitive pattern ensures confidence and relaxation (chapter 6).
    When you want to deliver a good massage, it is best to wait for the horse’s “moment.” Evaluating your horse’s temperament will help you discover his “best time.” If your animal is a “morning horse,” work in the morning; if an “afternoon horse,” work in the afternoon; if a “night horse,” work in the late evening. If your animal seems to have an auditory-dominant nature, he will probably prefer a massage when everything is quiet, usually in the evening or perhaps during the day when the other horses are out.As mentioned earlier, if your animal is more visual, he will prefer a massage in familiar surroundings; within normal limits, noise will have little effect on him.
    The type of training and lifestyle your horse is used to will also play a role in determining good times for massage; i.e., maintenance massage before exercise, recuperation routine after exercise, relaxing massage before and after traveling or when restless or in pain.
    Keep in mind outside influences: an approaching electrical storm, strong winds, or abnormal activities going on in the barn (construction, competition, seminars, arrival of a new horse, and so on). A horse can be restless during feeding time, if he has worms, if he’s colicky, during a hot summer season, when in a heavy training schedule with very rich feed, during competition, during travel, and the like.
    The relaxation routine in chapter 6 can be done at any time; it is always used to start a full-body massage. This routine works wonders in switching a horse’s mood, especially if he is depressed, naughty, mischievous, or simply tense.
    The maintenance routine in chapter 6 is best done when the horse is warm after some exercise, in either the morning or

    The Horse and Massage Therapy
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    evening. A simple walk or a little longeing will be enough to warm up the horse. If the horse cannot be warmed by exercise, cover him with a blanket or use hot and cold hydrotherapy (also known as a “vascular flush”) to produce increased circulation (chapter 4).
    The recuperation routine in chapter 6 is always done after heavy training.This routine helps the horse recover faster and can help prevent tying up.
    Injury treatment should be worked into a schedule followed by stretching exercises or a rest period, depending on