For “Busy” Horse Owners
SAGA Equine has developed this course, specifically, with the horse owner in mind.
We know your time is valuable. Most of us don’t have enough of it. Our hours need to be planned and organized to deal with the multitude of chores and “little accidents” that occur when you own a horse, or horses.
With that in mind we’ve consolidated our equine massage certification course into a short course for horse owners.
- Learn important aspects of massage without the commitment of a full time class
- Go at your own pace
- Pick and choose which techniques work for you and for your horse
- Keep your horse relaxed and ready to work between visits by your professional masseuse
Equestrians know that regular, consistent work is the key to improvement and success. Our horses know it too and they respond to that consistency by learning faster, gaining more muscle and fitness, and solidifying their behavior through conditioning of their minds and bodies.
“The mental aspect of any sport is just as important, if not MORE important, than the physical. Your horse should WANT to work for you.”
If you, or your horse, is in pain or simply not feeling their best then the desire to work suffers. Your horse’s mind becomes occupied with thoughts of “I really don’t want to do this,” rather than, “Yay! We get to play today!” Without the desire to work the result is a wasted hour doing nothing more than going through the motions of learning.
There can be many reasons for this. One of those reasons is muscular tightness and tension.
Tightness and tension decrease circulation in tissues making them less capable of eliminating toxins, more susceptible to damage, and slower to warm up during a training session. They create inflexible joints and make it difficult to do simple movements much less the more difficult movements of upper level dressage or even competitive reining, cutting, or any discipline for that matter. In short… painful, tight muscles are bad.
What can we do about it?
Just about every horse owner has had a massage. We know how good we feel afterwards. We have increased energy, a more encouraging attitude, and flexibility and freedom of motion that makes the sun shine and the clouds part. Cherubs begin to sing and the world is right again.
OK, maybe I’m exaggerating, but you get the point.
“Learning equine massage is a simple and effective way to relieve the inevitable soreness and pain that training causes.”
And it isn’t difficult to learn, either!
Almost every horse owner has taken the time to address minor soreness issues with linament, cold therapies, or at least a bit of bag balm on a laceration. Horse ownership requires some knowledge of medicine. Anatomy, physiology, biomechanics, and other modalities are topics that every horseperson must be familiar with or you cannot claim to be a horseman. The more knowledgeable a horseman is the more comfortable and capable his or her horse is and the less likely it is to encounter chronic debilitating injuries from overwork, overuse, or imbalance.
As horsemen we know that our horses depend on us completely for everything in their lives. Their food, their shelter, their exercise, are all factors that horse Moms and Dads monitor closely to ensure that our horses don’t suffer.
We want the best for them, in everything.
You probably have an equine masseuse that is taking care of your horses now.
But what do your horses do in between massages? Don’t you think they need some post workout stretching and cool down?
Of course they do. We all do after a strenuous workout or a long trail ride.
You can take care of those little aches and pains that creep in and become chronic problems down the road by learning some simple massage techniques to keep your horse performing between massages.
These techniques can be a lifesaver for your horse. Most injuries happen because of weakness in an area due to microtrauma from repetitive motions. Muscle imbalances can cause misalignments in joints and tissues, or worse in the spine. Your horse works hard and his muscles, tendons, and ligaments, are huge and incredibly powerful in comparison to yours or mine. If left unchecked a small misalignment can create significant pain and stop your horse in its tracks.
“Horses are masters at disguising their discomfort.”
But most of the time you won’t even notice your horse is in pain. Horses are masters at disguising their discomfort because they were food for lions and tigers and bears for a long time. They’ve evolved to be able to hide their injuries from the predators that are always looking for an easy meal. They aren’t going to pull you aside and whisper in your ear, “Hey Mom, my leg is falling off.” They’re going to persevere until they can’t anymore.
We know this because we’ve seen it happen. Our “old man” of the herd tried to cut his leg off when he was young by getting it wrapped up in a high tensile fence. His leg was scalped from the hock to his pastern completely to the bone. Only one artery was supplying blood to his hoof, and the extensor tendons were completely severed. He had no way to lift his toe because the tendons that did that job were not there anymore but he stood in the pasture as if he was fine. He even nickered to us as we walked out to see him and only then did we notice the wire strung around his leg and the skin and flesh hanging from it like a loose sock.
Horses are tough!
Incredibly, the “old man” made a full recovery, with a LOT of persistent care from us and his never give up attitude. Sabre is one amazing horse. You can read his story for free if you want to. You can download an e-book here.
Thanks for choosing SAGA Equine. Welcome to the family.