Equine Massage - luxury or necessity

[Trudyt76]

Just wondering if anyone pays for regular massages for their horses? Personally I think that unless you are at competition level I think it's more of a luxury thing.

Do you think that your horse benefits from massage?

What about back specialists? Vet or backman - who do people prefer?

Your replies are greatly appreciated

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

My horses have their backs checked every 6 months or so & if I feel that there is a problem I will call out someone inbetween times.

I don't consider it a luxury at all & I don't believe the horse needs to be a competition horse to have his back looked at. If an owner believes their horse my have a back problem then get it sorted, you will se & feel the difference in your horse after treatment.

At the moment one of mine is having some treatment, he's tweeked a muscle in his back pratting about in his paddock & this is causing a problem. Hopefully it will be sorted out before Blue Chip Champinships in just under a fortnight.

The person I use is recommended by most of our local equine vets so she knows her stuff. Sometimes it's better to have a back person to sort things as with these types of injuries vets invariably prescribe rest & bute. Bute will only mask the problem, not sort it.

 

[Fairy Dust]

I have my horses checked once every 6 months by the physio (unless I feel like they are in pain/discomfort). I think it's the least we can do for them just to check saddles are causing pressure points and my physio is also good on telling me how muscles are developing etc confirming I am schooling correctly. My yard also has a massage rug that you can hire which I may do in the future for after competitions etc

 

[Natch]

Luxury or necessity? Neither, just another useful tool you may or may not choose to use to help your horse.

Having said that I have seen loads of horses really benefit from having a massage, and a definately overall improvement after massage number 3.