Equine Muscle/Kinesio Taping?

Dizzleton

Dizzleton

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My horse had a severely bruised hoof (nearfore) since March 13 which then turned into a tract within his hoof. Due to him being footsore on it for so long he's been compensating by using his right shoulder.

I've had the therapist out to him twice now. The first time was for a full assessment and full body massage. She pointed out the when stood square his near point of shoulder is lower than his right and that he is very tense through his shoulder.

He is now totally sound hoof-wise but is finding it hard/sore in trot to open his left shoulder and extend his leg as far as the opposite shoulder. He has no problem with the lift or elbow flexion whilst in walk or trot. It's only when the leg extends. She said there is something going on within the deltoid/long head triceps/ lateral head triceps so she has tried Kinesio taping to see if it helps.

Has anyone ever tried out equine muscle tape (Kinesio Taping)? Did you notice a difference immediately, or was it over a short period?
 
I can't answer your question, but am watching with interest as this has been recommended by physio for my horse at his next session. She seems to think results are instant whilst the tape is on, but it needs to be used for short periods over time as a training aid in order to achieve long term results.

I'm open minded and would love to hear of people's experiences with this.
 
Having been kinesio taped for athletics and found it no more than a placebo effect, I'm interested to see how it would work on horses, since it stings if you take it off too soon, and I'm not covered in horse hair! Plus its tendency to come loose and unravel...

I'm sceptical about what a lot of physios do, if its to avoid getting their hands in and doing some good old friction massage to break up scar tissue and promote the blood supply. Ultrasound treatment I rate though for the same reason.
 
Thank you for your replies.

We have worked on massage and stretching with him, which has increased his extension range. We will also carry on with the stretching/massaging while he has the tape on. She has advised me to do some gentle exercise with slightly raised trotting poles every other day.

I'm very open minded and will try anything if it helps him out - she's not entirely sure what is causing it yet. She said it's not scar tissue it's more gritty.

To add - She did say with some horses it was an instant improvement, whereas others improved over a short period of time
 
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My girl developed a deep routed abscess in her neck earlier this year after her annual vaccine. After op to remove abscess she was left with a scar and an indentation in her neck where the muscle had been damaged. My McTimoney therapist recommended Kinesio tape, it did start to improve but I had real difficulty getting tape to stay on. Therapist coming back this Saturday so will ask her to show me how to apply. Might be it was the way I applied it?
 
Just a quick update - He seems to be striding out a little better and tracking up well, although still not his usual overtrack.
 
I have someone who does mctimminy on my horses although not v often as they are actually fine so it's just routine checks or if I feel something isn't right. She also does human sports therapy massage which has improved my back and neck immensely. She usually treats then puts the tape on. I have also had a really bad sprained foot recently which was bruised and swollen so she put tape on it. It's getting better much quicker than when I've sprained it previously. She has started using different tape which actually sticks and stays on a lot better than previous tape she has used.
 
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I was talking to my (horse's) physio about the tape last time she came-can't remember how the subject came up. She had recently been to a lecture/demonstration at Hartpury about the use of tape in horses. She said you noticed an immediate difference in the way the horses moved when the tape was applied, but that in every single case the tape came off after a few minutes-and this was even on clipped animals.
 
Montmorency said:
I was talking to my (horse's) physio about the tape last time she came-can't remember how the subject came up. She had recently been to a lecture/demonstration at Hartpury about the use of tape in horses. She said you noticed an immediate difference in the way the horses moved when the tape was applied, but that in every single case the tape came off after a few minutes-and this was even on clipped animals.
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The therapist applied a special glue which has worked well so far. With regards to noticing an immediate difference, I believe this is true, but not for all cases. Whilst you could see a difference with my horse, it was not like Wow, he's cured! Today, he is a bit better; which is always good :)
 
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