Talk to me about your Equine Massage Therapist

[Redhorse_Therapies]

I am currently working towards launching my Equine Massage Therapy business.

I am lucky to be servicing a very under serviced area, which is great for business, however, it’s difficult to find market research, and information about what other therapists are doing. (business wise)

If you could share with me your experience with your current therapist, I’d appreciate it.

-Tell me why you love them
-Have you used other massage therapists (besides the current one)
-How long have you been using your therapist?
-How often do they see your horse?

-Do you use them when your horse is off? or regularly?

Thank you so much !

Redhorse Therapies

[Nezzy]

The guy i first used was about 13 yrs ago. My gelding had fallen with me at a walk on a trail. For about 2 weeks afterwards, he was bucking. i called this guy and told him, but i didn’t tell him how the horse fell or where he landed. guy took an hour, my horse was really responsive to his massage, and the guy then told me he had soreness in the area near his right side of the wither. ( that was true). He also told me my horse was healing, but the massage would help it along. he told me my horse had a very healthy back, and that i would not need him to come back. I really appreciated him saying that. he wasn’t just trying to drum up business. My horse healed up, no more bucking, and i did refer him to a friend when her horse had behavioral issues. He determined the horse was in pain. Came back for her about 5 times. I liked that he helped the problems. I like that he told me he didn’t need to come back. I have not hired him in a while, but when i got my new mare i had him come out. Price was about $85 dollars years ago, and the same now. I have also used a different woman who my trainer has been using and her price was only $40. I think that even if there are no apparent issues, it’s a nice treat for the horse.

[Curly_Feather]

We have qualified equine physios. They are most often normal physios (for people ), who then do some extra qualifications to also treat horses.

My horse gets done about once every two months, and I get a short written report afterwards with my invoice. I’ll also do an extra treatment if we’ve been working a bit harder than usual, and he feels a bit stiff.

I haven’t had to treat any major muscle-related issues, and so far I haven’t felt that much of a difference in ridden work after treatments, but I think we ask a lot of our horses physically, and we owe them some maintenance in this regard if we can afford it. Odie certainly loves the whole process, he stands with floppy ears and a droopy bottom lip.

[kaya842]

I have never used a massage therapist, but have been interested in hiring one for some time. I would like to find someone who offers cranial sacral massage and/or myofascial release (the BEST!) and has been certified through a hands on program somewhere - people or animal program. I would like the session to last roughly 45+ min, longer as needed for problem areas, and not cost more than the chiropractor charges ($110 + trip fee here). If my horse had no problems I would likely use a MT before or after a big event, or twice a year following/ prior to our twice yearly chiropractor visits. If a problem arises I would do as many sessions as I see beneficial, but would appreciate a therapist who says “Okay, your horse no longer needs to see me every week. Lets catch up in a few months” instead of trying to milk it. The ideal therapist, for me, is someone who offers multiple services. For example, a chiropractor I used when I was at college was also trained in acupuncture and massage so she could perform multiple services in one visit and could tell you which service would help the most.

[lifeishorsesarelove]

The MT I have used and like will do a whole body assessment, point out areas of weakness and discomfort, focus the massage on those areas and also give you “homework” stretches or exercises to help improve those problem areas between visits. She will physically assist you in doing these stretches so that you can feel where you should be reaching to without going too far. She also offers a service where she will watch your horse work and give siggestions for mounted exercises to improve there too. She is very patient and kind with the horses and will work around fidgety horses, etc. She usually does my mare in the arena as she wants to spin around the MT while being worked on. She will also recommend chiro to complement her work when needed - but she does explain that she believes chiro without massage will result in the same places going out over and over again because the muscle needs help too.

My complaints are that she is too busy - she covers a VERY large service area and is very difficult to get in the barn on short notice (ex. Sudden back soreness). I typically have to wait at least a week-10 days for her to be back in my area and have an opening. Typical appointments book 4-6 weeks out, unless you are on a “program” with her where she has you down for visits every 3-7 weeks.

[Redhorse_Therapies]

@kaya842

I have never used a massage therapist, but have been interested in hiring one for some time. I would like to find someone who offers cranial sacral massage and/or myofascial release (the BEST!) and has been certified through a hands on program somewhere - people or animal program. I would like the session to last roughly 45+ min, longer as needed for problem areas, and not cost more than the chiropractor charges ($110 + trip fee here). If my horse had no problems I would likely use a MT before or after a big event, or twice a year following/ prior to our twice yearly chiropractor visits. If a problem arises I would do as many sessions as I see beneficial, but would appreciate a therapist who says “Okay, your horse no longer needs to see me every week. Lets catch up in a few months” instead of trying to milk it. The ideal therapist, for me, is someone who offers multiple services. For example, a chiropractor I used when I was at college was also trained in acupuncture and massage so she could perform multiple services in one visit and could tell you which service would help the most.

Where are you located? Maybe you should hire me lol

[Redhorse_Therapies]

@lifeishorsesarelove

The MT I have used and like will do a whole body assessment, point out areas of weakness and discomfort, focus the massage on those areas and also give you “homework” stretches or exercises to help improve those problem areas between visits. She will physically assist you in doing these stretches so that you can feel where you should be reaching to without going too far. She also offers a service where she will watch your horse work and give siggestions for mounted exercises to improve there too. She is very patient and kind with the horses and will work around fidgety horses, etc. She usually does my mare in the arena as she wants to spin around the MT while being worked on. She will also recommend chiro to complement her work when needed - but she does explain that she believes chiro without massage will result in the same places going out over and over again because the muscle needs help too.

My complaints are that she is too busy - she covers a VERY large service area and is very difficult to get in the barn on short notice (ex. Sudden back soreness). I typically have to wait at least a week-10 days for her to be back in my area and have an opening. Typical appointments book 4-6 weeks out, unless you are on a “program” with her where she has you down for visits every 3-7 weeks.

Could you tell me a bit more about her program? Or direct me to her website? Many thanks!

[BrookdaleBay]

I have two different massage therapists that work on my horse.

The first I met 12 years ago and she’s been working on him ever since, minus a 3 month break in the winter when we were at a barn that didn’t have an indoor arena. She’s a very kind woman who absolutely adores my horse, and even though one treatment time is one hour, she’ll extend it if she finds an area that needs extra attention. She has multiple clients at my barn, so when she’s out and if she found a problem area during my horses last massage, she’ll put hands on him to see how he’s doing - no charge. She does reiki and cranial-sacral massage. She is easy to reach over text, and after each treatment, I get a written report. She’s even done a couple treatments on myself after I had a painful fall, and another when I sprained my ankle, and it feels incredible. My horse loves her and his head is practically on the ground when she’s working on him, he responds very well to the treatment, and I always notice a different in his way of going after a treatment. He sees here once a month.

The second one I met 2 years ago. She was already treating a couple horses at a previous barn and she was recommended to me after my horse had a fall in the barn aisle. She does pulse-magnetic therapy, laser, and massage. For his first treatment, he wore the pulse-magnetic blanket, and he also received a massage. Before the treatment, he was too sore to canter - two days after the treatment, he was cantering under saddle. The results were that immediate. She goes down south from November to April, so I only have her out a few times a year. A couple weeks ago my horse had a slip in the paddock and tweaked an old knee injury, so I had her out and she did laser treatment and she loaned me a pulse-magnetic knee wrap. He is now sound again and under the vets advisement, we’re doing straight line trotting. She shows me massage techniques to do before riding, and she’s also shown me different methods of applying kinesiology tape to stabilize an old injury.

My horse is 23 and looks and feels fantastic - I credit his longevity to not only fantastic care, but also to these two woman for making his body feel good.

[Corky]

I do not use a EMT regularly, partly due to cost, partly due to the fact that my horses don’t work all that hard right now. However I swear by her for when my mare has a lymphangitis flare up in her one leg. My EMT does equi-tape (kinesiology tape for horses) also, and the combination has proven very effective for getting the residual fluid build up to drain. I believe she often includes tape after a massage to help prolong the effects for horses with issue areas. I highly recommend looking into it - I would not hire someone who only tapes, but the combination is perfect.

I really think that therapies like this, if you want to make an actual career out of it, should be stacked. So have your one or two main strengths (massage, chiro) and add some good secondary services like acupuncture, tape, pulsing magnets, laser therapy, etc. If I have the choice between a therapist with only one skill, vs one who can use the most suitable skill or combination out of a few options, I’ll choose the more diverse therapist even for a few extra $$ since then I know you are actually doing whats best, not the only thing you know how to do.