Here is one of the two muscles we’ll focus on: the longissimus dorsi, which both extends the horse’s back and flexes his spine laterally.

Photos © Jim Leiby

How do you feel and behave when you get out of bed in the morning with tight or painful back muscles? Chances are you move stiffly or tentatively and your range of motion is restricted. Until you get relief, you don’t have your usual enthusiasm for normal tasks.

It’s much the same for your horse when his back muscles are stiff or hurting. He may

• flinch or sink away when you’re saddling him;
• travel with his head elevated and/or his back hollowed;
• canter less freely than usual;
• experience a decrease in coordinated power;
• trail his hind end rather than stepping under himself;
• jump flat rather than with a rounded bascule;
• drift sideways, either on the flat or over jumps;
• resist lateral work.

One thing your horse will not do as a response to back pain or tightness, by the way, is buck. He needs to round or flex his back to buck, whereas his normal reaction to pain and tightness in his back is to move away from the discomfort by hollowing.

What’s Hurting

The longissimus costarum, just below the longissimus dorsi, extends across the horse’s ribs. This muscle assists in extending the spine and in flexing it laterally.

© Jim Leiby

The muscles whose tightness is frequently a cause of these signs are the longissimus dorsi—the longest and largest muscles in your horse’s body and a powerful extensor of his spine—and the longissimus costarum, which lie below the longissimus dorsi across the ribs on each side and are important in lateral flexion of the spine and in breathing (see photos page 66 for the location of these muscles).

As part of understanding how tightness develops in these and other muscles, let’s take a quick look at how muscles work. Every muscle has two ends, each connected to bone by a tendon. One end is the anchor and the bone to which it is connected doesn’t move. The other end is connected to a bone that moves when the muscle is used. The middle part of the muscle, which does the work of moving the bone, is called the belly. It’s composed of hundreds of tiny fibers, each of which has its own blood supply. When a muscle is working normally, it tightens, then immediately relaxes or ­releases. Muscle tightness occurs when the muscle doesn’t release as it should. When a muscle becomes chronically tight, the fibers lie closer together. This constricts the flow of blood through the muscle belly, somewhat like stepping on a garden hose reduces the flow of water. The muscle ­operates less effectively when it’s tight, and it may be painful.

All muscles work in pairs of opposites: As one muscle contracts, its opposite ­releases. When a muscle is tight, the ­release process of the muscle is affected. The back muscles extend the horse’s spine, and tight back muscles can’t release to allow for the spinal flexion your horse needs to, for instance, round himself for a bascule over a fence or a nice collected canter. Tightness in the longissimus ­costarum will also affect your horse’s ability to bend around your inside leg.

What Causes It
Back muscle tightness can result from a number of factors. Some of the most common are

• the strain and exertion of repetitive schooling, such as working much more on one canter lead than the other;
• footing that is very deep or too hard;
• an ill-fitting or out-of-balance saddle;
• a very imbalanced rider (whose horse will attempt to compensate for her ­one-sidedness);
• poor saddle placement (for instance, too far up on the withers, which drives the cantle into the back muscles);
• too many pads under a correctly fitted saddle. Contrary to some riders’ belief, this does not reduce pressure on the horse’s back but is more like cramming two pairs of socks inside your shoes.

Tight back muscles can also signal a deeper problem such as hock or ankle issues, weak stifles or ligament problems. How can you know whether you’re dealing with simple muscle tightness or with something more serious? If your horse’s discomfort is not relieved after you have done the massage and exercise sequence I’ll describe on the next two pages a couple of times, you need to involve your veterinarian. (As a general rule of thumb, in my 20 years of practice as a massage therapist, if I find persistent tightness in the forward area of a horse’s back, it may indicate a deeper problem in his front end; if the muscles remain tight in the area near his haunches even after massage, there may be a bigger problem in his hind end.)

Sorting through the scientific studies on the clinical response to static magnetic therapy in various conditions is as much a quagmire now as it was when we first did this topic 11 years ago. A major problem with the human trials is that many authors don’t give enough technical details to make it possible to compare different studies.

Even if the disease being studied is the same, such as arthritis, but one study is negative and another positive—and they don’t include details such as the stage of arthritis, type of magnet, strength of magnetic field, distance from the skin and duration of exposure to the field—they can’t be compared. Human studies also tend to rely heavily on subjective results like patient questionnaires.

Animals are easier. Their environment and level of exercise can be carefully controlled. It’s even possible to use animals that are all of the same strain, reducing or eliminating factors like weight and pain tolerance. Using animals also forces researchers to use tangible measurements rather than questionnaires and animals are not subject to the “placebo effect” because they don’t know they’re being treated.

One such study in Japan used rats of the same strain, all on the same diet and living conditions. Sixty rats were used; 20 as normal controls, 40 with arthritis induced in a hind foot. Of the 40 arthritic rats, half were treated by exposure to a static magnetic field and half not exposed.

The treated rats moved around significantly more than the untreated rats, suggesting reduced pain. Because of this, they had an increased metabolic rate. Tail-surface temperature was normal in treated rats and lower than normal in untreated. Part of this is likely a result of moving around more. Whether the magnetic exposure also increases circulation is still a point of debate.

Bone-mineral density of the untreated arthritic rats was lower than normal, but the treated rats had normal bone-mineral density. This was probably from the improved level of exercise, but in another study it was also shown a magnet implanted into bone could improve bone mineral density.

The effects of static magnet fields on circulation is still a point of hot debate. Baroreceptors are nervous-system structures that “read” the pressure within blood vessels. A well-studied baroreceptor is located in the neck, around a portion of the carotid artery, called the carotid sinus.

Using sophisticated equipment for measuring blood flow in the microcirculation (capillaries) of the ear, a study in rabbits was able to demonstrate a significant increase in microcirculation in the ear in response to exposure to a static magnetic field exposure of the carotid baroreceptor. It was not simply an effect of the weight of the magnet on the skin over the baroreceptor because rabbits treated with sham magnets showed no response.

Their conclusion was that exposure to magnetic fields may lower blood pressure by stimulating baroreceptors, which causes the peripheral circulation to dilate. However, the field strength used was very different from what is usually found in therapeutic magnetic products. There are also studies that show long-term exposure to similar field strengths actually ends up decreasing circulation by interfering with the growth of new blood vessels.

A human study used commercially available magnetic wrap products on the forearms of healthy human volunteers for a 30-minute exposure time and measured circulation using the same techniques as in the rabbit study above. They found no difference between real magnets and sham magnet wraps. To make things even more confusing, yet another study, this time in rats, found an effect in injured skin but not normal skin.

You’ve probably seen many claims that static magnetic wraps can heal injuries. However, static magnetic exposure doesn’t penetrate much below the upper levels of the skin, so these claims are unlikely, and there’s no research to support them. However, there is research showing a highly significant decrease in the time it took skin wounds to heal when a weak static magnet was placed directly over the dressing on the wound. A virtually identical study using a stronger field (similar to those commonly found in therapy products), found no effect.

So results are mixed, complicated by different magnet strengths and duration of exposure. The bulk of the evidence to date seems to point to pain-relieving effects of moderate- to-high-strength static magnetic fields, and stimulation of wound healing with low-field strength static magnetic fields. See Magnetic Therapy charts.

OUR TRIALS. Most of the horses in our trial were athletically active and between the ages of 3 and 8, with problems of:

• Acute fetlock inflammation
• Chronic arthritis, fetlock or pastern (ringbone)
• Back strain (lumbosacral, in driving horses)
• Sesamoiditis/suspensory problems, acute and chronic
• Chronic sacroiliac area pain
• High ringbone.

No change in diet, supplements, level of exercise was allowed except in the case of acute conditions where horses were stall rested. No drugs or herbal anti-inflammatories were used.

When horses had a problem in both legs, response to products was done side by side; i.e. different products used on right and left leg. We also compared response to static magnet products with wrapping alone and to our gold standard, pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) therapy with the Respond Systems Bio Pulse or Maxi Pulse.

Our horses with lumbosacral back strain symptoms of muscular tightness, pain on pressure and a slightly “roached”/arched back showed some relaxation of the muscle spasm and slight reduction in pain on pressure after 24 hours with the Dura-Tech Magnetic Mesh Sheet or Norfields Magnet Blanket on. However, it would return within less than an hour when the blanket was removed. There was no further improvement with time and ongoing treatment (2 weeks).

PEMF treatment takes 1 to 3 treatments to cut pain and spasm by about 50%. They do not return between treatments. Symptoms are completely resolved in 7 to 14 days. See PEMF Therapy.

Our horse with sacroiliac pain had recovered from an injury a year earlier but still developed stiffness and stride shortening if worked hard at the trot in harness. The static magnetic blankets had no effect. The PEMF alleviated the lameness in 3 days with twice-daily treatment. Treatment with a high frequency before exercise and a low frequency after kept him pain-free.

Static magnets of the field strengths typically used should not be applied for the first 3 to 7 days after an acute injury or flare up because of the potential to worsen inflammation. We observed this in our last magnets trial and did not repeat it in this one. Even chronic conditions can have a component of inflammation. For this reason, always build up exposure times gradually, starting with 2 hours.

BOTTOM LINE. We didn’t see any obvious flare-ups of edema or heat when using any of the magnets in our trial. Each brand performed effectively and similarly. If you’re using magnets alone, your choice here can be made by style or price.

However, we did see a superior response in our trial to the combination of Sore No-More and the Equine Magnetic Therapy products, suggesting that a combination of Sore No-More’s anti-inflammatory effects and magnetic exposure has additive effects.

While you may achieve the same effect with another magnet brand and Sore No-More, Equine Magnetic Therapy is the one that recommended it. Since we use all products in our trials according to the manufacturer’s instructions, this nudged Equine Magnetic Therapy into our top-choice position.

Note: Sore No-More is a cooling liniment, while other liniments may contain counterirritants and should not be used under magnets. For more information on liniments, see

our January 2009 issue.

Article originally appeared in our February 2011 issue.

Alternative therapies are in. Herbs for your horse’s skin rash, acupuncture for his sore back—no matter what ails him, someone is sure to tell you about a fantastic treatment that can fix it. Silver bullet, snake oil or something in between? Getting answers can be a challenge. Unlike conventional treatments, most of these therapies haven’t been thoroughly researched.

In this article, practitioners familiar with some popular alternatives explain their uses and help sift through the claims, cautions and costs. We’ll also tell you which treatments have been tested in clinical trials, the gold standard of “evidence-based” medicine. Armed with that information, you’ll be able to decide what’s right for your horse.

Some alternative treatments should be done only by trained and licensed professionals, notes Joyce Harman, DVM, a holistic veterinarian who has used acupuncture, homeopathy, chiropractic and herbal medicine alongside conventional treatments in her Virginia practice. Others are safe to try on your own. But never forget that, while some of these therapies may complement conventional veterinary care, none can replace it. If your horse is sick or seriously injured, he needs a veterinarian first.

Acupuncture
Acupuncture, used in China (on horses and humans) for more than 3,000 years, is based on the idea that stimulating specific points on the body can have beneficial effects. Traditional Chinese medicine holds that currents of energy (qi, or chi) flow through the body along pathways called meridians. “Points on the pathways act like dimmer switches,” says Dr. ­Harman. “If they’re partly blocked, the flow of energy is disrupted and the body doesn’t function properly. Acupuncture is like turning the switch on.”

Conventional Western science offers a different rationale—acupuncture stimulates the nervous system and prompts the release of body chemicals, including endorphins, which ease pain, improve circulation and relax muscle spasms.

Treatment: In traditional “dry needle” treatment, the acupuncturist inserts thin sterile needles at selected points, sometimes twirling the needles to increase stimulation, for 5 to 30 minutes. Variations include:

• Biopuncture: A sterile solution (usually vitamin, saline or homeopathic) is ­injected at the acupuncture points, providing lingering stimulation.
• Electroacupuncture: Mild electric current passes through needles at specific acupuncture points to stimulate a larger area and to provide more pain relief.
• Cold (low-intensity) laser stimulation: This doesn’t break the skin.
• Acupressure: This massage technique focuses on acupuncture points.

“There are a lot of people selling treatments with all kinds of things, shining lights on acupuncture points and so on,” says Dr. Harman. “Many are less ­effective because the stimulation isn’t strong or the practitioner isn’t skilled—but most are not harmful, except maybe to your checkbook.”

What it does: Acupuncture is best known in the West as a method of drug-free pain relief, and that’s mainly how it’s used in horses. Behavior ­improvement can be a benefit, whether directly from treatment or from pain relief. Some practitioners use acupuncture in diagnosing and treating certain illnesses, but in most cases pain relief is what you should expect.

Evidence: Several small clinical studies have shown that acupuncture and electroacupuncture help relieve equine pain, including back and foot pain. Some studies found evidence of endorphin release. Researchers haven’t found clear evidence of distinct meridians or qi.

Red lights: If needles aren’t sterile, infection can develop at insertion points. There’s also a risk of overlooking, and perhaps masking, an underlying problem that needs conventional treatment. Avoid both risks by working with your veterinarian and choosing a certified veterinary acupuncturist.

Where to find it: By law, only veterinarians (or, in a few states, trained acupuncturists under veterinary supervision) can administer acupuncture. The ­International Veterinary Acupuncture ­Society certifies veterinarians; its Web site (www.ivas.org) is a good source for finding a practitioner.

What to expect: Look for some ­improvement in two to four sessions. If you don’t see it, you may be working with the wrong diagnosis, the wrong treatment or the wrong practitioner.

Cost: Anywhere from $90 to $200 per treatment, depending on the practitioner. An experienced practitioner may charge $250 for a session that combines acupuncture and chiropractic treatment.

Philip Richter and Glasgow at the Hampton Classic

It sounds like a dream arrangement: taking over an older, experienced grand-prix horse to ride in lower-level competitions, where he can soar over less-demanding fences. Showing one of these horses with mileage, however, means careful maintenance to keep him in top form without strain, since such mounts often have old injuries that could flare up if they are not cared for properly.

Philip Richter, a 41-year-old amateur rider, got the chance of a lifetime when he began riding the well-known grand-prix horse Glasgow, but their success came with meticulous attention to the animal’s welfare. In this article, Philip describes the transition, and along with Glasgow’s other caregivers, details the program they’ve followed to keep the horse healthy and happy.

Philip Richter will never forget the day in 1997 when show jumper Norman Dello Joio grabbed him for an urgent conversation behind one of the tents during the Festival of Champions competition at the US Equestrian Team headquarters in Gladstone, New Jersey.

“Norman looked at me with a combination of awe, excitement and desperation, telling me how he had to get Jamaica Jackpot, this horse that was in Scotland,” Philip recalled.

“You need to talk to your mom and your dad. We’ve got to put a syndicate together,” Norman had insisted.

“He knew the horse was extraordinary when he sat on it,” Philip said.

The syndicate assembled in a hurry included Philip’s mother, Judy Richter, Norman’s longtime supporter and mentor who was wowed when she saw a tape of the horse; her sister, Carol Hofmann Thompson, and grand-prix rider Lisa Tarnopol, as well as friends Tony Weight, Danny Magill, Ira Kapp and David Weisman. The large number of investors was necessary because of the cost of the horse, renamed Glasgow after the city in the ­region where Norman found him.

It never crossed Philip’s mind that eight years later, in 2005, he would be the one riding the regal Dutch-bred chestnut gelding. After a successful career at the highest level of the sport (see “Who Is Glasgow?” at left), Norman decided it was time for Glasgow to stop jumping in grands prix, but that it wasn’t time for him to stop jumping entirely.

At 15, the horse “needed some aspirin and medication to feel his best,” said Norman. “To this day, he has all the heart in the world, and he’s a fantastic show horse. I thought with Judy Richter being such a knowledgeable horsewoman, she could give him the care he needed and let him show in a limited way and still have a fantastic life.

“My gut was if we just retired him and turned him out, he would fall apart pretty quickly physically. The horse really loves jumping and competing, so I thought this would be the best solution.”
So Norman told Philip he wanted him to ride the horse in the Amateur-Owner Jumpers, where the fences ranged up to 1.4 meters (4-foot-6) with 1.45-meter spreads, as opposed to the top height of 1.6 meters (5-foot-3) and width of 2 ­meters (more for water jumps and triple bars) in grand-prix championships.

The syndicate that owned Glasgow wanted what was best for him, and Norman noted he would get the finest care after Philip took over the reins.

The investors were well aware of Glasgow’s veterinary needs, although much of the cost of keeping and campaigning him had been covered by his considerable winnings.

“I think nobody would have felt good selling him to some random amateur to show who wouldn’t have known his particulars and gone the extra mile to make sure he got the best care,” said Philip.

Winning the Lottery … with Conditions
An accomplished Amateur-Owner Jumper competitor, Philip had a predictable first reaction to the idea of showing Glasgow: “I just won the lottery.”

But taking over a big-name horse has its downside. Everyone remembers the heyday of such an animal. It’s a lot to live up to.

After thinking about it, Philip was more reserved. “I was a little bit nervous,” he acknowledged.

Glasgow, now 20, definitely enjoyed quite a reputation. What if the horse didn’t perform well for Philip? It would be a blot on the name of an animal who was once one of the world’s best jumpers.

“As an amateur, I can get on and make a lot of mistakes,” Philip observed.

On the other hand, if they did well, it would be what everyone expected. After Philip and Glasgow finished their victory gallop in the prestigious Saturday Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic in Lake Placid, New York, last year, someone at ringside asked, “How can you not win on Glasgow?”

The comment smarted for a minute, but Philip conceded, “It’s a true statement, really. The horse could jump the High Amateurs with one leg tied up around his ear.”

That said, however, “Glasgow’s not an easy horse to ride. He sights in at jumps and is really aggressive to them. He’s a handful,” Philip said.

In addition, Philip faces the added challenge many amateurs do—limited riding time. As a partner and a managing director of Hollow Brook Associates LLC, a New York City-based registered investment adviser, he often just gets in the saddle at shows and does only a few of those a year. He concentrates on the most competitive fixtures, such as the Devon Horse Show in Pennsylvania, the Hampton Classic in New York and the Old Salem Farm Horse Show in New York.

The beginning of the relationship ­between Philip and Glasgow “was the crucial time. I think we got along really well from the start,” said Philip. One reason is that Philip is comfortable riding a hot horse like Glasgow; another is the horse was “incredibly well-broke and responsive.” And, as Judy pointed out, “Norman made it all work: Norman, [Norman’s son] Nick and sometimes [Norman’s assistant] Sean Crooks school the horse and get him ready. You don’t just take good care of him and walk in the ring at Lake Placid and win.”

But there was still a lot for Philip to figure out with the horse. “I’ve learned to let him go and let him tell me what he can and can’t do. It’s a matter of trusting him and leading him to the jumps, not telling him to go to the jumps,” he said.

Occasionally Philip has found that to be too much of a good thing. “One year at Lake Placid, the last line on the course was eight strides; then in the second round, a flying seven strides.” Or so it seemed.

“I gave him the reins and was clear. I wound up doing it in the six, not the seven. I landed and saw the distance.” Philip said. “You can get away with things on a horse like that, which you can’t get away with on a lesser horse. That’s well and good, but you have to be respectful.”

In the March Gallop Poll we asked which alternative therapies you've tried with your horses. To learn more about those alternative therapies for horses, look through the December 2011 article, "Alternative Therapies, 7 Steps to Success," here.

The horse, an accident victim, was barely able to stand in his paddock, and when we asked him to move, he'd bear no weight on the leg at all. He was sweating, with a heart rate of 100, meaning his pain was severe and unrelenting. Even worse, the accident had happened seven days ago, and instead of calling a veterinarian, the owners had opted to call a local “chiropractor” who’d performed an adjustment and recommended four grams of bute a day for the following week until the horse could be seen again. The adjuster owned a gas station in town, and had learned to “crack backs” from his next-door neighbor.

Sadly, the adjustment did nothing for the fractured tibia seen on radiographs, and even if it could’ve been repaired, it was too late by the time the owners finally decided to call their vet. The horse was also in severe kidney failure, most likely due to toxic doses of bute.

This is a frightening example of an alternative-therapy choice gone bad, and similar episodes happen way too frequently. Yet acupuncture, chiropractic, and equine massage therapy can be valuable parts of your horse’s management plan when used appropriately by a qualified practitioner. In our practice, we work closely with a variety of therapists who help us manage chronic back pain in hard-working performance horses, keep our older horses comfortable in their retirement, or provide relief from compensatory pain following a severe injury.

The key is knowing when to use these modalities, and who to call for help.

I’ll outline seven key steps to follow that’ll help you make the most of alternative therapies in your horse’s management plan. I’ll also explain basic information on acupuncture, chiropractic, and massage, outlining what they are, when to use them, and how to choose a qualified practitioner who’ll help your horse and do no harm.

7 Steps for Success

Step 1: Diagnose
First and foremost, if your horse has a musculoskeletal problem, you’ll be most successful getting him back to work if you know what’s wrong—and more often than not this should begin with your veterinarian, who can do a lameness work-up in pursuit of a specific diagnosis.

Why is this so important? Because an injury like a torn suspensory ligament or broken bone is generally best identified and managed using conventional medical treatments. And in some cases, such as a neck or pelvic fracture, it’s downright dangerous for a horse to have certain manipulations performed.

Does that mean alternative therapies should be avoided altogether in these cases? Absolutely not. They can be extremely valuable for pain management and to address compensatory issues. In some cases, they can even contribute to the healing process. It just means they should be applied with care-which requires an accurate diagnosis from the start.

Step 2: Choose Wisely
A key element to success is to choose your practitioner carefully. A properly trained chiropractor, acupuncturist, or body worker will refer you to your veterinarian when it’s appropriate, and won’t apply therapy until an underlying problem is diagnosed and treated. Begin by seeking a practitioner who’s certified, ideally through one of the organizations listed later in this article.

These organizations all boast rigorous education and testing procedures, meaning a practitioner with one of these certifications is guaranteed to have received a certain amount of training and to have demonstrated a level of knowledge and competence with which you can feel comfortable. If your therapist claims to be “certified” but not through one of the organizations listed, ask questions before you allow him or her to work on your horse.

A wide variety of training programs exist, and some programs are better than others. Many issue their own “certificates” when the course is completed, but a piece of paper doesn’t necessarily equal valid certification.

If this is what you discover, ask some specific questions about the amount of training your chosen therapist has really had. Be aware of a non-veterinarian therapist who recommends prescription medications without consulting with your vet. This can often be a red flag that the therapist is unclear about where the boundary between him or her and the veterinarian should lie—which could not only mean trouble if medications are misused, but also raises a concern about whether he or she will appropriately involve the veterinarian for other aspects of your horse’s care.

Step 3: Involve Your Vet
Your veterinarian should remain an important part of your horse’s management plan—even when you turn to alternative therapies that are outside his or her direct expertise. In fact, your vet usually will be familiar with most or all of the individuals offering alternative therapies in your area, and can probably direct you to the most competent person who’s most likely to help your horse.

In our practice, we have close working relationships with a number of alter- native therapists in our area. We chose to develop these relationships because the individuals are well trained, know when it’s not safe or appropriate to work on a horse with a specific problem, and maintain open channels of communication regarding horses in our care.

The result? When we all work as a team rather than as solo artists, your horse is more likely to get better.

Step 4: Be Prepared
Once you’ve decided on a therapy and selected a qualified practitioner, it’s important to be prepared for your appointment. The therapist is likely to request a full medical history, including information from your veterinarian about chronic conditions or recent treatments. He or she generally will perform some kind of exam on your horse, and decide on a treatment plan according to his condition.

If the therapist detects any type of lameness, heat, or swelling on the body, or sign of a systemic illness, chances are he or she will recommend your horse be seen by your regular veterinarian prior to administering treatment. Don’t be frustrated if this happens. Instead, see it as a good sign that the person you’ve selected is conscientious and well trained.

As with any visit for medical care, make sure your horse is in the barn, clean and dry, and ready for your appointment. Also have any medication information or other medical history at your fingertips.

Step 5: Tell the Truth
Have you ever paused when filling out that medical history form, wondering whether that nighttime glass of wine really qualifies as “drinks alcohol”? Yes…it does. And if you don’t answer truthfully, it could have a significant impact on your health care.

The same holds true for your horse. If your acupuncturist, chiropractor, or massage therapist asks you about the type and intensity of work your horse does, about previous lameness or medical problems, or even whether you were able to follow suggestions for after-care, it’s important to be accurate with your answers. Not only will it help your therapist devise the best treatment plan, it’ll also let him or her know whether treatments are being effective.

After all, if your massage therapist recommends a specific stretching exercise for your horse and you don’t do it... it’s hard to know whether the treatment plan is working.

Before we begin, I want to be clear about our goals for this work. This article will teach you to feel how your horse reacts to pressure and stretching in a more in-depth way. I will give you the tools to assess what feels normal and what does not on a regular basis. What this article will not do is turn you into a do-it-yourself professional masseuse. I don’t expect you to identify each and every muscle by name by the end or professionally assess and treat all of your horse’s muscle problems.

Consider this an unmounted variation of what you are already striving for every time you ride: connecting completely with your horse. Imagine the harmony between a top horse and rider during their best rides. My goals are also to improve the horse’s performance, but the most enjoyable and rewarding moments are when I completely connect with him in the process. Another similarity between massage and riding is that you can use a professional massage therapist as you do your dressage trainer for the work we are discussing—at certain points, it might be helpful to work with him more frequently to get a better understanding. Other times, your therapist might come in to give a tune-up to your horse and give you a more in-depth look at how things are going or provide more profound physiological results. When you do have him out, don’t be afraid to discuss your horse’s status. Ask for personalized tips on how to work on your horse between sessions, related to what your horse is currently dealing with. In the end, all of the information you gain will only add to your toolbox and make you more aware of how you can help your horse.

Develop a Game Plan

The goal in all of this work is to explore your whole horse from head to tail. Take your time on this, and don’t be afraid to ask a massage therapist or vet if you have questions. From the first time you do this, you are learning more about your horse and also identifying possible red flags to keep an eye on. As you prepare to start your first massage on your horse, you will need these items:

1. Your hands—make sure your
fingernails are clipped!

2. A hoofpick with a blunt handle that you will use in a specific exercise.

3. Any curry combs you might have in various sizes and shapes that will be used in various ways.

4. A printout of an outline of a horse from multiple angles and a highlighter pen. Many massage therapists use these during their sessions to mark/highlight when they hit a reactive point.

Here is how to use your tools: Put your horse in a location where you are most comfortable grooming him. You can try the crossties or, in my opinion, proceed more safely in his stall (where he’s probably most comfortable and calm). I almost never work on a horse outside his stall. But with regard to making this choice, and throughout these exercises, you must use your best judgement as a horseperson. Remember, all horses have the potential to bite or kick as a reaction to palpation—even your sweet, middle-aged gelding who has never done anything wrong. So be cautious and prepared.

Step 1—Familiarize yourself with your pressure techniques: Let’s begin work at your horse’s neck. This is a great place to first practice all your pressure techniques because it is not threatening and you are in a relatively safe place.

Start with pressure from the pads of your fingertips. Using the pads of your fingers, apply a superficial (light) pressure to your horse with a
supporting second hand over the first. Layering your hands allows them to share the workload and prevent stress on your fingers. Make sure that any time you use your fingers on your horse, your fingernails are not digging into him.

Using the notion that the horse’s muscle fibers generally are in the direction of the hair growing over them, apply your pressure in the direction of his neck hair with your finger-pad pressure.

As you start to work with your horse, notice how he responds to this superficial pressure. Try applying more pressure so you gradually build to a medium and then a deep pressure. It is important to interpret your horse’s reactions from your massage and this begins with knowing what to expect. When your massage feels good to your horse he will give you subtle signs. He might start to lean into your pressure and try to groom you. He might extend his muzzle out and start to groom the wall. You might notice his breathing getting softer, his heart rate slowing or a general feeling that your horse is more supple to your hand.

On the other hand, if your horse feels pain or soreness, the signs are usually more obvious. He might move away from you, start to get an uneasy look in his eyes or tense his body. In more extreme cases, he might try to bite, kick, rear, strike or buck. Additionally, his muscles might start to spasm.

As you notice him have any type of larger response to certain pressure, it is most important to know that just because a horse is reactive does not mean he is sore. For example, while he might react to being touched on his neck (or later, on the rest of his body) that does not mean he is in pain. Soreness is pain that the horse feels in a specific activity and it needs to be addressed. While a sore horse will be reactive, a reaction to touch doesn’t mean that point is sore. When you get a massage and a point hurts, that is reactive. If it doesn’t affect your everyday performance, then it is not sore. What you can do with this information is notice how your horse reacts on either side of his neck. Does he react much more when you apply superficial pressure on the upper part of his neck, or on the left versus the right? Take that information and don’t assume your horse is sore, but do note the difference. If you are concerned by the reaction, you can always call your vet to ask for a professional opinion. Regardless of what you feel, mark your printout with your highlighter to note reactivity.

Now that you are more familiar with using the pads of your fingertips, it is time to try out the heel of your palm as well. In the same direction of the hair, place the palm of your hand against your horse’s neck. Use the side of your second hand (in the shape of a fist) on top of the first casino games to apply a medium amount of pressure to direct the first hand. This reduces fatigue and stress on your hands to use both together. Does this different pressure get a different reaction from your horse? Do you get more reaction when you go across the hair? This is a good time to start to see what feels best on your hands because not all techniques are best for everyone (or their horses).

Now try another type of pressure that can be superficial and heavy: thumb pressure. Apply your thumb to your horse and hook your other hand around it in a supportive way. By sharing the pressure with both hands, you can support that one finger and dictate the amount of pressure more easily. Again, note any reactions from this type of pressure and what is most comfortable on your hands and your horse.

Step 2—Apply your pressure techniques to the rest of your horse: Working your way down to your horse’s shoulder, continue trying out the various techniques for applying pressure. Note how your horse reacts and write it down on your printout.

The introduction of deeper pressure in the shoulder area might be the first place you see some bigger reactions from a horse that is currently in work. Some people are quick to say that if you put deeper pressure in the left shoulder, and he steps away or starts to move his skin as if a fly is on it, then he is sore. Sometimes a horse’s skin will move if your pressure is too light (and tickling him) or too deep. Either way, it is irritating him. Just because the left shoulder is reactive does not always mean the horse is sore and needs medical attention. However, what it always means is information. Perhaps performance has not been affected yet. By massaging your horse frequently, you will learn to understand what reaction is typical in your horse and what is new and probably represents soreness.

Return to your superficial pressure techniques as you work your way to your horse’s torso and toward his tail. In the case of the rib area, the pressure technique you choose should be very superficial and refined in how much area you are covering. Thumb pressure is a great technique to achieve this.

Now work your way over his back and down to his hind end. As with grooming, don’t massage as hard in the less-meatier areas like the shoulder. Notice how your horse reacts to pressure with and across the hair (muscle fibers).

Step 3—Use your tools: Return again to your horse’s neck for safety’s sake and try your grooming tools. They can give you a new way to apply pressure and might feel easier, especially if you have hand or wrist problems.

The curry comb: There are two ways to use the curry comb:

1. Use the edge as an extension of your fingers to give you a deep pressure.

2. The curry used flat, as during grooming, can give a more shallow pressure. This is a good approach to create compression (straight, repetitive pressure without leaving the horse) and friction (pressure across the muscle fibers and hair). Try different curry combs because a plastic one with short teeth can give a very different feel from a rubber one with long teeth.

Now continue on to other parts of your horse’s body, excluding his legs. The rule of thumb is don’t use pressure where you wouldn’t curry your horse. Trust your gut and your years of experience around horses to know where you can apply various amounts of pressure and where it is safe to stand around your particular horse. Always err on the side of caution.

The hoofpick: Consider the blunt end of the hoof pick instead of your fingers only when asking for a low-back flexion (when you apply pressure in a line down your horse’s hamstring to ask for him to lift his back). Apply the pressure gradually and avoid abrupt pressure. If you are not familiar with asking for a low-back flexion, I highly recommend having a vet or massage therapist show you this exercise in person.

Once you have a general idea of how your horse reacts to various types of pressure, keep track of changes over the course of several days and weeks on additional copies of your printout. For example, when you apply flat curry pressure to your horse’s right shoulder on the third day, do you notice him react more sensitively than he did on the first day? Maybe your horse seemed reactive in his back when you applied palm pressure the first day, but now he is not. The most important thing is you are taking note of his typical reaction and how it changes. From that point, you can use that information to see how that translates to his being sore. Maybe he is reactive (steps away, tries to bite or kick out, flinches, etc.) because you are pressing too hard. Perhaps he was just at a long show or demanding clinic weekend. Does the reactivity continue the next day? Don’t be afraid to call your vet and talk about what you are feeling. Communicate with your massage therapist, trainer, barn manager and farrier, etc. as you start to identify information they can help you with. The key is to know your horse better than you did before and connect with him in an even deeper way.

This article was originally printed in the December 2011 issue of Dressage Today. To gain up-to-the-minute access to all Dressage Today has to offer, consider subscribing.

Riders across the country are glad to see Dougie Hannum driving his car into their driveway or walking down their barn aisle at a competition. When they see him, they know their horses are about to feel much better.

 Hannum has been a therapist to horses at the highest levels and to horses just starting out for almost four decades, at six Olympic Games and at competitions from New Jersey to California. And his mission hasn’t really changed.

 “It’s hard to really say what I do. But what we try to do is to give the horse the best opportunity to give the best performance. We try to set a horse up for his maximum performance,” said Hannum.

 That means that he looks at the whole horse, not just parts of the horse. And if the horse appears to be sore in his hindquarters, Hannum tries to figure out why. In the meantime, he treats the symptoms too, with treatments like cold-laser therapy, magnetic-blanket therapy, specific pain- or inflammation-reducing topical products, and, especially, handwork and manipulation.

 “Across the board, in all the disciplines, it’s body soreness that we treat—muscles and soft tissue,” he said.

 “We try to teach people about a good management program for their horses so that they can help us maintain their horses as athletes,” added Hannum. “And it doesn’t really matter what level the horse is competing at. Sure, the higher the level, the higher the risk, but it all comes back to the same things. I mean, a horse is a horse.”

Hands On
If you ask Hannum to evaluate and work on your horse, he’ll be willing to listen to you describe what you’re feeling or what your horse’s symptoms are—but mostly because he might hear a clue to the problem. No matter what you say, he’s going to examine your horse in the same deliberate fashion he examines every single horse—he’s going to run his hands over him from poll to tail, on both sides of his body, to see what he feels.

 And along the way you might see him wince, you might hear him let out a sigh, and you might even hear him whistle. When he does any of those, it means he’s found something, and there’s a good chance that what he’s found isn’t what you were expecting.

]]> http://www.equisearch.com/horses_care/caring-for-the-equine-athlete-according-to-dougie-hannum/feed/ 0 http://www.equisearch.com/horses_care/loosen-tight-posterior-pectoral-muscles-in-your-horses-girth-area-with-equine-sports-massage/ http://www.equisearch.com/horses_care/loosen-tight-posterior-pectoral-muscles-in-your-horses-girth-area-with-equine-sports-massage/#comments Mon, 19 Sep 2011 19:40:41 +0000 Stacey Nedrow-Wigmore http://www.equisearch.com/?p=44642

Your horse used to enjoy his work, but now he pins his ears and sucks back when you ask him go forward. He balks when you ask for the canter and has trouble picking up the correct lead. He doesn’t seem lame—but he doesn’t seem right. What’s up?

While a number of causes can underlie these signs, in my work as an equine sports massage therapist, I’ve found that one is especially common: Tight muscles in your horse's girth area. In this article, I’ll tell you how to figure out if your horse has this problem, and I’ll outline some simple steps to solve it using equine sports massage.

The Problem
The specific muscle involved is the posterior pectoral, one of three pectoral muscles that help move the foreleg. This flat, triangular muscle lies against the rib cage behind your horse’s foreleg. It fans away from a point on the back of the humerus (the large arm bone below the shoulder) to points along his rib cage and sternum (breastbone) at the midline of the belly. When this muscle contracts, it pulls the leg back. Other muscles contract to move the limb forward—but the leg can’t swing forward freely unless the posterior pectoral relaxes to let it go.

Simple muscle tightness here is a very common cause of shortened strides. If the posterior pectoral is tight, it doesn’t release the leg easily, so forward motion is inhibited. Hind limb motion may be affected, too, as a horse’s front and hind always move in synch. Your horse may be “girthy,” objecting when saddled or mounted or moving with short, stilted steps. In extreme cases, a horse may even rear to resist going forward. Often, though, the signs are subtle. Because your horse is uncomfortable reaching fully forward in front, he may:

• have difficulty going up or down hills;
• be reluctant to pick up a lead or tend to swap off or cross-canter;
• hang a leg over fences;
• have difficulty with banks, drops and ascending oxers—obstacles that require extra “reach” in front;
• show reluctance when asked for lengthenings or tempi changes; and
• tire quickly, because he has to work against the tightness to go forward.

When a horse shows any of these signs, it’s not difficult to find out if the posterior pectoral is involved. Perform this simple check on each side of your horse: Stand at his shoulder and run your hand, fingers flat against his side, over the area behind his elbow. (This is a sensitive spot, so be aware that your horse may move away or even kick out, especially if he’s sore.) If the muscle is relaxed, this area will feel flat and soft. If it’s tight or in spasm you’ll feel a knot—a lump in the shape of a small hot dog, across the muscle (perpendicular to the ground).

Work It Out

To look for tightness or spasms in the posterior pectoral muscle, I stand at the horse's shoulder and use a flat, relaxed hand to stroke and press down toward the ground. I am feeling for bunched tissue or a soft, small hot-dog-shaped vertical lump.

A simple massage technique helps the muscle relax. Standing behind your horse’s shoulder, put the flat of your hand against his side just behind his elbow. Keep your hand relaxed. Using soft, moderate pressure with the entire palm or back of your hand, gently work along the muscle for a distance of about one-and-a-half hand lengths. Your horse will tell you—by moving away, pinning his ears or giving other signs—if the pressure is too strong. Typically the knot releases in just a few minutes. Then the muscle feels soft and pliable, and your horse relaxes.

A correctly placed saddle sits behind the horse's shoulder blade and leaves space between the foreleg and the girth, ­allowing for full use of his pectoral muscle and shoulder.

Follow the massage with exercise, which completes the treatment by activating and lengthening the muscle fibers. Cantering is especially helpful for this. To really solve the problem, though, you need to figure out what’s causing the tightness. Here are six prime suspects, and the fix for each:

• Saddle placement: Incorrect saddle placement is the most common cause. Too often, the saddle is put on too far forward, so the girth passes right behind the elbow. Girth pressure there pinches the muscle and provokes spasms. The fix: Because every horse’s conformation is slightly different, it’s hard to make hard-and-fast rules for proper saddle and girth position. But you’ll generally be safe if you place the saddle so that it doesn’t sit on his shoulder blade and interfere with the action of the shoulder and so there’s space between his girth and his foreleg.
• Girth length: A short girth like those used in dressage sometimes causes the posterior pectoral to tighten, particularly if the buckles line up right on top of the muscle. The fix: Switch to a longer girth, and see if that ends the problem.Girth type: A narrow girth concentrates pressure on a smaller area than a wide girth does and is more likely to cause problems. The fix: Try a wider girth. Fabric is a good choice, at least for schooling. I think it’s more comfortable for the horse than leather. Elastic at one end of the girth is also good, because it allows a little give. Elastic at both ends may be too much if it allows the saddle to shift.
• Work: Performing the same maneuver over and over—cantering endless circles, for example, or overdoing lengthenings—can lead to tightness in the girth area, as well as in other muscles. The fix: Vary the work, changing gaits and directions often.
• Footing: Working in deep footing tires your horse and contributes to muscle tightness. The fix: Limit the amount you do in deep footing.
• Hidden problem: Sometimes the real cause isn’t at the girth area at all. Your horse may have a problem in his lower leg or foot, for example. He tightens the posterior pectoral to protect his sore leg by limiting the range of motion. (In orthopedic medicine, this is called “protective splinting.”) Then the muscle goes into spasm. In cases like this, the knot often doesn’t resolve quickly with simple massage, and the problem doesn’t clear up with changes in tack and work routines. The fix: No simple fix here; a veterinarian and/or farrier needs to assess your horse.

To massage a tight posterior pectoral muscle, use a relaxed, open palm or the back of your hand, moderately pressing and stroking down toward the ground. If your horse moves away or reacts adversely to this, you may be using too much pressure. Try again, with less. If he continues to act uncomfortable, call a professional massage therapist.

Correcting the underlying cause of the tightness should allow your horse to move freely again. In addition, some simple stretches and changes in warm-up routines often help horses who have this problem.

• Before you mount, stretch your horse’s pectorals by drawing his front legs forward, one at a time. Grasp a leg behind the knee, lift it so that the forearm is almost parallel to the ground and gently pull it forward (see photos page 66). (Don’t grab the pastern and pull the whole leg out. That stretches his leg tendons.) Repeat with the other leg. If your horse has tightened his posterior pectorals in response to girth pressure, this will help release them. Do this stretch once or twice on each side, as tolerated by your horse.
• Warm up with work that encourages your horse to lengthen and stretch these muscles. Cantering is the most concerted exercise for lengthening. (That’s why the trot always feels so much better after a canter.) Walking up hills is also excellent.
• When you untack after work, repeat the foreleg stretch described above. It will help release any lingering tightness.

By identifying tightness in your horse’s posterior pectoral muscle and working to loosen it, you will be able to help him move more freely—and happily.

Jo-Ann Wilson is a licensed massage therapist, teacher and researcher whose clinical practice includes humans as well as horses. Her equine practice spans all disciplines—from international competition horses to backyard pleasure horses. She worked at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney as the sports therapist for the United States Equestrian Team’s eventing squad, winners of individual gold and team bronze medals. Based in Searsmont, Maine, Jo-Ann was a longtime associate of the late Jack Meagher, a pioneer in the field of sports massage therapy. She partnered with him in Wilson and Meagher Sportstherapy, which offers training programs in the Meagher method of sports massage. Jo-Ann has also produced an educational sportsmassage DVD, available this fall. Information on the programs is available online at www.sportsmassageinc.com.

Reprinted from the October 2008 issue of Practical Horseman magazine. To read more from Jo-Ann, see “A Gallop Does Him Good!” in the October 2011 issue.

A tense, anxious horse can take all the joy out of a ride. It’s impossible to relax and enjoy yourself when your horse is fretting and you’re worried he may be “uptight” the whole time: bolt, buck, whirl around, jig incessantly or hurry at all gaits, crowd other horses, or even rear. Equally important, you worry about your own safety.

“There’s a big difference between a horse that’s anxious or tense and one who’s spooky,” notes top trainer Linda Tellington-Jones. “The tense horse is often wary of contact with the mouth, flanks, or hindquarters, and is over-reactive to leg aids.

“He may be ‘touchy’ all over the body and tight in the abdominal muscles. Tense, anxious horses tend to be that way all the time, unlike spooky horses that can shy from fear, or as the result of playfulness or habit.”

The Tension Cycle
“When riding your anxious or flighty horse, you might inadvertently worsen the problem, says Tellington-Jones. “You’ll have a tendency to ride ‘defensively’ with shorter reins, but when you tighten up on those reins, you create additional tension in the horse’s neck and may even cause him to raise his head high, which may click him into flight mode.

“This tension affects your horse’s breathing and can create more trouble, because it actually makes him more tense. His tense muscles impair the blood flow to his brain, and he can’t think clearly. His neuro-impulses are inhibited, which makes him less able to feel his limbs.”

The Fix
Each time you ride, take several deep breaths before stepping into the saddle.

“Before you mount, visualize how you’d like your ride to be,” says Tellington-Jones. “If you’re at all nervous before you mount, you’ll be expecting spooking and anxiety from your horse. This makes you tense, and your horse picks up on it immediately.

“I’ve had Olympic riders in my clinics who have practiced visualization, and it has improved their riding and their horse’s performance immeasurably!”

If you have a smartphone, you may want to download an “Equi-Tempo” app, which plays rhythms for the walk, trot, and canter. You can speed up or slow down the tempo.

Linda Tellington-Jones

Put the phone in your pocket as you ride, so you and your horse can hear the beat. Practice a variety of tempos at the different gaits. Horses seem to like the sound and will usually relax into the rhythm.

Balance Your Horse
At the same time, teach your horse to come into a more grounded, connected form of mental, physical, and emotional balance. This can be done with Tellington TTouches (a form of bodywork comprised of a variety of circles, lifts and slides done with the hands and fingertips), ground-work exercises, and under-saddle work.

(For Tellington-Jones’ TTouches and exercises designed to calm your nervous horse, see The Joy of Riding, The Trail Rider, January/February ’11.)

Cynthia McFarland is a full-time freelance writer who writes regularly for national horse publications. Horse-crazy since childhood, she owns a small farm in north central Florida. She and her Paint Horse gelding, Ben, enjoy regular trail-riding adventures.

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