Hi guys! Here is a little fun relaxing massage tip for you all to try on your horse.
Place your hand very lightly just above the point of shoulder. Be so gentle using the flat of your hand, imagine you have an egg yolk underneath and you are not allowed to break it!!! Take 3 deep breathes and relax everything. Wait until your horse gives you the signal to move on, this can be a change in breath, relaxing of the eye, slow blinking, licking and chewing, dropping the head, yawning. Each horse will be different in time, it could be 30 sec to a minute, just be patient!
Once you feel your horse is relaxed, slowly allow your hand to sink further inwards you will feel sensations under your hand as the tissue lets go. Remember keep breathing! Wait for the horse to give you more relaxing signals.
Then in your mind’s eye imagine stretching the tissue towards to poll, take a few breathes and slowly stretch the tissue upwards towards the poll, ( like stretching a piece of cling film without tearing it) and hold. Stay there for as long as the horse will let you.
Once your horse has had enough , step away and allow them to process quietly. Try this and let me know how you get on. If your horse fidgets a lot lighten your pressure and slow down! Do not proceed if your horse really says no there may be bigger issues. Your horse should be relaxed and show signs of release.
We will be running more workshops in 2024 for horse owner massage!
#equinephysiqueandmotionfasciareleaeandposturecorrection
#massagetips
Healing bodies through fascia work. #fasciarelease
🙌Just Breathe 🙌
More often than not, I come to horses that are stuck in a state flight response. Flight is one of the most natural instincts a horse will have to protect themselves.
Why is this ?
Horses are evolved as prey animals, they are designed to run at the first sign of danger, but if a horse is in pain or injured, they are very clever at hiding these symptoms of weakness. Remember weakness means you get singled out and eaten by the big scary predators. This means when the body is in pain they will brace and compensate any way they can to protect themselves. Through time the compensatory patterns become restricted, the fascia becomes dehydrated, muscles and joints stop functioning correctly. Eventually the nervous system switches on to flight response and the horse can become agitated, spooky, stressed. This can be so exhausting for the horse .
So when I meet a horse for the first time , I simply like to start with rest and digest, basically create a space for the horse to relax and breathe. And yes it does sound crazy , but if we can activate the peripheral nervous system we can help decrease the flight response. Which then allows me to start unwinding the compensatory patterns stuck in the fascia system.
The video below shows my clients horse last week taking some slow deep breaths (rest and digest) before we looked further into the body.
Equine Physique & Motion
#myofascialrelease
#thebodykeepsthescore
#restanddigest