J.O.Equine Sports and Rehabilitation Massage Therapy

13/09/2024

13/09/2024

Weekend appointments are now available 😊
Some last minute spaces available last week of September....❤️🐴

Send a message to learn more

07/09/2024

More interesting reading about how our horses need and use salt

Research in Alberta, Canada, has revealed that the placement of mineral or salt blocks in pastures significantly impacts horses’ consumption rates. When the blocks are positioned in areas whe…

07/09/2024

Interesting facts- helping us understand our horses 👍

1. Horses have the 2nd largest eyes of any land mammal on earth. Mule’s eyes are bigger. 2. The eye is given extra protection by a third eyelid on the inside of the eye, which can close over the ey…

27/08/2024

Talking about whisker clipping is a really great litmus test to get an idea of how much of competition is human centred.

It’s a far more controversial topic than it should be.

In FEI classes, whisker clipping was banned recently and this caused a major uproar.

But in lower level classes and many other show organizations, it’s perfectly legal.

Regardless of anyone’s personal preferences, a simple fact remains — whiskers are a sensory organ for horses.

Each individual whisker even has its own blood supply.

The debate of how much they help with sensation is still ongoing but what is fact is that we know they’re used for sensory input by the horse.

It really isn’t up to us to argue to what extent they are used when that argument is only being used to justify us clipping them off for totally shallow reasons.

The only “benefit” humans get from whisker clipping is a “cleaner look” that they’ve been conditioned to like better.

There’s no other incentive, it’s all aesthetic based.

So, the fact that this is still as controversial of a debate as it is when it’s rooted in shallow human preferences really speaks for how much competition centres around human desires.

Because WHY are we enabling ourselves in promoting mindsets that flippantly take away protection and sensory output from the horse, with no care of the impact, just because we like they look better?

Whiskers are cute, for one.

For two, you can’t even see them in the show ring, only close up.

And then third, and most obviously, THEY ARE A SENSORY ORGAN.

Competiton can be done ethically, in my opinion.

But we will struggle to get to the destination of ethical competition so long as human desires are centred to the extent they currently are.

04/08/2024

A fantastic article about chiro or massage. My own horses have regular chiro aswell as massages...we work together. It helps to have knowledge of the different treatments/modalities and the benefits for your horse 🐎

I have noticed a disturbing trend lately: I see a lot of people asking for chiropractors when what they really mean is that they need a bodyworker. This use of the term “chiropractor” as an an all …

04/08/2024

Why does my horse need a nassage?
A really fantastic article on equine massage with all the benefits ❤️..a must read.

I often see people posting about their horse having muscle knots and being muscle sore, talking about having the chiropractor out, Pemf and red light, kt tape, vet’s been out and still the horse is…

12/07/2024

**Equine Massage £20** Introductory offer. (Usual price £35) Fully insured, member of IAAT. Horses and ponies of all ages and disciplines benefit from massage. Help your horse perform their best and book an appointment.
😊
Massage...
🔸️relaxes, stimulates and develops muscles
🔸️alleviates pain, stiffness, tension, ache and discomfort
🔸️reduces swelling and inflammation
🔸️improves skin elasticity and cultivates a healthy coat
🔸️encourages lymphatic flow and drains stagnant lymph nodes
🔸️boosts the immune system
🔸️helps with stress, restlessness, boredom, anxiety, aggression
🔸️delivers nutrients and oxygen to cells and tissues
🔸️improves metabolism and circulation
🔸️helps prevent injury from tired, tight, overworked muscles
🔸️ relieve pain/restrictions that may cause behavioural issues

Check my page for more information on the many benefits of massage therapy. I also offer Craniosacral Therapy.

Message for a day/evening or weekend appt. Discounts for 2+ horses.
Covering Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Shropshire, Powys, parts of Gloucestershire. Please message to see if I cover your area 😊

11/07/2024

Absolutely!! Each horse is different, and like people, some can adapt easily... others take some time to settle into a new environment

"New Home Syndrome"🤓

I am coining this term to bring recognition, respect, and understanding to what happens to horses when they move homes. This situation involves removing them from an environment and set of routines they have become familiar with, and placing them somewhere completely different with new people and different ways of doing things.

Why call it a syndrome?

Well, really it is! A syndrome is a term used to describe a set of symptoms that consistently occur together and can be tied to certain factors such as infections, genetic predispositions, conditions, or environmental influences. It is also used when the exact cause of the symptoms is not fully understood or when it is not connected with a well-defined disease. In this case, "New Home Syndrome" is connected to a horse being placed in a new home where its entire world changes, leading to psychological and physiological impacts. While it might be transient, the ramifications can be significant for both the horse and anyone handling or riding it.

Let me explain...

Think about how good it feels to get home after a busy day. How comfortable your favourite clothes are, how well you sleep in your own bed compared to a strange bed, and how you can really relax at home. This is because home is safe and familiar. At home, the part of you that keeps an eye out for potential danger turns down to a low setting. It does this because home is your safe place (and if it is not, this blog will also explain why a lack of a safe place is detrimental).

Therefore, the first symptom of horses experiencing "New Home Syndrome" is being unsettled, prone to anxiety, or difficult behaviour. If you have owned them before you moved them, you struggle to recognise your horse, feeling as if your horse has been replaced by a frustrating version. If the horse is new to you, you might wonder if you were conned, if the horse was drugged when you rode it, or if you were lied to about the horse's true nature.

A horse with "New Home Syndrome" will be a stressed version of itself, on high alert, with a drastically reduced ability to cope. Horses don't handle change like humans do. If you appreciate the comfort of your own home and how you can relax there, you should be able to understand what the horse is experiencing.

Respecting that horses interpret and process their environments differently from us helps in understanding why your horse is being frustrating and recognising that there is a good chance you were not lied to or that the horse was not drugged.

Horses have survived through evolution by being highly aware of their environments. Change is a significant challenge for them because they notice the slightest differences, not just visually but also through sound, smell, feel, and other senses. Humans generalise and categorise, making it easy for us to navigate familiar environments like shopping centres. Horses do not generalise in the same way; everything new is different to them, and they need proof of safety before they can habituate and feel secure. When their entire world changes, it is deeply stressful.

They struggle to sleep until they feel safe, leading to sleep deprivation and increased difficulty.

But there is more...

Not only do you find comfort in your home environment and your nervous system downregulates, but you also find comfort in routines. Routines are habits, and habits are easy. When a routine changes or something has to be navigated differently, things get difficult. For example, my local supermarket is undergoing renovations. After four years of shopping there, it is extremely frustrating to have to work out where everything is now. Every day it gets moved due to the store being refitted section by section. This annoyance is shared by other shoppers and even the staff.

So, consider the horse. Not only are they confronted with the challenge of figuring out whether they are safe in all aspects of their new home while being sleep deprived, but every single routine and encounter is different. Then, their owner or new owner starts getting critical and concerned because the horse suddenly seems untrained or difficult. The horse they thought they owned or bought is not meeting their expectations, leading to conflict, resistance, explosiveness, hypersensitivity, and frustration.

The horse acts as if it knows little because it is stressed and because the routines and habits it has learned have disappeared. If you are a new human for the horse, you feel, move, and communicate differently from what it is used to. The way you hold the reins, your body movements in the saddle, the position of your leg – every single routine of communication between horse and person is now different. I explain to people that when you get a new horse, you have to imprint yourself and your way of communicating onto the horse. You have to introduce yourself and take the time to spell out your cues so that they get to know you.

Therefore, when you move a horse to a new home or get a new horse, your horse will go through a phase called "New Home Syndrome," and it will be significant for them. Appreciating this helps them get through it because they are incredible and can succeed. The more you understand and help the horse learn it is safe in its new environment and navigate the new routines and habits you introduce, the faster "New Home Syndrome" will pass.
"New Home Syndrome" will be prevalent in a horse’s life until they have learned to trust the safety of the environment (and all that entails) and the humans they meet and interact with. With strategic and understanding approaches, this may take weeks, and their nervous systems will start downgrading their high alert status. However, for some horses, it can take a couple of years to fully feel at ease in their new home.

So, next time you move your horse or acquire a new horse and it starts behaving erratically or being difficult, it is not being "stupid", you might not have been lied to or the horse "drugged" - your horse is just experiencing an episode of understandable "New Home Syndrome." And you can help this.❤

I would be grateful if you could please share, this reality for horses needs to be better appreciated ❤
‼️When I say SHARE that does not mean plagiarise my work…it is seriously not cool to copy and paste these words and make out you have written it yourself‼️

09/06/2024

**Equine Massage £20** Introductory offer. (Usual price £35) Fully insured, member of IAAT. Bringing your horse back into work? Developing their fitness? Getting competition fit? Just like humans starting back at the gym, they suffer with stiff and sore muscles as they increase their workload. Massage helps alleviate soreness and prevent injury...see below 😊

Massage...
🔸️relaxes, stimulates and develops muscles
🔸️alleviates pain, stiffness, tension, ache and discomfort
🔸️reduces swelling and inflammation
🔸️improves skin elasticity and cultivates a healthy coat
🔸️encourages lymphatic flow and drains stagnant lymph nodes
🔸️boosts the immune system
🔸️helps with stress, restlessness, boredom, anxiety, agression
🔸️delivers nutrients and oxygen to cells and tissues
🔸️improves metabolism and circulation
🔸️helps prevent injury from tired, tight, overworked muscles
🔸️ relieve pain/restrictions that may cause behavioural issues

Check my page for more information on the many benefits of massage therapy. I also offer craniosacral therapy.

Message for a day/evening or weekend appt. Discounts for 2+ horses.
Covering Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Shropshire, Powys, parts of Gloucestershire. Please message to see if I cover your area 😊

09/06/2024

The 10 Most Important Things Fascia Does For Your Horse

Fascia is a connective tissue that surrounds and permeates all structures in the body, including muscles, bones, organs, and nerves. It’s a vital component of your horse’s body, providing structural support, facilitating movement, and playing a vital role in overall health and well-being.

Here are 10 of the most important things that fascia does for your horse - https://koperequine.com/10-most-important-things-fascia-does-for-your-horse/

04/06/2024

Salt! Why do horses need it??

12 Important Salt Facts For Horses

Sodium, one of the compounds in table salt (sodium chloride), is an essential mineral:

🧂 Sodium is an electrolyte mineral that helps to maintain healthy body fluid balance and pH level.
🧂 It is essential for muscles and nerves to function.
🧂 Approximately 30% of the sodium in the body is stored in the bones. The rest is found in bodily fluids like plasma, blood, and sweat, and in tissues, such as the skin and muscles.
🧂 Sodium is short in many working horse diets due to being lost in large amounts in sweat and urine.
🧂 Licking behavior can be a sign that your horse is short of salt.
🧂 Providing salt not only encourages your horse to drink more water but also supports the cells’ ability to stay hydrated and maintain proper electrolyte balance, which is critical for muscle function, nerve transmission, and overall health.
🧂 Sodium also aids in the absorption of nutrients in the gut, particularly glucose and amino acids, by helping to transport these substances across cell membranes.
🧂 Along with sodium, other electrolytes such as potassium, chloride, calcium, and magnesium are crucial for maintaining overall electrolyte balance.
🧂 Common sources of sodium for horses include salt blocks or loose salt, as well as commercial feeds and supplements formulated to provide balanced electrolytes.
🧂 Other signs of deficiency include poor performance, lethargy, decreased sweating, nerve and muscle dysfunction, and reduced appetite.
🧂 Excessive sodium intake can also cause issues such as increased thirst, urination, and potentially an imbalance with other electrolytes.
🧂 The average horse weighing 1,100 lbs should consume between 0.75-1 oz per day. A working athlete or a horse living in hot, humid conditions may need to consume even more to compensate for the additional loss of electrolytes through sweat.

Learn more about electrolytes and how they can help, or harm, your horse here including 5 ways in which electrolytes aid in muscle function and exercise recovery - https://koperequine.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-electrolytes/

04/06/2024

Some stretches and exercises for weak hind end ❤️

A key component to a healthy horse is having strong hind quarters. This is the main powerhouse and source of propulsion for the horse, which can mean winning or losing when it comes to timing an event to the thousandth, such as barrel racing. Weakness in the hind quarters can greatly affect a horse....

04/06/2024

I always recommend backing up as an exercise...here's why 😊

Backing up is a low-impact exercise that can be done in-hand or under saddle. Practiced with quality and consistency it can improve your horse’s posture, core strength, balance, topline flexion and…

31/05/2024

Yes!! Please read x

I see a lot of people recommending chiropractors and pemf and excluding massage therapists. I want to give you a few reasons why I believe a massage therapist should be used regularly at times in a horse’s life:

We all have different skills to contribute to your horse’s care. Bodies need different kinds of help at different times.

Remember that it’s the muscles that create tensile strength and hold the bones and organs in place. They are also what pulls the body out of optimum, by strength or weakness, which combine to create imbalance and potential unsoundness. This is especially true and important when a horse is coming into increased work, coming back into fitness, or when a horse is older and needs a little help staying loose and comfortable. You can be a great trainer, your horse will still build strength unevenly, it’s simply what happens when out of shape horses are put into exercise. It’s natural, normal and expected.

By being proactive and working with a great massage therapist you can help your horse be more balanced and comfortable and so sounder, more mentally balanced and train more easily. We can help the horse through the process by manually suppling, helping him learn his body, improving awareness and letting him use himself the best he can while he works to build and become, hopefully, the best version of himself.

Learn more here - https://koperequine.com/why-hands-on-massage-is-the-best-way-to-for-sore-care-muscles/

Massage Speeds Exercise Recovery - https://koperequine.com/massage-speeds-muscle-recovery/

29/04/2024

Yes!!

29/04/2024

Amazing article regarding stiffness/perceived stiffness, the nervous system and benefits of massage. Please read 😊

I once read a study by researchers attempting to find a correlation between the feeling of being stiff and its relationship to the body actually being physically “stiff”. Surprisingly, they found z…

24/04/2024

**Introductory offer £20**
Usual price £35. Fully qualified and insured. Covering Herefordshire Worcestershire Shropshire Powys and North Gloucestershire. 🐴 Message to see if I cover your area 😊

'Most horses work as athletes. Their job is to perform physical activities, maybe participating in a sport, maybe teaching the next generation at home or even a pleasure horse. Maybe your horse is a high performance athlete, maybe your horse is more of a weekend warrior.
Either way, bodywork is an important part of your horse's routine.
Regular maintenance of your horses most important asset - their sound functioning body - can help prevent break downs. Through gentle techniques we can influence the nervous system, reset and reduce tension, increase mobility and imprive soundness and so performance.

It's pretty powerful stuff!

Set your horse up for success and it will be more successful.
Benefits if massage include
Improved muscle function
Improved joint alignment
Improved self awareness
Mobilised fascia
Increase in stride length and range of motion
Enhanced relaxation
Improved overall performance and recovery'
(Courtesy of Koper Equine)

See other benefits on my page 😊

Message to see if I cover your area or for a no obligation chat..