Inside Equine - Equine Sports massage & Thermography

01/12/2022

I was lucky enough to pop to Cheltenham last night for the Horse and Hound Awards. It was a fabulous evening surrounded by some awesome equestrians. Many inspiring stories were heard and worthy winners recognised!

09/10/2022

When the pony starts off the session wanting to kill you but the massage ends with them being this relaxed = job satisfaction 😀

25/08/2022

Which horses can benefit from a sports massage? The answer is any horse - from the happy hacker to the top equine athlete in any discipline. All horses have their issues just as we humans do! I know I appreciate a nice massage even if there is no particular reason to have one 😀 The list of benefits is long but here are a few of them....

09/08/2022

😂 so true!

Horses will always be horses 😂
credits: Pinterest

16/05/2022

⭐️⭐️⭐️NEW CLIENT OFFER⭐️⭐️⭐️
Full body Equine Sports Massage - first treatment just £30 for new clients!

Massage beneficial to any horse, of any age and whatever their current workload see below for some of the benefits….

01/05/2022

Thank you to Dean Routledge Equine Dentistry for Ted’s dental checkup yesterday. Your calm approach made for a very calm Ted who can be suspicious and anxious outside of his usual routine. He had a lovely sleep afterwards! 😴🧸

27/02/2022

Thank you for having me today Clandon Park Livery Clandon.

Some really interesting cases. I’m looking forward to analysing the images of your lovely, very well behaved horses! 🐴

24/12/2021

Wishing all my lovely clients a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!! Thank you all for your support in 2021 and let’s hope 2022 brings some more normality 🎄🎅🥂

26/11/2021

Teddy enjoying his morning scratches 🥰

18/11/2021

How does massage therapy help my horse?

02/10/2021

I knew it! 🤣

Who's got one of these? 🤦‍♀️

14/09/2021

When you have to abandon using the lunging whip because the cat thinks it’s a game!🙄🐈‍⬛

13/09/2021

Well this gives a scientific explanation for something I have been feeling my whole life! 💕

Estudios recientes realizados por el “Institute of Heart-Math” proporcionan una pista para explicar la" curación "bidireccional que ocurre cuando estamos cerca de los caballos. Según los investigadores, el corazón tiene un campo electromagnético más grande que el cerebro: un magnetómetro puede medir el campo de energía del corazón que irradia desde 2.4 metros hasta 3 metros alrededor del cuerpo humano. Si bien esto es ciertamente significativo, quizás sea más impresionante que el campo electromagnético proyectado por el corazón de un caballo sea cinco veces más grande que el de un ser humano (imagina una esfera en forma de campo electromagnético alrededor del caballo) y este pueda influir directamente en nuestro propio ritmo cardíaco.

También es probable que los caballos tengan lo que la ciencia ha identificado como un ritmo cardíaco "coherente" (patrón de frecuencia cardíaca) que explica por qué podemos "sentirnos mejor" cuando estamos cerca de ellos. Los estudios han encontrado que un patrón cardíaco coherente o HRV (siglas en inglés) es una medida sólida de bienestar y consistente con estados emocionales de calma y alegría, es decir, exhibimos tales patrones cuando sentimos emociones positivas.

Un patrón cardíaco coherente es indicativo de un sistema que puede recuperarse y adaptarse a situaciones estresantes de manera muy eficiente. Muchas veces, solo necesitamos estar en presencia de caballos para sentir una sensación de bienestar y paz. De hecho, la investigación muestra que las personas experimentan muchos beneficios fisiológicos al interactuar con los caballos, incluida la disminución de la presión arterial y la frecuencia cardíaca, mayores niveles de beta-endorfinas (neurotransmisores que actúan como supresores del dolor), disminución de los niveles de estrés, disminución de los sentimientos de ira, hostilidad, tensión y ansiedad, mejor funcionamiento social; y mayores sentimientos de empoderamiento, confianza, paciencia y autoeficacia ".

Autor pintura: Svatava Hueberová

11/09/2021

Thinking of getting your horse imaged?

Now’s the time to check for any unknown underlying issues before the winter coat comes in!

During the months when our horses are that bit hairier it is not so easy to have them imaged unless they are fully clipped, including legs. This is because the winter coat and feathers act as an insulating layer and reduce emissivity (the horses ability to emit heat) This means that we can not get a true reading of the body surface temperature of the horse and therefore can not produce reliable, comparable images for interpretation.

The image below allows you to see the difference between the clipped and non-clipped areas….

I’m always happy to discuss any individual horse to see how Thermographic imaging can be of benefit to you, contact me for more info.

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09/09/2021

Thermography? X-rays? Ultrasound?

Thermography is a physiological imaging modality which maps the surface body temperature of the subject. Any injury, disease, infection etc will trigger the body’s inflammatory response causing a rise in temperature in the area and therefore a change to the thermal pattern. Knowing how to analyse the thermograms allows us to locate an area of interest for further investigation by the vet. This is ideal when the horse may be lame or just ‘a bit off’ but where this is coming from is not obvious.

X-rays and Ultrasound are anatomical imaging modalities and show the damage that has been done to soft tissue and bone. Thermography can be used in conjunction with these more conventional imaging techniques to narrow down and pinpoint an area of pain/injury/inflammation and X-rays and Ultrasound can then be used by the vet to diagnose and advise on treatment.

27/08/2021

I’m so thankful that I was trained by one of the best in her field!

Knowing what you’re looking at when analysing Thermographic images is just as important as taking the images correctly in the first place….

Thermography - Sandie Chambers: "The proof is in the pudding. Having pioneered the use of thermography in Veterinary and medical applications for over 17 years, created standardisation and protocols from thousands, yes, literally thousands of case studies, I think I am well placed to voice my concerns over specific organisations and individuals claiming to be experts in this modality. It takes hundreds if not thousands of hours to become an expert in something. And I am not talking about doing single or single multiple research papers; I am talking about practical insitu cases. One thing that I do not and have not seen in any discussion is the understanding of what is normal. Some papers written by so-called experts, do not discuss what a normal thermal pattern of an anatomical region is. Sadly as stand-alone modality thermography only gives you a small % of the picture. Taking a scan under a standardised environment with a standardised subject doing all the requires preparation etc., is only a small piece of the process. If a thermographer has no clue to what a normal healthy anatomical structure or tissue looks like in infrared, then there will be no chance that they will be able to identify what the thermograms are indicating, e.g. is it an interruption to blood or nerve supply or is it increase inflammation from an acute injury? Understanding many multiples of case studies are the only way that a thermographer can rightly say they understand what they are looking at and how to interpret it. If thermographers are not willing to put in the time, then it is time to change your vocation. Research papers are always needed, but for the technician, you should do hundreds of hours of case studies to understand not just the standardised process and affects, but what you are looking at to enable you to be reactive to each case and make an interpretation and to share this information with confidence with you vet or client.

21/08/2021

Manky - definitely my biggest client!! He’s such a good boy and enjoys his monthly treatments, it’s a good job too with feet that size! 😱

20/08/2021

How often does my horse need to have a massage?

This is a question I am asked often and there is no definitive answer. It comes down to coming up with a plan that works for your horse and your finances.

Our horses’ muscles are put through a lot – whether they are a hacking horse or in full-time training and competition. Massage is a benefit to them as it increases circulation, aids in muscle repair by delivering nutrients to the muscles, increases muscle elasticity.

Every horse is, of course, assessed on an individual basis but as a general guide I would recommend the following….

🐴Competition horse – Every 2 weeks plus before and after competition
🐴Horse in regular ridden work – every 4-6 weeks
🐴Veteran or arthritic horse – every 2-3 weeks
🐴Horse on box rest - weekly

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14/08/2021

**Laminitis**

The weather we are having at the moment! Periods of rain followed by sunshine means our grass is growing long and lush -increasing the chance of laminitis!

Thermography can detect a change in temperature within the foot/hoof up to three weeks before any clinical signs such as heat or lameness are present.

The human hand can detect an increase in temperature of around 3-4 degrees whereas the camera we use can detect increases of less than 0.5 degrees.

Early detection means preventative measures can be put in place sooner to avoid a more serious case.

13/08/2021

So true! and also where I do my best thinking 🤔

06/07/2021

Does my horse have to have something wrong with it to benefit from thermal imaging?

Absolutely not – Prevention is better than cure!

Scanning a horse even if when there are no issues present is invaluable. It provides a baseline showing the ‘normal’ for your horse.
It can then be used as a comparison for scans in the future.

It also gives peace of mind that there is nothing underlying that has not yet presented clinical signs such as swelling or lameness - early detection is the key to preventing further trauma, or a condition developing into something much more serious.