05/09/2024
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💁♀️ Let's Talk... Choosing the Best Bodyworker, Practitioner, or Therapist for Your Horse....
➡️ This is going to be one of those ugly truth posts, but it needs to be said.... So buckle your seat belt, because we're about to wade through some Real $h*t on the equine therapy industry...
In the last 10 years it seems like the equine therapy industry has just kept growing and breaking new ground on therapies to help our equine athletes. It's amazing the regenerative options there are now and how injuries that were once career-ending are healing success stories. I look back at a horse I had to retire because of collateral ligament tears... Today my rehab facility typically heals them in 60 days. Our technology in the equine field is almost ahead of what we have access to on the human therapy side. My husband had PRP injections in his knees a few years ago and the doctor is trying to explain to us what "this new" PRP is... I looked at him and laughed and said, "We've been using that in horses for years, I've probably had more case studies in my practice than you have!"
As many great things as there are to say about the therapy industry... There are some negatives too. One of the questions I get asked most frequently by customers is how to pick the right person to work on their horse. My most frequently asked question by people taking our training courses is how do I demonstrate my knowledge to potential customers?
Here's a big disconnect with the industry... Customers don't know enough about therapy to separate the "snake oil salesmen" from a highly educated professional, because usually the salesmen is going to spit better game than a true therapist that let's their results do the bragging.... And then you have the professionals that are walking a tightrope of how to best help your horse without overstepping boundaries that might be considered diagnosing, "playing vet", or making health claims which could result in an unwanted conversation with the state vet board.
(FYI your Snake Oilers will usually spout off how their stuff is the cure for everything and somehow never get into trouble... Probably because they have zero fear of losing a license they didn't have in the first place. It's easy for people to just overlook such wild claims when you announce yourself the village idiot.)
So here's my expose all, common sense guide to choosing a therapist...
1. Ask their Background and Education - Years ago I met a human chiropractor that had just graduated and started a practice in Anadarko where I had my massage practice. He approached me about teaming up to work on horses, because he could go take his short certification class to be legal to work on animals. I asked him if he had grown up around horses, and he said, "No, but I've watched rodeos on TV and I know people will spend money to take care of their horses." Ummmm.... ok, so like you realize they bite and kick when they hurt, right? I simply had to tell him that I work with chiropractors that are from the industry, but I appreciated the thought. It wasn't his chiropractic ability that I didn't trust, it was his lack of horse sense. You see, when you work on people you can bluff your way through by asking where they hurt the worst or what symptoms they're having. If you can't do an assessment, you can just go by the information given and most people will be satisfied with that because you addressed their complaints.
There are so many simple weekend massage courses, online trainings, and bull$h*t equipment certifications that you really have to investigate to see who really knows their stuff. Now, I'm not knocking any of those trainings (except for maybe the equipment ones, because they just want to sell equipment not create real therapists), because I feel like the weekend and online courses are set up to be a stepping stone on your path to becoming a great therapist. There's a massage school that teaches a weekend course and the biggest complaint I hear about it is that they don't teach enough anatomy or graduates don't know enough to start a business afterwards.... Ok, so you purchased and planned to take a massage course... So maybe you could have ordered one of the 9 million equine anatomy books off Amazon and showed up prepared and pre-gamed to your 2 day course of learning. 🤷♀️ Learning does take some initiative and you can't expect an instructor to spoon feed you every bit of it.
Also, one weekend course may get you a certification, but does not make you a master therapist or the keyboard of knowledge on the internet.... Stay in your lane baby therapist and keep learning. You can brag all you want, but just like learning to ride a horse... We also start out the same in our careers... Mediocre at best, nervous, excited, and full of passion... Experience will gain you the ability to let your results be your voice, so you don't have to try to upsell yourself by using big medical terms to wow potential clients. Explain your craft to them in plain English, they want to understand not be made to feel inferior. I'll be honest, I'm a horrible test taker and had to retest on practically everything the whole way through human massage school and acupuncture school... and I still had some of the lowest passing grades in my graduating classes. I used to be insecure about that, but I learned that my ability to good work had nothing to do with my lack of ability to memorize and silence my anxiety long enough to take a written test. You would laugh at the things I Google daily in my barn, because I can't remember something or can't spell it.
When shopping for a therapist, ask how much education they have. How long they've been working on horses. Do they ride and compete also? I'm also not saying that you have to go with a 20 year therapist, if we don't support new ones the industry won't continue to grow and that's the opposite of what I want as an educator. Also, having 50 certificates of education might decorate your walls and prove you're a great student... but doesn't necessarily mean you have the horse sense to be a great therapist either.... So beware of the one that feels the needs to tell you every acronym behind their name and every paper on their wall. Over the years, I've had the opportunity to meet, learn from, and shadow under some absolutely incredible people that never had an official certification or license. I'm very much for education, but these older therapists were the ones training overseas, seeking out people who wrote the books on therapy, doing the research that we now use to educate others.... These people were/are the pioneers of our industry and I advise all therapists to try to train with these people if you get a chance. Volunteer, work for free, bring them coffee... Whatever is takes to get the opportunity to learn. I have worked many hours without pay, because I needed that learning experience.
2. If a Practitioner can't tell you in simple terms what their equipment does, how it can benefit your horse, and why they are choosing that protocol... You are gambling with your money and with your horse's health. PEMF machines are a great example. I want to know what strength/Gauss your using for each area and why. I want to know the depth of pe*******on in comparison to the area we are trying to treat. Basically, I just want to know you have the knowledge to run your equipment correctly. I also want to know that you have enough general horse knowledge to not turn something up too high on a pssm horse or on a fresh injury... That you understand the specifics of an injury. Or on the flip side, that your equipment actually has the range to reach and heal an injury. For instance, a laser that only penetrates and inch is not going to make it through the dense hoof capsule to reach Navicular bursa inflammation. I encourage Practitioners to not set themselves up for failure by promising results on something their equipment isn't capable of. You end up feeling defeated and with frustrated customers.
I have met very few practitioners that actually have a complete and thorough knowledge of their equipment and it's capabilities. I had someone tell me yesterday that you want to buy the biggest compressor possible for nebulizer treatments so it'll just blow harder for better results... No, I want an adjustable psi because each airway and tolerance is different. With human units, you can just back off of the mouthpiece if you feel overwhelmed, with horses they are stuck in a mask depending on us to know how much is too much.
I love the internet comment I frequently see... "Our product keeps working through the body even after you take it off..."
Yep, pretty much all therapy does. PEMF, laser, red light ect. is designed to work with the production of healthy cells and circulation which works on balancing out the body and achieving homeostasis... which continues to balance and work after the treatment has ended. Magnetic blankets work the same way by stimulating the blood pumps on the acupuncture points, just not to the degree of pulsating you get from high end equipment. Even icing, Wrapping, and massage continue to have benefits after the treatment has ended... it's not like my timer goes off to end a session and I go, "OK, your time's up! I'm going to snap my fingers and stop the increased circulation and body balancing until the next time you come in!" It just doesn't work that way and sales tactics like that are what gives equipment a bad name. Sometimes it's not that the equipment is bad, it's lack of knowledge of the operator. Oh and another quick side note... NASA literally tests like every type of therapy equipment out there, because... uh they're NASA and research is kind of their thing. Sounds fancy when your selling something though. I don't have a piece of equipment in my barn that hasn't been tested by NASA at some point.
There's no piece of equipment or therapy that will "cure or fix" anything in one treatment. Your horse may feel drastically better, but usually that means you've treated secondary symptoms and are working your way to the root of the problem. Rarely do we end up pinpointing the exact problem on the first attempt at a show because we haven't seen the horse before. The Horse may have hock pain, but then the question is Why? It it because of tight muscle? Unbalanced feet? Muscle Weakness or lack of fitness? All of the above? It takes time to work through the layers. If your practitioner makes their equipment seem like Jesus came back and walked on water to bring it to them... It's probably a sales tactic. Ask for that practitioner to share some case studies with you.... Not the company's or internet's case studies... THEIRS. If their equipment really does what they say, they should have their own documented results.
3. Every Bodyworker, Practitioner, Therapist should be able to give you a body assessment of your horse. If they can't pinpoint areas of soreness, how are they supposed to help your horse? If they can't tell you where your horse is sore and explain their plan for treatment, do they actually know or are they just going through the motions? There's nothing wrong with just generic massage. It has benefits, few contraindications, and feels good. But there is a reason you don't go to the spa after having an injury or surgery to get a massage. You go to a therapist that specializes in athletes, injuries, assessing muscular issues. Your horse is an athlete and deserves to be treated as such. I also feel like a good therapist will give you things to do at home in between treatments if they really care about the wellbeing of the horse and not just getting paid.
I watched a post on fb where a girl was asking what was wrong with her horse's pattern and many people including myself tried explaining that the horse was very hind end weak and probably sore in the hips and back. I asked her if she looked at the horse move on a lunge line. She preceded to tell me that the horse had pain only in one stifle, but no where else in the body, could trot perfect on a lunge line and just needed more training.... and that she does bodywork and he wasn't sore at all in his hips or back.... Well that's not how compensation patterns for soreness and weak muscle work... That's also not how biomechanics work.... An experienced therapist would know if there's a stifle issue there's going to be compensatory pain in the back, and it was pretty clear on the videos. I'm all for checking my own progress and second opinions, but I feel like if I have to strangers on Facebook why my horse can't hold a lead or engage his hind end... I should not be running a business and charging for bodywork. It's time to intern with another therapist.
➡️ I realize this turned into a novel! Sorry for the long explanation, but I feel like it's important to guide people in the right direction. It's hard to navigate through an industry that has so many different levels of experience and ability. I feel like the horse should always come first in the situation and the best decision needs to be made with their needs as a priority.
Love & Knowledge
💜SNT💜
