Becoming self employed. Or how I become an equine massage therapist.

I get asked a lot about how to become a horse massage therapist or how I become one. Often by people who are interested in changing their profession or by young grooms who are only just starting on their career. I certainly don't claim to be a career advisor, but I'm sure that hearing someone else's story might help people to decide if this is the right profession for them. Also for my clients it is obviously of interest where and how I came from and why they would trust my expertise. So here goes...

MY STORY so far...

Building the foundation
I, as many others as a teenager, sustained several injuries through falls and hard physical labour (as we young horse girls do!!). I come from Scandinavia where massage therapy has long roots in rehabilitating injuries and is often people's first point of call when they are not quite right physically. It is also something that is often "prescribed" by the doctors if people go to see them complaining sore back's or headache's and is in general seen as a part of everyday way of looking after yourself and your body day to day. Massage therapists go through a long training and are seen as a serious professionals and most definately not "beauty therapists" (which is often the case in the UK). Massage is often applied in blocks of several treatments a week over a period of maybe a month or so and then the frequency of treatments is tailormade to the patients needs. Detailed records are kept and the findings are discussed between the therapist and the patient and sometimes with their doctor.

I obviously had a fair share of sports massage as a teenager and this developed a keen interest in how my own body reacts and works after a massage session. It also tought me all about the intricasies of our musculosceletal systems, since often during and after a session you would stop and discuss with your therapist and he will locate the muscles in your body, talk about what they do and also point them out to you on a wall chart. Great way to learn if you are interested to know more!

Decision time
I did move to UK in 1999 to study my Masters degree in Chemistry. My injuries were still there and I still needed some massage to help me, but was utterly disappointed by the standards of massage therapy on offer in the UK. It was very pricey, I felt no effects, I hated all the candles and being quiet while the "beauty therapist" was randomly rubbing my back. These were not the therapist I had grown to now back home, but normally ladies who were more worried about your "modesty" than how to deal with real aches and pains.

So I was extremely excited when I wound out about a horse massage course run by Equinology whereby one didnt need to study human massage beforehand and it was run by an American! So in 2005 I signed up, got the money together and started on the path I am still on!

The course itself really gives you a foundation only and is really up to the individual what they make out of it. I could see this right from the start and also since I had had so much masage in the past myself, I knew that the only way you become a good massage therapist is to get an AMAZING feel in your fingers. Your feel is your only tool as a massage therapist. Massage is very non-gimmicky and your hands are the tool that reads the muscle tissue under the hair, skin and fascia. So I spent a lot of time doing double the case studies I was required to do and when those were done and while I was waiting for my official certification to come through, I worked a lot for just petrol money in the local area. I knew a lot of people will use me only for the time I am very cheap or free (mind you I didnt realise how much I was going to be in demand when I was cheap...!), but at the same time I was gaining in confidence and experiences everyday. Win - win really!

I worked alongside my office job for nearly 4 years and finally in 2010 I become brave enough to leave the secure, but oh so boring, office job.

Going for it full time
You know when people tell you that it takes at least two years full time to build any business and that you should have at least 6 months worth of savings before you even think about starting on your own? Or how you really should do your research before you leave a regular income?

Well... I'd like to say I listened to them, but the truth is that I did what I always do and said "how hard can it be?" and just took the plunge. I only seem to learn from my mistakes anyway, but then again, quoting the great Win Borden:

"If you wait to do everything until you are sure it is right,

you will probably never do much of anything" ~Win Borden~

Knowing what I now, yes I would probably do many things differently, but then at the same time nothing can really prepare you to the emotional rollercoaster that is being your own boss. When  anyone describes self employment, there is a tendency to over exaggarate the good points, painting the pictures of travelling the world, working from a beach hut (!) and the total freedom being self employed brings. But no one tells you about the bouts of self doubt bordering depression when you struggle to pay your bills in the beginning. Or the total lack of motivation on some days when your boss (ie yourself) just shouts at you "stay in bed, you fool!"

You really have to FIRST learn to create the opportunity, particularly in the UK where massage is seen as a bit of a stress relief treatment not as a physical therapy, and only then you might get lucky and "get the job". And if you get even luckier, the client might actually like you and use you regularly. If you are employed all you have to do is to turn up to a readily created job, do the minimum you can get away with and moan about how badly the company is run. (I know, I know... massive generalisation there folks!!! :D )

The beginning is hard and you really need to WANT to do it. You must absolutely and utterly LOVE what you do (and I do, trust me!) to get through the harder days. Anyone can handle the easy days - the ones when people queue at your proverbial door to get their horses treated. But your commitment will surely be tested along the way many times and they are those bad days that do that. One does develop a very thick skin.

As I said, I absolutely love what I do. I love meeting new horses and seeing them get better over the course of the treatments. I love when I can discuss the treatment "plans" with the client and when we together try to find the right excercises and the right level of work for the horse to still advance and build muscle while still staying supple, happy and injury free. I am learning so much everyday. I know it is a cliche, but I really am. And not just about the horses! I'm learning a lot about how to deal with people too (and to be fair this profession is 95% people, 5% of horses - so don't get into it if you don't want to work with people!) and most importantly I have learned so much about myself. I have grown alongside of my business as a person and as a therapist. I have grown 10 times more inside that I did in the 5 years I worked in a regular job.

And I would never change anything :)

My advice? Do your research, do a bit of soul searching, make sure you enjoy working with the oh so capricious horse people and of course... never give up on your dreams!

I leave you with one of my favourite quotes

Growth always lies on the other side of discomfort. Whether it is in the weight room or in career decisions, you will never develop by staying in your comfort zone. People dont become old when they reach a certain birthday; they become old when they decide to live life without crossing that line of discmfort ~Dr Brett Steenbrecht~

Kitty, a beautiful dressage mare enjoying her massage.

I Wish everyone good luck in their search for their personal happiness!!!

PS. If anyone is interested in my other passion - I have another blog where I talk about my life as a dog foster parent and a mummy to my two dogs. My World Of Dogs - Wordpress Blog



Horses, pain and misbehaving

I have wanted to write about this topic for a while now. It is very close to my heart and something I see more or less everyday doing my job as a massage therapist. I was prompted to write about it after Nic from Rockley Farm blogged about the topic recently. Read Nic's blog here

I have for a long time had a problem with people who like to say that their horses are "just being naughty/lazy/bucking/[insert a usual complaint here] for the sake of it". These are also often the same people who say they don't believe in complementary therapies, barefoot rehab or natural horsemanship or people who see themselves as an expert on their chosen field, and hence have no room for improvement. The sort, who think that their views are always right.

It seems to me that some people still to this day hold an unconscious belief that if the pain is not verbalised (as us humans usually do), it doesn't exist. This concept was originally mentioned in the 17th century by the French philosopher, René Descartes (1596–1650), who (in)famously said "...the non-human, on the other hand, are nothing but complex automata with no souls, minds, or reason. They can see, hear, and touch, but they are not, in any sense, conscious, and are unable to suffer or even to feel pain..."

One would've hoped that in 500 years we would've evolved from such depths...

I am not saying here that horses do not have different temperaments and no lazy horses exist, that sort of thinking would be far too black and white and I would be almost thinking along the same lines with people who say "he is just being lazy". The problem is usually much more complex than that. A more useful approach is to come from an angle that I call "of not knowing". This is the opposite angle from the all knowing people I talked about earlier. It is an angle whereby you accept that you truly do not know what is going on, but will do everything in your power to understand why something is happening, before making a judgement call or putting a label on a horse. Think first - act second. Or even better think first, think second and act third.

I have had a few horse clients who have changed owners and the new owner has kept up with the massage treatments. Some of these horses who have gone from being very "naughty and dangerous" to being  lovely characters with only a small hint still of that previous behaviour left,  usually it was just a tactic the horse had to use to protect itself. They have been amazing reminders of my theory.

I said a few months ago that I have not been too keen to ride and I could not really pinpoint it to anything. I think a lot of it has been to do with the above. I have seen sore horses being ridden just because there is one more competition around the corner or because they are just being naughty and need to be showed who is the boss (another blog post there simmering, I feel..!) Somehow I just haven't wanted to be part of that all. And don't get me wrong, as I said before I am not quite (yet??) a person who thinks that the only way to be kind to horses is to just have them sitting on a field. Quite the opposite! They need to be worked, just like us, but right now I am not sure which direction I personally want to go and what kind of riding/work I want to do, so I am still settled to not riding.

While I am stepping off my soap box, I also want to give massive thank you to all my clients who think along the same lines with me. I really appreciate that you know that my treatment, nor any other, is not the once all and be all. Together we can make the horses a bit more comfortable - even it is only one horse at a time. I obviously wouldn't have a business without you. I don't have all the answers and because I know I don't, I 'm hoping one day I might even have a few.

Science behind massage, what does it ACTUALLY do? + Sevilla Feria & Andalucia

This is a question that Dr Jeremy asked me the first time I was at his yard. What does it ACTUALLY do? Why does it work? There is a lot of "hear say" proof that massage works, but not many people can explain why does it work. I couldn't either and felt a bit embarrased I could not answer him! But at the same time, he didn't know the answer either. And he is a veterinarian with a PhD in horse exercise physiology after all...! So we both did a bit of research and below is my understanding of what actually happens.

I know a lot of people are not into science and just want to ride horses and know that they are happy and healthy. But please bear with me, I try to make it as simple as I possibly can!! I find it extremely interesting, I hope you will too! This information is mostly taken from Ross Turchaninov's article originally published in Massage and Bodywork magazine

PRESSURE
Pressure is the main tool of a massage practitioner (with stretching and temperature receptors' activation playing a supportive role). The physical force converts to pressure which then converts into various physiological and electrochemical phenomenons on the cellular level. So...

APPLY PRESSURE >> CELLULAR CHANGES

This shows how the success of the massage treatment depends on the correct application of this pressure includin proper technique, speed used, depth of pressure used etc

CELLULAR CHANGES
So... Please tell us what are these cellular changes I hear you eagerly say... :) So here is a very simplified explanation of them. If you want something more detailed, do email me directly and I send you the more detailed version.

1.) The body sees the site where massage / pressure has been applied as an injured site. Pressure activates the membranes of Fibroblasts, which are major repair cells in the body. Why? Because they produce the precursor to collagen which  in turn is a major building block in the structure of all organs and tissues.

2.) This then leads to increased production of collagen and extracellular matrix (Extracellular matrix provides external structural support to the animal cells in addition to performing various other important functions) in the injured site. It also attracts cells from the neighbouring area.

3.) The fibroblast activation with the subsequent increase of collagen production is a major process of healing which affects practically every tissue in the body.

4.) However increased collagen production is not enough to heal the injured site - otherwise your rubbing saddle that causes hardening of muscles would be enough to heal! - The correct orientation of collagen fibres is a very important element and without the proper alignment just increase in collagen is useless.

Several scientific papers have been published whereby they have proved this to be the case. I have a full list of them if anyone is interested

ANDALUCIAN MINI ADVENTURE
On a lighter note, I went to Andalucia this weekend with Annette Scott, a customer turned friend and had an amazing time riding and watching the prancing Andalucians (people and horses alike!!) in the Sevilla Feria!

Some pictures below to prove I don't just sit in my academic chamber learning all this cell biology every day!!

Amazing 5 hour beach ride at Los Alamos http://www.losalamosriding.co.uk/

One way to get to the local in the evening - no drink and driving worries!

Yes, I did also work!! Massaging Indio PRE gelding owned by Annette

Prancing in the Sevilla Feria.

In Sevilla even the mounted police is on PRE andalucians. And yes, they were stallions!!

Dont think any self respecting Andalucian macho policeman would step a foot on a gelding...

Subtler aspects of horses muscles and what massage means to me

I have been re-reading the great and very respected book "Physical Therapy and Massage for the Horse" by Jean Marie Denoix and Jean Pierre Pailloux. (Thanks goes to Wiola with Kingley (Wiola's blog), who reminder me of it again). It is not a very light read and will take a bit of time and brainpower to understand the intricacies of the quite scientific sounding language, but it is SO packed full of information I think every horse owner/rider should read it before they even get on a horse. Here I wanted to really just touch a point that I found very interesting, and something I certainly was never told when I was learning about horses and riding. In the end of this blog I also wanted to speak a bit about what massage and healing actually mean to me... Enjoy reading!

Differentation and relationship between gymnastic and cybernetic muscles

We all know, tht the amazing feather like performance of a classically trained dressage horse is achieved gradually and in steps. Over time, the bigger, slower and clumsier movements of both the horse and rider become more controlled and coordinated. What actually happens during this process? Why does the finesse always come after a long time and only from experience? According to Denoix and Pailloux the finesse is achieved by neurophysiological development and by the diversification of muscular roles. And by distinguishing between the roles of  gymnastic and cybernetic muscles. As in everything in the living being, the roles of these two kinds of muscle complement each other, but have a very distinguished individual functions.

What are these muscles?

The gymnastic muscles are the stronger and most important skeletal muscles responsible for power and impulsion. Those are the muscles we see and those are the muscles most of us place all of our focus on.

In contrast, the cybernetic muscles have higher level of nerve endings per muscle, which makes their movement much more precise, think of muscles on the eyelid or the muzzle. These sensitive cybernetic muscles are also located deep within the body. Most importanly around the articular joints, for example around the joints of the spinal column. It is these cybernetic muscles that respond to the riders more subtle commands.

For the subtler, sensitive cybernetic muscles to be effective and to achieve any kind of balance and finesse when riding a horse, few conditions must be met. For example if the horse is stressed or fearful the gymnastic muscles take over, locking the muscles and joints. Finesse of movement cannot co exist with overwork. As the book puts it "The horse is not mindlessly altruistic, a machine which builds muscle simply in order to compete". Also the bigger sceletal, gymnastic muscles need to be in good health, supple and free of pain and tightness before any of the finer aspects of harmonious movement aided by the cybernetic musculature can be achieved.

What does massage and healing really mean to me?

I know I tend to lean towards very scientific posts and have a tendency to keep them really practical. Truthfully, the scientific / practical part of me is only really a half, (or maybe one third) of the story of who I am and how I see life and how I work with horses, or any animals to that matter.

Massage is kind of a living experience, feeling the living tissue under the skin with my own living tissue on my fingertips. I believe "the feel" is something that no one can teach you, it is something that comes after years of practice and after feeling several hundered different horses under your fingers. You also learn to read the horse - those subtle signals of pain and comfort. Tiny look from the corner of his eye, little flicker of the whiskers... It does become like a dance between two living beings. As Denoix and Pailloux say in the forementioned book, "it is impossible to heal with one's hands if the desire to comfort is not also there". It is simply not enough to learn a technique or a routine of massage. One must love what one does and one must have an unconditional desire to heal and to help.

In particular when working with a difficult horse, I often center myself for few seconds and silently ask the horse "how can I help". Maybe this is just to help my own subconsious to focus and I dont really stop and wait for a concrete answer to come, but who am I to say that is all it is? I just put the intention out there - open my mind and let the nature do the rest.

My question for a while has been - without sensitivity and finesse in everything we do with horses can true horsemanship really exist? On the back of that, and many other similar thoughts, I am currently having a funny old break from riding. I just don't really have a need or desire to ride. I feel I have so much learning to do about how to put this same aspect into my riding, not to mention to find the right horse, yard etc, although those are the more practical aspect of this question. I really want to feel I am doing the right thing for the horse and most importantly for myself. I dont want to ride for "selfish" purposes, just because I fancied a ride or want to win rosettes (not that with my current riding skills I would anyway!!! hehe!!). I want it to be something more.... and currently I am struggling to put it in words, not to even mention in practice. I am not talking about the "fearful middle aged woman doing parelli" - syndrome here either (and I am not quite middle aged, yet!!). It is something else than that. I want the horse to WANT to work with me and me to ENJOY everyday working with that horse.

Maybe one of you has an answer? Otherwise I am stuck being a happy hacker for the rest of my life. And to be honest, that doesnt really satisfy me either. So I am stuck not riding at all at the moment!

Thank you for taking your time to read my thoughts. I leave you with one of my favourite quotes from one of my all time favourite book's

"Only with the heart one sees clearly. What is essential is invisible to the eye"

(Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Little Prince)

Massage and a straight horse - why is this important?

As I mentioned in the end of my last blog post ,  I have spent a bit of time thinking and studying what crookedness / straightness in horses actually is and how as a massage therapist I can be part of the team helping the horse be more straight and hence carry itself and the rider better. I have read several great articles and websites by different people who have done some great in depth study in the subject. Some are indeed coming from a bit different angles, but the message across them appers to be exactly the same:

If your horse is not supple it cannot be truly straight.

A stiff horse is not a straight horse.

Only if your horse is supple it can be straight.

So, to understand this, one needs to

1.) Understand what is a not-straight ie crooked horse

2.) Have at least a basic idea on how to make this crooked horse straight and supple

First of all, all horses, and people to that matter are naturally crooked / one handed. Most horses are what Marijke De Jong (Academic Art of Riding) calls "right bended". An image of a banana on a table with the bulging side on the right and a hollow side on the left, gives you and idea what this means. What happens in a horse like this is some of the following

• Right Fore (RF) has a much better coordination and leads the movement. This shoulder often appears, a bit bigger and more muscled. When on a right bended circle horse often "falls" inside on this shoulder. Left Fore (LF) will then be the opposite, worse coordination, appear smaller and weaker. When on a left bended circle, the horse prefers to make the circle bigger.
• Left Hind (LH) Is the stronger and more pushing of the hind legs. It is often stiffer in the musculature and less bendy. As in the front, the opposite is true for the Right hind (RH)
• Saddle sometimes falls to the "inside of the banana" ie to the left in this case, and causes a rub on the right side of the back.
• As a whole the muscles on the left side are shorter and weaker and the opposite on the right.
• Horse will find working on the right rein a bit harder.

This video explains the above very clearly

What I see as a massage therapist, is a picture that is not often quite this clear, but will always have elements of it in the horses body, and I can normally tell which rein the horse is much stiffer and more willing. The whole picture is obviously complicated by many things such as the riders own balance and crookedness, how well or badly the tack fits the horse, previous or current injuries, shoeing etc.

It is obviously up to the rider to educate themselves to ride the horse better. But massage can be used as a great help in making the horse more comfortable during this process and as a tool in relieving all those tight areas that have resulted from the crooked way of going. It can give really good result when carefully used hand in hand with the correct schooling methods.

Again, Marijke de Jong talks about what are the building blocks of straighter horse.

• The horse needs to be able to stretch laterally on circle on both sides, starting with in hand work and building up to lunging and finally riding.
•  
• The horse must have relaxed back muscles in order to get forward and down movement.

These two points are interconnected to each other and cannot exist without one another. This really highlights the importance of keeping your horses back muscles supple!

• Thirdly, the horses must be able to step under on a circle. This is needed to shift weight from the naturally heavier front end, to the stronger back end. The both hind legs need to be equally strong and balanced to be able to carry the weight of the rider in a straight line.

See the video above for a very clear explanation!

As I mentioned above, the picture is never this clear in the horses body and hence I think it is important to always massage the whole horse very thoroughly. It is also a very well known fact that pain or an injury can show up in a very different way in each horses body. So it is not always very clear where the problem lies, even the horses, say, left shoulder is very tight or he is unable to pick the left canter. Very often when horses have soreness on say on the right fore, they prefer to take the weight off that leg and hence make the left shoulder/neck/leg area very tight and sore, with the actual right side having little or no muscle stiffness.

For anyone wanting to know more, below are some great resources you can read. the Equinestudies website has a great forum where anyone can ask questions and read about problems other people have encountered!

http://www.equinestudies.org/

http://www.scienceofmotion.com/

http://academicartofriding.com/

http://www.classicaldressage.co.uk/Straightness/straightness.html

I look forward to hearing your comments and I hope to be able to meet some of you on day in person!

Susanna

Interesting research - Barefoot rehab at Rockley Farm

Those of you who are my friends on Facebook already know that I have followed Nic Barker's blog

 http://rockleyfarm.blogspot.com/

for a while. The blog includes updates on hoof rehabilitation and information about barefoot performance, very interesting!

It is very easy to be stuck in the world of your "own modality" of rehab, type of riding or style of horsemanship and thinking that it is the only way (dare I say,  some people think the best way..) to help or be with a horse. It does us SO much good to look outside the box and see how other people deal with issues we all are bound to encounter with our horses - and then make an informed decison based on this new knowledge we have aqcuired.

I knew nothing about barefoot trimming and its use in rehab until one of my customer's horse Kingley was sent to Rockley Farm in Devon, UK. You can read all about young Kingsley and his struggle with navicular disease here

Blog about Kingsley's rehab - click here. 

Here is a video of me massaging Kingsley after he came back from Rockley Farm

As you know,  I feel it is our responsibility as owners and riders to find the best information available and put it in practice. Wiola and Pauline - Kinglsey's owners, certainly did that. They did their homework and Kingsley is now on a road to recovery.

One think in particular made me think - kind of one of those paradigm shifts that really makes perfect sense once you hear it - was when I read one of the latest blogs Nic published about hoof balance and landing

Hoof balance and landing -click here

 Nic starts by talking about how asymmetric hooves land and how horses, particularly with lamenes issues need to be allowed to compensate this way. On the blog there is also a great video where this is shown in slow motion. Nic goes to say: "Here's something to think about - all the horses in these clips grow asymmetric hooves but those hooves load evenly. If you try to trim the hooves to make them appear more symmetrical, you will adversely affect how the hooves load and these horses will become much less capable - or will even go lame."

I do hope it makes you think as much it has made me think :)

Here is another interesting post from Nic relating to the same subject

Hooves and symmetry - click here

In this post you can clearly see the difference in the shape of the hoof when the horse is allowed to grow such hoof shape that supports and reflects the current "need" the horse has for that particular shape of hoof.

That relates nicely to other issues with horses crookedness... Why are they crooked in the first place? How to help them become balanced? How to teach horse to move in balance with a straight body? Please do read this article by Dr Deb Bennett

Teaching your horse how to carry himself straight - click here

 It gives some amazing insight into the issue of crookedness as well as a theory why do horses move crooked.

More about that later!!

"Alternative" therapies - my view of this world.

Since I am stuck inside my house due to UK not able to handle even the slightest amount of snow, I thought I add my humble opinion on this sometimes sensitive subject. (Well, I can't really blame the country for the fact that my Volvo is far too heavy to manage to climb up our road without sliding backwards or dangerously close to other cars parked on it)

As you can see I say "alternative" instead of alternative. I anyway much prefer the word Complimentary. Even I do agree, some (maybe most??) of these therapies have got little scientific backing, my firm belief is that if something has been around for as long or longer (for example TCM - Traditional Chinese Medicine) than our western science or what we bracket under it, it has held the test of time. We device these testing situations with our current and possibly limited human knowledge and cannot measure something we don't yet understand. I know it is a bit cheesy and overused pop culture example, but before people knew anything about electricity, it could not be measured with the equipment and knowledge they had at the time.

I believe that even if the effect is what we like to call "placebo" - it does not really matter as long as it helps the individual in question. Our minds have an enormous power to heal us as well as also to make us ill and we should not underestimate it. It is a dangerous territory when we totally separate our mind from our bodies and treat our body as nothing more than a highly sophisticated machine that can be mechanically fixed often only focusing on a very small part of the whole body. This, in my mind, also applies to our animals. What I mean by that is that even it is VERY important to get a proper diagnosis with a vet / doctor, the rehab and also the examination process should go beyond the immediate site of the problem. As we all know a uneven musculature developed over the years in our / horses back can over load one of the legs which then causes a problem with one of the tendons.

On the same token I do think that our "busy lifestyles" (yes more pop culture!!) and the way we live has given a rise to these alternative ways of treating ourselves and our animals. When we lose touch with what is really important, kind of lose touch with the mother earth, and just plough through our day to day life in stress and hurry we tend to eventually feel a bit empty. And there are several options to choose from that promise you an instant fix or at least instant relief (and many of them indeed do).

As a person who has always had a great interest and respect in science and I indeed even have a MSci, I still retain a HEALTHY dose of scepticism to everything new. I say HEALTHY since I think a true scientist may be firm in their beliefs, but very flexible in their approach to them. One's beliefs need to have a degree of fluidity and an innate openness to anything and everything new. After all, discovery is the core of science and the reason I initially joined the ranks too. But people like to take sides and, years ago,I indeed got told by a girl who was a medical student how disappointed she was in me, fresh from my science degree, that I took the "wrong path" and got into massage, Reiki and suchlike. I think there is a time and place for everything and us people (and our animals) are very different and respond to very different kinds of approaches. Otherwise we would have no one wanting to join the SAS!!!

So what do you do when you feel like one of these alternative therapies might be the right thing for you or your horses? Again it depends on what you are looking for, but most people would say ask your vet / doctor or your friends. And it is certainlyy a very good starting point. But as I mentioned above, do retain a healthy dose of scepticism on what people say. I am a self confessed hater of "hear-say". The kind of "blind leading the blind" kind of information you tend to get a lot in the horse world (and no doubt in any other sphere as well). Whilst it is great to go with recommendations, and yes we all get influenced by other peoples opinions, I think the most important thing is that you do your own research thoroughly.

I'm hoping to help you at least a bit in the next post or two and I try to shed a little light on the different therapies available to our horses. (And yes I still expect you to question my views too!!)

Until next time!! Stay safe in the cold!

Conditioning sportshorses for optimum fitness

Few weeks ago I had an interesting "lecture" from Dr Jeremy on conditioning horses to reach their optimum performance. There has been a lot of scientific research on the optimum performance on horses and on excercise physiology in the recent years and there is a great deal more knowledge around than there was even say 20 years ago. Even still fairly uncommon practice in the racing world Jeremy trains his horses using this information combining practicality and science.

I have added a link to his YouTube channel where he explains more on two short videos filmed for 'At The Races' programme

Dr Jeremy's YouTube channel

He also sells heart rate monitoring systems and sets up the very practical software you can see in the videos. Do get in touch with him directly if you are interested, it's use is certainly not limited to the racehorses, but applies to any discipline where your horse needs to be fit! There is also much more to the software than is shown on the videos.

Will be very interesting to see how the muscles of the horses I have massaged for the last months react now when they are pretty much racing fit and ready to go! They have all done so well so far, so I will be placing my bets when they go :) They are such lovely characters too. I had this silly idea in my head about racehorses and how they behave (or don't behave!) and I must say they are no different from any other horses that I regularly see. Maybe even nicer to handle since they dont end up too pampered and are not allowed to walk all over you and barge like many of our "pet horses" these days seem to do. (Yes guys you know who you are ;D ;D)

A properly designed conditioning program prevents this from happening!!!!

I have also come across an interesting course at Harper Adams University in Shropshire. It is a 3 year MSc degree in Veterinary Physiotherapy. Nothing new in itself, but this is the first degree of its kind whereby they take people in without having already qualified in human physiotherapy. You still need a very strong degree with a good grade and preferebly some kind of experience, but everyone is considered on their individual merit. So I have been considering sending my application in! It does though carry the cost of normal thought postgraduate degree - £9000 so that might be a small challenge, but I have quite a long time to think about the moneyside of things, it wouldnt start until mid 2011.

Picture from Harper Adams University

I have also since last post had two new foster doggies in the house. First one was Mitzy, a crossbreed, sort of Boxer/Staffi type. Lazy, sloppy, cuddly and my own dogs were petrified of her due to her tough looks. :D I think they found her a bit hard to read and she could get a bit of a bull-in-the-china-shop boisterous at times. Currently we are fostering a lovely Lakeland terrier Charlie. Such an easy sweetheart!!! If you know anyone who is looking, do get in touch with Rescue Remedies Dog Rescue. On their website he is known as "Crosby" and he has his own thread in the forum.

My lovely Benji collie in the front and Mitzy Staffi cross on the right



Lovely Charlie!!! At the time of writing, still waiting for his forever home at our house!



More research on massage therapy + racehorse massage

Since meeting Dr Jeremy, I have spent extra time researching the science behind massage therapy and trying to find scientific publications on both human and horse massage. There are not that many published papers on horse massage, but there are some human equivalents that are comparable. The theory behind it should really be the same since physiologically we are the same. I have found interesting papers that are very sciency (yes, Im a nerd, I quite like them) and will be talking about them in later posts and trying to break them down to more understandable level.

Research-y work

One paper, actually the one on which we tried to base our research using the ultrasound, can be found here in a PDF format: http://www.sportsmassageinc.com/EffectsOfSportsMassage.pdf

In Short: The research results in that article say that massage increased the transverse diameter (ie width) of all measured muscles (average being 16%) and increased the stride lenght (average 3in) and reduced the stride frequency (average 3%).

We tried to emulate parts of the experiment to compare the increase in the width pre and post massage in a muscle (longissimus dorsi on the back) using the ultrasound, but found it very hard to measure. (And not very wisely used an uncooperative horse who was petrified of the UV machine!). Maybe the machine didnt have the right frequency range to use or maybe one needs to be very experienced to use it and read the results, but we found that even when the horse shifted his weight, there was a 25% change in the width of the muscle, or more accurately on the view of the muscle we saw on the screen. So this plan was scrapped for the time being. Im going to get in touch with the publishers and see if they can shed any light on how they went about measuring the muscles.

New ideas on how to do this are being formulated so (again) watch this space!

Massage Work

On top of my reading I have been working hard the last few weeks and loved getting my hands on all those racehorses at Jeremy's yard. So far I have massaged only three of them 4 weeks in a row with great results. For obvious reasons I cant discuss them in great detail, but it has been interesting how similar their tightness spots are and how clearly their training level shows up in their body. And even more interesting how well they have responded to massage. I suppose we always go through times of self doubts, particularly if what we believe in is challenged, so it has been lovely once again to have a confirmation of the efficacy of massage.

Am having a really busy week ahead again and will be getting my hands on few more racehorses. I wont get paid for all of them, but will be given full medical history, racing and training schedule etc etc by Dr Jeremy as a payment! I see it as a one to one tuition from a Vet specialised in excercise physiology. I'd say it is better than going back to University!!

Work with Dr Jeremy Naylor and a Dressage Competition

I have been using my science brain again and have been planning an experiment with Dr Jeremy Naylor (http://www.jeremynaylor.co.uk/) to quantify some the effects of massage the massage work I do.

Jeremy is a Veterinarian who specialises in horse excercise physiology and uses his methods to train racehorses at his own stables very close to Stonehenge in Wiltshire. The Cleeve stables are the only U.K. training stable run by a veterinary qualified exercise physiologist.

We had a preliminary meeting last week whereby he just wanted to see me and how I work and we have been disucssin this week over the email how best to conduct this mini experiment. I am going over again tomorrow to follow up, so will write more after tomorrow!

We are planning to use an Ultrasound Scanner on a chosen muscle (group) before and after massage to determine the difference in the tissue. (And yes, I really do hope there is some!!!)

I have spent the whole week glued to latest scientific papers finding information on how massage ACTUALLY works. I mean on the real nitty gritty biological level, not on the "it relaxes and lenghtens the muscle" level :D Not that there is anything work with it, but it is rather difficult to convince a Veterinarian with those type of arguments!

So I have been also trying to understand the workings of ultrasound, very detailed molecular biology and cell biochemistry, read a bit about the racing world and plough through the various massage publications on human massage and excercise physiology. 

AND most importantly did my first dressage test for more than 15 years!!! Vatican was great, I was focused (for a change) and I hope the judges liked it. It was done for Dressage Anywhere (http://www.dressageanywhere.com/) so will not find out my placing until the end of September. I am very excited about this all, not the least because I nearly chickened out since he is so unpredictable and I thought I have not schooled him enough. but he proved me wrong, behaved himself beautifully, was really calm and soft and rode like a feather. When he moves the way he did on Friday, all those mad days when he is so tense it feels almost like riding on a live bomb are made worthwile.

Vatican behaving himself @ our Dressage Anywhere
competiton at Cane End Stud

Little bit of trot - and yes I know Im not sitting great :D
I blame the fact that Im sitting in a jumping saddle!

So more details to follow about our work at Cleeve stables with Jeremy and I will most certainly post our result from the dressage test (well... only if we get over 80%!!! hehe)

Hope you are all well and lovong the Autumn weather as much  as me!!

Hello again,

I have been meaning to write about my little 'adventure' with some horse legs seen in pictures below (warning to those of you who do not like graphic details)!

Thanks to a lovely friend Hannah Brooks from the yard who worked at hunt kennels, I had an opportunity to do a mini autopsy on two separate horse legs and see and feel some of the tendons with my own hands.

It was an interesting experience not to say the least because the legs were rather... hmmm.. smelly I think is a too weak work to describe them and I was swamped with flies and over keen terrier right from the start. But regardless it was super interesting.

I must say - I am not an expert in anatomy and this was the first time I did this excercise, so do double check the accuracy on the names of the tendons before quoting me!!

Suspensory

Superficial digital flexor tendon - thick and very tough!

Comparison - see if you can spot the tendons!

Very high tech - in my garden and trying to shoo off the terrier :D
She would've loved a good gnaw of the bones and tendons

Note to self , or anyone else attempting this, do attempt it on a day where youre unlike to have this many flies, or do it in a garage or a shed (smell warning) and try to get the legs as fresh as possible so the smell issues are minimised. Also the horses skin is unbelievably touch, I had an old kitchen knife and it was almost impossible to cut through, so get a serously sharp and touch knife. Also for health and safety - keep keen terriers inside the house !!!! :D :D :D

It is very very interesting and really worth doing!

I have also just recieved some new posters, leaflets and such material and I have a great offer runing for the next 5 weeks whereby you get £10 off my normal price. Check out my website and facebook page!

And as always, please pass this blog on to anyone you think might be interested!!

Happy riding everyone!!

New ideas and material coming soon

I have just placed an order for some lovely postcard sized business card / leaflet things! Got told by the business link they might be a good addition since they do two jobs. And duly I have followed their advice!

It was quite interesting designing them myself, since never done anything similar, so will be interesting to see how they look like when they arrive in a few days time.

Also I am making a video with Wiola from the Aspire Equestrian riding academy http://www.aspire-equestrian.com/. We have an outline of what we want to do and will hopefully get the first part filmed tomorrow. We have been kindly given the lovely horses of Craig Nicolai (NZ international eventer) and her partner Abby (based in Cane End outside Reading http://caneendstud.weebly.com/) to play with. They come in different shapes and sizes, so should be few interesting videos coming out soon!! Looking forward to them already.

Here is my regular ride, Vatican at Cane End, he belongs to Abby. He is a big boy between 17hh and 18hh and has his moments of being... hmm... rather wild I think to put it mildly. :D But regardless of how he is, he is my special boy and I love him to bits. We go on nice hacks (and yes he is scared of everything most days, particularly the bins) and I school him when I get a burst of motivation. He is not keen on schooling or the school, he had an accident few years ago and broke his pelvis and never really got back to his former glory. But when you get his head in gear (this is where you need a patience of a saint) he is amazing to ride, real schoolmaster and super duper sensitive.

Vatican looking pretty - luckily big grass belly well hidden in this photo!!

I will have a busy two weeks ahead since have 3 dogs in the house. A lovely Jack Russell Finn, who we fostered for a charity little while back, has come to stay here while his owners are on holiday. So two terriers and one collie in the house are sure to keep me on my toes!!

Benji with blue eyes, black Lucy with big ears and visitor Finn at the back

Last day with the lovely polo ponies

Lovely polo ponies of Sulham

For the last two months I have spent my early mornings with these lovely creatures. this has also been my first attempt of 2-4-1 riding!! Ie ride one and lead one. Luckily they only made me take two of them, not three or four as they do at big professional polo yards. Two has been plenty to manage! But it is suprising how quickly one gets used to it and the polo ponies are brought up this way, they really understand what is going on and just very calmly jog along the other horse - never try to change direction, barge, kick, bite each other or anything or such. So it really is as straightforward as hacking out one horse that can be a bit of a handful. (And dont we all know a few of those :D)

Toastie waiting to be taken to the field

These four ponies are the gentlest and calmest creatures on the planet. (as you can see from the photo!!). It has made a change from overexcitable professional competition horses - mind you not that these guys arent pro - they just are a bit older 'been there seen that' type. Nothing bothers them - apart from the naughty three young bulls that like to follow us along the fence line whilst doing excitable moo's and little charging attempts. Toastie in particular finds them rather fun!

The wild Toastie - raring to go!! (or about to fall asleep..)

Flo also falling asleep before a ride

The yard is the quietest and calmest place in the world, situated in Sulham, between the villages of Tidmarsh and Pangbourne. I have spent most mornings totally alone, just me, the ponies and my iPod! Very very lovely. I think all horses should have such a calm place to live. (and us people too, to that matter!)

As mentioned in the title of this post, it was my last day with these lovely horses last week. Im onto expanding my business and also working few hours in the morning somewhere else now for a classical dressage rider who also owns a kennel. So busy animal filled mornings ahead! Will miss them lots, but will keep you updated on my progress at the other yard and how my massages go this week :)

Susanna

Welcome and a massive HELLO to all of you!!

Hi to you all


And you are very very welcome to my blog! I am still getting used to using this website, so you will probably see a lot of change on how it looks over the coming months.

Me massaging at Hatch Farm, just outside
M4 in Reading!

I am a professional Equine Body Worker (EBW) which means I have qualified to give horses sports massage. I am based in Reading, Berkshire UK, but will travel for appointments albeit most of my customers are reasonably close by. I only address issues that arise from the soft tissue (exactly as a human sports masseur would) and as much as you would consult your GP for anything more serious, you MUST consult your VET as a first point of call and chat to him/her about you considering having me to massage your horse. I am also fully insured, so if you get the vets referral, you are likely to be able to claim the money back from your insurance company.

I absolutely love what I do, I find it very relaxing and it really takes me to a focused state of being whereby I almost 'listen' to the horse through my hands. The more different horses I see, the more I learn. It is all about feel, I think. And as you as horsey people know, the horses really do let you know where they are tight or sore. I move slowly, keep watching their eyes and the expression on their face, apply a bit more pressure, depending on the horses treshold and to some deeper work on areas that I feel need addressing.

Massaging TeePee and Wokingham
Equestrian Centre
many years ago

Please do have a look at my website www.susannashorsetherapy.com

Hope to see you here again soon - I hope to make this channel educational too, not just full of my blobber :DD Even there is bound to be some of that too. But I beleive things tend to organically mold themselves, so I havent got an agenda in place, I will just let myself to quide me!!

Take care and many happy rides!!

Susanna