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  Discussion on When to stretch or massage your horse?
Author Message
Member:
Chrism

Posted on Monday, Mar 3, 2003 - 6:59 pm:

If you do stretching, ground exercises or massage for your horse, the best time to do it is before riding. This helps him freshen his mind and loosen him up prior to you ever setting foot in the stirrup. So, you'll get maximum riding results from your efforts.

My current favorite "massager" is an unused electric one I fished out of the closet. Originally designed to massage human sore back muscles, it works wonders on my older horse. It has a long handle, a large massage head and a variable speed.

The first day I introduced it to the mare, she looked a bit concerned. I left her loose in her stall, with a pile of yummy hay. I first let her look at it turned off, then turned on and then laid my free hand on her before using it on her muscles and some accupressure points. Until I actually touched her with it, she was much more interested in munching hay.

Well, she stopped eating her hay in mid bite and just stood there very quietly while I massaged her large muscles! Certain areas got a nice chewing response or lip licking. I've used it since and she comes right over for her massage. Sometimes she moves around a bit to get it in the right place.

Cheers!

Member:
Paul303

Posted on Monday, Mar 3, 2003 - 9:41 pm:

Chris: Another great tip! Now I know what to do with all the ( Xmas "gifts of the year" ) old massagers I keep tripping over on the floor of my closet! Sounds like fun, too.
Member:
Suzeb

Posted on Monday, Mar 3, 2003 - 9:50 pm:

Kudos for you Christine! This is great stuff to do with your furry buddy. We are in the throes of cold winter and cold weather and hard frozen ground doesn't allow us to do much exercise. Good way to get some of the kinks out. Susan and Laser Bilsky
Member:
Yasmin

Posted on Sunday, Sep 19, 2004 - 11:29 pm:

I know this is an old forum but I just wanted to say that this is an interesting suggestion about using the massaging tool but please dont stretch your horse before you ride! Massaging is a great way to warm up before you ride, but stretching is definately not a good idea to do when the muscles are cold and have not warmed up. Personally, I think you shoudl never actively "stretch" a horse's muscles- if you want to stretch your horse it should only be after warming up (or after riding) and should allow for the horse to stretch only as much as he/she offers. I cringe when I see people pulling on a horse to stretch them before riding, its just asking for injuries!
Member:
Cowgrl

Posted on Monday, Sep 20, 2004 - 12:56 pm:

The only stretching I do with my horse is pulling their front legs forward after saddling. They take the hint and stretch on their own - like a cat with the butt up in the air. Sometimes when I'm picking my quarterhorse's left hind, I'll stretch it out behind him and he'll also get it and stretch as far as possible while arching his neck. Then he lets out a big yawn and licks his lips and looks at me with a "thanks Mom, that felt good" look on him. I just give them the suggestion and they take it from there.
Member:
Yasmin

Posted on Monday, Sep 20, 2004 - 1:38 pm:

Holly,
I agree that this kind of stretching is probably safe, since you are basically just allowing the horse to stretch as much as he wants. I was just worried about the blanket statement that the "best time to stretch is before riding" because at a barn I used to board at, I would see girls pulling and stretching horses before riding and I don't think they were aware that it was not safe to do this, especially before riding. Its one thing to stretch your own limbs because you can feel what is a good stretch and when its too much, but for the most part horses can really only tell us when to stop when we've created pain or discomfort for the horse.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Tuesday, Sep 21, 2004 - 6:37 am:

I have to say, I find it very unlikely that stretching a horses legs, in the manner I typically see around barns, is very unlikely to have an adverse effect on a horse as a warm-up. The horse will not allow the legs to be pulled into painful positions. I do suggest that stretching be done slowly and carefully. I suspect if you put a 300 lb man on to a pony and stretched in some directions as hard as he could he might hurt the pony, but it would surprise me if he didn't get his lights kicked out.
DrO
Member:
Maggienm

Posted on Wednesday, Sep 22, 2004 - 12:24 am:

Great idea for massaging, using a meassaging tool is a great way to get the horse used to a clipper.
Member:
Longhorn

Posted on Thursday, Sep 23, 2004 - 12:34 am:

Another good, very natural stretching technique was passed on to me by Doctor Hoover, a local veterinarian who is also an equine chiropractor.

You take a treat like carrot chunks, and offer a chunk to the horse in a way that forces him to streeeeeeeeetch for it. Doc Hoover used about seven different stretches by holding the treat back by the horse's left and right hips, down to their left and right knees, then down to the ground at their left and right front feet, and finally in between the front feet as far back as they can reach to get the treat. Not only will the horse try their best with a good stretch, they'll still only stretch as far as is comfortable for them and avoid injury AND get a goodie to boot.
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