Case Study - Paddy - Ex-Racehorse

In the images you will see Paddy 🐎

Paddy is an ex-racehorse 🏇

He is 12 years old and raced up until the age of 10.

He had a long career despite not always finishing in the top 3 🏆

I have been treating him and assisting in his training both groundwork and ridden since his owner purchased him in summer 2019.

Paddy has made lots of changes during this time thanks to regular Equine Massage Therapy treatments, with his owner being tip-top on the aftercare I provide.

This has included regular stretching, stable based exercises, long reining, pole work, and ridden exercises.

One of the things that was restricting Paddy when his owner first acquired him was the tightness of his hamstrings 😱

It is quite common in ex-racehorses for the hamstring muscle group to be tight and over developed as the horses tend to 'spring' and 'push' off their hind limbs to 'leap' into action!

This in turn encourages a 'long' frame, and extended back and neck posture.

Perfect for racing but the exact opposite of what we want to achieve when we re-train these horses as general riding horses.

Our approach with Paddy was to gradually relax the hamstring muscles using massage techniques, encourage reach of the hind limb during ground or ridden work, and to stretch them out following exercise, once the muscle fibres are warmed up.

Over time we have not only softened and lengthened the hamstring muscle group which is evident in the images we have also increased the reach of the hind limb which also increases flexion of the Lumbosacral region (pelvis) and flexion of the top line.

I am actually not a fan of before and after photos.

Because there are soooo many factors that contribute to change, especially over time such as:

▪️ Diet

▪️ Time of year

▪️ Change of stance

▪️ Change of posture

And more!

Therefore I can't possibly take responsibility for the complete change in Paddy's physique.

However I can directly attribute the change in his hamstring muscle group to the work we have done and this in turn will effect his ability to:

▪️ Step the hind limb under

▪️ Engage the abdominal muscles

▪️ Lift through the back

▪️ Lift through the shoulders (thoracic sling)

▪️ Stretch through the neck

▪️ Reach for the contact

Creating a healthy posture, a strong happy horse and a beautiful riding horse ♥️

And that's what it's all about 😊

Jess | Jessica Limpkin Equine Massage Therapy