Why do I massage your horse's legs?

Gorgeous Finn enjoying his monthly maintenance massage today ♥️

In this photo I am treating his hind legs.

Sometimes people are surprised when I start using massage and myofascial therapy to the legs but for me it is so important.

One of the reasons I especially focus on the limbs in shod horses is that due to the nature of wearing shoes the equine foot is not able to function as optimally as it would barefoot.

Often the frog of the horse's foot is not able to reach the ground and therefore not able to do it's job of pumping blood back up through the leg.

To add to this the lower leg has no muscle, only tendons and ligaments (along with bone, cartilage, skin and fascia of course).

By nature tendons and ligaments have less blood flow to them as it is, this is why tendons and ligaments take so long to heal when injured compared with muscle.

I therefore deem it really important to focus part of my treatment on the limbs, helping to facilitate blood flow to the area and assist in a combination of increased circulation, injury prevention, removal of toxins and healing.

I also urge you all as horse owners to spend a little more time grooming and massaging your own horse's legs.

Your horse will appreciate it and you may just assist in preventing or at least delaying tendon, ligament and joint issues.

It also gives you a good chance to find out what is normal for your horse's legs and what is not, meaning if there is a change you will spot it sooner!

It's amazing how healing your hands can be and the difference a simple touch can make 🖐♥️

Jess | Jessica Limpkin Equine Massage Therapy