Use an Equine Massage Gun to help de-stress your horse!

7 comments Apr 26, 2021

Did you know that using an equine massage gun on your equine daily can reduce their stress? With today's high-stress lifestyles and living in a fast-pace world, massage therapy is one of the best forms of treatment you can indulge your horse in to help de-stress them, relieve tension, and help improve performance.

Using a massage gun on a horse can help relieve tension in their muscles, help them relax, relieve stress and anxiety, and reduce muscle soreness. Massage therapy is also known for releasing natural painkillers in the body and can even boost your equine’s immune system.

It is recommended to consult with your Veterinarian to confirm if massage therapy is right for your equine and be sure to inform them of any medical conditions your horse may have.

Therapeutic equine massages can help in the physiological well-being of horses as well as rehabilitation of soft tissue and fascial tension. Therefore, both competition horses and pleasure horses can benefit from equine massage therapy. Most massage techniques were common among human athletes and later were introduced to equine practitioners and managers as a medical and holistic approach in the physiological and mental well-being of these elite animals.

The many benefits of equine massage therapy

When performed following work-out session, equine massage helps in muscle hydrating which causes increases muscle elasticity and thus improves flexibility. Equine massage therapy also helps in taking muscles into correct alignment.
During exercises muscle fibers may produce lactic acid and accumulation of this acid within the muscle tissue causes cramps and fatigue. Proper massage techniques can help in the expulsion of this acid from muscle tissue.
Massage therapy is also proven to increase the mental health of an animal. Massage sessions can help competition and racehorses to be more relaxed and calmer.
Equine massage therapy can help decrease scar tissues and give access to oxygenated red blood cells to repair the torn muscle fibers. This aids in the quickened recovery of the muscles.
Massage helps to guide toxins produced during exercises, towards the lymph nodes which will be naturally expelled from the body. Massage can aid in relieving edemas. Detoxification promotes hydrating and suppleness of the muscles.
Equine massage can increase muscle conditioning by eliminating the tightened muscles. The unrestricted muscles are more likely to absorb nutrients and therefore the muscles will grow easier and adapt to their regular activities.
Massage allows the free movements of the horse by improving the suppleness (the combination of unrestricted movements in the muscles, ligaments, tendons, and joints).
Equine massage can increase the range of motion and stride length, reduce the activity of interceptors which aids in the relief of pain and reduce physiological stress responses.
Causes improvement in the total loco-motor function of the horse. The resulting improvement of the performance can be immediately seen following a session. In a study of The Royal Veterinary in Hertfordshire, United Kingdom, massage of the caudal muscles of the equine hind limb significantly increased passive and active hind limb protraction.

In conclusion, an equine massage gun can help your horse immune system support, stress relief, injury prevention, improved posture, circulation, hair coat, and increases muscle tone, improve the proprioception, increased benefits when used in conjunction with chiropractic and/or acupuncture, stimulation of motor nerves, relief from sleep disturbances and restlessness.

Massage therapy directly affects the hypothalamus which controls the autonomic nervous system. Emotional experiences as pain, stress affects the hypothalamus and hence the autonomic nervous system. Therefore, reduced pain and stress levels lead the positive chemical changes in a horse.

Check out our YouTube Channel for quick tutorials and tips from Troy Brandenburg!

If you are interested in purchasing a massage gun for horses Brandenburg Equine offers a quality percussion massage gun with hard carrying case and 6 attachments, handpicked by Troy Brandenburg and proven to be the most effective on horses.