A few weeks ago I was contacted by Sarah Matthews asking if I’d be able to help her get some photographs for her website. Sarah is an Equine Sports Massage Therapist based in Berkshire and covers the South of England. Our beautiful model was Becka’s mare Caprice. It was one of the first “warm” days of the year making us all very happy that spring was on its way!
It was really interesting watching the massage as I’d never seen one being done before. Sarah carried out a full massage on Caps and I photographed as she went along. The photos aren’t staged for the camera! Sarah found a few tight spots on Caprice, particularly across her back, and worked those areas as well as across her whole body. You could tell the “tight” areas of her body because of the way her body movement changed. She stretched her neck out as though she was relieved that these areas were being worked! At one point she even dipped herself down and did a big stretch!
I could really see the benefit of giving a horse a massage; whether as part of a routine or to help aid recovery from an injury. Sarah also has a Diploma in Human Body Massage so she can help sort out your tight muscles too. All horse riders know how sore you can feel after a fall or long ride. It’s important to keep your body fit and supple too, to bring out the best in your equine partner!
“Equine Sports Massage works the musculoskeletal system and triggers the bodies natural ability to heal itself when applied with skilled, professionally trained hands.
Equine Sports Massage Therapists have a complete understanding of the anatomy, physiology and biomechanics of horses and the interactions between muscles, bones, joints and body systems.
Equine Sports Massage specialises in the therapy, rehabilitation and prevention of musculoskeletal injuries in order to increase health, performance, fitness, endurance and wellbeing."
I asked Sarah what kind of horses she treats, assuming that it was only horses in hard work and those regularly competing or recovering from injury. She said that many of her clients use massage therapy to keep their retired or elderly horses supple and free moving – just because they aren’t in work, doesn’t mean they can’t benefit from a massage.
Sarah: not only is massage beneficial to competition horses - I also treat happy hackers and retired horses for a variety of different reasons. Mainly, the owners want to keep them ticking over and see the benefits in their horses movement and athletic ability.
Becka: Caprice most certainly enjoyed her massage from Sarah! She even started doing her own stretches after a couple from Sarah! Sarah has a professional, friendly and easy to get along with vibe and it was a pleasure to meet her and for her to use Caprice as a model! Highly recommend her!