Although massage is often perceived as a luxury the therapeutic benefits are endless.

For example, as an Equine Massage Therapist my back and shoulders muscles are worked frequently and can become knotted, tense and sore giving rise to aches and pains throughout my body.

However, a regular massage aleviates the tension, knots and so discomfort. prior to me being a Massage Therapist a visit to a spa was simply a treat for me.

Therapeutic massage techniques have countless benefits and the results are often almost immediate. The massaged horse is often visibly relaxed and feeling noticably good.

I rely heavily on comparisons between human and equine muscles. A prime example is how my own right shoulder became incredibly stiff and painful following a very busy spell of massaging. My jaw ached incessantly, causing me to grind my teeth and making them ache in their own right. My Masseuse was away and it was a good 2 months before she was able to visit. By this time i was extremely uncomfortable and had been taking Paracetamol every 4 hours for days.

She worked on my shoulder for some time and whilst it was very uncomfortable for a few days afterwards, when the relief came it was bliss. My jaw and teeth stopped hurting and my shoulders both wonderfully loose.

Many horses will experience similar symptoms from aching shoulders and neck muscles (a very common finding due to horses' weight distribution and workload) and can certainly go some way to explaining behaviour problems.