The benefits of Massage and Heat for Horses

Here's a great read for Equilibrium fans. This blog tells us all the good stuff about using massage on your horse.

Our horses work hard for us with a lot of pressure being put onto their muscles through exercise. Massage and heat are two simple ways in which we can help support healthy muscle function in our horse.

What are the Benefits of Heat?

Heat can help to:

Support healthy muscles and soft tissue.
Warm-up muscles or joints before exercise.
Maintain lymphatic function.
Increase metabolic and nerve activity.

Using heat is ideal for:

Older horses.
Horses that are slow to warm up.
Horses in work.
Young horses who are learning new things.
Horses undergoing retraining.
Those returning to work after a period of rest.
For any horse or pony to enjoy as a reward.

The perfect way to deliver heat to your horse is through the Massage Mitt Hotspot as it is both repeatable and safe to use. The Hotspot is set to reach the ideal warm temperatures needed as shown by research. Traditionally horse owners would use a hot water bottle or a wheat bag to deliver heat to the horse, we find the Massage Mitt Hotspot is a convenient and reliable option.

Negatives of Hot Water Bottle/Wheat Bag	Positives of Massage Mitt Hotspot
Unpredictable temperatures	Set to a specific target temperature with a cut off to prevent overheating
Starts very hot – can be a shock to the skin	Starts at ambient temperature and gradually increases to pre-determined maximum temperature
Starts to cool down quickly	Set to maintain correct temperature
A lot of heat lost to the atmosphere	Insulated behind the heat element to prevent heat travelling back towards owners’ hand and out into the atmosphere
Need access to hot water/microwave	Battery operated to deliver numerous 10-minute heat sessions
Covers need to be washed – not straightforward with a wheat bag	Easy to wipe clean

What about the Benefits of Massage?

Tension is often one of the most common reasons for poor performance. By increasing relaxation and improving back flexibility, the negative effects of tension can be reduced. Massage is well known for its ‘feel good’ factor and has been shown to aid relaxation and assist with the maintenance of healthy muscle and muscle function. A relaxed horse, with relaxed muscles, will move with fluidity and suppleness.

The perfect way to deliver Massage to a horse is through the Equilibrium Massage Pad. The innovative design provides effective, affordable equine massage. Proven at Myerscough College to improve back flexibility and promote relaxation in horses. The three different settings, low, medium, and high allows you to select the intensity of the program to suit your horse. Each program has three types of massage: stroking, pulsing and vibration which ensures muscles are worked in different ways.

You can use the horse Massage Pad before riding, after riding or on a day off!

The best of both worlds

Combining the Massage Pad and Massage Mitt Hotspot offers horse owners the best of both worlds. A targeted hand-held mitt to reach any muscle in the horse, using heat and massage, combined with the Massage Pad to work the muscles over the back. The Massage Combo is the ULTIMATE in massage and heat.

Read more about the hotspot massage mitt here!