Equine sports therapy is so important because it is a practice that relieves tense or tight areas throughout each horse’s body, allowing them to perform to their best.
You might think of this as being similar to a physical therapist traveling with a professional sports team. Anytime horses feel discomfort, they express it in a variety of ways. Usually these expressions are in the form of a behavior or habit many riders see as "bad behavior". Because equine sports therapy is the process of relieving this discomfort, it improves the lives of horses by making them feel uninhibited and at their best.
ASSESSING THE HORSE
One of the most important thing we do is to look at the horses eyes to see how they are feeling. Horses are remarkably expressive with their faces and a trained eye can get an immediate sense for how a horse may be feeling just by reading their facial expressions and body laungage. Then we bilaterally palpate each horse, feeling for any muscular restrictions, body temperature changes or signs of discomfort. Checking each horses range of motion is just as important! The TCS team then decides the best course of action for the session, including units if needed.
THERAPIES OFFERED
To name a few of the modalities that we use:
Multiradiance Laser: Class 1 and safe for everyday use. Has a red treating mode as well as a blue light to treat and infection, like scratches, the blue light is antimicrobial and helps kill infection fast!
A Class 3/4 Aspen Laser (powerful): Used for relieving acute body soreness, relieving arthritis, and rehabilitating major injuries.
America Cryo: We use two different units from this company! Cryo hand held and a shockwave unit that is very customer friendly. This shockwave unit can dial all the way down to even treat dogs.
Graston Knife: One of our favorite tools! This method is such a great one and the limits with this simple tool are un-comparable!
EquiTape: Provides relief and assist with muscle/brain coordination.
A Deep Muscle Stimulator: It’s vibrations can penetrate as deep as three inches, allowing for deep muscle release and helping horses to “self adjust” any muscle or ligament restrictions they may be feeling.
Aromatherapy tools: Essential oils and herbs included. In the wild, horses will eat a variety of herbs, roots, barks, and leaves as natural medications. This process is called self-selection. Because the majority of horses today live in man-made environments, we bring the tools and ingredients for self-selecting to the horses.
