Once you understand free motion and pay attention to the early warning signs, you will save your horses and yourself a lot of unnecessary problems as the best protection you can have from injury is by prevention.

 

Although muscles do not show up on X-Rays, do not underestimate how much of a difference they make to achieving peak performance. In fact, the muscular system can be the entire cause of problems and, unlike common belief, muscles do not take care of themselves if they have been stressed.

 

Muscle Injury = Pain = Muscle Spasms = Reduction in Circulation = Loss of Movement = Adhesions = Pain

It’s a circle of events that if left untreated reduces performance. Sports massage relieves this cycle and enables recovery.

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The Science:

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60% of the horses body mass is skeletal muscle. In most muscles the fibers extend the entire length of the muscle and in all but 2% of them, each of the fibers has only one nerve ending located in the middle of the fiber.  Sarcolemma is the cell membrane of the fiber and each muscle fiber contains several hundred myofibrils. The contraction process is accomplished by the fiber folding over upon itself. Muscle contraction is dependent upon energy supplied by Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP). The ATP is formed by the union of oxygen and glucose from ingested food. A muscle is created with a specific number of fibers, the number is never added to, a muscle can only  increase in size by hypertrophy where the individual fibers grow through exercise. However,  the number of fibers can be lost through atrophy which occurs through disease, injury, lack of use etc.

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The body responds to stress by hyper-contraction and nearly all muscular problems are associated with strain and exertion.

Muscle problems are cumulative, if one muscle hurts, the horse will compensate by overuse of other muscles. This can cause a snowball effect until a more serious problem shows up. The whole body is interconnected. Tendons are connected to muscle, therefore tendon and ligament injuries may be related to muscular tension which has originated elsewhere in the body.

Often a small area of knotted tissue is the cause of muscle or joint ligament unable to perform its normal function and there will be no visual symptoms of the knot, only the greater problem once it has accumulated.

On its own, knotted tissue is unable to secure its own release and unable to perform its normal function properly, regardless of how small the loss, it is still a mal-function. Spasms restrict motion, building pressure and cause pain. As long as a spasm remains untreated, the situation with deteriorate with use. The combination of deep pressure and cross-fiber friction to the exact spot will prepare the fibers to return to their normal use with follow up exercise. This stress point therapy treats the cause of the problem instead of the symptoms. 

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Flexor tendons of the foreleg are often susceptible to strain and they are also the most prevalent cause of severe and debilitating breakdown. It is vital to pay attention to this area of the horse, however, very few people pay attention to the part that makes the tendons work – the muscles of the foreleg. Tendons are an extension of the muscles by which action is transmitted to the joints.

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Compared to muscle, tendons only have 10% elastic properties, 90% must come from the associated muscle. The greatest point of stress comes when the horse is rolling forward on the hoof and the flexor tendons comes into play. At this point of motion, a fraction of an inch of inflexibility can be the difference between safety or disaster.

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Tightened muscles are shortened muscles; fibers are held in a greater state of contraction. They cannot release completely or as quickly to their full 90%, therefore reducing flexibility. Over time this will transmit to other muscle groups. Therefore a horse that is constantly being used with tight shoulders will pass the tightening to the muscles of the upper foreleg and eventually to the digital flexors and tendons.

 

*If you can spot these subtle issues with your horses performance early on, you can help prevent them turning into major issues*

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