Equine Communication & Massage Therapy By Tracey Mitchell B.A. R.E.M.T

Any of us who spend quality time with horses know, that each and every single one of them is different; an individual. Yes, they are all composed up of the same anatomical parts, some more correct than others, but it is their personalities that gives us humans a deeper insight into the horses we work with.

Horses communicate with us and amongst themselves all of the time. The question is; are we paying attention? Just how are we as their athletic partners, trainers, grooms, caretakers and health care professionals interpreting what it is they have to “say”? As a person whose profession/livelihood (a Registered Equine Massage Therapist) also involves her passion, the horse, I come across many different personalities who do have a lot to “say”, some are just more easily heard and noticed than others. I am a R.E.M.T., not a behaviourist. However, in my day to day interactions with these horses, I need to be aware of and open to these personalities in order to be successful and get the positive results that the rider, trainers, owners and vets want to see.

The words ‘communication’ and ‘behaviour’ when referring to the horse are one in the same. Just as with humans, the behaviour of a horse reflects his/her personality as well as what kind of mood they are in, or whether or not they feel good. As horse lovers and enthusiasts, we have learned through experiences what to look for then a horse may be sick from the flu or in pain with colic. It is with instances such as these that their behaviour takes a noticeable change. If the horse is high-spirited or “feeling good” during it’s required workload we as their partners interpret this as positive communication/behaviour and carry on with the plan or course of training intended for that animal.

The question I would like you the reader to entertain is; what happens when the intended plan or course of action for a horse gets off track due to a change in their behaviour? The scenarios could be any number of things. The once “fly over anything” jumper starts refusing; the dressage horse who was once supple in it’s collection is now tight and not wanting to “sit” down for it’s rider; the Thoroughbred doesn’t want to enter the starting gate, or the Standard bred reluctantly allows itself to be hooked up to the sulky; the western reining horse who once loved getting ready to go to work is now hesitant to be taken out of it’s stall let alone get tacked up. The common link in these and what could be many more instances is resistance. The horse is not wanting to or is just unable to perform as it has in the previous months, weeks or even days. They are trying through their behaviour to tell us that something is just not right. When situations like these arise, it is important not to assume that the horse is just exhibiting “attitude” or rebelling for no reason. The horse is just trying to get a message across to those that handle it everyday. The majority of behavioural changes (sudden or subtle) are linked to pain somewhere in or on their bodies.

The development of trust between myself (the therapist) and the horse is imperative when I am massaging them, especially with those horses that experience strong physical issues. These physical issues are those areas in the horse where they experience increased tension, tenderness perhaps even increased heat due to overuse of that particular area (eg. shoulder, loin, hamstrings etc.). It is the issues that if ignored and allowed to further develop, that can substantially effect the horse and ultimately amplify into the behavioural/emotional changes. The horse needs to get to know me, familiarize itself to the different style of touch, and ultimately trust that when I get to those areas that are tender or sore, I will not hurt them. Once the trust has developed (on average it takes a couple of sessions), the horse will start showing signs of relaxation. These signs may include yawning, licking and chewing, sleeping, mutual grooming, lowering of the head, leaning into the therapist and more. Often times, the owners/riders/grooms will observe the horse interacting with me in ways they have never seen them interact with others before. It is fair to say that the relationship that develops between myself and the horses is of a special and different nature.

Not all massage therapy induces relaxation, especially when dealing with issues that might be causing behavioural changes. In order to reduce the issues that have changed the horse’s behaviour or performance level, discomfort will more than likely be felt. When experiencing discomfort the horse may do a number of things. They may start to flap or purse their lips, paw, fidget or “dance” around in the cross-ties or stall. They may try to bite or even in extreme cases try to kick. More often than not the horse will warn me first before an actual kick takes place. As the horse learns to trust me, such threatening actions are rarely seen. When the horse displays signs of discomfort the owners are often quick to reprimand them thinking that they are misbehaving or are just being impatient. These actions the horse is showing are signs I need to see in order for me to know just what I am dealing with and the areas on the horse that are primarily affected. It is important to mention that communication aside, safety of myself, the horse and any handler involved is paramount!

The behaviour of horses holding such physically limiting issues should be considered a warning. A warning that something is not right in their body, and this may lead to an actual injury due to the body trying to compensate to deal with the pain they are feeling. If we could be more open to the communication that the horse shares with us, it is possible we could have less lame horses, and less horses labelled as “bad”, and more horses that are physically and mentally able to perform the tasks ahead of them.