08/26/2019
A quick read about the very important psoas.
Get to know the PSOAS MUSCLES and how important they are to a horse's performance! 🙂
Did you know... while this muscle can be successfully treated with our PEMF therapy, it is actually too deep to be reached by massage!
Here is just about everything you need to know about the Psoas Muscle, a very important muscle in competitive horses (and their riders, too!)
sometimes a cause of "Mystery Lameness"
One of those little ‘string pullers’ the equine (and human) anatomy cannot do without, is the psoas muscle or rather muscles. Before we get into where it is and how we can help it do its job well, let’s see what the psoas muscle does:
Have you ever asked your horse to...
Step under
Round the back
Lower the pelvis
Brace the spine
Develop impulsion
If you answer ‘yes’ to any of the above, you have had a direct request line to the psoas muscles. They pull the strings in all of the above. However, the tricky part is, you cannot see or feel them on the horse. There is no way to palpate them to see whether they are tense or hardened or reactive. Therefore, massaging them for example, is not an option.
Dr. Joyce Harmann: “The psoas muscle flexes the hip joint; you cannot reach this muscle to treat it or massage it, because it is too deep within the body. “ (From Good Horse Keeping article)
Where exactly are these elusive psoas muscles located?
As Dr. Harmann describes “The psoas muscles [pronounced so-as] connects to the front of the femur and travels across the hip to the bottom of the ribs as far as the 14th thoracic vertebrae underneath the center of the rider’s seat.”
The psoas muscles are deep inside the horse's anatomy (but able to be reached by our PEMF therapy!)
What happens when these muscles are rigid, permanently contracted, restricted?
Horse has difficulty stepping under and rounding the back
Horse develops rigidity in the back
Horse loses impulsion
Horse is unable or reluctant to lift hind leg for cleaning or for farrier
Horse develops back pain
“The psoas muscle in the hind end is a particularly important muscle in dealing with back pain. A downward pull on this muscle … creates pain in the back directly under the rearmost area of the saddle.” (Dr. Joyce Harmann)
So we see from this very small glimpse at the complicated world of the equine psoas muscles, that they are incredibly important to the functionality of the horse’s anatomy and his ability to perform the tasks we ask of him.
Treating the Psoas Muscle can help alot of performance horses...
Soreness here can be created simply by their athletic performance and possibly improper conditioning.
It can also be caused by improperly fitting tack, especially ill fitting saddles.
A third cause can be improper angles of limbs resulting from improper angles in the coffin bone due to inappropriate hoof trimming and the influence of unbalanced riding.
(From Reinhold's Horse Wellness Blog)
Call/Text 828.817.6300 to PULSE your horse’s psoas muscle and so much more! 🐴🌀😁❤️
