KG Equine Sports Massage Therapy

11/17/2024

Miss me? I have been very MIA lately and I may be for a little longer. This year I went back to school and am working towards becoming a vet tech. Between work, school, and life in general I have not been working much in the massage world. I am still seeing clients but not very often. If you're interested in me coming out to work on your horse, reach out and we can work something out with our schedules.

04/25/2023

EQUINE BODYWORK IS NOT INTENDED TO BE SEASONAL

🟣With Spring upon us and riding season ramping up-I’m getting flooded with people “needing” bodywork!

I always appreciate the business and will accommodate the best I can-referring to fellow therapists and graduates when I cant.

🟣With that said, I’ll take the opportunity to reiterate the importance of keeping your horse on a monthly/bi monthly schedule EVEN when it’s not full swing riding season.

Horses should be considered athletes all year long.
If they work hard enough to “need” massage April-September then I’m pretty sure going without work or bodywork the other 6-7 months of the year isn’t doing them any favors.

During the off months massage can be less frequent but should still happen to some degree.
Not just for the benefit of the horse-but also the therapists schedule.

🟣Here’s a good guide of how often horses can benefit from bodywork:

🔘BIMONTHLY horses in very light work without any chronic issues

🔘MONTHLY horses ridden 3-5 times a week or with chronic issues

🔘BIWEEKLY horses ridden 5-7 days a week or with chronic issues considered rehab

🔘WEEKLY horses in rehabilitation

🟣Not everyone can afford more frequent bodywork-I totally understand this!!
That’s why I created an online owners course so that owners can provide the frequency their horses need without the stress of cost!

I’m happy to help YOU help your horses in any way I can!
If you’d like to see if I have a route in your area-feel free to reach out!

If you’d like to learn how to massage your own horses-check out the owners courses free previews!

https://sbw-owners-massage.thinkific.com/collections/owners-courses

04/24/2023

I often get the question
What do I do?
🐎
Well, as an equine sports massage therapist I aim to keep equine athletes feeling their best so that they can perform their best. All horses benefit, but my main focus is on working and performance horses.
I take care of the muscles to help the horse's body self-adjust and prevent future injuries. As an aid for my work and for the work the horses put in, I also offer kinesiology taping.

What I do and the technique I use, is preventative work. If you believe something is seriously wrong with your horse or they are injured, please consult your vet before reaching out to a massage therapist.
*I do not diagnose nor do I replace proper veterinary care*

I am always taking classes, different courses, watching webinars and lectures, and I am always learning. Someday I hope to go back to school to become an equine osteopath. I absolutely love what I do and each horse that I work on teaches me something different. Your equine athletes deserve the best, and I want to provide the best I can for them.
If you would like to know more in depth of what technique I use or have questions on kinesiology taping, please reach out I am happy to answer your questions!

12/16/2022

Christmas is next week! I have gift certificates available for all those equestrians and horses in your life.
🐎🎄

11/28/2022

Have you scheduled a massage for your horse?
I have availability almost every Monday.
If you would like to schedule on another day of the week, we can work something out.
Please reach out if you have any questions whatsoever!

🐎 Your equine athletes deserve the best! 🐎

10/12/2022

Well said and an important thing to think about

“They’ve always been that way!”

They’ve always had that gait, I’m not worried about it.
They’ve always thrown their head when you tack them up, I’m not worried about it.
They’ve always had a terrible attitude with work.

This can’t be the standard of care.

Let’s look at a human example. What about the middle aged man that has already had multiple back surgeries among other surgeries. He walks funny, has to change how he does daily activities, and has pain every day.

Would you tell him to start the yoga, start the therapy, start massages, and improve his quality of life for the next 50 years? Or would you also tell him not to worry about it.

He’s always been that way. 🤷🏻‍♀️

We have to do better. Every horse won’t achieve perfectly balanced movement, every horse can’t be fixed, and long term issues require long term rehab.

But what are the options: living out their life in way more pain than necessary because we throw our hands in the air?

From a financial perspective, why not keep the older ones going. Young ones take time and training to be seasoned. No matter what the breeding is, we’re not guaranteed they’ll do anything.

The older one may have 5 or 10 more years left in them if we’re willing to do the work.

A body in motion stays in motion. A pain free body in motion has to be even better than that.

09/16/2022

Some post dentist taping for Royal!


Your equine athletes deserve the best! 🐎

09/07/2022

⬇️ Can massage actually release toxins? ⬇️

Can massage actually release toxins?

I’ve seen a lot of captions and articles that write an entire piece saying that the claim of toxin removal with massage is just flamboyant marketing and overall bananas. 🍌

They claim that only organs can remove junk from the body.

To which I want to ask the authors, are you familiar with the lymphatic system? And it’s intimate relationship with the skin?

Where does all of the cell debri, dead blood cells, pathogens, toxins, lactic acids, protein molecules…actually go then?

The lymphatic system is essentially the garbage or sewage system of the body. It takes all of this junk out to make room for the good.

Massage is incredibly effective at keeping the lymphatic system flowing well, which allows room for fresh, new blood, improves proprioception, decreases pain, and improves overall immunity.

When you dissect a cadaver you’ll find 3 structures together, very intimately, at every part of the body: nerve, blood vessel, lymphatic vessel.

Those 3 “tubes” are protected in a bigger tube that keeps them all together in a bundle like a bundle of sticks.

But if the lymphatic vessel gets too full or congested, then what do you think happens to the other 2 vessels in that tight space?

If you’ve ever sat on your foot for too long you know what happens when blood vessels and nerves are compressed for too long.

A healthy, flowing lymphatic system is essential for overall nerve, fascia, and functional movement health.

Any pocket of swelling, stocking up, or puffiness can be a sign of a lymphatic system not in full working order.

Long story short: massage absolutely does remove toxins.

Until we start understanding the lymphatic system better we’ll continue missing a piece of the puzzle.

This class is an introduction to the lymphatic system.

https://sozoequine.thinkific.com/courses/lymphatic-system

07/29/2022

Royal always enjoys her bodywork 🥰
She also agrees that you should schedule a massage for your horse 😉

Your equine athletes deserve the best! 🐎

07/20/2022

You can now find me on EquiPro Connect !

https://www.equiproconnect.com/ProConnect/Detail/695c0629-c91b-459e-bd3e-9acb69d4e710

06/08/2022

Get out there and groom those ponies

⁉️ Question time! ⁉️

When was the last time you groomed your horse? 🤔

We all suffer from it….lack of time, lack of energy, only brushing the muddy bits (if at all!), prioritising riding, easier to bath…….you name it, I’ve heard it and said it myself!

Grooming is by far the undersung hero of our equine care practices! It is absolutely fantastic for so many reasons, physical and emotional:

🤕 Showing subtle and sometimes major signs of pain in the body where your horse might flinch away, or show behavioural signs
☠️ Highlighting areas your horse is less happy to have touched
🤲🏻 Feeling areas that are harder or softer than they should be
💪🏻 Allowing you to notice larger or smaller areas of their musculature which could be suggesting something isn’t functioning the way it should
💆🏼‍♀️ Massage and stimulation of the muscles to boost blood supply and reduce pain levels
🤲🏻 Assessing for any lumps, bumps and cuts
❤️ Building a better connection and bond
🦄 Boosting your horses well-being as mostly they love to be groomed! And if they don’t, then it may be time to take a look at that
🧹 Truly cleaning their coat and lifting dust

It’s an art that seems to be lost these days in our busy modern lives, and one of my favourite homework exercises! You can take this further by adding in a more fascia based groom using different brushes.

Whatever your reason, please please do your four legged besties a big favour and start giving them a regular deep groom 🙌🏻💕