Did You Know?
That giving your horse a vigorous and thorough grooming prior to work
is an excellent method of increasing circulation to the extremities and
provides a mini-warmup. Use a rubber curry comb, grooma or grooming mitt
in large circular motions starting with light pressure and moving deeper
into the large muscles of the neck, shoulder and hindquarters. Follow
with quick short firm strokes of the dandy brush and finish with long
deep strokes of the body brush or rag. This should not take longer than
15 minutes to complete, your horse should be clean from head to tail and
you should feel warm and slightly out of breath! In cold weather, immediately
put on a wool cooler or quarter sheet to keep this warmth in while you
tack up and keep on for the first 10 to 15 minutes of your ride. Replace
the wool cooler or quarter sheet as soon as you are finished your workout.
This will minimize your horse's chances of getting a chill across his
loins and coming out the next day stiff and sore.
| "Chip
n' Cheer"
a 29 year old quarter horse stallion shows the pleasant effects
of a good massage session: |
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|
"I'm wide awake so do your thing!" |
"Oooo..that feels so good." |
"Think I'll just doze off now." |
June 24 1974 – May 19 2005
It was an Honour and a Privilege
May you now run with the wind fine gentleman
Epsom
Salt Baths...
After
a long hard day at work or play humans often enjoy a relaxing warm bath
with epsom salts. We recognize this as a method to relax and rejuvenate
tired sore muscles. What many don't realize is that this is a form of
therapeutic hydrotherapy. Epsom salts are a very powerful mineral that
helps to draw toxins and metabolic wastes e.g. lactic acid through the
pores in our skin. The significant reduction in toxicity coupled with
the warmth of the water relaxes the muscles of the body, increases their
contractability and increases blood flow.
Blood flow is the life force of the body as it brings oxygen and nutrients
to the cells and removes wastes and carbon dioxide. This ensures that
cells grow, multiply and repair themselves in an efficient, life preserving
and body strengthening manner.
Obviously humans benefit enormously from this simple act of leisure
and pleasure. Can horses benefit as well? Absolutely! After a long vigourous
ride, a day at a show or post racing an epsom salt bath will help restore
your horse's muscles to athletic readiness. Epsom salt baths used up
to three times a week and aided with a solid warm-up and cool down routine
can also help reduce the incidences of tying up in a horse prone to
such muscular difficulties.
Epsom
Salt Baths:
- Dissolve
in a 5 gallon bucket 1 cup of epsom salts in hot water (should be
slightly hotter than what is comfortable for your hand).
- Dunk
in a large beach towel until well saturated. Squeeze the excess out
as you withdraw the towel from the bucket.
- Lay
across your horse starting at the neck. Remove when the towel begins
to feel cool to touch. Repeat process until you have covered the entire
body three times OR dissolve one cup of epsom salts per 5 gallons
into a large basin or skip bucket and place in a wool cooler then
lay this from head to tail across horse. Process should be done three
times. OR for a cold weather alternative follow the first three instructions
but bath / wrap only the legs.
Contrast
baths:
- Dissolve
in a 5 gallon bucket 1 cup of epsom salts in COLD water (add ice if
possible) AND dissolve in a 5 gallon bucket 1 cup of sea salt in HOT
water (should be slightly hotter than what is comfortable for your
hand).
- Dunk
a large beach towel into each bucket until well saturated.
-
Removing the towel from the cold bucket first squeeze the excess out
and wrap the towel around a leg. Leave on for 30 seconds then remove
and repeat process using the towel from the hot bucket. Repeat entire
process three times on each leg.
This
can be used for horses, dogs or people to kick-start the circulatory
system to encourage a deep flush of metabolic wastes and toxins.
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