Triple 7 Performance Horses

Many horse owners consider massage therapy as a luxury and onlookers consider the horse "lucky" or "spoiled" when being worked on.

These comments might not have a negative connotation, in fact, it might be a positive view of the horse owner as someone who cares about their horse's comfort and well-being. But I often hear it from people who don’t think massage is necessary and that it's a luxurious expense.

Consider this: over 60% of a horses body mass is muscle and many physical and behavioral problems can be traced back to muscle tension and dysfunction. While massage appointments appear to be a pampering session, it actually plays a vital role in your horse's physical and mental health. It should be considered an essential part of the maintenance of horses of any given discipline or lifestyle. Afterall, you can never fully rule out pain or discomfort just because you can't always see it.

Horses are actually very tolerant animals when it comes to discomfort and pain. It's in their evolutionary make-up to put up with an awful lot of pain before showing their emotions. Why does it get to this point that pain relief is important when a horse is exhibiting signs of soreness? The reality of the situation is, by the time you can see it, the issue has manifested - this is when people refer to unwanted or bad behaviors.

Let's be honest, the horse's body is not meant to carry weight or perform exaggerated movements with us on their back, so the only "bad" behavior you are experiencing is your own for getting your horse to that the point their muscles can't perform properly due to tension, strain and damage.

So while it may seem like an extra expense, regular massage sessions can actually keep your horse in peak condition by softening muscles which allow them to perform comfortably and even prevent costly vet visits. An ounce of prevention is worth its weight in gold!

Do right by your horse, stop considering massage sessions as a luxury and start considering it a part of your horse's healthcare routine. You won't regret the investment.

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CARING FOR YOUR HORSE...NATURALLY!
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Let’s talk groundwork.

More often than not, groundwork is skimped over due to the push to get a horse started under saddle. As a community, we ignore the fundamentals. Building your horse starts from the ground up. The most common thing I see from the average horse owner is that once they start riding, work from the ground ceases to exist besides a short lunging session before they step on.

We need to remember that lunging is not the only thing that goes into groundwork. So what is proper groundwork and what does a typical session look like?

A groundwork session doesn’t just have to translate to something that can help them under saddle. This can also mean sessions relating to behavior issues such as food aggression, pushiness, and/or trailer problems. These sessions in question don’t need to necessarily be super long. You don’t need to set a time block aside into your riding time for these things.

Something as simple as tacking up or leading from paddock to barn to arena can be used as a learning experience for your horse. Whether they need a few reminders about staying within a safe arms length when leading or what to do when they spook (such as not running you over), consistency with boundaries is probably the most important part.

We as horse owners tend forget to keep up with the boundary once we set it; thinking “oh they got it now!”, but that is not always the case. Our equine partners thrive on consistency and giving that helps them understand what we want from them. By teaching them proper ground manners and behaviors that anyone can handle, this helps keep more horses from ending up in a poor situation.

So before you start your ride, try and find one thing to better your horsemanship and in turn, the bond with your horse!