With so much information out there about equine training, health, care, nutrition etc. Its sometimes overwhelming to even know where to begin, and what is actually going to benefit your horse in the long run. Which is why I’m going to provide you with all the information and knowledge. So you can be sure that you understand not only the benefits but what exactly is happening underneath the surface. Lets first talk about the science behind the practice.

The science of stress point therapy.

Equine stress point therapy is a combined practice of deep pressure application to stress points, as well as deep massage of the entire muscle.

What is a ‘stress point’? A stress point is a specific area of the muscle that tends to hold the most stress and tension. There are 50 stress points in total, 25 on each side of the horse. Stress points hold onto the stress, tension, and pain in the muscle. These points can be released through deep pressure application.

What does ‘deep pressure application’ do? When deep pressure is applied to these points you are actually temporarily restricting the blood flow to that point and the muscle. I hold this point until I receive a physical release from the horse, this is often licking and chewing, yawning, sighing, or passing of gas. Once I have received that release I massage out the entire muscle to restore blood flow.

Here is a little timelapse of me working a couple stress points along Mae’s whithers.

What does this restoration of blood flow do? When the blood flow is restored, and the muscle is stimulated through massage. You actually are getting a flush of oxygen and nutrients to the muscle. You are also flushing out lactic acid build up, and other waste from the area.

This can benefit your horse in many ways. It provides pain relief, stress relief, improved proprioception, improved movement, posture, and flexibility, it can prevent future injuries, and provide faster healing, and recovery to the muscle. It can even support the immune system, since you are promoting waste to leave the system.

So, is this therapy for your horse? Absolutely! Obviously equine athletes can benefit immensely from this type of therapy. In general though it can be for any horse, young horses in training, working horses, even old horses. The relaxation and health benefits can be enjoyed by any horse. So many pain related and behavioral issues can be attributed to muscle pain and discomfort. Through continued education in equine anatomy and biomechanics we can make sure our horses are healthy, and feeling healthy too.