Interactive Massage Clinic with Vanessa Beach

It was an excellent learning day on Saturday February 24th with Vanessa Beach RMT CEMT at Falle Wind Farm. Vanessa ran through the steps she goes through in assessing a new patient, and common problem areas.

Our guinea pig, Manchita, eventually learned to trust Vanessa and let out some great big yawns when she found some release from her trouble spots. Everyone got tips on how to correctly and safely stretch their own horses. A great big thank you to Vanessa for coming out to dicuss this topic with us!

You can get in touch with Vanessa at Axis Chiropractic in Uxbridge. If you are a member of the UHA, she has a package of 6 massages for the price of 5!! (This includes human or equine). Her schedule and fees can be found here:

http://axischiropractic.ca/meet-our…/vanessa-beach--rmt.html

Other take away messages from Vanessa Beach’s Equine Massage Clinic:

Carrot stretches:
they have to be done correctly, no cheating!

1. Stretch head to Mid shoulder then to elbow on each side
2. Stretch head to Middle of rib then to lower tummy on each side 
3. Stretch head to Mid hip then to stifle on each side

For tight hamstrings:

Back up your horse in the back hand to stretch the hind end and open up the lower hind end muscles. If you’re having a difficult time, align your horse with a wall and make them back up with your fingers tapping the mid rib.

“Assume-o” - a new term we came up with to describe the safest way for the handler to position themselves when stretching front and back legs. Think of "assume the position of a sumo wrestler" to protect your own back while stretching out your horse.