Q1: How long does a treatment session take?
A massage session usually lasts between 60 and 90 minutes for a horse and 30-60mins for a dog. Laser therapy takes longer and lasts between 60 and 120 minutes. Herbal and Naturopathy consultations are dependant on what you're after but are often 60 minutes duration.
Q2: How often should an animal be worked on?
This depends on many things, level of work, conformation, general health and fitness, extent of an injury, shoeing and saddle fit. Hard working horses and dogs really benefit from monthly treatments. Animals in a great amount of pain will benefit from weekly and fortnightly treatments until the pain subsides. Subtle changes in soft tissue are detected before they cause problems. Sensitive owners and riders will know when their particular horse/dog needs bodywork. Every animal will benefit from a treatment every 4 to 8wks.
Q3: Does my horse/dog have to be clean?
I do not expect your pet to be washed, but please no dry mud or gravel in the coat. An animal must be dry to have treatment.
Q4: Can I ride my horse just before a treatment?
It is fine for a horse to be worked just prior to a treatment. However, I cannot work on a horse that is sweating or wet.
Q5: When will I notice an improvement?
Mostly there is an immediate notable improvement. However, inflammation dispersal takes time. Depending on the particular accumulation, it may be up to 10 days before the animal is capable of showing improvement. Sometimes though the problem may be caused by something else going unchanged, and therefore we need to fix the cause before the problem.
Q6: How soon can I exercise my horse/dog after a treatment?
Follow-up exercise is an important component of sports massage. However, if the weight bearing area of the back is inflamed, a few days of leading or lungeing are indicated for horses with major problems. Healthy sound horses can be ridden almost immediately and dogs can be exercised straight after.
Q7. How do I know if my horse/dog has a muscular problem?
Bridle lameness, cold back, girthy, unnaturally grumpy disposition, short striding, lack of bend, hollow back, no bounce, gone flat, unsteady or unusual head carriage, avoiding being caught, lack of movement, biting, not sound and ‘just not right' are all common signs of pain and muscle damage.
Q8: Does bodywork replace veterinary treatment in the case of injury?
No. Bodywork is non-diagnostic and complimentary. If the horse/dog has a medical problem it must be diagnosed by a vet, but bodywork will provide a wide range of benefits in the animal's treatment and recovery. I will refer vets for problems that will not be resolved by bodywork.
Q9. Will my horse/dog enjoy the treatment?
Whilst most animals do thoroughly enjoy bodywork and laser therapy there are always some that are in too much pain or just simply don't really enjoy being touched. However these animals can usually be worked on providing we take it slow.