Horses
“Give ‘em A Chance”
By Ray Cox
From riding with Roy Rogers and the Lone Ranger, to pushing cattle with the “Duke”, in my younger days I could only dream of being a cowboy. Many trails I traveled with Clint Eastwood. Each and every one made my day. I danced with the wolves and flew with the lonesome dove, but the cowboy life I knew was television and movies.
Many of my heroes were television cowboys. I found myself often dreaming of their way of life. One day as this city slicker watched Billy Crystal, he realized it was time to cowboy up. So I hit the trail west, just as Billy did.
Until I went on that cattle drive vacation, I had never ridden anything but a packhorse. What the heck, I said. I had a dream and I was going to live it. Needless to say there was a lot of soreness, many raw spots, and more than once I asked myself what am I doing here? I had a horse that would not listen no matter what I did. He would not go when I wanted and would not stop when I yelled. I could not turn him. He would not push the cattle. He was just plain lazy. I hated this experience so bad, that I only went back two more years. Truthfully it was an amazing and gratifying adventure that had been calling me for years. From that time on, if only in a small way, I could relate, because I had tasted the cowboy way. I would highly recommend it to anyone and say to all, chase your dreams.
I share my little adventure with you to show my lack of equine knowledge back then. There I was, someone whose only horses where under the hood of his vehicle, telling these ranch cowboys that he had a terrible horse. I wanted another because this one rode awful and I about fell off. I can only imagine what they must have thought. When I left there I thought at the end I had become much better on my horse. But after watching the video we made, I realized that it wasn’t my horse’s fault. No the fault lay firmly with that two hundred pound, bouncing out of control man all over his back. No, it was not the horse’s fault, which is one reason I write this story.
It has been several years since those days and my knowledge of horses has grown considerably. A major reason for that was meeting and then marrying a wonderful lady, A lady that shared my love of horses and the western way of life. Fortunately for me she knew a lot more than I did. I think she was born riding. She could do it all. All I had to do was watch, listen and learn.
My wife and I began searching for ways that we could take our dreams and build on them. In our explorations we came across an amazing story of Equine Massage Therapy. We took a real good look at it and came to the conclusion that here was a way we could live our dreams, work with horses, and promote equine fitness. Now here we are, after receiving our certification, with our own Equine Massage and Reiki Energy Practice.
Now as I look back at my earlier experiences with horses I realize that I knew even less than I thought. Faulting them for this and that and cutting them no slack at all. As I watch horse owners and riders today, I see some of them blaming their horses as I did for under performing. Knowing what I know now I would say to them, maybe your horse just needs a little muscle maintenance. If you want them to excel, give ‘em a chance.
Equine Massage and Reiki Therapy
In a lot of areas equine massage is relatively new or unheard of. Many people ask, what is that? I say it is just that, a massage. Then they ask, you mean you actually massage the horse? Yep, with these two hands. Looking at my wife and shaking their heads, they ask how someone so small can massage such a large animal? So we tell them, it is all rhythm, technique, and love of the job. We use no devices or tools, nothing but our hands. It is better for us, as it allows us to pick up on things quicker and easier. We also feel it creates better trust between the horse and us. In turn, it allows for a more relaxed session.
We are happy and proud that we are able to promote massage therapy. It is our desire to show people that their horses can be better. That they can enhance and extend their capabilities by working with and keeping their muscles in shape. Horses give us so much and ask so little in return. For us, we feel that you should give your horse every opportunity to excel and please. It is our hope that in reading this story others will take a further look into Equine Massage Therapy.
We have experienced some really awesome results since becoming massage therapists. We would like to take this opportunity to share with you a truly amazing and remarkable comeback of a horse named...
“Rat”
My wife and I were introduced to Rat, a thirteen year old registered quarter horse gelding, through our friends Don and Shirley Smith. We became acquainted with Don and Shirley while doing a little horse shopping. While visiting with them, we got into a discussion about our Equine Massage and Reiki Therapy. It was not long after that both of them, along with their horses, became clients of ours. We call it our horse and rider combo.
My wife being a Reiki Master, and me a level two Reiki practitioner, allows us to offer our services to both horse and rider. There have been several events were we have done both. Once people become more educated with Reiki and experience it, they come see us on a regular basis. In competition, if there is an edge to be had, they want it.
Don and Shirley are the original owners of Rat. Being born on their farm from their best horses, he wouldn’t be there long. He had potential and people knew it. He was sold at the ripe old age of six months. He would go on to become an awesome horse for everyday riding, but really excelled in roping and team penning. I have found that team penning in this area is very competitive, not to mention exciting. People are always looking for that better horse. To stay on top, a good horse is a must. Rat was a horse that filled those needs and expectations.
That first day we met Rat, he was not the horse as previously described. Not even close. He was a horse that most had written off and given up on. I guess you could say he was headed in the wrong direction. In fact, Don’s first words when he was delivered and unloaded was “Shirley, tell them to put that horse back on the trailer“. You see until that moment, they had only heard the stories of his condition. To say the least, they were not prepared to see what they saw. Here was a horse that had gone from being in high demand, to being on the verge of disposal. My wife and I firmly believe that horses should not be given up on without the opportunity to make a comeback.
Knowing the history of this horse, Don and Shirley had trouble accepting the severity of his condition. Yet they were willing to make a trade, and save this horse, if we thought we could help him. They asked us if we would evaluate him and give them an honest opinion. They were willing to give up a quality horse and take the chance in hopes that he would improve through the Equine Massage Therapy.
I remember looking at this horse and asking myself, do they really know what they are asking? My wife and I conferred, looked at each other and just shook our heads. We have a lot of confidence in what we do and have no doubts of its benefits, but this would be our worst and most extreme case. But as I stated previously, we believe in giving the horse a chance. Though we saw the severity of Rat’s condition, we didn’t hesitate in making a decision to help. Because of Don and Shirley’s determination and desire to help him, we agreed to give our best effort.
The following was pretty much Rat’s condition as we saw it. He could not support is own weight without discomfort. He would shake as he stood there trying to eat and was badly imbalanced doing so. Because of muscle issues that go back who knows when, the only way he could support himself was by placing his front and back feet up underneath himself. He looked like a large animal that had been taught to stand on a small platform like those in a circus. It was that bad. You could literally push this horse over. He truly had no energy for resistance. I remember putting a small amount of pressure on his glute muscles. He instantly went to the ground. It was very disheartening to see a horse in such condition.
To us he looked overweight and seemed to have excess body fluid. Unable to support himself, and being in so much discomfort, he could not even stretch to urinate properly. When he did it would be onto his front legs because they were up underneath him. His urine was really thick and milky looking. The look in his eyes was of desperation. There was no life and you could almost see the look of defeat in them. It was plain to see that this was going to be an ongoing therapy. A quick fix was not in the picture.
The next day we would begin the biggest challenge we had faced to date. As always, we started with the Reiki Therapy. Instantly Rat showed us releases that come from opening up the energy channels. One release after another. He seemed unable to get enough. As my wife continued on, he started breaking out in sweat spots. You could see them all over. These were release points. Shirley and Don could not believe what they were seeing. They knew something was happening and the longer we used the Reiki, the more he seemed to want. If he could have spoken he would have been saying “please don’t stop“. When Nikki got to his latte’ muscles and then on back to the semi-membranosis, he would actually lift his leg as best he could to accept the energy. As pitiful as it was, it was still an awesome sight to see him display such acceptance. The way he basically craved the Reiki energy, and with all the releases he was having, we knew we had a long way to go simply to clear out the toxins in his body.
Because of Rat’s inability to accept physical pressure, we decided at this time it was best to use the Reiki Therapy only. Over the next week we would treat him about everyday. With each and every session, he would have more and more releases. By the end of the first week he was showing a lot more life with a much better look in his eyes. We talked it over and decided to start our massage therapy.
Rat’s Massages
The horse’s muscles are layered so we massage them one layer at a time. Otherwise the muscles underneath could become damaged. It is extremely important to condition the muscles one step at a time. Without going into a lot of detail about this muscle or that, I will tell you that with the first few treatments we took it slow and cautious. We gave Rat only a first layer massage mixed with some Reiki Therapy. He responded favorably to the amount of pressure that was given, and we saw progress in his energy level and his physical strength.
With each therapy he had thereafter he improved noticeably. His deteriorated condition didn’t happen overnight and we knew his recovery would be on going in the weeks and months to come.
There are many reasons horses muscles become sore or injured. It’s a normal thing, but the healing process would be a lot shorter if they were properly addressed sooner more than later. It doesn’t take much to hinder a horse’s performance and the least little thing can lead to larger issues if not attended to. As they favor a certain muscle issue, the areas they use to offset their soreness or injury will become an issue as well. It doesn’t have to get to that point. It Rat’s case there had been some unattended issues for sometime.
Towards the later part of our first sequence of massages, the real test would be how he fared under saddle. After lengthy discussion we decided we had to know how far Rat’s recovery had come. His strength had improved tremendously. His weight was going down, and he had a little spark in his eyes. Having to assess his progress, Don saddled up. Away they went. It took a few trips around before Rat realized he had freedom. Freedom to move, freedom to step out, and last but not least, freedom of pain.
You could see the joy and excitement in Don and Shirley’s eyes. Maybe even some disbelief. For my wife and I, it was also a moment of joy. It was also a tremendous relief, seeing now, what we couldn’t envision then, a much healthier and happier Rat.
Today Rat is back out there penning and doing exceptionally well. He has even developed a little attitude, but hey, he deserves it. We still massage him on a routine basis. We never want him back to the point he was.
Since becoming massage therapists we have seen many horses benefit from our services. We have seen horses without injuries benefit and improve as well. Conditioning the muscles of a healthy horse will increase and enhance his performance capabilities and make him that much better. That’s what it’s all about. Proper muscle conditioning and extending your horse’s productivity.
*We are not veterinarians and we make no diagnosis. Massage therapy is just that, muscle massage. Along with the Reiki Energy Therapy, it can produce great results as it did with Rat. By no means do we recommend this over veterinary care. You should always seek the care and advice of your own veterinarian*
What we do recommend is this; if you have a horse, remember, your equine friend will carry you farther, get you there faster, and most importantly, be your friend and companion much longer, if you just
“Give ’em A Chance” 
