Muscles being discussed: Gluteus
Location: The gluteus muscles are located in the horse’s hind end.
Function: The gluteus muscles extend the hip and retract the hind legs. This is the horse’s motor!
Symptoms of tension/Injury:
· Soreness in muscle
· Shortened hind end stride
· Balking at jumps
· Difficulty backing
· “tying-up”
Causes of tension:
· Injury (slip/fall)
· Disciplines that require rapid hind end impulsion (racing, sorting, cutting, barrel racing, jumping, polo, gaming events).
How massage can help: Massage is a great way to address tension in the gluteal muscles. By breaking up adhesions in the muscle tissue, massage can help loosen up tense muscle fibers allowing your horse to have better flexion and movement. I’ll use percussion, palpation, and trigger point therapy to address these issues.
Stretching is also a great way to help the maintain motion and suppleness in the gluteus muscles. Here is a video on how to stretch a horse’s hind end: https://youtu.be/nz4PsvxCgH8
Disclaimer: Equine massage is not a replacement for proper veterinary care. Equilete cannot diagnose medical conditions, prescribe or recommend medications for treatment. If a horse is currently being treated by a vet for a medical condition the owner is responsible for clearing massage work with his/her vet prior to scheduling an appointment with Equilete for Equine Sports Massage Therapy (ESMT).
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