Whenever we are looking for horse care, we always want to locate the best professionals possible to treat our horse.  This article is for those who need some pointers in how to find and select a good massage practitioner.  Remember that alternative therapies are just that. Massage therapy is not a suitable replacement for appropriate veterinary care for your animal.

The best way to find a good equine massage therapist is the same way you find a good hairdresser or plumber.  Ask around.  Ask other horse owners, local horse businesses like tack store operators or farriers.  Ask your veterinarian, equine dentist or chiropractor.  If none of these are helpful, you can always do research in trade publications like Saddle Up, Equine Times, Horses of Michigan, or go to the internet and either do a google search or go to a Michigan horse web site.

Now that you have names of prospective practitioners, you’re going to want to ask them some questions to make sure they are qualified and meet your expectations.  The following is a list of fair questions that an animal massage therapist should not be reluctant to answer.

□       What is their educational background?

□       Are they certified?

□       Is their school an accredited institution?

□       What modalities are they certified in?

□       Do they take any continuing education courses?

□       Do they belong to any professional associations?

□       Do they have liability insurance?

□       How long have they been in business?

□       What types of horses do they typically treat – by breed, sport, or occupation?

□       Are they willing to provide references or names of clients you can check speak to?

□       How many times do they treat a horse before seeing improvement?

Please understand that equine massage therapists are neither veterinarians nor miracle workers.  Often massage therapy is the ‘treatment of last resort’: meaning the owner has tried everything else and nothing has worked.  Sometimes we get lucky and we’re able to help a horse.  Each case is unique, each horse an individual.  Beware of anyone who says that they can ‘cure’ a horse. Likewise, anyone who indicates (on the first visit) that a great number of treatments will be necessary to ‘fix the problem’.  If a horse is not responding to treatment by the third or fourth massage, it is unlikely it ever will. At that point, it may be time to try something different.  That being said, an older horse with an older injury is going to take a longer time to improve than a young horse with a ‘newer’ injury.  Each case must be evaluated on its own, and the massage therapist should ask you a lot of questions about the horse, it’s environment, it’s movement and work schedule, nutrition, habits, etc…  The more information you can provide to the therapist, the more clues you give them to work with in addressing the issues and getting results for the horse and for you.