EQUINE: GET BACK IN THE SADDLE

My priority is to get you back into the saddle with NO PAIN! I have developed a different approach that takes into account the unique needs of the rider and their needs. 

 

As a Sports Injury Massage Therapist, assisting my clients to achieve their goals, in a pain free way has been an exciting experience for me. I originally was in the equine world and working hard on many different disciplined yards, I changed my career after seeing many falls and broken bones by others. I have now become a successful owner of my own business and invested and completed additional training, skills and advanced massage techniques. All to deliver the best treatment for you to keep you in the top of their sporting career including weightlifting champions and marathon runners. 

My aim is to listen and guide you to know your weaknesses and where your strengths are. To help you become a stronger, flexible rider. So you and your horse are in harmony and work as a team together. 

["Listening is more than the act of hearing. It's creating an environment in which the other person FEELS heard. - Simon Sinek, motivational quote."]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Work and Focus 

A lot of my work is based on the: 

• myofascia sling / Anatomy Trains (everything is connected and moves and flows together.
• Posture
• Biomechanics
• Testing muscles for weakness, strength, the correct sequence to prevent injury. 

My work is to prevent injuries from occurring and massage areas of the body where I feel it needs it from my knowledge, experience and dedication of being a practitioner. I guide people to get back on to the right track by listening, giving exercise, advice and a treatment. 

For many years I worked on different equine yards with different disciplines. What I have discovered and seen is that we are all strong, confident, competent people, but our hips and pelvis area is very important when we ride/work around horses. There are three main muscles which take on a big role to keep our pelvis stable and they are the gluteals. We know all too well about the 'core' and the core is extremely important to use whilst riding as it gives us stability, control, balance and much more. 

 

["Gluteals are the engine of our body, they give us power and stability. - Georgina Morris"]

The gluteals not only support the core but also: 

- Supports and stabilises the pelvis, Sacroiliac joint, back, hip joint. 

• Keeps us strong in our posture
• Gives us power

You can't just use the core, you have to use your gluteals as well to become strong and supple. I can get into the science of it all but I won't bore you. Our body is a kinetic chain, if one thing happens to it then other areas of the body are affected. 

Gluteals prevent injuries from occurring like: 

• Back pain
• Knee pain
• Sacroiliac pain
• Hip pain
• Groin pain
• Even shoulder pain (walking gait, posture) 
• Also prevents ankle and foot issues 

I am here to teach and guide you to fire / engage your gluteals so then you have a stronger seat for your lower back, knees, foot, core, upper body to sit to a rear, buck, spin, spook, holding your stance to a gallop, jump, an awkward cross country jump, dressage moves, polo moves etc. 

["A tip for you gluteal strengthening exercises engages the 'core' muscles. You'll be hitting two muscle groups for the price of one if done correctly"]

We all need to rest and recuperate.

It is essential part of keeping healthy, we allow our horses to rest, we should be doing the same for ourselves. Think about it, we work our horses 1 maybe 2 hours a day or more (Endurance( they still get a rest by being in the field or stable and relaxing the rest of the day. Whilst they relax and unwind, we on the other hand do chores on the yard and other activities. If you add in the normal stresses of work, home life and sport activity, we are constantly on the move, we may not be aware our posture is suffering while we are working, doing the shopping, school run or even the house work. The fact is WE just keep going all day and this will take a toll on our bodies and this is where little bits of pain become larger issues. 

["If you don't look after yourself first, you can't look after/help others after. Do yourself a favor and give some time for YOU. Believe me, YOU deserve it"]

 

The main muscle groups which we should be using when riding and working with our horses.

• Gluteals 

Glute Maximus, Medius and Minimus they are the abductors and gives us a lot of movement (action), they work together with the abdominal muscles  to create a strong, stable posture.

Using them correctly prevents injuries occurring.

 

• Abdominal Muscles (core)

Rectus Abdominus,  internal and external obliques,  transverse abdominus.  This muscle group works in balance with the spinal muscles and gluteals to create a core stability.

 

• Adductors

We all know these three muscles (inner muscles of our thigh) the adductors consist of adductor magnus, longs and brevis; we also have the gracilis and pectinous. This muscle group are extremely strong and most probably the strongest as a horse rider. As horse riders we tend to use them automatically without thinking. The action of the adductors is to adduct bring the limb closer to midline of the body. We tend to take advantage of this muscle group and grip too much and this can lead to knee injuries, hip rotation which makes the foot evert (foot facing out away from horses girth)

 

• Quadratus Lumborum

I do love the sound of this muscle it just rolls of the tongue nicely, it is not my favourite muscle, perhaps you can guess which group muscles that I favour when you come and see me. 

The QL plays a posture role and if both sides are symmetrical it will keep you straight in the saddle, if it does not then as a rider, you will be prone to collapsing to one side.

 

• Hip Flexors 

These consist of psoas, iliac, rectus femoris (one of the Quadricep muscles) and the sartorius. They flex your pelvis and lower back by either moving your knee to your chest action or flexing back towards your knees. 

 

The psoas and iliacus allows us to absorb the horses movement and plays a big role in our riding. But these two muscles and the rectus femoris can over power the gluteals if we are not careful and can cause lower back pain or pelvis pain.