The first touch the horse experiences from a massage therapist will be during palpation. Palpation is a term originating from the Latin word “palpare” meaning “to touch”. It’s both an exploration of the tissues and an introduction to the horse on how the therapist intends to interact with him.
Palpation serves first as an introduction between the horse and the therapist. Next it becomes a way for the therapist to begin to understand the nuances of the horse’s mind and body.
Palpation skills help us learn about the horse’s body through touch.
The STAR acronym method uses four principles to aid massage therapists in assessing the musculoskeletal system:
• Sensitivity: Soft tissue dysfunction will usually present in tenderness or pain, although some horses are extremely stoic and express minimal reaction. Signs can be obvious; threats to nip, leg lifting, ear pinning, fidgeting or increasing anxiety. More subtle signs might include fascial tension, looking off into the distance, muscle splinting, spasms/fasciculation of the muscle, a faint vibration deep in the tissue or slight movement/shifts of the horse when applying pressure or touch. Every horse is going to express itself in its own way. Every horse will have its own perception of, and reaction to, your touch.
• Tissue texture change: Tissues might feel tight, soft, warm, hot, cold, tense, knotty, swollen, fibrous, dry, stuck, stiff, etc…Your hands must search for subtleties in the variations of the tissue.
• Asymmetry: The tissue may vary between sides of the body. Asymmetry on its own may not necessarily be cause for concern, but a massage therapist will use their best judgment in each situation to determine whether it is normal or abnormal.
• Range of motion: How does the whole horse move, the individual structures, the tissues, how do the tissues move across each other…Is the movement normal or somehow restricted?
To palpate, your touch should be gentle enough to feel the tissues without distorting them or causing unnecessary pain. Pressing too hard or in the wrong way can induce a pain response anywhere. If you notice that the horse is defensive about a particular area, respect that the horse has a valid reason for it and strive to understand why without invading his boundaries.
Palpation methods can be taught to a point, but true skill is honed through experience. Over time, a skilled equine bodyworker will develop the ability to detect subtle differences in texture, density, moisture, and temperature variations in tissue. They will learn to sense different stages of fitness and activity in the muscles, to feel stagnant lymph, edema due to trauma or infection, perceive stagnant chi, to feel what the horse is likely like to ride. The tissue will tell you a story about the horse.
This tactile information is then combined with information and history from the client, observations about how the horse is moving, knowledge of confirmation and correct biomechanics, and feedback from interaction with horse to determine where a problem might exist and how you could help.
The magic, the art of massage, lies in your sensitivity to what the tissues feel like and what they could feel like. It’s in how you use your techniques to bring about positive physical changes, in learning to trust the theories behind your choices, in how you use your intuition and experience. It’s about understanding the behavior of the horse so that you can tell what the horse thinks of what you’re doing, so that you can ask them what they think about an action or touch, and then accurately observe their response. Gather what you’re feeling, seeing, and sensing, and apply your experience, education, and intuition to formulate a plan of action that will enhance the horse’s comfort, suppleness, balance, and symmetry of movement. Refining your touch assessment skills enables you to work effectively, sense changes as they occur and seamlessly progress to the next step.
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