Massage & Bodywork

MARCH | APRIL 2022

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CASE STUDY: Lexicon Lexicon was an Irish show-jumping champion and a breeding stallion. His rider was concerned about back pain the horse began exhibiting during a critical period of their show season. Various diagnostic tests showed there was no obvious injury or clear explanation for the horse's pain, and his response to having his sacroiliac joints treated with an analgesic agent was minimal. His behavior began to change as well, including kicking out while being ridden and refusing to jump high vertical obstacles. I had worked on other horses for this rider and eventually received a call to see Lexicon. I worked closely with the veterinarian involved and the groom responsible for the horse's care. Stallions can be tricky and Lexicon was no exception. One thing that struck me while assessing the horse was that he was constantly busy with his lips and tongue, rolling his tongue into the side of his mouth and drawing his lips forward and back. His handler confirmed he had been doing that for some time and that he assumed it was just stallion behavior. The rider added that he had been grinding his teeth at times when bridled. The muscles of his jaw and back of his skull were taut and sensitive, and the base of his neck went rigid under pressure. He had adopted a slightly bent posture through his neck, and the muscles on his left side were noticeably larger than the right. I used a combination of MFR and massage on the protraction and deep ventral lines along the horse's front limbs and chest to release the myofascial kinetic lines. I also worked over the temporomandibular joint on the left side. I was rewarded with some long yawns and blinking, classic signs of tension release in horses. His breathing slowed and I was able to continue working into the groove between his mandible and the delicate bones of the hyoid apparatus. Intraoral work on horses can be a feat, but at the end of his massage, Lex allowed me to gently ease his tongue out of the right side of his mouth and apply a gentle traction. The space between his mandibles seemed to expand and loosen. After a long walk and a good roll in his paddock, he was given a day of rest. The following day, he was ridden lightly. His rider noted none of the grinding and a softer, steady feel in his hands, indicating a softness in the horse's mouth that had not been there before. A week later came the real test as they began preparing him for his next show. The kicking and resistance were gone. After three sessions, Lexicon returned to his previous level of jumping with no sign of back or neck pain. Lola Michelin works with Lexicon

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