Resources from other sources

As you know, your horse's health, well-being, and subsequent ability to perform, is a complex process.  Therefore, I wanted to provide more information for you, from equine professionals and articles discussing the impact and benefits of massage for the equine athlete.  I will be adding more, as I continue reading and networking with my colleagues who also support you and your horse.

 "...You want to put the horse in the best possible place in his body in order to do the work for you.  Working on longitudinal suppleness means you are trying to achieve suppleness over his top line:  the poll, neck and back.  Something lthat people don't often realize is that muscles only contract -- they cannot extend.  When you want to improve your horse's relaxation over his back, you are, in fact, trying to create an involuntary response from the horse in which he contracts his abdominal muscles, resulting in the relaxation of the opposing muscles over the back...."  Quote from "Understanding longitudinal suppleness with Jacqueline Brooks" (written by Karen Robinson) inHorse Sport (March 2008, page 40)