Three Cross Equine Massage Therapy

09/05/2026

Anyone who shops at Bob Wells in Gratis and can show me a receipt from there for 100.00, I will have a free t shirt for you!!!!

09/05/2026

Tshirt order goes in Friday!
Size, color and payment needs to be in by 5pm, Sept 11

09/03/2026

If you would want a t-shirt please let me know size, color and how you would like to pay. I will take orders till next Friday.

09/02/2026

New tshirt time!
15.00 for small- xl
I am going to let my clients decide!!! I do want black lettering… 😉 so pick a color that has black lettering!

09/01/2026

My first ever demo and I had the headpiece microphone and everything!!! Educating about the importance of massage for horses.
Thank you Flora Family Photography for the pictures!
Catie Lainhart Sunrise Therapeutic Riding Center

09/01/2026

What New Research Reveals About Equine Myofascial Pain

A June 2026 study investigating thoracolumbar myofascial pain in horses raises some interesting questions about how muscular and myofascial discomfort may show up—and how easily some of those signs could be overlooked.

The researchers weren’t simply asking whether horses could have sore muscles. They were investigating thoracolumbar myofascial pain syndrome as a recognizable clinical condition and looking at how findings on physical examination related to movement and pain-associated behavior.

That distinction matters.

A horse experiencing myofascial pain may not necessarily have an obvious injury, dramatic lameness, or a clear structural lesion that immediately explains what we are seeing. The horse may still be ridden, compete and perform while showing much subtler changes: sensitivity through the back, muscular tension, changes in movement or performance, reluctance to bend or use the body normally, changes under saddle, or behaviors that might otherwise be interpreted as resistance.

One of the particularly interesting aspects of the study was that the researchers looked at the horses from several directions at once. They combined clinical assessment of myofascial pain with objective gait analysis and the Ridden Horse Pain Ethogram rather than relying on one observation alone.

And that is where this research becomes especially relevant to massage therapists and bodyworkers.

Our hands cannot diagnose the cause of a horse’s discomfort. A sensitive area, increased muscle tone, or tissue that feels different from the surrounding area does not automatically mean that a horse has myofascial pain syndrome. Palpation should never replace appropriate veterinary investigation.

But palpation can give us information.

When we repeatedly find an area that feels different from the tissues around it, when a horse responds consistently to palpation in a particular region, or when those findings occur alongside changes in movement, posture, performance or behavior, that information deserves our attention.

That doesn’t mean we have diagnosed what is wrong.

It means we have noticed something worth listening to.

Perhaps one of the more useful questions raised by this research is not simply, “Does this horse have myofascial pain?” but:

Could myofascial pain be one of the things we are overlooking in horses?

For massage therapists, learning to palpate is not about learning to find everything that is “wrong” with a horse. It is about becoming better at noticing differences, comparing tissues, observing the horse’s response and recognizing when what we feel may deserve further attention.

The better we become at listening with our hands—and combining what we feel with what we see in the whole horse—the more useful our observations can become.

https://koperequine.com/why-fascia-softens-with-manual-therapy-and-how-it-affects-the-nervous-system/

08/30/2026

One week left in Sept open!
Taking appts for October!
I will be making 24 hr confirmation calls! If you need to change appt time or date please try to let me know as soon as you can. I have a wait list.

08/30/2026

This is EVERYTHING!

“Safety is much more than the absence of threat. Safety is the presence of connection.”
—Dr. Stephen Porges

For horses, safety is more than simply having nothing frightening happening in the moment.

A horse can stand quietly while still being watchful, guarded, braced, or prepared to react. The absence of movement is not necessarily relaxation, and compliance is not the same thing as feeling secure. A horse may tolerate what is happening without yet feeling safe within it.

Feeling safe involves the nervous system continually gathering information from the environment, the people nearby, other horses, and what is happening to the body. Over time, repeated experiences help shape an expectation of what is likely to happen next.

Connection can be an important part of that. Horses are social animals. Familiar companions, calm and predictable interactions, clear handling, appropriate touch, the opportunity to understand what is being asked, and experiences in which their responses are noticed and respected can all contribute to a growing sense of, “I know what is happening. I have some control here. I will be okay.”

That distinction matters in everyday handling, training, veterinary care, farrier work, and bodywork.

A horse that is worried about having its body manipulated, for example, may find massage an easier place to begin than a technique involving quicker or more unfamiliar movements. Thoughtful bodywork can give the horse repeated experiences of touch and movement that remain within what they can comfortably process. The horse can investigate, respond, move if needed, and gradually learn that contact with a person does not always predict discomfort, restraint, or loss of control.

Perhaps most importantly, safety is not something we can simply declare on the horse’s behalf. We cannot tell a horse, “You are safe,” and expect the nervous system to agree.

We create experiences from which the horse can gradually reach that conclusion for itself.

And when enough of those experiences begin to accumulate, the expectation can shift from “I’m worried about what is going to happen to me” toward “I know this. I’m okay with this. I will be okay here now.”

https://koperequine.com/how-your-nervous-system-influences-your-horse/

08/29/2026

Come on out