“Helping Animals reach their Optimal Health and Performance through Massage Therapy”
Brienne Vigar
Certified Equine & Canine Massage Therapist, Farrier
Is Your Horse Showing Signs of Muscular Pain or Discomfort?
Signs of Muscle Tension
- Moving away while saddling and cinching
- Crow hopping when riding
- Constantly tossing head, protesting and running off when asking for turns
- Reluctance to round back and pick up shoulders and collect properly
- Resting one leg constantly; refusing to stand square
- Pinning ears and cow kicking while brushing, flinching when touching specific areas
How Massage Works to Heal and Optimize Health:
Massage manually separates the muscle fibers by applying direct, gradual pressure to each muscle group. This promotes healing and strengthening by increasing the flow of nutrients to muscles, breaking up bundled muscle fibers, and releasing excessive fluids and toxins to be carried away through the bloodstream and eliminated from the body.
Equine Benefits of Massage Therapy
- Increased mobility; decreased muscle pain/stiffness
- Encouraged muscle growth and development
- Enhanced tissue repair and circulation/ prevention and relief of adhesions
- Increased mineral retention and enforced skeletal alignment
- Decreased/prevented muscle atrophy
- Temporary relief of joint pain such as arthritis
- Increased dopamine and seratonin levels = decreased pain and stress levels
- Strengthened respiratory muscles, helps to rid the lungs of excess fluid, decreased asthma, COPD
Massage therapy will provide your horse with relief from soreness and pain, so you both can get back in the arena or the trails. When you book a massage, a free evaluation is offered to look at your horse’s gait and identify restricted movement or sensitive areas. The session also includes post massage stretching catered to each horse’s flexibility and willingness.
How Can Massage Improve my Dog’s quality of Life?
Canine Benefits of Massage Therapy
- Injury rehabilitation: Massage will aid in the recovery process and loosen/soften scar tissue, while at the same time strengthen the muscles to prevent future injuries
- Increasing blood circulation: This brings oxygen and nutrients to the muscles and carries away excessive fluids and toxins that have built up in the body
- Reduced inflammation and increased mobility: Stimulating the muscles reduces inflammation and allows your dog to have their range of motion back, or reach new heights
- Pain Relief: Massage therapy brings about the release of endorphins to the body, which are natural pain killers. Older dogs often have arthritis that slows them down from playing and enjoying their lives with you. Massage will aid in muscle pain relief and maintain your dog’s health so they can keep partaking in their favorite activities as they age, or simply make everyday movement less painful
- Increases and Maintains Muscle strength: Massage therapy builds muscle tone and helps maintain the whole body in optimal physical condition. This allows your performance dog to reach new goals and feel their best accomplishing them.
Contact Brienne Vigar to learn how Massage therapy can specifically impact your dog to reach their optimal health and wellbeing!
About Brienne
My name is Brienne Vigar and I am a certified Equine and Canine Massage therapist in the surrounding areas of southeast Indiana. I began practicing animal massage in 2019 as a part time occupation, and have been pursuing continuing education since then as I work to grow and develop with my business, Optimal Equine & Canine Massage , LLC. In May 2023, I decided to make Optimal Equine and Canine Massage my full-time occupation, and am extremely grateful to be able dedicate myself to improving the rehabilitation, performance, and wellbeing of animals through massage therapy. I come from a background of raising and showing horses, dogs, and livestock in 4-H and on my family’s cattle farm. I have always appreciated interacting with animals, which led me into earning a Bachelor’s degree in Animal Sciences from Purdue. I knew I wanted to give back to animals who give so much of themselves to us, but wasn’t sure what avenue that would be in upon graduating. After exploring animal care as a vet assistant, I was drawn to injury prevention and rehabilitation practices. I soon discovered the significant impact that massage therapy has on the overall health of animals. I received my Equine Massage Therapy, PEMF Therapy and Raindrop Therapy certifications at NE Indiana Equine Sports Massage & Rehab Therapy LLC. In 2021 I became certified in Canine Massage Therapy through Dierwood Farm, LLC , and began offering canine sessions at Pawsibilities Pet Grooming in Madison , IN and Copeland’s Dog Obedience 101 in Canaan, IN as well as vendoring at dog shows.
Like most horse enthusiasts, as I gained more experience in equine massage I realized how much more I needed to learn to better understand the horse and ensure optimal results. This drew me to learn about hoofcare, starting with ride alongs with farriers and a Trim certification program at Troy Price Horseshoeing school. I enjoyed it enough to start offering Trim services in 2024 to help prevent reoccuring tension through hoof care. Today I am working as an entry level farrier; I apprentice part time with 2 expereinced farriers and work independently with horses that meet my experience level. Learn more about my journey into farriery so far on my Services and Education pages. There you can read more about the services I offer, which include full body animal massage sessions, massage with Pulse Electro Magnetic Field Therapy using the BEMER, and Raindrop Therapy with Essential Oils. Please call me or message me through phone, email, or facebook messenger for more information on each of these services or to discuss what would best serve for your animal.
Thank you for taking the time to read about my story and consider the services I offer through Optimal Equine and Canine Massage, LLC. I hope to connect with you in the future! My mission with Optimal Equine and Canine Massage will always be to help animals achieve optimal health, performance and wellbeing through massage therapy and hoofcare.
Call to Schedule a Session!
Brienne Vigar
Certified Equine and Canine Massage Therapist
Phone: 812-493-5042 | [email protected]
https://www.facebook.com/optimalequineandcaninemassage
Independant BEMER Distributor