Laura Stickley Holistic Equine Massage Practitioner

Laura Stickley Holistic Equine Massage Practitioner Holistic equine massage practitioner offering massage, trigger point, craniosacral and myofascial release therapy, crystal healing & chakra balancing.

I love this picture snapped by Dani earlier in the week whilst I was treating Leo. It was at exactly this point, as I st...
16/11/2025

I love this picture snapped by Dani earlier in the week whilst I was treating Leo. It was at exactly this point, as I stepped back into the puddle that I realised I really do need to get myself some new boots for winter.

#

11/11/2025

I was pulled from my field, from my work, from my play,
Ne’er again to see England, in lands far away,
Through death and destruction, through blood sweat and tears,
I carried my master, along with my peers,
So I ask you to remember a while,
Along with the soldiers, in smart rank and file,
Remember our beauty, the strength of our kind,
As we galloped through danger, without care to mind,
For we were the horses thrust into war,
And we gave up our lives for your peace evermore.

The War Horse, 1914 – 1918

We will remember them.

My Friday started with a trip to see the lovely Crumpet. Crumpet is a beautiful golden oldie and loved her treatment. Af...
07/11/2025

My Friday started with a trip to see the lovely Crumpet.

Crumpet is a beautiful golden oldie and loved her treatment. After a massage using traditional techniques, I used some extremely gentle craniosacral therapy. Crumpet melted into the craniosacral techniques and stood perfectly still with her eyes closed 🥰

Treating golden oldies is such a privilege. Horses give so much during their working lives and to be able to help maintain their comfort as they age is really special.

www.laurasequinemassage.co.uk

Why Facial Symmetry Matters Before Equine MassageBefore I begin a massage session I take a moment to look closely at you...
06/11/2025

Why Facial Symmetry Matters Before Equine Massage

Before I begin a massage session I take a moment to look closely at your horse’s face.

What Am I Looking For?

Is it symmetrical?
Is one eye softer than the other?
Are both of the eyes at the same level?
Is one nostril tighter or higher/lower than the other?
Is one ear set slightly higher than the other?

Facial asymmetry can tell me a lot before I begin a treatment.

It may indicate:

🐴 Muscle tension or restriction higher up in the poll or jaw.
🦷 Dental imbalance or TMJ discomfort.
🧠 Uneven nerve tone or habitual posture patterns.

Checking symmetry helps me to identify where the horse may be compensating, and it guides me to approach the treatment in an effective way.

www.laurasequinemassage.co.uk


Earlier this week I visited Bruno for his regular 6 weekly treatment. Bruno had been getting a bit over excited out in t...
05/11/2025

Earlier this week I visited Bruno for his regular 6 weekly treatment.

Bruno had been getting a bit over excited out in the paddock and had caused some tension to develop within his girth area and hindquarters.

As always Bruno responded well to his treatment and I was able to release off his areas of discomfort.

To finish off Bruno's treatment I used the theraputic ultrasound to assist with the ongoing healing of a previously injured area.

www.laurasequinemassage.co.uk

#

🟣STRETCHINGOver the next few weeks, I will take you through step by step some simple stretching exercises which you can ...
05/11/2025

🟣STRETCHING

Over the next few weeks, I will take you through step by step some simple stretching exercises which you can carry out with your horses.

Before we begin look at different stretches there is some important information below including when NOT to use stretching with your horses.

🟣WHY IS STRETCHING IMPORTANT?

🔹Gentle and regular stretching will help to prevent injury and create an overall sense of wellbeing

🔹The primary benefit of stretching is that the horse will be able to comfortably increase the length of both muscles and tendons, consequently allowing for an increased range of movement. This is something that is continually demanded from each of our working horses.

🟣THE PHYSICAL BENEFITS OF STRETCHING.

🔹Promotes elasticity to the tendons and ligaments.
🔹Promotes the flow of blood.
🔹Promotes the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to heal and cleanse the tissue structures.
🔹Promotes the flow of lymphatic fluid.
🔹Promotes the effective removal of lactic acid - trigger points.
🔹Promotes the joint’s action and abilities - providing a more advanced range of action.
🔹Promotes co-ordination.
🔹Promotes emotional relaxation.
🔹Promotes the effectiveness of the reflex actions.
🔹Maintenance of the older horse (all the above).
🔹Prevents consequential/future injuries/stresses.
🔹Prevents muscular/tendon stress and injury – stress points.
🔹Alleviates current cases of muscular stress.
🔹Alleviates the causes of soreness.
🔹Alleviates the causes of compensatory movement.

🟣THE PHYSIOLOGICAL BENEFITS OF STRETCHING.

🔹A horse living with the positive benefits obtained from stretching will automatically benefit from
induced feelings of relaxation, security, calmness and general wellbeing.
🔹Each time the muscle fibres are gently stretched, they send impulses to the brain via sensory nerve endings that automatically order a state of relaxation created through physical and psychological reactions.
🔹The horse’s own self-awareness is stimulated, and relaxation is created also improving co-ordination.

‼️WHEN NOT TO STRETCH‼️

⛔️Never stretch cold body parts as this can cause injury.
⛔️Never pull a stretch beyond its established range of motion, this again can cause injury.
⛔️Never bounce a stretch back – always return the stretched body part to its normal and recognised position through slow and deliberate means.
⛔️Never stretch an injured area.
⛔️Never stretch a healing area.

Things I have learnt this morning....1. When you haven't clipped a horse for 6+ years you get slightly out of practise (...
04/11/2025

Things I have learnt this morning....

1. When you haven't clipped a horse for 6+ years you get slightly out of practise (hence no picture of the horses) 🤦‍♀️🤣

2. Lighter colours are harder to clip neatly than darker colours (my opinion, I think Diamond might agree though) 😳

3. Horses are angels 😇 and put up with so much (I knew that one already).

4. Next time I'm just paying someone else to do it. 👍

I thought I might ride before heading off to do treatments..... I think I'll lunge instead 😳
03/11/2025

I thought I might ride before heading off to do treatments..... I think I'll lunge instead 😳

Did you know that a horse uses 31 muscles to complete just one stride?It’s quite remarkable just how much of the horse’s...
02/11/2025

Did you know that a horse uses 31 muscles to complete just one stride?

It’s quite remarkable just how much of the horse’s body is used to complete just one full stride.

Imagine if just one of these muscles is housing some tension/stress within it, this stressed muscle will now call for help/support from its neighbouring muscles.

These neighbouring muscles must now work harder in their supporting role causing them to become fatigued and in turn begin forming stress/tension of their own.

Now that these supporting muscles are housing compensatory stress/tension they will call on their neighbouring muscles for help/support and so the cycle continues.

www.laurasequinemassage.co.uk

Yesterday, Douglas came in a bit full, bloated and looking slightly like he had eaten too much at an all you can eat buf...
01/11/2025

Yesterday, Douglas came in a bit full, bloated and looking slightly like he had eaten too much at an all you can eat buffet. He had to be moved onto the winter grazing as the summer field are slippy now and had literally stuffed himself on grass.

I offered him a selection of herbs (pictures of each included) which help support the gut as well as aiding with EMS, laminitis, etc.

Doug's clear choice was the barleygrass which he had 3 helpings of before deciding that he had had enough.

www.laurasequinemassage.co.uk

Lovely late night trip to the yard last night. The stags were bellowing, and the stars were shining.
29/10/2025

Lovely late night trip to the yard last night. The stags were bellowing, and the stars were shining.

25/10/2025

What a lovely selection of horses I have been able to work with this week.

Address

2 Water Croft
Worcester
WR40

Telephone

07854099833

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Laura Stickley Holistic Equine Massage Practitioner posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Practice

Send a message to Laura Stickley Holistic Equine Massage Practitioner:

Shortcuts

Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn
Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share via Email
Share on WhatsApp Share on Instagram Share on Telegram

Category

How it all began.

I am a fully qualified, experienced and insured holistic equine massage practitioner and owner of Centaur Equine Massage Training.

I offer remedial, healing and sports massage treatments, which include traditional massage techniques, myofascial release therapy and cranio-sacral therapy, meridian therapy, trigger point therapy, red light therapy, heat therapy (Epiony heat pad and thermal wand), fascial edging and kinesiology taping. This means that I can tailor each treatment to suit the needs of each individual horse that I treat.

I became interested in equine massage through the love I have for my horse, Jess. I have owned Jess for the past 18 years and throughout this time Jess has suffered with intense back problems due to her previous working life. After using many different options for treating these problems I found that massage was the most effective for her needs, causing a total state of relaxation of body and mind allowing the muscles to relax and begin to repair themselves. This type of treatment kept Jess comfortable and in work when I had begun to think that my only option for her was retirement.

Having watched the effect just hands can have on my beloved mare I decided that I would like to train and qualify in equine massage so that I can help her continued recovery as well as helping many other horses in this way. Alongside my equine massage business I also began tutoring equine massage before launching Centaur Equine Massage Training to help more people achieve their goal of becoming equine massage practitioners.