ROUND HILL, Va. — It’s all in the hands. The stroking from the head on down. The gentle caressing of the neck. The massaging of aching muscles. Nothing beats the feeling of a full body massage, even when that body is 2,000 pounds.
It’s better than peppermints. Grander than grazing on a warm spring day. Oh, to be a horse these days.
As thoroughbred racing awaits Saturday’s 130th Kentuckya Derby, training has become more than morning workouts. Acupuncture, yoga, infrared blankets, magnetic shoes, swimming pools and hyperbaric chambers have become therapeutic staples. Sarava’s followers even included a psychic claiming to read the horse’s mind. Hopefully, he also bet on the 2002 Belmont Stakes winner.
High tech or old school — trainers will try anything to get into the winner’s circle.
Equine massage therapist Mary Schreiber once sent thoroughbreds to winner’s circles around Middle Atlantic tracks. Now her growing stream of 6,000 disciples are creating a rippling impact. It’s not enough that horses run well. Now they have to feel good, too.
“There are people that are really gifted and psychic,” Schreiber said from her rural Virginia farm. “It takes some intuition to know the horse will benefit from the massage. Some people kid me about being a horse whisperer [a term made familiar by the 1998 movie, “The Horse Whisperer,” starring Robert Redford] and some people say I’m a slave driver, but it’s my full life. This is the center of my universe.”
Since being introduced in the 1980s, acupuncture and massage have become mainstays for both marquee horses and bottom-level claimers. Not that either treatment guarantees success. Speculation was that Money wore magnetic booties on his shoes for improved blood flow and had regular rubdowns before finishing last in the 2001 Derby. Conversely, Go for Gin underwent acupuncture shortly before his 1994 Derby victory.
Pimlico racing secretary Georgeanne Hale said some past Preakness Stakes entrants have used alternative therapies that have become commonplace among everyday runners.
“It’s a big deal now,” Hale said. “[Massage and acupuncture] seem to work on people, so trainers are just trying to take another edge with their horses.”
Said Schreiber: “Winning is definitely everything at the track, and if there was something new I believe trainers wanted to be the first. After one massage, horses were in the money for the first time.”
Schreiber started in 1989 at Philadelphia Park, where a few winners spread the word of her abilities and soon was working at tracks in Delaware and New York. Schreiber works the tension and soreness from horses’ muscles, tracing woes that trainers don’t understand. She listens to their heartbeat rhythms while using her hands, elbows and entire body weight to correct problems. It’s not always a cure-all, but massage has become part of many regimens.
“They understand that finally someone else understands they’re hurting,” she said. “It prepares them for whatever activity it is. It not only relaxes the muscles but also energizes them. The most overlooked system is the muscle system.”
Schreiber now teaches a dozen students weekly from as far as South Africa and Australia. Froggy, a 9-year-old thoroughbred, tirelessly lets each student attempt different strokes. Other horses sleep in their stalls until needed. The Seabiscuit movie soundtrack plays lightly in the background.
“It’s like a golf swing — you let it happen,” Schreiber said of her style.
Acupuncture took a little longer to permeate backstretches. Trainers were hesitant to use non-drug therapies. However, sticking the near 200 pressure points avoids penalties for a drug positive.
“It’s very good diagnostically,” said Maryland trainer Anne Merriman, who has used acupuncture on horses for 20 years. “There’s very little you can do with a horse’s back when it’s sore [through traditional means], and acupuncture is a great tool.”
Dr. Meredith Snader has treated champions Holy Bull, Skip Away, Bet Twice, Housebuster and Unbridled Song since beginning acupuncture in 1982. The 20-minute sessions often provide instant relief to sore spots although only 10 needles are used.
“It just seemed so fascinating,” Snader said. “Instead of giving medication to mask problems, acupuncture would heal the problem.”
Once called “the voodoo woman” around tracks, the Chester Spring, Pa., veterinarian now travels nationwide to heal horses. The practice has become so widespread that more than 500 acupuncturists are certified annually by equine schools.
“Years ago, I was the last resort,” Snader said, “but most trainers now use it on a regular basis. A lot of trainers call me in to diagnose a problem that can’t be seen by traditional means, such as jogging the horse.”
Like Schreiber, Snader enjoys being a horse whisperer.
“I do have a certain communication with them,” she said. “When I feel a horse, I have a sense that they have a problem. I think the horse appreciates [pain relief from acupuncture].”
Sometimes, horses need mental therapy. Susan Mishal teaches horses to relax through yoga, and it usually doesn’t take long for skeptical owners to see improvement.
“I’ve had some people’s jaws drop when people see how well their horse moves,” Mishal said. “Obviously, we don’t teach them to sit in lotus position, but it’s the same theory for horses. I came up with this program that parallels yoga for humans.”
The Austin, Texas, horsewoman works with many breeds in two-day clinics that can cost $2,000. Many horses are rehabilitating from injuries. Gaining their confidence during the exercise routines is critical.
“Thoroughbreds want as much as anything to feel comfortable and safe,” Mishal said. “They’re so easily frightened because they’re so sensitive. They have to be worked with a lot of feel. …
And a lot of patience.
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