Mel Rowe
Horse Health / Care
Combining the love of horses and the lymphatic system is a dream come true!
My favorite modality to learn and treat, when I had human clients was the lymphatic system and manual lymphatic drainage. As much as I like people, treating horses as an equine sports therapist was a lot more enjoyable but I did really miss being able to apply my knowledge of the lymphatic system to treatments and manual lymphatic drainage techniques.
When I made the change to treat horses, I was devastated that in Australia, Equine Manual Lymphatic Drainage was not a recognized modality for any association or insurance company. This was such a shame as it is used all over the world and provides so many benefits to horses.
I kept looking for options to learn and eventually made it to the USA for hands on training and mentoring. This training meant I could learn and become certified in my favorite modality, but also get it recognized in Australia and New Zealand. Recently I was able to start running manual lymphatic drainage workshops in Australia and it has brought me so much delight to see owners and therapists applying manual lymphatic drainage to help more across Australia.
Visit Mel Rowe at the following sessions
Details
Thursday November 14th
Ariat Theatrette, Ariat Building
Understanding the Equine Lymphatic System
When horses are on box rest, recovering from surgery or have any form of restricted movement, the stress to the lymphatic system if not managed will affect the well-being and management of the horse short and long term.
The horse’s lymphatic system is unique and delicate, without horses being able to move or stimulation of the lymphatic system it can become compromised and has limited capacity to repair.
Swelling occurs in the body to protect the horse, but when the swelling becomes a regular occurrence, or is not treated, the skin not only is damaged but the very sensitive lymphatic vessels in the area are also damaged, that have very limited capability or cannot repair to the same capacity.
Unlike other systems of the body the lymphatic system is not a closed circuit and requires support from the muscular, respiratory, circulatory, immunity, integumentary, digestive, and excretory systems to function, these systems of the body also require the lymphatic system to support them.
If horses didn’t have a lymphatic system they would have very swollen legs, irregular blood pressure, become very unwell with every virus that enters through broken skin.
Details
Saturday November 16th
EQUITANA Classroom (Royal Block)
Caring for the Equine Lymphatic System
The lymphatic system is always working to remove excess fluids and waste from the body, but it is also helping the body identify possible harmful invaders or pathogens. It is vital for a body to have healthy functioning immune system.
The skin is the first layer of defence, a protective barrier and prevents harmful pathogens and bacteria from entering the body. When a foreign invader breaks the skin barrier pre-collectors of the lymphatic system are moving lymph through the vessels, into the nodes.
The lymph nodes are working to identify what is waste and what immune response is required to fight foreign invaders. When a lymph node is not sure what response to initiate, the node stops that potentially harmful cell from moving further through the lymphatic system. When this occurs, it congests the lymphatic system, and causes swelling. When swelling is stagnated this puts pressure on the surrounding skin and in some cases breaks the skin. While the excess fluid can drain away, the pressure from the swelling causes permanent damage to sensitive lymphatic vessels and creates another infection that the body needs to fight, causing extra stress on an over worked system.
