Polly was certified as an Equine Sports Massage Therapist by EquiTouch Systems, Inc. in February of 2001. Soon after, she started her own business, Hands For Horses, a full body equine massage program servicing all of northern Colorado.

She travels to clients’ homes, ranches, riding barns and boarding facilities for her massage sessions. She also attends horse shows in Northern Colorado where she offers pre-event massage to prepare the horses for intense muscle work, to prevent strain and injury, and post-event massage as a cool down and reward for show horses.

Polly believes in conjunctive therapy and works closely with veterinarians, especially those who specialize in acupuncture and/or chiropractics. In her work she emphasizes that massage is not a replacement for veterinary care, but a team-oriented, parallel approach.

Equine sports massage (ESM) is a soft tissue manipulation that increases the horse’s performance and health. As with any therapeutic massage, whether human or horse, ESM is used to help muscle tissue, increase blood and lymph circulation, and relieve stress and tension. It can increase flexibility and helps systems rid of metabolic waste and toxins. Polly incorporates stretching and the use of an all natural herbal liniment in her sessions.

Massage can benefit any kind of horse, whether it is western pleasure, a racehorse or a hunter jumper.  Each discipline has its particular problem areas due to the stresses involved. In addition, horses are like sponges that can take on a lot of the rider’s own issues and stress. Polly’s attentive, holistic approach addresses each of these concerns in turn.

Therapeutic massage can help speed up the healing time so a horse can perform to its best potential. Polly has seen phenomenal results in horses of all disciplines. She primarily works with horses following an injury or illness, and encourages maintenance massage to keep a horse healthy and ready to perform to its maximum potential. 

Polly has expanded her knowledge of horses by pursuing her veterinary technician certification. Since 2006 she has worked at CSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Fort Collins, Colorado, as an equine nurse. Polly is especially responsible for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, the foal care volunteer program, the coordinator for teaching labs for junior veterinary students, as well as the veterinary teaching herd that are often used as blood donors. Polly is able to incorporate her massages in her nursing care, for post operative surgeries or illnesses. She is also active in continuing education classes in anatomy, biomechanics of the horse and acupressure. Her varied background in the equine world ranges from English showing to Western trail and pleasure. The past twenty years have taught her that horses are wonderful teachers and that they have much to share with humans. By learning about equine health and performance, we can better understand and help our equine friends, who in turn help us better understand ourselves.

See Polly up close on the local news:

CBS 4 Denver