Effects of Kinesiology Taping for Horses: Using KT tape on horses to minimize muscle soreness and improve strength
The jury is out. Research on kinesiology tape use for delayed muscle soreness and improved muscle strength for horses (May 2021) indicates that tape is incredibly effective for proactive treatment for horse performance and wellness. It’s not just for injuries.
This systematic review includes eight trials (six RCTs and two crossover randomized trials) with 289 participants.
The results of the study:
Tape use significantly reduced muscle soreness at 48 and 72 hours post-exercise.
Tape use improved muscle strength at 72 hours post-exercise.
Will using kinesiology tape help your horse?
With tape being an extremely effective solution for delayed muscle soreness, improved muscle strength, and pain reduction, it would make sense that using kinesiology tape can improve your horses performance, enhance their wellness, improve endurance, and mitigate injury risk.
To know whether or not taping your horse can help, I invite you to answer these questions:
Are you competing for multiple days?
Training hard in expectation for a competition? Have an aging horse that you’re providing excellent care for?
Have a young horse you want to last for years to come?
If you answered any of these questions with a YES, then I recommend you tape’em up.
While you’re at it, tape yourself.
Resources
Research article: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34159201/
Learn how to tape your horse — Courses through Sozo Equine®
If you’re interested in learning how to tape your horse, you can join my foundational kinesiology taping course and if you’ve already taken my foundational course, check out my advanced kinesiology taping course. You can also bundle these courses and invest in a payment plan here.
About the Author — Ciara Crawford
Hi! My name is Cara Crawford and I am the Owner and Founder of Sozo Equine, LLC. I am a registered and licensed Occupational Therapist where I practice in outpatient orthopedics and specialize in the upper extremities.
Additional certifications include:
Certified Equine Massage Therapist
Certified Myofascial Release Practitioner
Certified Craniosacral Therapist Certified Equine Kinesiology
Certified Taping Practitioner
Certified Equine Taping Instructor
I have a passion for educating and empowering people of all backgrounds to join my pursuit of a world where horses can move without pain.
