What You SHOULD KNOW About
Equine Elastic
Kinesiology Tape
Wrien and Photos Provided By
DR. BEVERLY GORDON
What are the benefits of using EEKT?
58 www.EliteEquestrianMagazine.com EQUINE Health
Continued...
The first thing you should know is that all equine training
and rehabilitation programs can benefit from including
EEKT (equine elastic kinesiology tape) as one of their
go-to modalities. If you are wondering why, the simple answer
is this: when the tape is applied properly, it works.
Many human professional (and Olympic) athletes can be seen
wearing elastic kinesiology tape during performance and training.
This modality, which recently crossed over from human to
equine use, is very versatile, consumer friendly, affordable, noninvasive,
and effective. Still, many equestrians are unfamiliar
with the benefits of using EEKT and know very little about it.
So, what exactly is EEKT, what are the benefits, how does
it work, and how can you use it to help your horse? Let’s
explore these questions further.
L
What is EEKT?
There are many basic
taping applicaons you
can use to help your horse.
EEKT can also be used to
assist horses in training,
thereby helping them
reach their full athlec
potenal. Common condi
ons such as back or neck pain, hind end soreness, ligament
sprain, sore muscles, pain relief, recovery from exercise, kissing
spine and lameness can benefit from the use of the tape. Let’s
discuss the reason for its success.
The science behind the effects of EKT applicaons can be quite
detailed, so I will not cover it in depth in this arcle. However,
here is the short explanaon.
When the tape is applied, the heat-acvated adhesive lis the
skin allowing for an increase in blood flow and oxygen delivery to
working or healing muscles. This increased circulaon also aids in
removal of work-related toxins for rapid recovery from exercise,
overuse, or injury. The movement (pull) of the skin caused by the
stretched tape affects underlying skin sensors and fascial ssue.
EEKT stretches and moves with the skin so it allows for full range
of moon during movement. This non-restricted movement,
along with its ability to increase circulaon makes EEKT a great,
versale modality for to use in training and rehab programs!
et me begin by saying that there are many extremely use-
ful EEKT taping applicaons which can easily be applied to
horses by non-professionals. But because of the versality of this modality,
more advanced usage exists, and some taping applicaons can
be quite complex. The good news is that many common issues can be
addressed easily and successfully by the amateur taper, so the benefits
of using EEKT are can be realized by all owners, trainers, and riders.
Every equestrian can, and should, learn to the benefits of using EEKT.
EEKT differs from other tapes used for training and rehab as it is an
elasc tape which both adheres to and lis the skin, allowing
for increased blood flow to the ssue. Both equine and human
EKT offer the same benefits, however, EEKT (equine) is designed
for use on horses. EEKT has a stronger fabric, increased
stretch potenal, and greater adhesive properes which can
adhere to the hair and skin. While EEKT can be used for support,
it does not act like a compression brace a human might wear on
their wrist or ankle. EEKT applicaons are not restricve thereby
allowing the tape to move with the horse. The tape has medicalgrade
adhesive applied in a wave paern to opmize both the
adhesiveness and cooling factors of the tape. There is no medicine
on the tape. You should be aware, that while many EEKTs
might look or feel similar, they are not necessarily the same.
EEKT is very versale and can be used to help horses in numerous
ways. Here is a short list of the many reasons you might consider
using EKT:
• Decrease swelling and inflammaon
• Support joints, ligaments and tendons
• Relieve muscle tension
• Support muscles in work
• Reduce fague
• Decrease recovery me
How does EEKT work?
/www.EliteEquestrianMagazine.com