Equine Massage
Nurture the Horse™ :
On Site Equine Massage
+ Rehabilitation
Irene travels to your horse
Full health history considered
Health Check before proceeding
Hears owner's concerns + observations
Listens to the horse: they communicate with Irene
Collaborates with vet, trainer, farrier, + breeder
Treatment plan designed for best outcomes
Newly located in the West Kootenays
Serving Slocan Valley, Nakusp, Nelson, Castlegar and areas
1 barn per day, thorough sanitization of equipment between barns
Irene Rutherford, Certified Equine Myo-Massage Therapist
Human Massage + Aromatherapist, CranioSacral Therapist, Light Worker
Trained in the use of massage, stretching + hydrotherapy techniques to improve equine health + achievements, Irene is also naturally skilled + highly intuitive.
2 curly girls! Blossom is blissin'!
Post session relaxation you can see in your horse's eyes.
Equine Myo-Massage Therapy (myo refers to muscle) has these benefits:
- Improved flexibility + range of motion
- Reduced muscle tension + soreness
- Enhanced circulation + lymphatic drainage
- Increased relaxation + stress relief
- Faster recovery from injuries + strain
See how this next horse is responding? Yawning is a sign of significant release. This is Zeva getting help with her strained front left leg suspensory ligament. Scroll down to learn more about how Zeva told Irene what was causing her pain + irritation.
Having grown up with horses, Irene saw that her human massage + CranioSacral Therapy skills could be translated to help horses feel better too. In the Spring of 2024, she became certified to offer equine services professionally.
Horses get tight hamstrings too! Here Irene is addressing what sometimes results in a short forward hind-stride or even digestive issues.
Irene's maternal grandfather Len Krebs, aka 'Rawhide', was a well known horse whisperer in the Chilcotin + East + West Kootenays. Further back than that, her great great maternal grandfather Rafael Valenzuela was a Mexican horse wrangler that bringing the first cattle to the Chilcotin, in a cattle drive on horseback from Mexico, during the gold rush. To say that horsemanship is in Irene's blood is not an overstatement. It is with honour that she carries on a lineage of close relationship to horse power.
Len always worked with the horse, never beating or brutalizing, + this is the gentle approach of Irene's equine massage work. An ability to communicate with animals is being fine tuned more + more as the years pass, to the point where it has become a duty to listen.
Zeva is telling Irene that her front left leg is sore from overuse on hard ground, before the deep frost had melted. Beware of early Spring hazards like this, a message directly from the horse's mouth! She wasn't limping but was overreacting to stimulus, a sure sign of pain, but her person couldn't figure out what was hurting. The vet confirmed what Irene heard from Zeva: her front left suspensory ligament was strained + the hind left stifle had some signs of inflammation (likely compensating for the front leg). She was given special shoes + put on rest for a few months to avoid long term damage.
Let Irene listen to your horse +
nurture your horse to
an improved quality of life!
Starting at $220/session within 30 km of Winlaw BC
Sessions run about 1hour
Beyond 30km: $30/30km
Irene sees up to 3 horses at one location/day
One barn/day
All equipment is sanitized thoroughly between uses
Book your session now!
email nurture@iriesource.com...just go to our contact page to reach out
text 250-427-8007
Whiskey loves her Irene time, it's an honour to sit with a slumbering horse.
NURTURE THE SOURCE™
NURTURE THE HORSE™
Educated by The School of Equine Massage + Rehabilitation Therapies, Foothills College of Massage Therapy + Hydrotherapy, West Coast Institute of Aromatherapy, Upledger Institute
Irene meets Gertie. "She has marble brains sometimes!" says her person.
What Gertie told me first is that her name was all wrong. She hated it. Also that she had so much poll tension that the bridle made her squirrely. I could address the poll easily, but how do you tell someone to rename their horse? The owner took it well, but later those two parted ways. Maybe she got a new home + a new name that suited her better.
Bareback is Irene's favourite ride. 
Little 'Renie' + Cassie, Irene's first 'patient'. She had been mauled by coyotes as a newborn, but Cassie had great tenacity. Irene learned wound dressing + was shown how nurturing care saves lives. 