I think we all know that massaging a horse isn’t going to lead to anything good and here’s proof: A certified massage therapist who massages horses on the side is going to have to stop doing it or risk losing her human-rubbing credentials.

A certified massage therapist may soon get to resume her side business of massaging horses after a judge on Tuesday urged a state board to rescind its order that would force her to choose between her human and equine clients.

During a 30-minute hearing in Montgomery County Circuit Court, Judge David A. Boynton grilled the Maryland Board of Chiropractic and Massage Therapy Examiners’ attorney as to the basis for the agency’s order that H. Mercedes Clemens cease and desist from massaging horses, or risk losing her license.

The chiropractic board’s authority is limited to regulating who can massage human beings as part of a business, Boynton told the attorney, Grant Gerber.

“Does a person even need a license to give a massage to a horse?” Boynton said. “I don’t understand why this [cease and desist] letter hasn’t already been withdrawn.”

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