Pillar Day

 Ugh.. I really let people get in my head. A trainer I respect posted something about baby horses first rides and how they should be calm and chill and happy if done right. Sigh... Okay, but maybe mine's just cheeky! OR... maybe I did it wrong. Or maybe she is hurting... maybe her OCDs are rearing their ugly heads. Maybe I just suck. Sigh... 

(But I don't suck at photography! This was after the storm the other night!). 

So today... I opted to do pillar work and some lunging. Plus it's so freaking hot and Mike was gone. I grabbed her and we headed to the arena. She was very polite for our pillar walks and we worked on all 3 pillars. Her chest has gotten puny again. So... while she's very good at pillar 1, perhaps our pillar 2 is lacking. I feel like that's where the chest comes in. Although hers never really got super big. Anyways, she was great. So great that I almost quit with that as hot as it was, but... we have water now!!!!!! So I figured I might as well get her a little bit more sweaty and let her really enjoy her rinse off! So then we lunged a short stint. And she looked fine. She looked even and tracking up nicely. She was swishing her tail a tiny bit but she also had the K tape hanging off her. She was even. Her back was swinging and lifted. She was dragging her hind toes a tiny bit, but... barely. So we just did a short lunge session each way with some walk to trot transitions. And then we quit. 

She was a good girl for her rinse and I think she felt better!! After I turned her out she drank and then went bucking and farting off to join her buddies. Hee hee... 

I didn't get any photos cause... it's hot!!! So.. more photos of the stormy sunset!

Adjustment and K tape

 So... sigh. People suck sometimes. Even when they mean well. And I suck for letting them get in my head. I posted vidoes of Funny's first and second rides and two people made negative comments. One said that she knew I was a chiropractor and it was only her second ride but that she thought Funny looked very uncomfortable. And then another one, who was trying to defend me, said something like "I'm sure that Holly wouldn't be riding her horse if she was lame, even though it does look like she's short in the hind end". Sigh.. And at first... it was fine because... I know my horse. She is fine. She lunged beautifully and is happy. She's just trying to figure out how to balance herself with me on top of her. And she's also a testing bossy mare who is challenging me. She's not wringing her tail or going backwards because she hurts. She's doing it because she's mad I'm telling her what to do! And I replied very politely that she had to take that in context and the horse probably is a bit uncomfortable, mentally and physically, because she's trying to figure things out. And a bunch of other people came to my rescue. BUT.... But... sigh... 

Before she even said that I thought she looked a little short in one hind leg in the first ride, but sort of brushed it off as her just trying to figure out how to balance me. And then I watched the second ride video again and... she definitely needs an adjustment. And maybe she does look short. And... now I'm panicking. And looking at myself and picking myself apart. I didn't have as soft hands as I thought I did. Maybe I shouldn't have pushed her to trot yet. She's clearly braced and not using herself properly like I was hoping, given all the groundwork. Sigh. So now I'm all in my head about it. 

But... she does need to be adjusted as I'm thinking I maybe haven't done her yet since she got hung on the stall wall. So, because it's so hot and our well pump fried so we haven't had water in 3 days... (It returns tomorrow!!!! supposedly!).... rather than do any riding this evening, I opted to adjust Funny. We did a tiny bit of pillar work first. Then I took before and after photos and I do think I made a difference. Although she wasn't any worse off than any other of my patients today. She was a bit sore in both SI joints and both gluteals. And pretty stuck in the right shoulder. But she was a good girl and I adjusted everything and got rid of the soreness. I did notice that when I picked up her right front, she would pick up or cock her left hind. So I did put a needle in to unlock the static restrictions in that fascial chain. And.. it worked! At least she stopped trying to pick up the hind foot when I picked up her front foot! NEAT!

Funny enjoyed herself too. And I ended up taping her also and she got a lot of releases from the tape. Although I'm not sure how long it was hold as it was already starting to peel off. I think with the sweat and humidty and fly spray, it'll be lucky to stick overnight. But we tried. And then I groomed her and trimmed her mane and put her mane and tail conditioner in. 

Please ignore the mess in the barn. Remember, no water! Plus work and life. But... look at the different in those shoulders. And her spine! Also ignore the terribly assymmetry of my tape job. Doh! ha ha. 

 

She looks more narrow and less muscled in the after but she had her head lifted higher. Though I do need to get back to doing our pillar work to get those pecs built back up. BUT... look at the difference in her shoulder points. 

 

She was done with me by this point so she wouldn't stand square but I do feel like her butt is less tipped to the left. :) Go me!!

2nd Ride

 lunged first. Mike babysat

Got on... kind of naughty. Tried to back up... reared a tiny rear.. backed up more... tried to spin.. but then went forward. 

had a nice ride with better steering already today and a nicer trot!! :) 

Then got brave and rode her in the pasture back to the barn! Eeeks. she was so good!

Breather Day

 So yesterday I worked so Funny got a day off. And then today I just lunged her. She happily went to the arena and lunged quite nicely. No real shenanigans. She got a tiny bit sassy once but to be fair, I did get her with the whip because she was leaning in. Today was a short lunge but it was focused on her body position and keeping her square and upright. We did do some pillar work too first. She was great though! And lots of licking and chewing, so yay! She didn't even really get sweaty because she didn't get loose and squirt off and because I kept it short and we had a lovely breeze. So I just turned her loose. She hung out with me for snuggles at the gate for a few and then I walked off. She let me get about 8 strides away and then she trotted off after me. Awww... We snuggled some more. We'll play tomorrow baby girl! 

 

I'm hoping tomorrow we can get our second ride in. Mike said he'd come watch! Then she'll get another few days off. My plan is to do no more than 2 or 3 rides a week and very short ones. We'll stick to the arena until I'm pretty convinced she's balanced and not going to be too naughty! Then we'll go for a trail ride and once we get that down, my plan is to just do 2 trail rides a week for the Summer. Once Fall hits I think I'll be too busy to do too much so she'll get "turned back out" and just do some lunging once a week or so. And maybe more ponying again, but.. my plan is to not do any riding over the Fall and Winter. Or maybe just a few here and there. ha ha. We'll see.

 

BIG DAY!!!!!!! Funny's first RIDE

 I lunged.... I rode :) She was a bit drunk at first but figured it out. We trotted!!!

Goodest girl!