I finally had the chiropractor out to see "inside" my horse. I wanted the very best, so I got my vet's recommendation on one who works with him.
I asked across the street about the chiropractor and the ladies there said, "Oh, she's really arrogant."
Well, my trust in my vet is more important than her bedside manner so I hired her.
Indeed, she is not a friendly person at all, and acted appalled when I called the knee of the horse "the knee" - not knowing that in German, that is not called a knee, it's a carpal joint. OK then. Still learning my body parts!
She was very insistent that I tell her what breeds of horse make up my horse. I told her Arab and Trakehner and various other Warmbloods. She said it's a relevant part of her examination of a horse, its breed. I don't know about that. She said that both Arabs and Trakehners are very wound-up breeds, not a great combination: )
But she seemed to know what she is doing when she went over the entire backbone ear to tail, and also the legs and hooves and face/jaw of the horse.
Interestingly, she found nothing at all in Mara's head and neck, and the legs were fine too.
It was only when she got to the lumbar area that she found two vertebrae out. She "fixed" them, whatever that means, for now.
I did not like the rump area palpation at all, Mara objected to it. The lady took these pencil like wooden sticks and ran them along the muscles in specific zones.
Mara did her best to get out of that part.
I asked her to show me some stretching exercises and she did. She was adamant that if the horse ever pulls away from you, you are doing something wrong in the stretch.
She also stressed the importance of always setting up the horse squarely so the horse can do a particular movement. She said if the horse pulls its leg away from you, you've failed to set the horse up correctly and its not the horse's fault.
She showed me a specific movement for testing the lumbar vertebrae. She took a hind leg and tried to touch the toe of the hoof to the ground, where the horse's leg is pulled only slightly back, cannon bone held perpendicular to the ground, and you just hold the leg like that til the horse relaxes and lets its toe down.
If Mara can do that, her lumbar area is OK.
She told me that Mara is strongly left sided and will show difficulty doing anything to the right.
She made me wait 5 days for the muscle to loosen around those bones she moved, and then told me to lunge Mara in large circles both directions.
Then the next day I was able to ride in large circles and then go out on trails.
The bill was 150E, quite high, IMO. She said she will contact my vet to update him on what she did, so that my vet can have this as part of Mara's health records.
The next visit, she said, if necessary, would only cost 80E. She said it's possible I won't need her again, or not for years.
She did a thorough analysis of my saddlefit and helped me feel under it. She said it fits great, not to change anything.
I had done some Internet research beforehand to learn what to beware of, and I'm glad she did none of those things (using hammers or activators).
I noticed Mara did not seem too happy during the session, and did not give any signs of releases, which I was watching for.
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7 comments:
It sounds like a pretty good visit . . . Horses often don't appreciate their first interactions with the chiropractor - they have to learn that it makes them feel better, and once they do, they're all over it.
Some dietary thought for nervous horses - make sure any supplemental feed is as low in sugars as possible (in the states this would be low NSC). Two supplements that can make a difference in some cases - don't know if you can get either one where you are - magnesium oxide (other forms of magnesium aren't as easily absorbed) and/or vitamin B-1 (thiamine). I've also found pure raspberry leaves (MareMagic in the states) to be helpful with mares.
Hi Kate, on my vet's recommendation my horse has been on magnesium oxide since June. I grudgingly give her a handful of grain per day to get the vitamins and magnesium into her. Low NSC grain is very new to Germany, it is not widely marketed yet.
I don't know how to judge how low-starch my feed is, but I suppose NSC food must not have any sugar nor corn. Then again, one handful a day has probably less starch than the apples she gets that fall off the trees: )
Here's my label: Oat hulls, Luzerne, Wheat bran, Barley, Mais, Gluten, Beet pulp, Melasses, Maiskleberfutter(?)
Protein pro kg: 75 g
Energie pro kg: 10,5 MJ
Protein: 11 %
Fiber: 15 %
Ash: 9 %
Fat: 2,3 %
I would say that the magnesium has not helped much if at all, but I will see when I run out, if there is a difference.
I might try giving her some raspberry leaves next - they're 16Euros per kilo here. I'll definitely be giving her our raspberry stalks after I'm done eating the berries off.
Don't worry about not knowing the body parts in another language. I had to ask my vet what the knee is on a dog's hind leg. I tried comparing it to a horse's hind leg, and said, "Is the hock the knee?"
He said, "No, the hock is the ankle."
I was baffled. How can the ankle be that high? Isn't there a joint lower near the foot that would be the ankle?
He brought his own dog in to point out the different hind leg joints. I was amazed that the knee is actually up by the hip. It's one of those things I've never really thought about. He said the knee of the dog is like the stifle of the horse.
Being Japanese, my vet wanted me to thank his dog for posing as a model. He was very serious about it.
Interesting! I hope what she did helps and you don't have to see her too often - she sounds rather challenging.
My people chiropractor for decades back home near Memphis was an activator guy and I loved it. Don't know how well it translates to horses, and I think I loved that chiro more than I loved his methods, if that makes sense? He could have snuck up and shoved me and popped everything back in the right spots, lol.
The only thing that looks sugar like in your feed is the molasses, but if you're only giving her a handful it probably doesn't matter.
I've found the magnesium oxide makes a difference for some horses and not at all for others, and some horses just won't eat it - Red won't touch the stuff.
Chiro might take a few days (or longer) to show relief, although when something is WAY OUT the relief is immediate.
Remind me to send Mare Magic home with you, I've got a bunch and don't need it anymore!
And, ahem. Pictures?
>g<
That sounds like a useful but expensive appointment. I've just had Brena treated in England - by an Austrian chiropractor who also makes saddles - for £30 (about E40). I didn't see obvious releases however the treatment certainly removed a one-sidedness that had developed.
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