I managed to get three rides on Zoe this week - that may be a record for me!
After riding her on Monday, I decided it is imperative that I ride her frequently if I want to be sure she maintains her responsiveness and softness to my cues. With another person using her (who rides very differently than I do) Zoe is picking up what I consider bad habits. I found her to be rushing and less sensitive to my directions - both things I DO NOT want!
So during yesterday's ride I began the (somewhat boring) exercise of working on transitions. Zoe was choosing to not immediately transition up or down to either the trot or walk when I would ask. After a bit of work (maybe 30 minutes), we were working more in sync again and she was doing as asked most of the time. She still was rushing and jumping into her bouncy trot...but that's a problem for another day!
Catherine rides Zoe at least 2 times a week - and rides her hard! Cathy has even moved her into a new pasture, with lush grass to fatten her up a bit. I think the exercise is good for my horse, but the practice of running Zoe full-out without maintaining softness or control is showing up in undesirable ways.
Stephanie, the chiropractor, is coming out on Monday to do an adjustment on Monte. Assuming, he's back to full, pain-free, health after that, I think I will ask Catherine to transition over to him. He needs the exercise, plus I think he would be a great challenge for her.
I wonder how she'll feel about moving on from Zoe.....
Showing posts with label chiropractor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chiropractor. Show all posts
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Monday, March 28, 2011
Clinic Weekend
This weekend was a big fundraiser clinic weekend for our pony club. We hosted Jim Briggs and invited participants from all over the region to take a lesson or two with him. E was signed up for both a jumping and a flat lesson with him.
Unfortunately, Monte was not up to the task of jumping by Saturday; his withers were still painful under saddle, so she decided to not use him for the lesson. Luckily, we board at a barn with many generous owners of many capable horses. E rode a pony (who really is a pony!) named Oscar on Saturday.
E and Oscar
Now Oscar has a bit of a reputation around the barn. He's not exactly a beginner horse - you could rightfully call him "Oscar the Grouch" - but he does know his stuff. He's very headstrong and takes a strong rider to make him go through his paces, however. After her ride, E compared him to Curly in that it took quite a bit of strength in both her arms and legs to keep Oscar doing what she wanted. Not exactly a willing partner, you see.
To make this all harder for E, she started to get pretty sick in the morning and by the time she rode her lesson she was achy and feverish. But she insisted on going through with the lesson. Oh, and it was cold and rainy. Not exactly ideal conditions.
But they did it. Oscar did not refuse any jumps and did a respectable job on the course. E managed to get through the lesson before collapsing in the truck. And Oscar's owner was quite happy that her pony had behaved well and redeemed himself, even if only a tiny bit, in the eyes of the spectators.
Sunday's lesson was impossible for E (high fever, sore throat, etc.), so we gave it to our barn owner C. Ends up that the lesson was pretty miserable since it was full-on raining and the horses were a little nutty. C's horse Maxwell bolted at one point and dumped her in the corner of the arena - a scary moment to say the least. But all was well in the end and the clinic has been deemed a success.
We will have the chiropractor out again to take a look at Monte. I think it's just lingering muscle pain, but we want to be sure.
Unfortunately, Monte was not up to the task of jumping by Saturday; his withers were still painful under saddle, so she decided to not use him for the lesson. Luckily, we board at a barn with many generous owners of many capable horses. E rode a pony (who really is a pony!) named Oscar on Saturday.
E and OscarNow Oscar has a bit of a reputation around the barn. He's not exactly a beginner horse - you could rightfully call him "Oscar the Grouch" - but he does know his stuff. He's very headstrong and takes a strong rider to make him go through his paces, however. After her ride, E compared him to Curly in that it took quite a bit of strength in both her arms and legs to keep Oscar doing what she wanted. Not exactly a willing partner, you see.
To make this all harder for E, she started to get pretty sick in the morning and by the time she rode her lesson she was achy and feverish. But she insisted on going through with the lesson. Oh, and it was cold and rainy. Not exactly ideal conditions.
But they did it. Oscar did not refuse any jumps and did a respectable job on the course. E managed to get through the lesson before collapsing in the truck. And Oscar's owner was quite happy that her pony had behaved well and redeemed himself, even if only a tiny bit, in the eyes of the spectators.
Sunday's lesson was impossible for E (high fever, sore throat, etc.), so we gave it to our barn owner C. Ends up that the lesson was pretty miserable since it was full-on raining and the horses were a little nutty. C's horse Maxwell bolted at one point and dumped her in the corner of the arena - a scary moment to say the least. But all was well in the end and the clinic has been deemed a success.
We will have the chiropractor out again to take a look at Monte. I think it's just lingering muscle pain, but we want to be sure.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Little Big Man
Monte is a pony...okay, he's really a "small horse" since Arabians can be below 14.3 hands and still be considered a horse. But in his mind, he's the big guy in the field.
Consequently, he frequently feels the need to assert himself with the other horses pastured with him. This would be all well and good if he were the head honcho...but he's not, really, and in the process of being put back in his place he sometimes gets hurt. Nothing serious, just a few scrapes and the occasional pulled muscle.
We think that is what happened recently. Last Friday, E saddled him up for a fun ride but as soon as she tightened the cinch on her Western saddle he became a bucking fiend. Luckily she was able to quickly loosen the straps and get the offending tack off of his back - also luckily, this all happened before she got on his back! We've seen him buck before, but this was a show worthy of the broncs in the rodeo.
It was quickly discovered that he had extreme pain in his withers, so a call was made to the chiropractor. We finally had our session with her yesterday afternoon (yes, the poor boy had to suffer for 5 days!) and the relief he felt was almost immediate.
He had a very worried look in his eyes when the chiropractor began but as soon as she did a few seconds of work on his shoulders and then his withers, he relaxed, gave a big sigh, and closed his eyes. He started to fall asleep by the end of her visit.
E is hoping that he is back to 100% by Saturday; she is signed up to ride in a clinic with Jim Briggs and wants to ride her pony rather than mine. Don't blame her, really, since she does happen to have a pretty awesome little guy.
3/26 update: Monte is still hurting - poor boy. So E will be riding Zoe for the Jim Briggs clinic, which is fine for the flat, but questionable for the jumping. Oh, and C corrected me about Monte not being big-man-in-the-field. She says that although he doesn't kick and bite the others as much as another pair out there, he does "growl" at them quite a bit and they all pretty much get out of his way. But unlike most other alphas, he doesn't mind not being first to go in for dinner. So she called him a "benevolent leader." Ha! Benevolent is not a word I would ever have thought to use to describe Monte. :) I kinda think it might have to do with the fact that he defers to the human handling the horses and if that human says he has to go last, then last he will go. Now that's a well-trained pony!
Consequently, he frequently feels the need to assert himself with the other horses pastured with him. This would be all well and good if he were the head honcho...but he's not, really, and in the process of being put back in his place he sometimes gets hurt. Nothing serious, just a few scrapes and the occasional pulled muscle.
We think that is what happened recently. Last Friday, E saddled him up for a fun ride but as soon as she tightened the cinch on her Western saddle he became a bucking fiend. Luckily she was able to quickly loosen the straps and get the offending tack off of his back - also luckily, this all happened before she got on his back! We've seen him buck before, but this was a show worthy of the broncs in the rodeo.
It was quickly discovered that he had extreme pain in his withers, so a call was made to the chiropractor. We finally had our session with her yesterday afternoon (yes, the poor boy had to suffer for 5 days!) and the relief he felt was almost immediate.
He had a very worried look in his eyes when the chiropractor began but as soon as she did a few seconds of work on his shoulders and then his withers, he relaxed, gave a big sigh, and closed his eyes. He started to fall asleep by the end of her visit.
E is hoping that he is back to 100% by Saturday; she is signed up to ride in a clinic with Jim Briggs and wants to ride her pony rather than mine. Don't blame her, really, since she does happen to have a pretty awesome little guy.
3/26 update: Monte is still hurting - poor boy. So E will be riding Zoe for the Jim Briggs clinic, which is fine for the flat, but questionable for the jumping. Oh, and C corrected me about Monte not being big-man-in-the-field. She says that although he doesn't kick and bite the others as much as another pair out there, he does "growl" at them quite a bit and they all pretty much get out of his way. But unlike most other alphas, he doesn't mind not being first to go in for dinner. So she called him a "benevolent leader." Ha! Benevolent is not a word I would ever have thought to use to describe Monte. :) I kinda think it might have to do with the fact that he defers to the human handling the horses and if that human says he has to go last, then last he will go. Now that's a well-trained pony!
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Aching backs
Yesterday included a visit from the chiropractor for both horses. And it appears that this may have been Zoe's first manipulation ever - or at least she acted like that! My little girl was very tense and unsure of what this person was trying to do with her and was not the most cooperative pony. Stephanie commented several times on the horse's tenseness and on how she was holding her breath for long stretches of time. At any rate, Zoe had a hip out and was extremely stiff in the shoulders - there may have been a rib or two out as well, I don't remember.
Monte had a session with Stephanie as well. His problems were less severe (2 ribs out and some other minor adjustments) and totally in line with his current job as jumping pony.
After a chiro visit, we usually give the horses a day or two off, which made the timing of this particular visit unfortunate. Last night was our annual Halloween ride with E's 4-H group. Since E couldn't ride, she ended up leading all of the games for the other club members. The riders discovered that jousting with swim noodles, spoon & ball relay races, and flag races are much harder than they first appear! I think they all had fun, though.
Monte had a session with Stephanie as well. His problems were less severe (2 ribs out and some other minor adjustments) and totally in line with his current job as jumping pony.
After a chiro visit, we usually give the horses a day or two off, which made the timing of this particular visit unfortunate. Last night was our annual Halloween ride with E's 4-H group. Since E couldn't ride, she ended up leading all of the games for the other club members. The riders discovered that jousting with swim noodles, spoon & ball relay races, and flag races are much harder than they first appear! I think they all had fun, though.
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