Month: December 2016

Henry had his chiropractic/acupuncture appointment last week. He’s had chiro a couple times before, but he’s never had acupuncture so I wasn’t really sure what to expect. And, well… although it might have been the first time, it definitely won’t be the last.

The practitioner we used was a new one for us – she’s a vet that specializes in acupuncture. I’ve not had any personal experience with acupuncture before at all, either human or equine, so I had no real opinion about it either way beforehand, just a healthy dose of skepticism. I was not convinced that a few specifically placed tiny needles could really make much difference, but ultimately I figured “hey, why the hell not?”… worst case scenario I burn some money. And if there’s one thing that I’ve gotten really good at after 17 years of owning horses, it’s this:

She started out by asking me some questions about Henry, his history, his personality, and then watched him walk up and back in the barn aisle. She immediately noticed that the right hind wasn’t moving as freely as the left hind and one hip was higher than the other. First order of business: chiropractic adjustment.

She started at his poll and worked her way back, finding several spots that needed adjustment. When she did the right side of his neck I swear his eyes just about rolled back in his head and he immediately relaxed a bit. The real “trouble” spot, though, was basically everything near and/or connected to his SI area. Which kind of explains a lot.

She also noticed that he was very very tight in his psoas, so she released those (and showed me how to do it so I can maintain it), explaining that the psoas was basically like the human hip flexor. Everything was starting to add up when you compared what she was finding with what I had been feeling. How he felt “stuck” in the right lead canter, and had trouble crossing behind in the lateral work, and seemed to want to hold his neck slighty bent to the right.

Then we moved on to the acupuncture. I wasn’t sure how Henry would react (he is a HUGE wuss about, uh, everything) but he didn’t seem to notice as she stuck a couple needles at his poll, a couple more in his chest, his neck, his legs, and then basically made a giant pincushion of his SI area. The only one he reacted to was the right fetlock, which she said connected to the spot where he was so “out” in his neck. Something about meridians maybe? I dunno, here, learn things:

Then, to up the ante of the treatment a bit, we shocked the shit out of him! Just kidding, no we DID NOT do that, it just kinda looks like it. Electroacupuncture really just uses a very very mild pulsating current that helps further stimulate the acupuncture points… like regular acupuncture on steroids. It looked cool, anyway, and Henry offered no objections while she worked.

After that was done she gave me some exercises to do with him to help keep that SI area loosened up, wrote down her findings, and we made another appointment. Due to just how tight and “jacked up” (my own very scientific term) he was, she warned me that it wouldn’t be fixed overnight. Ultimately he might end up needing the SI injected, but hopefully with a few more sessions, if he responds well, we could get him ironed out and avoid that.

To be honest, I wasn’t expecting much difference. I figured maybe he’d feel a little looser and his stride would open up a bit, but the chiro he’s had in the past has only made minimal difference, and what kind of magic can a few needles really do? Um, well, he felt freaking amazing the next day. Huge walk, very straight, very happy to go forward, steadier in the contact, and the right lead canter no longer felt stuck at all. WTF KIND OF VOODOO IS THIS???

We’ll see how long it lasts. Unfortunately it poured buckets all weekend long so his turnout time and my riding time were minimal… not ideal for keeping him loose. His next appointment is next week. I’m really hoping that some regular treatments can get everything ironed back out to where it should be. Either way though – I think we’re on to something here!

 

 

 

Poor Sadie… two babies by two different dudes and here we are planning #3 by yet another. She’s like a walking episode of Jerry Springer. Such is the life of a broodmare.

This will be her first foal where the sire possibilities are truly wide open. Her first one was by Mezcalero, using up a breeding when a different mare that was booked to him failed to become pregnant. Then of course 2016’s breeding was my choice, and I went for the high blood % eventer baby daddy. But next year is the first year where she’ll be bred with the express purpose of selling the foal, looking to produce something for the hunter/hunter derby ring.

Sadie, of course, was originally bred to be a hunter. She’s by Westporte, who was a successful hunter and now a successful sire in his own right. He really stamps his foals with good movement and amateur-friendly temperaments. I’ve loved him since the first time I laid eyes on him in 2005 and to this day he remains a sentimental favorite.

Of course, I’m not involved in hunterland anymore but I still keep an eye on it, from a breeding perspective. Which stallions are consistently producing hunters, which ones are imported and continue to compete as stallions, how do the offspring look, etc. I want a good mover, a consistently good jumper that uses it’s whole body well, one that seems rideable, and of course – he has to be beautiful. To be honest, a lot of them just don’t wow me. And of course, many of the best ones end up gelded, because it’s a heck of a lot easier to show a gelding. Trying to breed for the hunter ring is hard, considering that very few of the really good ones were actually purpose bred for the sport. But there is one in particular that I’ve keep a close watch on all season: Cosmeo.

He competed as a jumper before being brought over to the US (2016 was his first year of showing here so he’s still learning the ropes) and he’s got a great Holsteiner pedigree. He’s strong in areas where Sadie is a bit weaker, and conversely I think Sadie’s best qualities will compliment him in other areas. This one could potentially be a really good match. Plus, let’s be honest, chrome doesn’t hurt when you’re trying to sell hunter babies. We’ll see who Michelle ultimately goes with, but I think he’s the front runner. Hunter crowd – what do you think?

I think the other two mares are still up in the air. If choosing the right hunter stallion is hard, choosing the right jumper stallion is impossible, especially when you want to use frozen from a European based stallion. There are so many good ones! She keeps asking for my input but I think I’m even more crippled by indecision on these. Just for fun (because it’s Thursday, and everyone needs more fun in their life on a Thursday) who would you pick for these girls?

Lasilissa

Interlaken

I won’t say my favorites yet. Mostly because I’ve got several for each mare…