pins + needles

I knew we were overdue for our 6 month chiro appointment.... but yikes, it's actually been 9 months, as Isabel's last adjustment was in October. Sorry mare - didn't mean to slack off! 

anything stick out at you in this picture? (lol puns)

As mentioned in my last goals post, there was drama with our previous practitioner (revolving around scheduling and deposits) that led me to look for someone new. Dressage trainer C pulled through with a recommendation of a local DVM who does chiro/acupuncture.

eyes are getting softer, still a little worried tho

She started out with a full body assessment of Isabel - revealing intense back soreness :( .... It's really been a persistent issue with this mare, and she's been some degree of back sore since I first met her. Recall this is what prompted all our saddle shopping this past winter too. 

The chiro - let's call her L - went on to say that most back soreness won't resolve itself with just rest. So it's entirely possible that what we're seeing now is still a function of riding in the Wintec for so long (rather than, say, a result of my new Bates which I really really REALLY love and will cry if I need to replace for something else).

before pic. she wasn't standing square tho so it's a little exaggerated here

Most of Isabel's issues revolved around her back and hind end, surprising exactly nobody. L did some poll adjustments, but said Isabel's neck was in quite good condition. That hind end... ugh. I snapped the above photo while waiting for L to arrive. It is maybe easier to see what's going on than the last photos I posted in relation to the hunter bump. 

L said that bump appears due to over-development of the ligament and tissue around the spine there, rather than an actual spinal deformity. She said that area of the spine has the most action when a horse jumps, and the spinous processes move apart from each other when the horse takes off. She was not particularly concerned about it tho. 

'do i have something on my face?!?' - isabel

Anyway, she went about her business adjusting Isabel - mostly from on top of her block stand thing-y, tho she did some work on the hind legs too. Isabel was pretty good, but really quite sore all through her back area, and actually tried to exit stage left when L got to her withers. Poor pony. L had a nice touch tho - not the snap-crackle-pop type adjusting, just very gentle. 

Then L moved on to phase two: acupuncture. This is included in her fees - every visit is a two-fer, which I loved bc I've been very curious to try acupuncture on the horse for a while.

apparently the 6 in the middle are fairly universal for most horses, and the needles on the sides are specialized for Izzy's needs

Isabel was very good for getting all the needles put into place - she had a whole bunch on her hind end, one in each hind leg (at the '3 mile point'), some at the withers, and two on her face (on the bladder meridians). Tho that one circled in orange? That one HURT apparently. 

You can see it's not even fully inserted in the pic - L had to slowly insert it over THREE phases. Isabel whipped her face around so fast (and with teeth bared) the first time (right past me and directly at L), it was pretty shocking.

L referred to that one as the 'competition point' (or did she say 'compendium'?? anyone know?)- and I think she said it's not an actual meridian point but that it's a pretty versatile location and there might be anywhere from 5-6 reasons to put a needle there. Obviously there was good reason with Isabel, as that single location caused her the most discomfort and took the longest to relax, tho relax it ultimately did.

she did not appreciate my giggling at her

You can sorta see in the above pic that the muscling in Isabel's back is really under developed. Hopefully if we can get her feeling better through her back she'll be less resistant to actually lift and use it when we ride? Rather than faking it?

but honestly she seemed to be feeling pretty good

Once all the needles were inserted we kinda just stood around for ~20min while all the channels opened and the 'chi' started flowing. Isabel mostly stood quietly, with some yawning and soft eyes. Tho randomly at one point she got a little riled and started swishing her tail angrily - but then quieted down again. I guess one of the needles was doing something?

I took advantage of this time with L to discuss what we've been working on, some of our struggles (like bending to the right - which L believes is related to the back pain since Izzy's neck is just fine), and our path forward. 

She recommended Isabel get the day off (which I anticipated) as the acupuncture can continue to work for up to 24 hrs, and then ride the next day for 20 min of long/low walk trot, followed by a little more collection - but not too much! Then day 2 can have increased intensity, and then day 3 (today!) we should be good to go for our planned lesson. 

gratuitous yawning shot

Another recommendation is to do more back lifts with Isabel - particularly when I'm tacking up / getting on. She said I need to encourage Isabel to push her back into the saddle to get it fully in contact. And actually if I have someone on the ground, I should ask them to do a belly lift on Izzy while I'm mounted - again to help Izzy feel that lifting her back isn't a bad thing.

And we'll have a follow up appointment in 4-6 weeks (so the second half of August) to see where things stand and whether Isabel has materially improved or not. And if not... well, I might need to start rethinking saddling options again (ugh kill me). We'll see tho!

Have you tried acupuncture for your horse before? Or for yourself? Or regular chiropractics? Any thoughts on how well it works, or good/bad experiences?