treating yo'self

And, obviously, by "yo'self" I am clearly referring to "yo'horse." Because why on earth would I ever indulge myself with any sort of creature comfort when those resources could be spent on my horse instead?! 

creepin on the shetland herd next to his temporary paddock

Case in point: I've been hobbling around the farm for a literal month at this point since my latest ankle calamity (in case you forgot: I dismounted directly onto a jump pole, and cckrtch'd the fuck out of my poor long-suffering ankle....). But, have I seen a doctor? Attended physical therapy?? Done literally anything other than brace the ankle, gird my loins, and carry on??? No, nope, and definitely not. 

only jusssst a little bit like that random sketchy guy hangin around the children's playground

Meanwhile, during this exact same time frame, my horse had a spa day, got his (joint) oil changed, and - as of yesterday - enjoyed some chiropractic massage and acupuncture from his favorite wellness practitioner. 

it's amazing how quickly these old buildings come down!

So. Uh.... Yea. Self care isn't exactly one of my strengths lol. Tho --- in fairness, major components of my day to day mood and mental well being are directly connected to the time I spend with my horse, and the satisfaction I get from this lifestyle. 

onto the main story: charlie getting spoiled!

In this roundabout way, I convince myself that Charlie Care -- investing in his quality of life -- thus indirectly serves my own interests too. Sorta kinda I can rationalize anything.

he luvs this attention so much tho

Lol for real, tho, for better or worse I like to take a holistic approach to Charlie's wellness. Obviously I'm a big believer in the benefits of typically invasive western medicine practices like joint injections etc. When the Shit hits the Fan, I'm calling out the DVM and shelling out for prescription grade medications. 

obvi it's always recommended to have the barn manager on hand supervising the adjustment!

For day to day maintenance, tho? I like to try out alternative therapies like massage, chiro, PEMF, acupuncture, etc. For a couple reasons: 

1) My horse fucking loves it; 2) It's a lower cost way to routinely check in on my horse's overall condition with professionals who know him well; and 3) It gives me more confidence that we're correctly distinguishing between physical issues and training issues in our regular work.

fairly standard array of pokey proddies

The practitioner I keep coming back to again and again over the years is this chiro / acupuncturist. She's a former DVM and very well known and respected throughout the region. She used to work on Isabel back in the day, and was one of the first people to meet Charlie after he came home to me. 

marinating

So, obviously this appointment had to be a key item on Charlie's Spring Tune-Up Checklist. The basic hypothesis being: we had a pretty low key winter around these parts, punted his annual maintenance from what would have been a fall appt to the springtime (a couple weeks ago now), and we're now starting to gear back up again.

more stabby jabbies -- in the neck here, and also some down on his pasterns / heel bulbs

The chiro confirmed that Charlie had more pronounced soreness in his back than we'd normally expect, and said it was more apparent on his right side. This is most likely the result of compensating for his hocks. Tho ya know, it's also possible my asymmetric style of riding lately (thanks to being #crippled again) isn't helping. 

deep in thought

We talked a bit about the realities of a sore back. Basically, the gist is: in horses, a sore back rarely if ever resolves itself. Rest does almost nothing for it (in most cases), mostly due to the compensating nature of their way of going. The only real solution to a sore back is to work on it -- through physical therapies, correct riding, and in more extreme cases, medical interventions like muscle relaxers. 

so focused on his favorite wellness practitioner haha

Charlie's not getting any muscle relaxers this time (much to his chagrin -- I swear Charlie is an absolute junkie), but he's getting all the rest of it. 

like a pig in clover lol

Theoretically the joint injections will correct the underlying root cause and need to compensate. The chiro should help ease everything back into alignment, and the acupuncture stimulates the nervous system and relieves pain. Or at least, that's sorta my working understanding haha. 

lol that's one way to stretch your back, charlie!

Then the rest is up to me: actually riding my horse, and riding him properly. Getting back into more normal dressage schools will be part of keeping him healthy happy and comfortable by building all those big important muscles he needs to support his bronto-self LOL. 

an right onto his next appointment -- he's a busy pony!

And just to complete the package: Charlie's first farrier appointment of spring happened to fall at the perfect time -- hopefully early enough to get in front of the crumbling hooves that will come when the grass is up. Maybe this year I'll finally be prepared lol. 

We went ahead and put leather pads up front earlier than in previous years too. Honestly Charlie is just more comfortable in the pads -- and hasn't had any issues with thrush or whatever. And I'm comfortable when Charlie's comfortable, so there ya go. 

Ooh. And. We also got the season's first stud holes drilled 'n tapped. Maybe -- jusssst maybe -- now that Charlie's getting all tuned up, I'll actually pull up my big girl britches and put this amazing thoroughbred to good use LOL.

Anyone else ticking things off the list?? Doing your own variation of spring cleaning? Treating yourself or your horse?!? Stamping out the mental gloom by sprucing up your favorite pony???