That's my head, banging against the wall. Repeatedly.
Everyone has been asking about Image's hind issues, and if I have any definitive answers yet.
Short answer: no.
Long answer: Well...yeah, still no.
I don't expect any quick fixes, that's for sure... but I kind of wish I had a game plan at this point, because the "well, this is odd and we don't really know" frame of mind drives me just a little insane. I'm not great with the unknown. I am a self-diagnosed control freak. I know, I know -- things will sort themselves out, things will fall into place, it'll be fine in the end, yadda yadda. I know all of that...but damn it, it doesn't make playing this game any more fun!
I ended up contacting the masseuse Friday evening to make sure we were all systems go for Saturday, and she brought up a good point: chiropractic work can make a horse ouchy, so let's see what Dr. Crane suggests. So, instead of getting up as the absolute asscrack of dawn (okay, it was 8, but whatever), I got to wake up at a slightly less gross hour for a weekend and just meet with Dr. Crane.
I got there maybe 15 minutes earlier than she did, and was greeted with a soft eyed, mushy pony who wanted snuggles. Not to mention, he's started meeting me at the gate as opposed to just watching me enter the paddock and letting me catch him. These little things make me a happy horsie mama.
I cleaned him up and managed to finish just as Dr. Crane drove onto the property. Dr. Crane greeted me with a smile and a quiet, easygoing demeanor. She asked me about Image's background, and how I ended up choosing chiropractic work to try and figure things out. She let Image snuffle her hand as we chatted. She asked me if we could watch him move, and after moving him around in the makeshift round pen a bit, she agreed that he looked stiff in both directions, and had a hint of a head bob at the trot (when he trots instead of paces or racks, anyway). He carries his head to the outside going to the left and is stiff through his entire body, while he's more likely to relax into soft bend going to the right.
I brought him back in and Dr. Crane started her assessment. It was fascinating to watch. I have shoulder and back issues myself, so watching Dr. Crane manipulate joints and put them back in their proper place made both places ache a little more than usual! She immediately pinpointed that his stiffness to the left was all over his body. She had to adjust his poll area, and immediately he was able to flex to the left better. She found that both coffin bones in his front legs were a bit out of place, which she quickly remedied. It wasn't until she hit his withers that she got a bit of a perplexed look on her face.
Basically, his withers and shoulder area are so out of whack that he should be trying to kill someone for touching him there. Her theory is that he's become so accustomed to the pain that it's just same shit, different day for him to be sore there. She still looked a bit perplexed and said that it's possible that it's just not as bad as she's feeling it to be, but her gut said otherwise.
She moved down his back and found some other "off" areas. As she was poking down his bum, she said that he was missing a piece of a bone on his left buttcheek (very technical term, buttcheek...snork!). It's likely it was broken off during some sort of accident -- if he reared and fell backwards, busted through the back of a trailer that had a butt bar up, or even if someone smacked him hard enough with a solid object back there. She had me feel it -- his left buttcheek was squishy in that area and there was a slight dent, while his right buttcheek obviously had something of substance underneath the skin and muscle.
That could very well be contributing to the hitch he has on his left hind. He showed no reaction to us poking and prodding at his bum, so it's honestly a bit hard to tell. Sigh.
Dr. Crane and I scheduled another appointment for the 3rd. She left saying that she would be thinking about Image for quite some time, as there wasn't 100% a clear answer as to what was causing his hind end stiffness. She also said that usually, her kinda-sorta-maybe cases tend to be the ones that "clear up" the fastest...so, we'll see!
After she left, I walked him out to a nearby clearing, sat in the grass, and let him munch while I read a book. After about twenty minutes, he moseyed over to where I was and stood next to me. I looked up at him., and he lowered his head to mine, resting his head in my lap. I about exploded from the cute factor and gave him lots of ear scratchies for his troubles. I adore this little black horse from the tips of his ears to the very last strand of hair on his tail.
Okay, long post is long so I must get to bed. Details on the vet and dentist tomorrow, plus Sunday's escapades.
Basically, his withers and shoulder area are so out of whack that he should be trying to kill someone for touching him there. Her theory is that he's become so accustomed to the pain that it's just same shit, different day for him to be sore there. She still looked a bit perplexed and said that it's possible that it's just not as bad as she's feeling it to be, but her gut said otherwise.
She moved down his back and found some other "off" areas. As she was poking down his bum, she said that he was missing a piece of a bone on his left buttcheek (very technical term, buttcheek...snork!). It's likely it was broken off during some sort of accident -- if he reared and fell backwards, busted through the back of a trailer that had a butt bar up, or even if someone smacked him hard enough with a solid object back there. She had me feel it -- his left buttcheek was squishy in that area and there was a slight dent, while his right buttcheek obviously had something of substance underneath the skin and muscle.
That could very well be contributing to the hitch he has on his left hind. He showed no reaction to us poking and prodding at his bum, so it's honestly a bit hard to tell. Sigh.
Dr. Crane and I scheduled another appointment for the 3rd. She left saying that she would be thinking about Image for quite some time, as there wasn't 100% a clear answer as to what was causing his hind end stiffness. She also said that usually, her kinda-sorta-maybe cases tend to be the ones that "clear up" the fastest...so, we'll see!
After she left, I walked him out to a nearby clearing, sat in the grass, and let him munch while I read a book. After about twenty minutes, he moseyed over to where I was and stood next to me. I looked up at him., and he lowered his head to mine, resting his head in my lap. I about exploded from the cute factor and gave him lots of ear scratchies for his troubles. I adore this little black horse from the tips of his ears to the very last strand of hair on his tail.
Okay, long post is long so I must get to bed. Details on the vet and dentist tomorrow, plus Sunday's escapades.
I hope that t gets all cleared up :/
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