Feet and flexibility

Given the photographer error that produced the lopsided shots above, one might think I'm writing about the barn footing, but no, I'm actually writing about Bestie's feet. 24 days without rain led to dry hooves with little chunks missing along the edge, as seen in the top photo. She had started to get ouchy again on gravel. Farrier Monique worked her magic last week and Bestie's feet are back to smooth and healthy again; in fact, Monique said her foot has expanded and that her heels are better developed and not so short. That's the good news.

The bad news was that as Monique was trimming her, Bestie seemed to have trouble lifting and extending her left hind leg. Monique remarked that she seemed pretty stiff. So part 2 of this post is Bestie's appointment with Marie Corcoran, who offers Tune Up Therapeutics including Reiki and massage to ease the ailments of stiff horses.

The appointment was scheduled a week after the farrier visit. First, we took a walk in the driveway while Marie watched Bestie's stride - she wasn't tracking up.

Back in the barn, with Bestie on cross ties, Marie started at Bestie's head and worked her way toward her tail. Right away she noticed that Bestie's hyoid bone was not in correct placement, which can lead to TMJ. I had never heard of the bone before, and in fact, I wrote "highway bone" in my notes. :) To adjust it was a matter of getting Bestie to work her tongue to the left. A fix that took a few minutes.

Next Marie practiced Reiki for relaxation and healing along the bladder meridian, holding her hands just slightly above Bestie's coat from her neck and slowly moving along her spine to her tail and down her rear legs. It was interesting to watch Bestie relax and zone out. 

After the Reiki came massage. On Bestie's left side, her tricep was tight. Marie also discovered a lump in front of the girth, inside Bestie's left front leg (more on that below). Bestie reacted to pressure along her topline, showing a bit of discomfort along her top line, basically from the midpoint of the saddle point, to where the pad ends. She also was quite tight in her hamstrings. Marie described the muscles as feeling like "hard plates."

Her right side basically mirrored discomfort in the left side, although not to the same extent. On both sides, her tricep, deltoid and scapula area were very tight, compensating for the tight hamstrings.

The final treatment was a stretching session, one component of which is shown in the photo below. And ewww - that puddle on the floor below Bestie's head is all drool from the field clover.

It was great to see Bestie loosening up as the stretches were held and repeated, and at the end, when we walked again, she felt much more loose and looked more comfortable. Of course, toward the end of the session, her timer had gone off so she was READY to get back to her hay. But overall, during the appointment, she was very relaxed and occasionally turned her head to check out what Marie was doing. We have a follow up in two weeks.

So, the lump. There was some talk that it seemed like a fatty tumor, age related, but Joe happened to notice it a few days later, and he thought it was a hematoma. Connected to the swelling in her lower front right leg - who knows? She's the senior, or maybe I should say Auntie Bestie, in a field with the little girls now - the three youngsters - so it seems unlikely that there's been some altercation. Boo-boos are always such a mystery with horses. The good news is that the swelling has gone down. I gave her two days off after her treatment, and then rode a couple times later in the week, keeping our pace to a walk to give her leg swelling a little encouragement to reduce. We've had some nice relaxed rides, combining the indoor time with a loop around the fields.