Bodywork All Around

When I found out trainer was going to be on vacation for most of January so I wouldn't have any Saturday lessons for awhile, I thought it would be a good time to schedule a bodywork appointment.  The lady that does the bodywork also is a physical therapist so I decided to have look at my hips since they have been so wonky.  Plus once I was spending all my money I figured I might as well throw something in for Cowboy.  So all three of us got put down for bodywork.

I thought about canceling Stinker, because he is quite defensive to start with and add in the sore hip I was a little worried that she wouldn't be able to do anything with him.  But I decided he probably needed all the help he could get since it is the side he tends to favor anyway and I could just give her a heads up.  Thankfully he didn't seem quite as sensitive on Saturday, because the first thing she said was "That is a good way to fracture a hip."  Luckily I was off the OMG FOREVER BROKEN train.

As expected he was very reluctant to let her work on his hind, but she did get some good releases.  And she spent a lot of time on his left shoulder, which tends to get wonky when his right hind is bothering him.  Overall it was a very productive session and made me feel better about things.

Cowboy is the opposite of Stinker when it comes to bodywork.  Stinker tends to fidget and try to avoid the releases.  Cowboy immediately got droopy and went to yawning and licking.  The most interesting part is she worked on Cowboy long before we got him, and she said he felt much better than before.  I have been concerned about his muscling, but I don't think there is anything to worry about and I just need to stop staring at dressage horses so much.

Finally it was my turn.  She set up her table in the barn aisle and Stinker stood with his head hanging over the fence the entire session.  A quick exam showed that my hips were uneven and my right hip was sitting lower than my left.  A few stretches later and one small tweak they were back to being even and I have a serious of exercises and stretches to do to hopefully keep them in position.  I really liked that she rides and knows exactly what I am talking about and how things effect the horse.