Bodywork Discoveries

Polly looking pleased after her bodywork session

In my last blog, I shared that Polly had suffered a setback a week ago, in a manner that seemed very out of character with my previous experience with her. She negatively reacted to my request to move laterally under saddle in a way that was disproportionately upsetting to the task that was at hand. She became mentally distressed in a rather extreme way to a very simple request, and I was left with no options other than to assume that it was the result of physical pain, or the deep memory of physical pain. Therefore, to rule out the possibility that she was actually in pain during work, I asked my chiropractor and bodywork specialist, Dr. Rob Goldsmith DVM, to come out and take a look at her to see what he thought.

Dr. Goldsmith came out this afternoon, and I can report that we have a good plan for progress and moving forward! We discovered that Polly is suffering from pretty severe pain in her sacroiliac joint, as well as her left hip joint. Sacroiliac pain is extremely common amongst horses that have had a racing career, and can usually explain why a horse is unwilling to use their hind end in an athletic manner. Her left hip pain correlates to her unwillingness to move off the right side and bend that way properly, as going to the right involves weighting the left hind leg properly.

Acupuncture needles on Polly's bum!

When we began, Dr. Goldsmith would apply pressure to Polly's left sacroiliac joint, and she would all but collapse on the ground. At the end of her session, she was successfully able to hold her ground to the pressure and stand up without exhibiting any signs of pain or weakness, which is very encouraging after only one session!

Polly was adjusted using chiropractic techniques, and then Dr. Goldsmith applied specific acupuncture needles to the muscles surrounding her hips, sacroiliac, and her larger gluteal muscles. When these needles were inserted without any drama from Polly, we then proceeded to the electro-stimulation, where an electric pulse is sent through the needles into the muscles, causing them to contract with the pulse and resulting in therapeutic relaxation of the affected tense or injured muscles. I myself get electro-stim, acupuncture and chiropractics regularly, and can tell you first hand that they benefit me greatly! None are painful in any way, but make your painful and tight areas feel so much better after a session.

I shared with the doctor about my experience with her under saddle, and how it seemed very out of character for her to react so vehemently to anything, as she was generally a very quiet and amenable horse. He said that given the fact that we do not know her history at all, she could have been out of work for many years, and in fact probably suffered some amount of muscle atrophy from her previous situation. 

When a horse enters into work after extended amounts of time off, muscles obviously become sore, even if it's just a little bit of work. I've been keeping her work to a ten or fifteen minute maximum per day, but she also has been experiencing a much more hilly terrain than before, and simply being turned out in a hilly field overnight can be a workout for her. A tired or weak muscle can sometimes experience spasms or seizures, which can also sometimes pinch a nerve, causing extreme pain in the affected period. This could very much explain her rather vehement reaction to a simple maneuver, as perhaps it was causing her very much pain!

I am glad to have found a physical issue, and to have come up with a treatment plan. We are going to proceed slowly, and see what kind of feedback she gives us as far as the recovery of her hip and sacroiliac. I do believe that it was not a manifestation of a behavioral issue, because she has otherwise been a real gem to work with. Hope to update you soon with positive things!