And Turk...
The equine chiropractor showed up today, with his wife(she was the highlight!) and proceeded to "discuss" with me what was going on with my geldings. I gave him the rundown; Turk is a nice saddle horse. He lost his moniker, Turk the Jerk, after a few rides when I realized that the reason he was kicking out when asked to lope was because something was hurting him. It isn't surprising, considering he was lame for 2 years due to almost cutting his right front foot off. You just know that having to carry oneself in a compromised position for that long is going to cause some wackiness in the back and probably the neck too.
Roan Dog has "issues"...lots and lots of issues. I figured a good place to start with him was a good chiropractic treatment. Just to make sure that there wasn't a physical reason for some of his distress.
Did this guy help them? Sure, about the same way a good massage helps us when our backs are hurting. I don't know that he "fixed" anything. Of course, it was recommended that I have him return next week, before heading home...of course that would include paying another $120 to have him "massage" them. Uggghhhh! I want my old chiropractor back! That man would fix the problem in one session. He told me one time...horses are not like people, most of them do not need to be continually need to be adjusted. Almost all horses once adjusted will stay correct with proper conditioning. He said the one exception are Rope Horses. That being due to the repetitious jerks that they incur in their jobs.
So it is back to searching for a good veterinarian equine chiropractor. They are the ones have had the best luck with and from now on they are what I will stick with. This guy would be the 3rd human chiropractor turned equine practitioner that I have used and they just aren't as good as a veterinarian. I researched going to school to learn to adjust horses myself, but the only school that is worth going to only allows veterinarians and human chiropractors. Darn, I knew I would regret not going to vet school at some point in my life-LOL.
These photos are for my darling girl, who got left at home to go to school and babysit grandma for me...
The crazy girl has a knife-fetish...
So here is your new knife honey. Even I think it is pretty cool!
11 comments:
That knife is scary!! lol But cool!
Ahh!!! Chiropractors! I just found one that is a 7 out of 10. Maybe a 6 but still a long way from the yahoos I have had before. At least your horse got a massage. Last year I had one out that only did "energy" work on my horse and didnt actually touch him. I believe in energy but my horse needed a major adjustment. This last one was going really well and was only moderately crazy. She did some actual crunching and found some of the issues I knew where there. People that say things like, "in the wild..." dont seem to nice that we ask our horses to do some pretty crazy stuff that they would NEVER do "in nature". Especially horses that have pulled back. Too bad about this last one but keep your chin up, I am sure you will find one soon.
Sorry to hear about the equine chiro! THat is frustrating! I LOVE ours, he is awesome! He was a human chiro 1st, but has been doing equines forever! He is one of the few, it sounds like, that are one of the great ones! Very highly recommended here. I'm very pleased with him. Hoping you find you a great one!
Great knife, love it!
I would be a bit miffed too! It's kinda like my horse "trainer"! You live and ya learn. I have never used a chiropractor. I don't think I would know where to even start looking for one. I hope those two get the needed work done.
Sorry to hear your chiro wasn't up to par. That's disappointing, and it seems like it's getting to be more common. The spill-over from the 'people spending hideous amounts of money on their pets' phenomenon, maybe?
One of my sister-in-laws is actually trained & degreed as a massage therapist (and gets all pissy when you cal her a masseuse - grin!). Her husband is just finishing his degree to be a chiropractor. She was talking about advertising to do equine massage work, and I quote, "Because there's a lot of money in it." I asked T, "Has she ever touched a horse? Matter of fact, has she even been in a barn?" Resounding NO. Sheesh. NOT a farm raised girl, either, so horses are just so pretty..... bah!
It's bad enough to get a small animal vet out on a large animal emergency call. I sure wouldn't want an "equine" practitioner that's unfamiliar with equine physiology and behavior.
Here's a suggestion, get in touch with a reputable equine massage school and see if they can get you in touch with a good equine chiro.
Good thought Cdncowgirl...I am actually going to call Colorado State University in Ft. Collins to see about their chiro program. One of the problems with that is the hauling issue. Once a horse has been worked on they don't recommend a long haul within 3 days. Either way I go there-from SD or Grand Junction, I am faced with a 300-400 mile haul.
Sunny-I believe the "pet" phenomena is a major part of the problem. People do understand that this is a valuable tool that can help their horses and are willing to spend stupid amounts of money. There are a lot of people willing to take their money too...sheesh!
Horse Crazed-I would have had a freakin' fit and told that freak to hit the road. I did ask this guy if he was going to do anything besides "massage my horse" and he got a bit miffed, but he did end up doing a few adjustment manuevers-LOL.
I think he may have helped the paint horse. His left hip was locked...duh...I knew this...and he did appear to be striding better. If it isn't fixed, at least I can "massage" him into relaxing and that should help him until I can find someone who can truly adjust his hip.
The roan horse? Who knows! He said he was sore in his neck, but I have never seen any indication of that. I think he was just looking for something to work on-LOL.
Good chiro is hard to get. We've had the good and the bad, and alas they cost the same. Bad: Guy who smokes in the barn, jabbers nonstop about how much experience he has had, then flitters his hands across the horse to find sensitive areas, bends the neck, lifts the legs, and takes his check. Good: VET who does a thorough craaacking adjustment, watches the horse react to strong pressure everywhere, adjusts again, and was able to diagnose a severe spinal nerve disorder in a young filly from her odd reaction to manipulations.
I am so jealous of Meghan's new knife.
That is a crazy cool knife! Sorry the chiro wasn't up to par.
Yikes! If you can find a good chiropractor, hang on to him! If you can. The benefits for our horses can be tremendous is we can find the right help for them.
What a waste of money! I'd be so pissed. Unfortunately ya really don't know sometimes until ya try! Good luck on finding the right equine practitioner! Cool but sort of creepy knife!
Having been tipped off by a friend, I went to the McTimoney Chiropractic website and found a good practitioner that way. (I assume that they work in the U.S. as well as Europe.) In their system, equine speciality is a further year of training after three learning human work. Our local equine chiropractor also owns a horse and rides a lot. I agree that horses, unlike people, tend to need only one or two adjustments to overcome a problem. Over here, getting cast in a stable is the most common cause of problems requiring a chiropractor.
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