Weekly round up 23/7/17

First up let's update you on jack!
He is going brilliantly and I'm having to be very careful I don't forget we are still in the fairly early stages of rehab and don't push him too soon!
 As the weather was really hot again at the beginning of the week I took him for a splash down in the river, usually I would have a trot and canter round the field first but the ground was too hard so we only had a little trot then went to cool down.  I spent 20mins on a big circle in the water just walking round, the water kept us both cool while Jack had to work that bit harder to pick his feet up and push through the water.  Our own free version on hydrotherapy!!  After that I took Jack in and out of the water at different places so he was going up and down banks of varying steepness, really getting him pushing from behind and using his back end to push up the slopes.
We also had a wonderful, short but sweet schooling session the next day.  I went late in the evening due to the heat and it was so peaceful, I'm not sure if that made the difference but Jack was so relaxed and worked beautifully for me.  It was hard to stop after 30mins as he felt amazing!  The canter work was especially good and I worked on keeping him straighter as he had a tendency to either fall out left shoulder or push his quarters right.  Spending some time on this made a huge difference and in the canter I could feel him stepping under with his inside hind, really balanced,  soft in the contact and with me, no tension, no resistance, lovely rhythm it was super!!!
Since then jacks had a quiet week as I've been very busy and my other half away, we've managed a bit of hacking just to keep him ticking over.  Next week will be difficult too as my little boy has finished nursery for the summer hols and I'm off work with him for the first week so Jack might get a bit of a break too!  I'm sure he won't mind that!  I will just ride as and when I can.
I took some progress pics of Jack this week so I can compare as we continue through rehab

I'm extremely lucky that my best friend Lucy lets me jump her fab little horse jay, as regular readers know we took him to arena uk for their June show and won the 60cm class.  This time we decided to enter the 70cm as he found 60cm so easy last time!  Again I've not been able to get over to jump him at home before hand but Lucy prepped him by doing some bigger jumps on the lunge at home.  Although he loves jumping he doesn't do that much as Lucy's much more comfortable keeping his feet on the ground when she rides!  He's pretty inexperienced and this would be the biggest course he's jumped but he's so genuine and honest and really tries his hardest so I wasn't worried by our lack of practice.  It was a bit of a rush as they arrived just as the course was opened to walk and I was second to jump so had to walk the course and learn it quick and then warm up asap.  Even more so when the first competitor got eliminated so I had only jumped 2 warm up jumps and had to go in.  I checked my girth as I waited for the bell and then we were off.  Jay felt great and settled into a lovely, forward rhythm from the start.   The timed jump off section started at only fence 5 but I felt Jay was already going forward enough and didn't want to rush him so we kept up a good rhythm and concentrated on leaving up the fences.  He jumped superbly but as the round went on I felt myself slipping further and further to the right!  Bless him Jay just kept jumping for me and as we jumped the final fence for a clear round I was completely hanging off his side!  We later discovered in the rush he'd not got his breastplate on which probably would have helped but it didn't matter we'd jumped clear anyway!  We were both so pleased with him.  It was then a quick tack change so Lucy could go and do her dressage tests.
We came 5th out of 22 and Lucy won both her tests on fantastic scores of 78% so a very good day all round.  Looking at the photos we think Jay is trying to tell us he wants to do 80cm next time!
We now have the ESUK championship in august to get ready for!  Only 60cm though Jay!!

On a bit of an upsetting note I have seen a lot of posts from friends and fellow bloggers on social media and other blogs lately about negativity and nasty comments. 
Until recenty I seem to have been pretty lucky and received very little negativity, however that changed last week. It won't stop me blogging or updating my social media channels but it is upsetting.
As anyone who follows my blog knows I work very hard and do everything in my power to keep Jack happy and healthy.
The aim of my blog is to share my experiences and the knowledge I have gained through successfully rehabilitating Jack from his Kissing Spine surgery.  I want to help fellow horse owners understand kissing spines, how it affects their horses and try to help them avoid the problems we have had.  Not everyone will agree with my approach and that's fine, I share what has worked for me and Jack, what our physio, vets and rehab centre have recommended.  I'm no expert but I have learnt a lot and enjoy sharing our story and I hope that you guys reading it fine it interesting, informative and helpful.  If you have feedback please do share, I love hearing from you all and really appreciate your support!
Thanks for reading
Hannah and Jack xxx

McTimoney Seminar 12/7/17

Last night I was lucky enough to attend a McTimoney seminar hosted by a local equestrian supplier.
The seminar was delivered by a local McTimoney practitioner and it was only a small group attending so plenty of opportunity to get involved, ask questions etc.
It was a hugely informative evening which covered several topics including what McTimoney is, basic anatomy, muscle development, what can influence it and how to recognise problems, how McTimoney can help, saddle fit and rehabilitation.

I found it particularly interesting as the lady delivering the seminar had a Kissing spine horse of her own so had not only professional experience but also a personal experience with Kissing Spine which I think really helps them understand what you and your horse are going through.

I was encouraged by her approach to rehab which involved the use of aqua treadmills, lunging in a pessoa and lots of pole work which is exactly what I do/have done with Jack so I felt we were on the same wave length.

At the end of the session she sat with me and we discussed Jack and his history, where we currently are with his rehab and how Mctimoney might help in addition to his usual Physio treatments.

I've not really looked into Mctimoney before as a therapy so I asked how this differed to a physio treatment and how the 2 forms of therapy might work together to help Jack.  From what I learnt the main difference is that Mctimoney works on the skeleton and joints as well as muscles and soft tissue where as physiotherapy is all soft tissue.  The 2 therapies can work really well together to treat the whole horse.  If their skeleton has misalignments they will always struggle to develop even muscles, and if the muscles are weaker one side they can pull the skeleton out of alignment so a combination of the 2 types of treatment should really make a difference. 

The following is taken from her website:

McTimoney manipulation for animals is a non-invasive holistic treatment which works to realign and balance the animal's musculoskeletal system, restoring health and movement, soundness and performance (McTimoney Animal Association 2012). Due to its nature, the treatment is readily accepted by most animals.

Treatment focuses on the spinal column, pelvis and forelimbs, although other areas are treated. These areas are palpated by the practitioner with the aim of locating any misalignments within the body.

A misalignment is when a joint within the body is not in its correct anatomical position. For example: a vertebrae in the horses back may be slightly tilted or rotated to the left or right of the central midline.

A misalignment can induce nerve impairment. This impairment may affect the animals ability to perform. It is not a specific ‘trapped nerve’ as such, but a block in the signal between the affected area, and the horses brain. It could be an irritation, or pressure point caused by inflammation.

It is important to attempt to rectify this situation, as it can cause issues within the animals body, and its interactions with the environment.

I have to be honest I am always a little sceptical of this type of treatment as have paid out a lot of money in the past for other forms of treatment which had little or no effect and didn't pick up on Jacks Kissing spine.  However having spent a fair amount of time discussing Jack and all his various aliments and talking about her experiences both professional and personal I am certainly now willing to give it a go.
So following on from this I am now looking forward to having Jack assessed and treated to see how it helps him.
I think it is the ideal time to have a treatment as he is now starting to work a little harder and I want to make sure everything is okay and Jack is as comfortable as possible before we progress too much further.

And we have canter! 11/7/17

We have now completed 5 weeks of rehab and Jack is still feeling great, I have to touch wood every time I say that! 
We've had a good week with some nice hacks including a splash in the river when it was hot, a little lunge and 1 light schooling session which I was really pleased with as Jack felt light, responsive and flexible and a loose school.

So having done 2 weeks of just walking followed by 3 weeks of walk and trot this weekend we were able to have our first canter :)

We went out for a hack with 2 friends and when we got to a bridle path I put Jack up front and popped him into canter, he was a bit excited to be able to go faster for the first time in months so we had a bit of spooking and quite a few changes of leg and going disunited but he felt fine so I don't think this was because of discomfort more due to excitement, and he was really keen to go although he did run out of steam a bit towards the end!   It was a big step and I was so please to get that first canter out of the way without mishap, it felt good to be getting back to normal!  I was beaming when we got to the end :)

On the Sunday it was baking hot again with temperatures in the 30's so I didn't ride until late in the evening.  I decided as it was still pretty hot and getting late to just go for a quick hack around the block, walking with a few little trots on the road and then a gentle canter back along the bridle path.  Jack needed reminding we were only supposed to be doing a slow canter but he listened and it is always nicer to have to slow him down rather than kick him on.  I know now that if I'm having to kick then there is probably something wrong!

Last night as we had hacked for 3 days in a row I did a short schooling session with ground poles.  I love using poles, the difference it makes to Jacks quality of work and his attitude is immense.  He enjoys skipping over the poles, it gets him moving over his back, picking up his toes and really loosens him up.  I hardly ever school without putting out some poles these days.  Yesterday was no different and I was so pleased with how well he worked, lovely and forward, loose, light and supple he was a pleasure to ride :)

He is feeling stronger and starting to build back up all the top line muscles he lost being on box rest. 
I'm really pleased with his progress and I'm looking forward to having a fully fit horse again in the not to distant future.
Now we are up to canter and all is still going well I feel a lot more positive and optimistic about our future!

I am going to see if we can get our physio Tamsyn out soon for a check up too, just to make sure he is comfortable so he can continue to work to his full ability.  Now he is begining to work a bit harder he could be starting to feel it so a quick once over by Tamsyn will make sure he doesn't get to sore and affect his work.

 

Finally I have created Jack his own Facebook page and Twitter account to share our news and blogs please give us a follow:

 

Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/jackskissingspinestory/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/akissingspine

Thanks for reading :)
Hannah and Jack

Jack returns to winning ways 3/7/17

We have now completed 4 weeks of rehab and are increasing the amount of trot work everyday, in another week we will be able to begin to introduce some small bits of canter again.  Jack is still feeling very well and feels ready for canter now but given his many issues in the past I do not want to do anything too quickly so despite the temptation I will not be cantering just yet.
We went for a pretty exciting hack with our friends Claire and her lovely horse Wilber last week on which we seemed to meet every potential horse spooking thing out there including cement mixers, tarmac flatteners, barking jumping dogs, careless drivers, tractors etc.  By the time we got home the boys were a bit wired and Jack very nearly got away from me on the grass verge by the turn to our livery yard, poor Wilber was cantering on the road in panic but bless them we got back all in one piece in the end!  I took Jack out on his own the next time and he was fine so it hasn't bothered him.  On Friday I took him for a lovely long hack round the village including some bridle paths.  About half way round Jack felt a bit odd behind and when I asked him to trot didn't feel right at all.  I was on my own, a long way from home and off road with no one about.  I walked him on for a bit but he was getting worse so I jumped off and tried to have a look at his leg/foot but it was impossible to hold him and pick up a back foot!  He wouldn't stand still so I decided to lead him home hoping to find help on the way.  By now I was starting to worry, especially as it was a hind leg as he's injured both fronts in the last year we really didn't need a problem with a hind leg now!  I was fearing the worse as we plodded home.  We eventually got back and I quickly untacked him and then got a hoof pick out to check his hooves first.  To my absolute delight there was a huge stone wedged in his off hind!  I have never been so relieved to see a stone in my life!  Once the stone was out he was fine again, thank heavens for that!

Yesterday Claire was taking Wilber up to a local show to do some working hunter and show jumping and asked if I would like to take Jack along for the ride.  I'm not into showing but I thought it would be good trailer loading practice and we could just have a plod around the show ground.  My OH then persuaded me to enter into the Intro dressage class so I got up to the yard a little earlier than planned and gave Jack a bit of a bath and quick tidy up.  I didn't bother plaiting but didn't think we should show up covered in mud!  I was so pleased when Jack loaded straight away without the need for a food bucket to bribe him in or anything!  As Claire drove to the show ground about 10mins away I quickly read through and learnt the intro A test!  Once we arrived on the show ground the poor horses were attacked by horse flies, it was horrible and we hadn't brought any fly spray.  They were both kicking and swishing their tails and fidgeting.  I had to try to plait Wilber's tail while he was trying to swat flies with it the whole time!   The Dressage was due to start in under an hour so I tacked up and headed down to the warm up so I had plenty of time to settle Jack.  We were the first in so the warm up was empty when we arrived.  Once we were moving the flies weren't so bad.  Jack wasn't too happy about being split up from his best buddy and spent ages whinnying to him across the show ground!  By the time we can to do our test he had settled and was actually a bit on the lazy side.  He did what I felt was a pretty average test, it was accurate and rhythmical but I felt lacked impulsion and was a bit on the forehand.  Once the test was done I took him down to his mate and he grazed while we waiting for Wilber to do his WH class.  The flies started to get bad again and the WH was running late so I decided to take Jack back to the trailer and get him untacked.  Once I'd got his saddle and bridle off I tied him up while I changed out of my show stuff.  Jack was quite unsettled and was whinnying and fidgeting again.  Next thing I knew he was trotting off across the showground back to his mate!  People started to run after him which just made it worse and he was soon in full gallop!  I knew he would just go straight to Wilber which he did and then started to eat!  So I caught him again and decided as the WH was still delayed to take him home before he caused anymore drama!  Again he loaded without any bother but he was pretty wound up by this point after his cavort around the show ground so he was kicking and bashing the trailer until we got off the field.  Silly animal!!  The dressage wasn't due to finish for another few hours so I asked Claire to pick up our score sheet later and let me know how we'd got on, I wasn't expecting much as didn't think the test was very good so I was shocked and pleasantly surprised to find out we had actually won!  Not bad to say we hadn't practiced, only been back in work 4 weeks and learnt the test just before we arrived!  The judges comment was encouraging and said Jack had lots of potential!  Lots to work on for next time but really pleased to make a winning come back :)