Jack's First McTimoney Assessment And Treatment 27/7/17

On the 26th July the lovely Rachel-Jayne Barker, a local McTimoney practitioner, came to see Jack for the first time, deliver her assessment of him and give him his first McTimoney treatment.
I found it very interesting talking to Racheal, going over all Jack's medical history etc. Although we had spoken before about Jack at the recent seminar I attended she went back over everything since the day I brought him, she was very thorough asking about saddle fitter, dentist, farrier etc as well as medical history.

 



Following a full account of Jacks problems, current and past, (which took a while!) and lots of questions from Racheal so she could gain a complete understanding of where we are with his work she then assessed Jacks conformation from all angles looking for asymmetry then Rachael asked me to walk and trot Jack up in hand in the menage. 
After seeing him walk and trot up Rachael then checked Jack over and identified his muscles were tight in his neck, chest and shoulders and he had some soreness behind the saddle and over his pelvis, he also had pelvic rotation which may have been the cause.

She then explained that due to his hock arthritis and fore limb issues she was unable to carry out any work which might affect these areas but she could massage and stretch his neck, shoulders, back and realign his pelvis to help him be more comfortable and better able to use his body correctly in his work which will help prevent further issues hopefully.  She explained what she had found and what she could do to help him.  It was really interesting watching her work to relax and stretch his neck muscles.  I've always found he tilts his head a bit especially to the left and I also find him much stiffer to the left.  I'd never given it much thought but Jack does have a bit of a lump from an old injury (prior to me owning him) at the base of his neck on the right hand side.  This has been checked by our vet and found to be just scar tissue left over from an old injury and nothing to worry about but as scar tissue is less flexible then healthy muscle tissue it may well be making him a little stiffer and unable to stretch the right side of his neck as comfortably so Rachael worked hard to help soften up and stretch all his tight and sore bits. Following her working on him Jack was clearly a lot more comfortable, looked much softer over his back and was standing square behind! 

I then showed Rachael how I do Jack's carrot stretches and she identified he was tilting his head too much and not stretching as well as he should so she helped me with ways to do them so he stretches more effectively.  She also gave us some new stretches to do everyday.

These include foreleg stretches forward, across, out and back to help relieve any tension in his shoulder and base of his neck.  As she did them with him the first time he was sighing and yawning away and seemed to find it all very tiring! 

Upon completion of the treatment Rachael wrote out and talked me through what work to do with Jack for the next week so we don't undo all her hard work and unless anything changes we will see her again in 3 months time.

I was really impressed that following the treatment Jack's back seemed to have lifted and was visible less dipped.  The first time following treatment I rode him he felt amazing and much straighter through his body.  In particular his Canter was fantastic yay! 

We will continue to use this type of therapy alongside physiotherapy to keep Jack feeling good.

The 31st July will mark 6 years of me owning Jack, we set out 6 years ago with such hope that he would be the horse to take me eventing.  Sadly we have only managed 2 events in that time but all being well once he is fully fit we can still achieve that dream. 

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 :)

The long road to recovery continues 24/6/17

We are now into week 3 of rehabbing Jack from synovitis and things are going well at the moment!  He's been quite a handful at times but we have managed to do 2 weeks of walking without any disasters.  While Jack was trying to find everyway he could think of not to stick to just walking we did manage to with only a bit of jogging and a few excited leaps and jumps and the odd spin just for effect! 
I am so glad I still had plenty of freestep super fixes Instamag left to take the edge off him, I've not needed it during rehab the previous 2 times he has been through this process but this time he is much livelier!  I'm not sure what the difference is this time but he is very forward going and much sharper than in the past.  Hopefully he is just feeling well!  Anyway as we are now into week 3 we have been able to introduce a small amount of trot and so far he is feeling fantastic!  I think he is enjoying being able to go a bit faster!  So we now have 2 weeks of building up the amount of trot each day and if all is still going well at that point then we should be able to introduce small amounts of canter work eek neck strap at the ready for that!
In the current heat I took him for a walk round the newly cut hay field late one evening this week and it was exciting to say the least, I though the heat may have taken the edge off him but no he was super keen and we spent quite a bit of time going sideways, jogging and broncing on the spot!  Not quite the relaxed wander round the field I had planned!  It is nice however to have him feeling so well and wanting to go after having so many set backs and years of him not wanting to go forward before his KS diagnosis.
I'm still keeping up with the carrot stretches everyday and doing 1 light lunge a week but mostly hacking to build his fitness back up gradually.

While Jack has been sidelined through his latest injury I have been lucky enough to take my best friend Lucy's fab pony Jay out to a show jumping competition at Arena UK, I have jumped him occasionally at home but not at a competition in over a year and I am pretty out of practice having not jumped a course in 9months myself so expectations were low.  I also couldn't get over to practice with him in the weeks leading up to the competition either, not ideal preparation!  Lucy doesn't like jumping much but she did some little fences and lunged him over some bigger ones to help get him jumping!
She was doing dressage on him at the same show so the class we would jump was dependant on her dressage times.  When the times were released on Friday Lucy had a nice early time of 9.20am but the open SJ classes were not starting until 11.30am with 60am Open, I had wanted to do 70cm as Jay jumps better over a bit bigger fence but with the lorry needing to get back to the yard we decided to enter the 60cm class as needed to get done as soon as possible.  It was also due to be 30degrees + on Sunday so didn't want to be waiting around any longer then necessary.  In the end due to the heat there were not many entries.  When I warmed him up it was so hot I thought we might melt!  Thankfully we were allowed to go in without jackets.  Jay warmed up nicely over the practice fences, he was forward but not strong and I felt confident.  I walked the course and learnt all the turns ready to give it my best shot then went back to hop on Jay for a final couple of practice jumps as we were first in.  As the last people finished walking the course we had another quick jump then waited to go in.  It really was baking hot and I wanted to get it done as quickly as possible and get Jay back out of the Sun.  As soon as we entered the ring the bell went and we were off, by fence 3 we were into a lovely rhythm and Jay was making nothing of the fences jumping beautifully.  We jumped clear all the way so as we reached the timed section I kicked on and took tight turns doing a nice quick clear over the second part of the course and giving the rest of the competitors something to chase.  As soon as I was done I jumped off and lead Jay round to cool down so saw the next few competitors and knew I still had the lead.  Jay then needed to get back on the lorry so we quickly washed him off and got them on their way while I stayed for the results.  I was so thrilled when they announced over the tannoy we had won!!  No lap of honour as no pony but a lovely red rosette and a qualification for esuk championship to boot!  Even better Lucy had also won the dressage on him so we will all be off to the champs!

My Horse Box Product Review

I was very excited and lucky to be asked to do a review via Haynet for My Horse Box, thank you to www.hay-net.co.uk for thinking of Jack and I to do this exciting new product review :0)

So first up if you haven't heard of My horse Box what exactly is it? 
Well My Horse Box is an equestrian subscription box, you sign up to a 1,3 or 6 month subscription and then every month are sent a beautiful box filled with equestrian goodies for you and your horse. They ensure each box contains at least 4 high quality items and guarantee the collective RRP of a boxes products totals over £50!  The most you will pay is £34.99 for a 1 month subscription so it's a total bargain!  There is also a rider interviews and discount vouchers in every box. 
The products featured are hand selected, mostly new and exciting things you probably won't have tried before and from companies who are not so well known plus occasionally they feature great products from established, well known companies.  The products are of a high quality and can include horse tack, cleaning/grooming products, supplements, clothing, sports wear, safety gear, accessories, and much more.  The best bit is not knowing what you are going to get but knowing it will be good!

I was very excited to receive my box, it was like Christmas waiting to see what was inside the shiny wrapping!  When I ripped the outer packaging off I was not disappointed, the box itself is exactly how they describe it on their website - quality and luxurious leaving me with a super first impression.  With how good the outside looked I couldn't wait to see what was on the inside.

My box contained the following items:

Safe-care Equine Soothing Rapid Relief

3 pairs of Equitech socks

 

Ecohoof Equine Pink Hoof Clay

 

Husk hi-vis reflective tail wrap

 

Discount codes for Hawkins Organic and Ring Craft Equestrian

Each item is full size and useful to every equestrian from happy hacker to competition horses and riders.  None of them contain any banned substances so really can be used by anyone.  I will certainly be making use of them all and hoping the rapid relief can help to sooth Jacks dry elbows and the pink hoof clay can help protect his delicate little tootsies!

I particularly love the Equitech socks, they are so comfy and the designs are eye catching and unusual.  My other favourite is the Husk hi-vis and reflective tail wrap, who doesn't love helping their horse to be safe and seen on our busy roads.

The discount codes will also come in useful next time I need to make an equestrian purchase.

All in all I think it's a great idea and I highly recommend joining up to My Horse Box, you wont be disappointed, it's fun and exciting receiving your box and anticipating what might be inside and a great way to step away from your usual go to items and try new products you might not give a chance to otherwise and all at much less than it would have cost you in the shops - what's not to like!

I have added a My Horse Box subscription to the top of my upcoming birthday list and already looking forward to receiving my next box!

Find out more and sign up here:  www.myhorsebox.com