Making Adjustments

Chiropractic adjustments that is. Back in April I noticed something a little off with Tuckers stride.

At first I only felt it at the trot and only to the right. It wasn’t every step. And every ride was different in terms of how much I’d feel it. Eventually I started having trouble picking up the right lead canter and the swap from left to right was even more difficult then normal.

This is around the time that I noticed his shoes starting to push into his frog. Coach G had the farrier make an adjustment to his shoes and switch him to a larger size. I was hopeful that this would fix the problem.

But no such luck.

Around the same time of the shoe change coach J noticed that he was falling out through his left shoulder when transitioning to canter. So we did lots of exercises to try to block it. This seemed to help a bit. It was still difficult cantering to the right but not as bad as it had been.

To the right his trot was still wonky every now and then. Coach G said he was just throwing his head up, protesting the work and that I should just ride him forward. I tried that and it seemed to work a little but not fully.

I wasn’t convinced. I’ve been riding Tuck for over a year now and I could tell something was a little off. Not lame. Just not quite right.

So I called the chiropractor and arranged an appointment for this past saturday.

Something that I’ve never done before. But what could it hurt. If I was right and something was just out of place she’d fix him and if I was wrong I’d consider calling the vet.

Boy am I glad I called her!!!

She had me trot him both ways on a lunge line. And confirmed that she also saw something.

We brought him into the barn and hooked him up to cross ties. She stared poking around at his right hip area and promptly proclaimed that his SI joint was locked. A quick adjustment there and he visibly relaxed.

She did a thorough exam over the rest of his body and didn’t find any major problems. At the end she said that she adjusted a couple of ribs on both sides, a bit on his back where the saddle would end and a bit in his withers. Nothing out of the ordinary.

After she left I hand walked him for about 10 minutes. She said that it would help loosen him up. Then I put him away and stuffed him full of treats.

I’m so happy that I called her and that my saddle isn’t causing any issues. Update tomorrow on our Sunday ride. Spoiler alert… I’m still super happy!