I know, I am a bit late. I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday. I know I did! I got some extra time off and mom, (you remember K?) added special peppermint candy canes, to my feed. Dinner and dessert, yum!
K and I have been working quite a bit on dressage. My goals have been to improve my balance and flexibility in addition to my overall strength. I've also been working on my canter and am happy to report that I have found my left lead!
While I have made lots of progress, K has been concerned that I'm still not quite as far along as I should be, especially because I don't like to flex through my neck and poll. And so today I had a visit from Dr. Torres, who is a Chiropractor and a practitioner of acupuncture for horses.
Dr. Torres started out by touching my chest, shoulders and hips first with his hands and then he poked me with a needle! He explained that I was super sensitive and experiencing pain in certain areas. Well, he did poke me with a needle! Then he asked me to stretch my neck to each side. It was much harder for me to do this to the right. Of course, K wasn't offering me treats from the saddle, which meant I didn't have the incentive to flex. But I digress. Next, Dr. Torres placed my head on his shoulder and pressed down on my poll. It didn't really hurt, but it was a trifle awkward. I mean, I just met the guy and now I'm getting hugs?! But, dear friends, that wasn't even the strangest part.
After the adjustments, Dr. Torres then stuck me with acupuncture needles. I had them in my neck, wither, hock, cannon, fetlock and across the top of my rump. Some of them were huge! But, oh my goodness, once they were in, I sure felt better. Did you know that the point for helping relieve any headaches I might have is actually in my leg, near a foot? Anyway, first needles and then, shock therapy!
Okay, okay I exaggerate. Dr. Torres did hook me up to an electrical stimulus machine via the needles in my rump. The current wasn't bad, although by the end of the twenty minute session I was getting a little anxious. I was quite relieved when the electricity was cut and the needles came out. I also feel much better! Better is good. Especially as K has plans for us.
Cheers!
~Polo
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| K and me and my left lead! |
