Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Hello Jackie,
That is an unusual haircut but Tank looks happy about it, of course the
$200 massage didn't hurt his attitude either. Also don't forget to
monitor his feet, they are a long way from his back but like the saran
wrap analogy says you gotta find where the problem is originating from.
If you are thinking about trying to work on Tank's tight muscles yourself
here is a great little book

http://www.lynnwoodpublishing.com/25%20Common.html that I bought
years ago and have used the techniques described in the book on 3 of my
horses with sometimes good results on the horse and always a good workout
for me. The book has simple diagrams and specific instructions for
working on each of the 25 common muscular problems addressed in the book.
Congrats on your good start, you and Tank certainly needed one.
Don

At 03:32 PM 2/11/2007 Sunday, you wrote:
> Our human physical
> therapists worked on Tank Sat. and while the husband and wife team set me
> back $200, we are off to a good start. I'll have to pick from one of the
> numerous contacts sent my way to continue work on him, hopefully at lower
> prices, lol ... 
>  
> But it was, indeed, interesting. The very first thing they
> saw was that his muscles were really sucked in behind his left shoulder
> and below his withers. Richard started by putting some pressure on Tank's
> back, about kidney area and stretching towards his hip. He had me feel
> the difference in his skin on both sides. You couldn't move the skin on
> his left side because it was so tight. As we watched, the muscle that was
> sucked in behind his shoulder began to raise and his side got very hot.
> Richard's wife Carrie was working on Tank's neck at the same time,
> working on some knots he had a little above the jugular up and down his
> neck. Pretty soon Tank had his head resting on Carrie's shoulder so hard
> she was having trouble holding him up and he started to relax and drop
> his left hip. 
>  
> They worked on him for over an hour and one of the last
> things they did was an elbow pretty close to the spine by the kidney
> area, holding that position for awhile. The muscles on Tank's entire back
> on that side started to twitch and ripple and get very warm. I know it
> must not have been comfortable because I've had that done to myself, but
> I think he realized they were trying to help him. 
>  
> Richard made the analogy that muscle problems are kind of
> like saran wrap ... where the problem shows up is not necessarily where
> the problem is originating from and when you pull the edges tight on
> saran wrap you get a drum in the middle. They suspect Tank's real problem
> lies in his shoulder and neck. He didn't feel that it was a saddle issue
> (while he is a human therapist, he does know a thing or two about
> horses). When they first started Carrie couldn't get her fingers into the
> area in front of his shoulder blade. By the time she was done, she could
> get half the length of her fingers in there. Tank was pretty cute when
> they were finished, licking my hair and nibbling my pocket. Something he
> only does when he's really happy. And then, quite to my surprise, he
> reached over and nosed both Richard and Carrie, in turn. It was like he
> was thanking them. He's not what I would call a very sociable animal and
> is not really into displays of affection, so that was kind of
> special.
>  
> AND ... he ate his breakfast in his stall this morning. He
> used to spend the entire winter in his stall, with only his head sticking
> out because he really doesn't like to get wet. As his problems have
> gotten increasingly worse, he has not wanted to be in his stall at all.
> He would rather not eat than go in there. I presumed because he was in
> pain and is a flight animal and didn't want to get caught with "his
> pants down." Apparently, that must be true, because he was very
> content in there this morning, with no coaxing on my part.
>  
> So, we'll just have to see how this goes. It was obvious
> that he had some spasm/nerve issues to work through. I'm keeping my
> fingers crossed that this is indeed, his problem and maybe in a few
> months, we'll be on the trail again.
>  
> I thought you might get a kick out of Tank's UC Davis
> haircut and why he's been sporting a blanket ...
>
> http://www.typef.com/Tank/tankblanket.jpg
>  
> :) Jackie Floyd
>  
> www.typef.com
>  
>  
>  
>

Don Huston at cox dot net