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I just wanted to post something about an equine chiropractor in the So
Cal area that is really outstanding. Cato was in a trailer accident
years ago and has a chronic problem in his sacrolumbar area fixating and
causing short-stridedness, progressive weakness in left hock, various
compensations and inabilities to stretch and bend, all of which respond
very well to a GOOD equine chiropractor. I've used several over the
years, some better than others, and tried Dan McCaffrey last week as I
needed someone local.
Dan did a really terrific job, first spending over an hour doing muscle
relaxation work and pinpointing the problem areas before doing the
actual adjustment, and what was more impressive, teaching ME some
methods (non-chiropractic) to help keep Cato in shape---muscle
stretching, acupressure relaxation points, etc. As I said, I've used
chiros over the years for the same problem (Cato needs a tune-up about
once a year if not working, and about four times a year if working
really hard) and so have gotten pretty good at judging the improvement
after an adjustment. I could'nt believe the huge improvement in Cato
after being "worked over" prior to doing the LD at Twenty Mule Team on
Saturday. Cato was feeling so good he just romped through the ride (the
bad news, Cato, is that this is the end of LDs for you, it's back to
doing 50s, bucko).
One of the other very nice (somewhat unexpected) things is that an
interference/pulling off front shoes problem totally disappeared,
despite trotting (with great enthusiasm) with a bigger stride than I've
seen in years. I don't know the exact biomechanics of what was
happening or what was corrected, but I don't really care about
the details as long as NOW the feet are landing where they're supposed
to and not pulling off shoes.
I know there are some very successful riders who think chiropractors are
unnecessary for their horses, but I'm willing to utilize anything that
helps my horse perform better and more importantly, feel better. If
anyone's interested, his name is Dr. Dan McCaffrey and his phone number
is 909-340-1580. He is a DC, NOT a DVM, so before seeing your horse, he
needs a referral from your vet or some consultation/assurance that gait
problems, soreness, whatever isn't caused by problems best treated by
the veterinarian. He works with lots of vets in the area and really
knows his stuff. And no, I don't get a kickback for this! :->
Anyway, if anyone's interested in giving him a try, I REALLY recommend
him, this is some of the best money I've spent in a long time.
Susan and Cato, who's MUCH more comfortable trying to buck Mom off these
days...
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