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Thanks for your posts, they were very thought provoking.
I think that stretching your horse is really going to help. He sounds like
he's pretty tight. I would also cautionif the horse is as sore as you write
after the workout that you took him too far too fast for at least that day.
As far as his not liking stretching. It is important that when you stretch
that the muscles are warm, don't just start cranking away. With the horse we
need to remeber that we are using the legs to help stretch and these provide
a long lever arm. So the force we apply at one end is mutiplied at the other.
Also, we need to be in a listening mode, feeling what the tissue is telling
us. If we have an idea of some result we can get into a mind set that is not
conducive to listening. Stretching is both a diagnostic and a therapeutic
modality, we have to allow both ends to be present, listen to what the body
is telling us about it's condition at that time. I would stretch your horse
to the first tissue barrier and wait for a release, take it a little at a
time. It is a form of training.
About the low/high heel. If the angle on the high heeled foot is 60 degrees
or over it is clinically a club foot. So what. The practice of cutting a
check ligament to drop a heel has been used. I would want alot of
diagnostics on my horse before that knid of surgery was performed. Your
Farrier is probably reporting this method and suggesting the check ligament
is the cause, seems confused.
The shoulder you describe seems to be more of the possible culprit. (the
check ligament seems fairly insignificant in effecting the shoulder
geometry). The equine shoulder has no boney attachment to the rest of the
body. The body is suspended between the two front legs in a "sling" of soft
tissue. If there is an injur to the leg, an inutero pre-disposition towards
one side, learned movement pattern (watching other horses, training ...) the
horse could pull the shoulder up and in. ( look at your own body, you
probably have one shoulder higher than the other. This is an easy Rolfing
demo where we release the shoulders and the hands now are the same length).
If the shoulder is pulled up then the fascia of the leg will shorten and
eventually the heel will come up. It stand to reason that the reverse process
is could also take place ie. release the shoulder the heel will come down.
My horse was "diagnosed" with a club foot on the left. He injured his knee at
1-2 yrs. I have been Rolfing him to release his shoulders and his foot is
normal. (According to Nancy Loving this week). Unfortunately he also has a
bone spur in the fetlock, at least he did two years ago, in the opposite leg.
It stands to reason if one leg is carrying more weight than the other that it
would be under more strain.
I would not suggest that you get the horse Rolfed for this condition, mine
get the work for free. I think that stretching, some simple release
technigues and training are the answers to the long term resolution of a
shoulder being pulled up. Assuming the reason for the shoulder being that way
is resolved.
I would confer with Dr. Ridgeway to assure there is no other problem, start a
simple stretching program and release of the shoulder and work closely with
your Farrier and a trainer to track results. You may want to consult with an
equine massage therapist who is trained in indirect techniques of soft tissue
release to learn how to release a shoulder. It will take a while probably a
year or two to resolve itself.
Don't forget to take care of your pelvis. In this case I would see an
Osteopath or a Rolfer.
hope this helps
jim pascucci
Certified Rolfer
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