Lucky Cleared for Canter Work!

 I had a fun day at Laura's on Monday, spending most of the day there. There was a lot going on that day: the farrier, chiropractor, and a woman who does equine body works was there. Before they arrived, though, I lunged and rode Lucky.

 The lungeing went so much better after I had established to Lucky that I was the leader the time before. Horses and mules really do start off where we left off and remember what they did last time. This time around Lucky respond to more subtle, quieter cues. I didn't have to even use the whip. My focus for that lungeing session was to ask Lucky to do what I wanted in the smallest way possible, and it worked well. After the first few minutes, she listened vey carefully to the slight changes in my body. In fact, just by looking in the direction I wanted her to go, what Laura does when preparing to ask for trot(to the left lungeing when to the left and right when going right), Lucky responded by trotting right away. It's such as great feeling for a horse to be in tune with you enough to trot off at just slight change in your body.

No new pictures so here's one of Lucky I took  couple weeks ago.

 Since Lucky was listening nicely, Laura recommended asking for bigger and smaller trot strides. for smaller strides I would relax my energy, and for bigger trot strides I would look where I wanted lucky to go and give a cluck if needed. There was one time when I asked a little too strongly(I slightly lifted the whip by accident), and Lucky broke into canter and kicked up her heels. I remain calmed and lowered the energy in my body, calmly saying "whoa." After that, Lucky's trot was actually much nicer and bigger, like a fancy dressage trot. It actually made her feel good to get her adrenaline going.

 Afterward, I rode Lucky for a little bit on the lunge line(Lucky still can't work too long). Laura was controlling the steering, and I just controlled the speed. I wasn't completely without reins but kept them at the buckle just in case I need to stop her. I worked on keeping my elbows bent and hands the right distance apart. In the posting trot I focused on bring the center of my body up and towards my hands. I also tired to establish an even two beat rhythm. I then tried staying up for two beats and sitting for one, but I had trouble with it. I certainly need to work on my two point! I'l be doing more lunge lessons in the future.

 After that, the chiropractor and farrier came, so I helped fetch and hold horses and mules. There was also someone there who does equine body work(massage and other things that release tension in the body). She demonstrated on Lucky how she gently squeezes the muscles behind the poll to release tension. Blinking, snorting, and chewing are all signs that tension has been released. Here is a more in-depth description of what she did. Lucky also was work on by the chiropractor. The chiropractor gave exciting news: Lucky is cleared for canter work under saddle! Woo-hoo! I'm so excited.

 Also, Laura was featured in a Horse Illustrated article. Check out my post about it.

Equine Chiropractor

 Wednesday, the equine chiropractor came to work on Laura's equine, so I got to watch what a chiropractor does. Basically, a chiropractor fixes the blocked neuro-impulses in the spine and muscles and bringing them back into alignment if needed. This helps with stiffness and joint and back pain, making the equine more comfortable using their back in dressage work. Often scar tissue can build up under the skin, becoming stuck to the spine and making it uncomfortable for the horse because the tissue is restricting the movement. The chiropractor had a special, flat metal tool that she rubbed on the equine's back to detect this tissue. Equine chiropractors have to study at a human chiropractor school or veterinary school after their undergrad, and then take a course specializing in an chiropractic work for animals to get their animal chiropractic license, so becoming one takes quite a bit of schooling.

 It was fascinating to watch the chiropractor work and ask her questions about what she was doing. It was neat to see the tension in the spine relax as she pushed and squeezed the spine, and i could even hear the back pop a few times. After working on the back and hips, the chiropractor would lift the legs, one at a time, and bend it back at the knee(or hock), rotating in and then out. She did this on all four legs. She also worked on the neck, and on one mule she worked on the temporomandibular joint(TMJ), the joint that controls chewing.

This is Lucky. She's putting her ears back a it because she is getting adjusted, but has a very cute face.

 I helped with brining the equines to the chiropractor when she was ready, holding them for the leg and neck work, and putting them away when she was done. When she began working on the last mule, I went to the pasture to grab Lucky and began brushing her out. When Lucky was all brushed out, I worked with turning her on her forehand as I had with Dyna, then brought her to the chiropractor. Great news–the chiropractor gave the clear to start working her, so Lucky will have a week off to recover from the chiropractor and then I'll be able to state riding her!

 After the chiropractor was done, we picked up some wormers and new clippers, so I'll soon be able to learn how to worm and them clip all the equines so they look neat and show ready(there isn't a show soon but Laura wants her equines looking nice).

 I also learned what hay and supplements the equines get, so I an start feeding them too. Also I learned an interesting fact about mules: they have an affinity for mares, more so than most geldings.