This message is from: Mary Thurman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Hello Fjord Friends- > We have a problem that we've been dealing with for > over 3 months and still > haven't come to a solid conclusion. > Our gelding, Patick, is six years old and over 3 > months ago began short > stepping with his right hind leg. His short > stepping never changed with or without bute. > Patrick never acts > distressed with his short stepping. We had > the hock x-rayed and the vet who read it said it > showed nothing! We drove > Patrick today > and it was still obvious > he was short stepping, but no signs of discomfort.
This does sound familiar. We had a three year old gelding that was "short in both hind legs" when he went for training. He gave no obvious signs of discomfort, but was reluctant to pick up the lope/canter or to sustain it and was obviously 'short' at the trot - with or without a rider. To make a long story short, we had him examined by an equine chiropractor. His lumbar spine was out of alignment. Once this was corrected - through chiropractic adjustment - he was fine. He is still fine at six. Apparently his problem was caused by slipping, or actually falling, while running and playing in mud with his pasturemate. This same horse had also suddenly become 'ear shy' for no apparent reason. His spine was out of alignment just behind his ears as well. Now - a caveat here - I had NEVER in my life had any faith in Chiropractors in general. However, I was willing to try anything with this horse. Horses have no 'preconcieved notions' - in other words this chiropractic thing doesn't work because they 'think' it will work - they aren't capable of thinking that way. They just know that something is uncomfortable, or it is not uncomfortable. Believe me, there was a very noticable difference in this horse within a few hours of treatment. They need to rest a bit after treatment and have a day off work - otherwise things will just go back where they were before. It seems to have worked for him, plus I've seen other horses with 'mystery' problems have them relieved by chiropractic treatment. Even horses that would unexplainably 'blow up' suddenly. Their bucking sessions were actually caused by back pain. Something they were asked to do - or the way the rider shifted his weight - caused their spines to be 'tweaked'(those of us who have had back problems know the feeling!) and their response was to rear or buck - or as one horse did, simply drop to his knees. Maybe this will help you find a solution to Patrick's problem. Hopefully. Mary ===== Mary Thurman Raintree Farms [EMAIL PROTECTED]
