Rubber pad or saddle blanket?
The quest for the perfect saddle pad.
A few months ago I included a survey in my newsletter and asked:
- What type of saddle pad do you use?
- How satisfied are you with your saddle pad?
- What do you expect from your saddle pad?
In short, the comprised results looked like this: The average responder of my survey
- uses a wool felt pad (or part wool felt pad) (42%),
- uses it between 1-3 years (57%),
- is satisfied with their pad (71%), and has as main priority, to
- protect the horse’s back from pressure (71%).
- Only 14% wanted more cushioning for the rider’s seat.
This is by no means a scientific survey… However, it brings up an interesting question:
If most of us want to protect the horse’s back from pressure, what has to happen to achieve this type of padding effect? What is putting the pressure on in the first place?
At the Midwest Horse Fair, which is held in Madison every year, I have lots of fun putting my hand under a gel pad and getting hit with a hammer. I enjoy this. Not because I am an undercover masochist, but because it’s fun, that it doesn’t hurt. This must mean that if we hammer on the horse’s back with very hard instruments (seat bones?) and lots of force (jump from a tree?) we don’t hurt the horse, at least not if we only hammer once or twice.
But is this a situation that accurately reflects what happens when rider meets horse in the horizontal/vertical alignment of equine and human spine, connected by a device commonly called saddle? Unless you are an incredibly tough boned, unbalanced rider, I don’t believe so.
Let us leave the subject of ill fitting saddles aside – you should never attempt to correct an ill fitting saddle with a pad – we’ll need to examine what actually causes back soreness in the horse from the unavoidable forces that work together during the process of riding a horse.
For this purpose, we’ll take a quick look at the horse/rider biomechanics in the walk:
The horse, a quadruped, has a four-beat walk during which he naturally swings his rump from side to side. Humans are bipeds and can actually deal quite nicely with the horse’s walk, as long as they remember not to push simultaneously from back to front with both seat bones, which is not in harmony with the horse’s movement and counteracts any efforts to keep your horses back sound. Following the movement of the horse in a relaxed way, alternating the forward movement of the right and left sides of your pelvis to harmoniously engage with the horse’s movement, will ensure you are not working against your horse. Even under those most favorable circumstances, there are still two bodies at work, trying to harmonize in the same movement. The rider transfers his movement to the horse, if ever so slight, and the horse his movement to the rider. The result – or in other words: what happens between the saddle and the horse’s back – is FRICTION.
What actually is friction? What does it do to the horse’s back?
You all know the experiment where you rub both hands together until they feel really hot. If you keep doing it, you’ll get a blister. (I had my brother try it when I was a kid…) If you’d take a folded handkerchief between both hands and try it again, you will not get a blister, because there is less FRICTION on your skin. The more layers the less friction on your hands.
Also: the greater the pressure, the greater the friction force (here is a case for losing those 10lbs.!).
Here a little science:
“The force of friction is directly proportional to the applied load. (Amontons’ 1st Law)”
“When contacting surfaces move relative to each other, the friction between the two surfaces converts kinetic energy into thermal energy, or heat.”
(This is taken straight from Wikipedia. I am inviting anyone with more scientific knowledge to explain all this a bit better.)
If your horse’s back is subjected to too much friction, the results can be:
- Muscular soreness
- Damaged or inflamed hair follicles (white spots)
- Calluses and hair loss
Now what does all this have to do with saddle blankets or rubber gel pads?
Simply said, I have nothing against gel pads that can turn the impact of a hammer descending at 40 miles per hour into a soft caress, but – in my humble opinion – it doesn’t do enough for the horse’s back.
My horse’s back will still be subjected to quite a bit of friction, not speaking of the fact that synthetic materials have a tendency to heat up.
So what do you want in a saddle pad? You may ask…
- What I want, is a natural, sustainable material that doesn’t heat up and wicks moisture away from the horse : wool felt!
- What I want is a pad or blanket that minimizes friction : multiple layers!
- What I need is something that I can wash, use as a cool down and turn around, if needed : a large blanket!
- And… what I also want is something that cushions my seat. Because if I move about less I transfer less movement to the horse’s back in return. Every millimeter counts!
This sounds like a sales job for a new, exciting product. Instead I’d like to get you enthused about a very old exciting product:
The military saddle blanket
The US cavalry and European cavalry forces used folded wool felt blankets for a reason:
- They kept their horses back sound while riding 45-50 kilometers every day with heavy equipment by minimizing friction.
- When sweaty, they can be refolded so you’d be able to put a clean, dry side on your horse.
- When hopelessly dirty, simply wash and hang.
- They are multi-purpose and double as a cool off blanket or – this might appeal to die hard distance riders – as a warm cover for the rider at night.
I have not found any true US cavalry saddle blankets for sale, but one can still obtain European blankets from European specialty traders. This summer I got lucky: my friend visited Germany and brought an original military saddle blanket across the pond. (Please note: I am not a fan of war or military. Simply came to appreciate the practical cavalry approach.)
I could not wait to try it with my horse Yankee. Yankee is a former harness racer, a pacer with long legs and a very big walk. When first trying the blanket I saw it only from his point of view. I wonder, I thought, if I’d see any difference in his hair or sweat pattern. I wonder if he seems more comfortable to me (his back is sound as can be…).
Yankee and Stefanie enjoying the comfort of a military saddle blanket
I folded the Woilach 6 times (according to instructions below) and put it under his endurance saddle. Then we started riding around in the arena and I was in for a surprise: What a smooth ride I had! The layers clearly cushioned his movement against mine and I could feel a noticeable difference. What a difference he must feel as well!
I cannot wait to ask one of my massage clients to try this fantastic old blanket.
Would you like to give it a try or do you have any experience with this type of blanket? Drop me a line stef@reinholdshorsewellness.com. I’d love to hear about it.
Happy cushioned trails!
This is how to fold a military saddle blanket.
…refuse to retire!
Cody, my blue-eyed 17-year old paint gelding is returning to me tomorrow, graciously delivered by St. Francis Horse Rescue & Retirement Home in Rosholt, WI, for a hot lunch.
Did I hear Mary Hetzel, president of this well managed rescue, utter a sigh of relief and a remark such as ‘good riddance’? Surely not. (ehem) Mary loves Cody and has fond memories of his earlier days at St. Francis, when he was a rescue horse, surrendered by his former owner due to bucking problems and always well behaved on the pasture.
Cody at St Francis in 2005
In 2007, looking for a horse for me to ride on pleasure trail rides, I had found Cody on petfinders.com. Simultaneously I had found Bell Valley Yank, a tall dark bay Standardbred, through ASAP, a Standardbred rescue. I adopted Yank, but – after several visits to Saint Francis just to ‘look’ – I adopted Cody as well, feeling he was essentially a good guy, whose bucking issues with former owner and following adopters were pain related.
Cody with riding student Nicole in 2007
Fast forward 2.5 years later: Cody was – thanks to Masterson Method™ bodywork and gymnasticizing – soon fit enough to be used as a lesson horse and served as a trail horse for a dear barn buddy, who needed to be re-infected with the horse bug. His physical maintenance involved in keeping him sound enough as a riding horse, however, was time consuming, and I decided to retire him this year, giving him the opportunity to fully devote himself to the ‘care’ (or micro management) of his all mare herd.
When rehab horse Yogi (formerly Jimmy Dean, see my blog ‘The Jimmy Dean Story’) ran out of options and got stuck with me, I thought it a good idea to return Cody to St. Francis for retirement.
Cody – as evidence will tell – did not agree with this assessment. Misbehaving at St. Francis from day one (I will spare you the gruesome details), he has not calmed down enough to be maintainable in a retirement facility with mostly geriatric horses.
For the sake of sanity (Mary and Bill Hetzel’s), health and wellbeing (the other ‘retirees’, who are embracing their retirement and would like to be allowed in the run in shelter every now and then…) and putting things back in order (in Cody’s mind that is: at home with mom and with a job), Cody is returning home tomorrow.
Cody at 'Oak Mountain' in 2008
Yes, it looks like he’s the bad guy here. But face it: If you had any spunk left inside of you, would you agree to move into an ‘old folks home’, no matter how luxurious or how well taken care of you’d be? The energy level would probably not be a good match for you.
Same thing with ‘Ole Blue-Eyes’ Cody. That much calmitude and serenity just didn’t feel right to him. He’s just not ready for retirement quite yet…
Now it’s time to start the next chapter in this guys life. Anyone know of a part time job opening for a spunky old paint gelding, who still needs to ‘get his groove on’?
Please call us, since we can’t call you.
It’s been a good 3 1/2 months now since Yogi’s hitching post flip-over accident, resulting in a watermelon sized hematoma (see earlier postings). After having been renamed from Jimmy Dean to Yogi and most recently – after Stefanie’s consumption of a tiny bit of Jägermeister – occasionally also called Yogi-Meister, the horse formerly known as Jimmy Dean now has a mostly healed, but quite different looking behind.
Horse's hind end 3.5 months after accident
Yogi doesn’t mind at all. It feels good, he moves nicely without visible restriction or signs of lameness, the pain and heat is gone and: he cannot see what it looks like!
When Yogi scratches his sides with his teeth, all he sees is the quite attractive side view (compare to pictures of hematoma, taken in September in earlier post).
Side view of horse's hind end, 3.5 months after accident, hematoma completely healed
And that looks pretty good!
Now it’s time to move this formerly very well proportioned Quarterhorse hind end around, get some exercise and some really enjoyable equine massage and bodywork. Massaging the area will help break up adhesions, encourage blood flow and help the body to move waste out of the muscle tissue. Bodywork (Masterson Method (TM)) will help regain full range of motion and overcome restrictions caused by temporary immobility and layup.
Uh-oh! Almost forgot: Yogi suggested to include some pictures of his other end –> the FRONT END in this blog! He feels there has been undue attention to his hind end and would like to show his other attractive side. Until the next update on the horse’s …. [behind], that is!
Yogi's sweet face
Yes, Yogi DOES have a really good looking front end!
It might seem odd, but surely not to those who have been interested in any concept of riding and training with feel: One of the fundamental principles of the Masterson Method(TM) (Integrated Equine Performance Bodywork, see Jim Masterson’s website) lends itself perfectly to raise awareness in the rider/trainer and promote training success with the horse.
It’s real simple. If the horse resists, yield…, then try again. Seems counter-intuitive to many, as we human beings are used to meeting resistance with resistance. In equine bodywork, Jim Masterson found, that meeting the horse’s resistance with resistance or force, would negate any efforts in creating the right state of mind or ‘frame of nervous system’ (for the horse) to successfully relax the horse and help him release tension. Instead, resistance is met with softness. If the horse resists, the handler yields, then softly asks again. Soon the horse registers that there is nothing to resist against, relaxes and becomes compliant and even cooperative.
After practicing the Masterson Method(TM) on many, many horses – client’s and my own – and noticing how these principles almost automatically and instantly spilled over into other areas of my interaction with horses, I became more aware of how this principle can actively be applied in working with your horse, whether it’s riding for pleasure or training with a goal.
Here an example: My horse Yogi (formerly known as ‘Jimmy Dean’, see my blog ‘The Jimmy Dean Story’) had learned in a different environment in a former life, that lunging is a scary thing and it’s best to whirl around, buck and run backwards, then look for a hole in the fence or other escape routes. This prompted lots of folks to provide lots of different input on how such thing should be (man or woman-)handled.
The solution became quite simple when I actively applied the principle of yielding. When Yogi started twirling his hind around, raising his head, slightly rearing and starting to move backwards, I let him do it for a moment, then calmly asked him to step towards me and move out on the circle again. No battling, no fight. Soon – actually after two lunging sessions – Yogi got it: there is nothing to resist against. Whatever it is I thought I’m protecting myself against, doesn’t exist.
Is this an all new and revolutionary insight? No, maybe not. But it helps to keep it on the surface of your consciousness and consciously make it a habit: When the horse resists, yield, then ask again.
Watch this video on youtube to see how this works in a bodywork situation. Then try it on your horse.
Just thought I’d share this with you! Enjoy your horse!
The internet is buzzing with a debate around the ‘Blue Tongue Video‘ published by the Danish website Epona.tv. Here one can witness how a top level dressage rider rides his horse in hyperflexion (Rollkur) with a hard hand until the horse’s tongue hangs out of his mouth, limp and blue, a sure sign of lack of blood supply to the tongue. Outrage, outcry and much discussion later, some action is being taken, BHS is speaking up, FEI is reacting in statements, riders pro and con Rollkur are voicing their opinions on every forum left and right. Amateur riders, pony club members, horse lovers, professional athletes, veterinarians and anyone who cares follows the developments. Lots of publicity is generated, some ride the wave for their own reasons, others passionately fight for what they think is right.
Then there are those who speak up, sounding something like: “Dressage horses lead a pampered existence, should we not focus on more pressing issues in horse welfare?”
Whoa…PAUSE…..and let’s start thinking a bit, instead of just letting the heat of the argument take over our grey cells.
I think the answer must clearly and loudly be: NO. World Cup level horses are in the public eye. Their riders set the standards. Young riders look to them for guidance and inspiration. A ‘training method’ that is essentially a short-cut to success and harms horses that give their all physically or at least (for those who want to continue doubting physical damage) degrades the horse in a body posture where he is stressed, totally dominated and cannot see, should be unacceptable at the highest level of competition. Those who have the power to set standards, should take the reins and do so.
This discussion is not about abandoned backyard horses, starved or mistreated equines and other atrocities. It’s about setting standards and bringing highest level equine competition back to traditional principles of respecting these generous animals enough to show them compassion and consideration.
Horses – ‘Celebrity horses’ and 4-H horses alike – are NOT SPORTS EQUIPMENT, but rather living, breathing creatures that totally depend on our mercy. Let’s make sure that celebrity riders show our young riders the right way to do it: with patience, compassion and consideration for the horse, according to time proven classical principles. Let’s raise awareness around this issue to create some buzz and get people to think about why there were 18 year old horses in Olympic competitions only 70 years or so ago, while the average age of a German sport horse euthanized due to unsoundness, is 9. (Karin Kattwinkel, author of several books on equine wellness, website link here, German only).
Setting the right standards and providing the right information will ensure that less amateur or backyard horses will stand abandoned and neglected after failed attempts to ‘Rollkur’ them into shape. Speaking up for ‘celebrity horses’ will help many horses in the end.
For more inspiration and information, I encourage you to visit Dr. Gerd Heuschmann’s website.
It’s been a while that I blogged. Lots has happened! The horse formerly known as Jimmy Dean has a new name, a new owner and a new lease on life. He also has a newly shaped right hind, since flip-over accident, watermelon-sized hematoma on the right hind and ensuing healing process. OK, first thing is first.
The new name: The registered name of the horse formerly known as ‘Jimmy Dean’ is “Good Lord I’m Sizzlin’”. Someone with a sense of humor very much unlike my own, therefore gave him the barn name “Jimmy Dean”. You know… the sausage. Since he has been on the brink of being sent to the meat buyer by a former owner, I thought this name had to go. Since ‘nomen est omen’ and even the wise native Americans knew that a) a name can bring about a change in you and b) names change during a life time for this reason, I was diligently looking for just the RIGHT name. Hmm… Remington? Diego? Buddy? All good suggestions. Tired of the decision making process, I gave it up to a dream, went to bed and told myself whatever I wake up with, that’s it. It was Yogi. What a great fit! His best buddy’s name is Yankee (you get it: Yogi Berra and the Yankees) and Yogi Bear as well as anything else I associate with Yogi’ism speak of calm and inner peace. Done! Jimmy Dean became Yogi!
The new owner: St. Francis Horse Rescue in Rosholt, who took on Yogi from an uncertain fate and then sent him to me for evaluation and possible rehab, is a well managed rescue, taking on some of the worst cases of neglected horses in cooperation with humane societies and authorities (seizures etc.). They also are a retirement home for senior horses, who have given their all but outlived their ‘usefulness’. I brainstormed with St. Francis on what to do with Yogi, who needed more rehab time than anticipated due to deep rooted experiential issues in this horse in combination with his physical challenges. We decided together that my retired high-testosterone gelding Cody would be happy to take charge of their mare herd in Rosholt while I would keep Yogi and could continue to work with him.
The new lease on life: As an almost ‘unadoptable’ horse (bucking issue in combination with physical challenges) and too young (6) to be a retirement horse, Yogi faced an uncertain future. Having more time to work with Yogi, will give him a new lease on life.
New hind end: The accident left Yogi with an odd shaped right hind, some hardened tissue and possibly some muscle damage. With proper exercise, massage and bodywork, this can surely be overcome. It does look a bit ’special’ right now. But just when you lift up the tail…
Progress Update: After almost 60 days of confinement, Yogi returned to his herd and now spends most of his time with buddies Yankee (best bud), Mr. B and Flicka. He has started lunging again, has been carrying a tightly cinched saddle without bucking (that’s right, we don’t need to start on square one again!!!) and has displayed complete FEARLESSNESS in the face of a giant blue tarp. After an initial balk, he walked right over the crumply, flighty thing, didn’t mind me twirling it all around him and even became the ‘walking giant blue plastic bag‘ when I completely wrapped him in the tarp, head and all, and he walked about the barn blindly, his feet getting a bit tangled in the tarp. Zero problemo! With the inner calm of a Yogi, he emerged from the tarp after a few minutes as the ‘mystery horse’, with a sweet and content facial expression.
So stay calm, breathe deeply and stay tuned for more YOGI NEWS!
Jimmy Dean was standing calmly at the hitching post on the morning of August 29, waiting for his feed while farrier Jim Keip was trimming Cody and the usual Saturday morning bustle was going on at ‘Oak Mountain’, when something scared him awfully. He pulled back at his halter, panicked, tried to rear and got his front feet caught on the hitching post while his hind feet slipped from under him. He landed on his right hind. After the worst scary moment was over, he seemed OK, in spite of lightly swollen and bruised hocks. The next few days he had a grapefruit sized hematoma on his right hind which was closely monitored and cold hosed. [A hematoma, from Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary, is defined as "a tumor containing effused blood" (tumor meaning a benign swelling or mass). Hematomas usually result from bleeding within the body which, as the blood clots, the swelling or hematoma results. Most hematomas are just an indicator of prior hemorrhage and do not need treatment. However, there are other types that indicate severe hemorrhage...(TheHorse.com)]
Jimmy Dean's hematoma
One week later Jimmy Dean’s hematoma had swollen to watermelon size. It was a scary situation and Jimmy – now confined alone in the barn – started wondering why these things always seemed to happen to him. Why can’t things for once go smoothly and uneventful, Jimmy Dean thought. All the other horses were outside frolicking in the pasture and even his best friend Yankee now had a new playmate, a mare named Athena.
Coldhosing the Hematoma
Doctor Ketover recommended continued confinement and cold-hosing for 30-45 days. Jimmy Dean couldn’t believe his ears. This would be really, really boring. Stefanie came out every day and cold hosed his hematoma. This felt pretty good and the swelling went down a bit, but she kept calling him ‘Mr. Bumpy Butt’, he didn’t really care for that. Stefanie bought Jimmy Dean a toy, a light blue horse ball, which disappeared mysteriously within only 24 hours. Jimmy Dean thought it was a rather silly looking thing, like a big pacifier. All I want is out of here!!!
Yesterday, after over a month of cold hosing, confinement and controlled walking the ‘bump’ finally seemed to have shrunk very noticeably. There was even talk of maybe being able to go back into the pasture soon. Yeah!
Now that it’s almost over, this time of confinement and boredom, Jimmy Dean is starting to think about it a little differently. Actually, it wasn’t all that bad. Everyone was so concerned about him. People stopped in the barn to pet him and say kind words to him, give him hay or water or carrots.
Stefanie brought him out every day and tied him next to Yankee, his best buddy. Even Yankee seemed real concerned and nuzzled him a lot, displaying his affection and empathy. Yankee helped keep Jimmy Dean steady when at first he did not want to stand still for the
Hematoma, 3 weeks later
cold hosing and was there every time Stefanie got Jimmy Dean out. A real friend in need. Lots of different people kept looking at his hind end, which was a little bit embarrassing. And Stefanie used the time to practice being nice and patient about volunteering the feet when picking hooves, learning to tolerate the scary feeling of being tied up and possibly getting a rope caught over your poll.
Jimmy Dean really bonded with Yank and Stefanie during that time, several people learned a lot about hematomas and Jimmy Dean learned that it’s not that scary to be tied. So in the end it was an accident with benefits. But still, Jimmy Dean will be glad when it’s over and he can jump about the pasture with Yankee again.
Yankee keeping JD company
During recent equine massage adventures I had the opportunity to work on an animal of a different kind: the historic FARM OXEN! Having gotten a ‘taste’ of Angus bull in May in Iowa, when Jim Masterson worked on a young bull and the Masterson Method(TM) students of that class got a chance to explore the bull’s anatomy through the reassuring bars of a chute, I was interested in getting a closer feel of these wonderful, big-eyed animals.
Releasing Tension in an Oxen Shoulder
This opportunity came along when I went to Old World Wisconsin, the wonderfully reconstructed historic site in Eagle, WI, for a second time to work on historic farm draft horses Nelly and Lady. Historic farmer Bryan Zaeske thought that farm oxen team Teddy and Bear could benefit from some bodywork as well. So after working on the two very well behaved senior mares and going for a hearty lunch (with second thoughts about the burger I was eating in view of the upcoming ox massage), we headed for the historic farm that is home to Teddy and Bear.
Bryan and two young helpers, clad in historically correct pants with suspenders and very interesting hats, helped get Teddy and Bear out of their pasture and into the barn yard, where I started working on Teddy. Not knowing what to expect, I was soon fascinated by these gentle horned animals. Besides several obvious differences in anatomy, there are a few key differences between an ox and a horse, from the bodyworker perspective:
a) When a horse doesn’t want to pick up his foot, he can be convinced. When an ox does not want to pick up his foot, he does not want to pick up his foot.
b) An ox SMELLS very different from a horse!
c) A horse’s hair grows from front to back, an ox’s hair grows from top down. This might not sound important, but when using massage strokes it gives you something to think about. After all you’d like to go with the hair.
d) An Ox has a bumpy, odd looking musculature around the base of his tail. Both oxen loooved to have these bumpy muscles massaged.
e) Performing bodywork on an oxen leaves your hands oily and moisturized. I was unable to wash the oily substance off with water alone. My hands were instantly rejuvenated by at least 10 years. Lanolin?
Very Cooperative Oxen!
Oxen clearly let you know whether they enjoy something or not and can be quite the comedians. Stretching out their necks, closing their eyes, quivering with their very soft, velvety noses, these are all very clear signs of enjoyment. Their noses are always moist and their muzzles velvety and soft. Teddy and Bear have very different personalities. Teddy is a bit more stoic, he is the ‘muscle’ of the team. When he lost interest in what I was doing, he simply bulldozered over to the next good looking patch of grass and had to be led back to our spot. Bear was a much more social animal. He really interacted with me, checked me out, sniffed on my quite a bit and showed more interest. He had a greater range of facial expression and was very responsive. Bear is the ‘brain’ of the team and the one who interacts with the handler and takes the commands, while Teddy just follows Bear along. According to historic farmer Bryan Zaeske, the determination who will be the ‘brain’ and who the ‘muscle’ of a team is made according to the animals personality when they are only a few days old and then they receive the respective training from that day on.
I am very much looking forward to my next trip to Old World Wisconsin and to working with Nelly and Lady and hopefully the oxen team again. Bryan gave me some encouraging feedback about my work on draft horses Nelly and Lady: “You really did something to those horses. [After the first bodywork]… they moved as they had not done in 5 or 6 years. … They thought it was the Kentucky Derby!”
I learned a lot that day from Teddy and Bear and cannot wait to work on my next oxen, bull or dairy cow. I have cut down a lot on eating red meat. It just doesn’t look the same to me now…
The Old World Wisconsin Oxen Team
Today was another unusual day for Jimmy Dean. Lots of things have been happening lately, that he knows nothing about. First Stefanie asked him to swing his hind end around – that was on Thursday – and that was kind of a scary affair at first. Who knows what she was going to do with that twirling lead rope… But then it turned out she just wanted Jimmy Dean to take a step or two to the side with his hind feet and that was easy enough to master. Then Stefanie put this odd saddle on Jimmy. It didn’t even have a horn! She called it ‘English’. That felt strange enough and just in case, Jimmy decided to do a little bucking in the canter. Soon enough, however, he was convinced that his strange saddle was not any more dangerous than the usual and moved nicely and undisturbed in a circle in all three gaits.
Today then, a man with a baseball hat and unusual pants (dog training pants) showed up at the barn and introduced himself as “Doc McKann”. Jimmy was in a good mood and greeted the stranger with friendly indifference. Soon Doc McKann won Jimmy’s trust by patting him gently all over and then he went to work. A Chiropractor he is, Jimmy thought. That’s something new! Doc McKann squeezed, pushed and contorted Jimmy around a little bit and Jimmy soon started to feel that this was all good stuff. Closing his eyes he silently thought “That’s the spot, Doc!” when Doc McKann hit just the right spot on the left lumbar section.
Jimmy Dean: "That's the spot, Doc!" Hm, Hm
Animal Chiropractor Dr. Mark McCann works on JD
Doc McKann took notes on his special pad and noted that Jimmy has some restriction in his cervical/thoracic junction on the left, something stuck in the neck on the left, something in the withers on the left and some restrictions in the spine in the area of the last ribs/lumbar that he released.
Feeling like a new horse, Jimmy took the rest of the afternoon off after eating a wholesome meal of ADM Moreglo, Patriot Feed and Equishine. Oh, and a yummy carrot, of course, for desert.
Let’s see how Jimmy moves tomorrow. Will he be a ‘new horse’ indeed?
