Osteopath visit

I exercised Rainbow in the morning and returned to the yard in the evening to meet up with the osteopath, Kate. 


It was the first time Rainbow has had any 'complementary' treatment and I was interested to hear if she has any stiffness or soreness in any part of her body. Not that I have ever noticed anything major when riding her; one rein is trickier than the other sometimes, but I have always thought it's also the rider's fault, not merely Rainbow not being able to do something – it's a team effort: the horse AND the rider. But it was good to get Kate come and have a look, now that the shoes are off too.

First Kate wanted to assess Rainbow in walk and trot. R had been in her stable most of the day and was mid-dinner when we took her out, so she was not impressed having been dragged out and made to walk and trot. She wasn't really engaging her hindquarters and even though I was running as fast as I could she was very ploddy. Kate noted this and for a while was a little worrying how little she was engaging her hind legs, they weren't tracking at all really. 

Once Kate got to working on Rainbow, she was responding well and even though had some stiffness in her lower back, which may be for many reasons, Kate was very positive about Rainbow's condition. So we put the non-tracking hinds down to being in a lazy mode. This is not a defence, as I will keep an eye on the engagement of the hind, will work on it and mention it to my trainers as well ... But Rainbow can be like that, she's quite 'opinionated' and if something doesn't interest her then she won't do it properly. I know this as it takes quite a long time for her to get warmed up even in normal riding, a good 15-20 mins before she starts to feel 'looser' and starts to work 'properly' (If I am asking for it correctly, that is!).

But all good. Will be interested to see if this makes any difference to her under the saddle. Rainbow's got a day off today and tomorrow I am allowed to ride her gently, nothing too demanding. So we're not doing our usual Thu lesson tomorrow, I just intend to plod around in the arena on our own...

Next appointment won't need to be until in about three months, just to keep an eye on general condition and, in three months, she'll have more time to get used to the barefoot life, etc. which will have an effect on the muscles, too.

Rainbow looking dozy during the treatment.