You may remember Minor Mesa’s journey to come to be my personal riding horse a few years back. As an OTTB he was raced successfully and retired from racing with many physical and mental challenges. Over the years with TTouch, lots of TLC and time, he has made amazing progress and is a happy healthy fun horse to be around and he is also our “Official Greeter” at the farm.
Due to some conformation challenges, mainly very long hind cannon bones, a racing career and other physical demands, his right hock began to fuse at a young age of about 6.5 years old. This can be a quite painful process and one that can literally go on for years and never reach a conclusion resulting in permanent lameness, discomfort and pain. The other more favorable outcome is a couple of years of discomfort and have the bones of the joint fuse and become stable and non-painful usable joint. Resulting in a horse that is sound and can be ridden.
Because some horses are very stoic you may not realize how painful they actually are, others have a list of each ache and pain they had or might have throughout the day. So, know your horse’s pain threshold and talk to your vet before you start any new rehabilitation program with your horse.
For Mesa, as his right hock began the fusing process there were times when he was extremely sore, unsound and understandably very depressed. Then as the stress of compensation took its toll on the left hock, it too began the fusing process, beginning last fall. We confirmed his condition with a ton of x-rays of both hocks. Due to his pain level, I made the decision to have both hocks injected to help decrease inflammation. Doing the injection did seem to offer some short term relief. But, it also slowed down the natural process that was taking place.
At this time his right hock is about 90% +/- fused and his left hock is about 20% fused. So, what does this have to do with TTouch?™ Frankly, quite a lot. Part of the rehab is to keep him working and using his hocks to the highest degree that he can. Without the continued work the fusing process slows or stops resulting in painful bone spurs, and unstable new bone growth.
When I was first advised of the need to keep him working I felt terrible like I was dragging him to the arena. He always went willingly and tried very hard for me with whatever we did, which is truly a testament to the thoroughbred breed’s big heart. Over the past several months, I have come up with a few ways to work with Mesa when he is sore and swollen. No, I don’t wrap him in bubble wrap and put him on the shelf, although sometimes I would like to.
First I start with TTouch using an ice rub, this increases circulation and helps decrease the inflammation before we ever get tacked up. I use “Dixie Cups” filled ½ – ¾ full with water and frozen overnight. I use the ice cup to make the smallest TTouch circle I can manage – very slowly and with the intention of making the best possible connection to all of his cells in the area. As the ice melts I simply peel back the cup so that I can keep ahold of it and not have totally frozen fingers. This takes about 10-15 minutes total. This is something I can do for him twice daily if needed.
Next I do connected ttouchs, usually Lying Leopard or Clouded Leopard, from his poll to his hind coronet band. Again the focus I have is to connect all of his cells and I picture each cell smiling and passing on the happy thought of healing or healing energy on to its neighbors.
Then as I tack up, I wrap his legs with polo wraps for the extra support they provide. In the cold weather I use the Back On Track polo wraps to also reflect back some of his own body heat and to increase circulation. In the hot weather I use the Saratoga Bandages.
As for the actual arena work we do, it varies from day to day depending on what Mesa is able to do comfortably and without mental stress originating from pain or being worried about pain. Again I really pay attention to what he is telling me. When he thinks it is going to hurt or when it does hurt he lets me know immediately. Usually he will grunt me a warning before he does something silly.
On his painful days we do in-hand ground work which includes the labyrinth, walking over poles, backing over a single or double pole and a modified version of pick up sticks using just 3 poles. We also do the star or fan exercise and elevated poles. All of these exercises are aimed at going slowly and precisely so that we move the hind limb through the largest possible range of motion and joint articulation. Hopefully, he will be able to shift his weight back slightly onto his hind legs as well.
On days where he is able to trot comfortably, but is not really able to carry a rider in a correct weight bearing posture, but is forward enough to do a little more than in hand work, I long line him and work him through the obstacles and over the poles. Or I lunge him on a huge oval, focusing on quality transitions and keeping a soft but lively and elastic contact.
Our riding days, which we both love, consist of working on leg yields, loops down the centerline and serpentine exercises, if this goes well, I may add shoulder fore or shoulder in/out. If we are lucky enough to have a ground person, then after we warm up we work over poles, continuously changing the poles. Elevating one end, or both ends, moving and changing distances between the elements, creating odd numbers of poles in a grid line. Pole courses and other fun and entertaining work. On days when the ground is not rock hard, we trail ride around our pastures and barn.
If Mesa feels soft and sound then we progress from walk to trot. If the trot stays rhythmic and soft then we work transitions within the gait as well as transitions between halt, walk and trot. If we are feeling particularly well, we might progress to some slow canter work. All the time working to maintain softness within relaxation, rhythm and contact. For the moment we are working rather under impulsion to focus on maintaining balance and getting the best joint articulation possible.
The payoff is that we walk back to the barn with less swelling and noticeably longer strides. So, I really feel like we did physical therapy during our ride time. Our rides are progressive. I ask if he is able to do a movement and I wait and listen to the answer. Usually it is “yes”, but at times it is simply “not today” or “I cannot”. If he is not able to do something we move on to things that are less demanding or difficult. I reward every effort he makes and he feels very proud of himself when we are through.
I may go to the barn with a plan in mind, but I have learned to be very open to changing the plans to whatever is most suitable and in the best interest of my horse’s well-being. I strive to make every day’s work something a little different, so that it stays interesting and we don’t fall into a boring pattern that will not help us progress through this process. Yes, there are days when I feel like we are trudging uphill both ways, so to speak, but mostly I relish the small triumphs each new days has to offer.
After our workout and cool down, I water his legs down, add some Sore No More cooling liniment, slip on his Hock Ice Boots, and Fetlock Ice Boots for about 15-20 minutes. Sometimes we use his Ice Vibe Boots when he is finishing his hay in his stall. Other times I let him finish his hay on the Vita Floor while wearing his ice boots.
I then warm his legs up again with some Rainbow TTouch, followed by Raccoon TTouch. This whole process takes a bit over 90 minutes when we have riding days. On non-riding days it is about 50 minutes. Luckily, I have the flexibility to shorten or lengthen the duration of our play time to be what I need it to be on any given day.
Finally, when I changed my thought process regarding Mesa’s diagnosis I started to feel gratitude that every day provided a new chance to try and help Mesa feel a little better, while still making steady and noticeable progress towards our riding goals.