Yesterday we enjoyed the visit of Bruce, an equine chiropractor. He treated a few of the Distance athletes: Summer, Spirit, and Caddy as well as Willow and Paris. Bruce was very open to all our questions and has a really gentle, calm way with the horses.
And he brought two of his co-workers with him, a Burnese Mountain Dog and a NS Duck Tolling Retriever - my two favourite breeds. We could have kept him there for hours, probably an issue he has to deal with daily!
Willow has conformation that isn't top-notch (neither do I!) so I hoped it might be good for her. She was the funniest patient in the barn - she was vocal and not shy about squealing her annoyance at the downward hip-area adjustments. I was not happy with this at first as I was worried she might be too rude to Bruce, but he was ready for her. She really enjoyed the rest, however, especially the tail stretch which Bruce was kind enough to teach me. I'd seen it done by the others, but I was afraid I'd hurt her doing it myself. Bruce showed me how to match the angle of her tail bone, wrap her tail around my hand, bring up the slack and let her pull into it. Lynn must have done that with her thousands of times as she instantly pulled into that tail stretch for Bruce. I'm looking forward to doing this for her. She was the best at showing her neck flexion.
He also made time for Paris, who was a real star, especially considering this was her first time. She stood well with her best friend, Lynn, throughout Bruce's treatment and really enjoyed meeting the dogs too.
Paris also asked me to relay (in her own words) this unfortunate occurrence she was forced to endure shortly before her appointment with Bruce:
"While I was exploring the indoor, patiently waiting my turn, I was practically attacked by blades of grass hitting the outside wall as the mower went by!! It must be what machine-gun-fire sounds like, I tell you! Gary could be on my "naughty list" for that one, but I do so appreciate everything he does for me, so he's forgiven. Thankfully, a human heard the commotion of my flying Arab hooves and came in. I ran right over to tell her all about it and asked for a nice brushing, please, to help me relax. As usual around here, she complied with my wish and I thoroughly enjoyed that brushing as I composed myself. She told me that I was very brave and was mightily impressed with 1. my quick recovery and, 2. looking to the human for reassurance.
She assured me these are excellent traits in a much-treasured endurance horse so I am very proud of myself!" - Paris
Willow was fun to watch. I have never heard sounds quite like that before. And who knew Paris was such a storyteller!:)
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