 Balance Beam and more...
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Location: 31 lengths farms | So as some of you may or may not know, I have a mare that is a HSS mare. She started having some issues about 7 years ago though at the time we didn't connect it to the HSS, that was before she was diagnosed. She had become increasingly sensitive to sounds, started pulling back when tied etc. , windy days were heck with her.
The last time she had been in a trailer was August of 2011, she came unhinged. Ended up with a infection in the hock, laceration on her head , she was a hot mess. Got her sound again, got the head shakers thing for the most part worked out with the support of the Total Support . That took us about 5 years to get around to, first with being told that she was just being a spoiled brat and to hobble her and put her in the trailer and let her wear herself out (didn't follow that advice) to the onset of the head bobbing, lip popping, face rubbing to the point she'd almost fall down, couldnt' put a halter on her let alone ride her. Kept doing the research and looking for answers for her as this mare has never had a mean bone in her body, thank goodness cause she is big, LOL!!! We did the Cyproheptadine which worked but left her very lethargic and I've read that it brings some colic side effects also, so went to ENC Joint Plus which helped the inflammation of her transgeminal (sP) nerve and I got to start riding her again. She was doing well on non windy days, had given up the bobbing and popping of her lips and the face rubbing but couldn't ask her for collection on any type of head set so just trail rode on her and hoped. Then 2 years ago found Cur-ost and that really made big changes for her, she could be ridden even on windy days, I'm talking 10-20 mph and spring was no longer tough on her, she really started to bloom again. All along I have been working on loading her in the trailer on and off. She would walk right in but the minute you started to close the doors she would panic and start to paw, even if I stayed in there with her.
In June I started having some MagnaWave PEMF treatments done on her, trying to get to the root of the problem rather than just treat the symptoms I guess. She has had a total of 6 treatments, typically a treatment every 2 weeks give or take a few days. Saturday we loaded her up, I did stay in the trailer with her while my fiance drove a few miles away from our house to a local arena. I think I was more stressed than she was. Not only that, but once we got there, unloaded, saddled her up and loped a few circles around the barrels. The first barrels she has seen in 5 years, since I had a pattern set up at the house getting ready for Pendleton. Didn't ask for a whole lot as the trip was really more about getting her back in the trailer and hauling safely. Trip home went well also. I can 't get the stupid video's to send to my email or to FB, so irritating but just wanted to let others know, sometimes good things happen if we just don't give up.
Hopefully next spring we may even be ready to enter up again.
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