"It's amazing anyone rode him at all."

Every equine professional who works with Ace tells me that, and it never ceases to reinforce just how amazing Ace really is.

Dr. Redman, the fantastic DVM and equine chiropractor that I found, used to practice in Kentucky and I found an excellent (short) article that he wrote about subluxation and equine chiropractic work in The Work Horse Newsletter. (Article is on page 3) https://www.horseswork.com/pdf/2006/keepnwsletter(9-06).pdf

Ace had subluxation of his left hip, right sternum, lower neck, right shoulder, and multiple vertebrae.

Dr. Redman said that this would have caused him chronic pain, and from how bad it was he guessed that it had been going on for a lengthy amount of time.
My guess is that one little thing in Ace’s body got “out of whack” and it caused a “chain reaction” that lead to so many other things being out of alignment. He could have been holding his neck funny because the wolf tooth hurt, being ridden in an ill-fitting saddle, slipped and twisted a hip in the pasture- who knows. But once one part was hurting, he tried to readjust because of the pain, and made a whole lot of parts end up hurting.

Dr. Redman also pointed out that chronic pain sufferers (people included) obviously have more anxiety because so many things can cause them pain- but their body is also releasing hormones and adrenaline to deal with the pain, which could very easily make a horse “seem crazy.” This explains why Ace gets so anxious when I start moving saddle around or go to mount him. His body is having a biological response to anticipated pain.

Like people however, everything can’t be fixed with one session, so he has another appointment mid-May. I was also taught how to give Ace a massage back by his hips to break up the knots in the muscles and soothe the muscles spasms that he was having.

My camera batteries died, so I’m a horrible blogger and didn’t get any pictures of Ace. But, for fun, here are all the places something was out of alignment on Ace’s body…

I’ve never been so happy to find out that something is wrong with a horse. This gives me so much hope for Ace. I know that if I can just find and fix all of his physical issues, Ace is going to be so amazing. I just have to get him there.

The chiropractor comes on Thursday at 7:30am to work on Ace! I'm very excited.

Expect a nice long update Thursday afternoon. (And hopefully LOTS of pictures. I'm trying to convince the boyfriend to wake up early so he can take some for me!)

Waiting on Mr. Wonderful

I'm having issues getting the chiropractor out to see Ace. I was just about to give up and start searching for someone else- until a few days ago.

My farrier loves Ace, and when he was here doing hooves he asked if I had been riding.

I said that I hadn't because I thought he needed a chiropractor.

My farrier is a funny guy. A little rough around the edges, but great with the horses. He's also not shy about sharing his opinion.

"Those quacks?! Half the time I think they mess up the horse more than they help! They're always all up on 'em cracking and popping things, the horse just looks stressed more than anything! If you're doing that, you best call [Fill In Name Of Illusive Chiropractor Here] first! He's awesome. I've seen him work on horses and what he does is unbelievable. He's so gentle and theres none of that quack-y nonsense. You need his number?"

I told him that I have called but he's always booked. "That's how you know he's good! You wait on him. Just wait. He's who you want."

So I called him again today. And now I'm back to waiting. Waiting on Mr. Wonderful-the-Chiropractor. Hopefully he shows up to work his magic soon!

Trusting Your Instinct

With horses sometimes you really do just have to "go with your gut." Something is "off" with Ace's hind-end. He's been vet checked twice now, and they keep telling me that nothing is wrong. I'm not convinced.

1. His lower back (towards his tail) is bothering him. I can't really explain how I know, I just do.
2. He's weaker on one side in the back. Which leads me to believe that maybe something is out of whack with his hips or pelvis. (This could also be leading to back pain.)
3. He's just not moving his back legs correctly. They're stiff. I've watched the video of me riding him over and over to watch his movement and I still can't pinpoint if they're lacking extension moving back or forward but they're lacking it somewhere.

Something is wrong, I just don't know how to tell what.

So, I've called a horse chiropractor in the area who comes highly recommended from local endurance riders. Hopefully he can catch something that the vets keep missing. (And won't mind me taking a hundred pictures to post on here!)

“When you say a situation or a person is hopeless, you are slamming the door in the face of God.”

Ace is my heart horse. We have a connection that I can't explain.

Ace was antsy today. He followed me around. He nickered to me while I did barn work. Ace was bored. I was planning on lunging him today anyway, so I pulled him out of the pasture. He met me at the gate and shoved his head in his halter.

I had a saddle on the fence where he was tied, and he kept looking at it, then back at me, then back at it. But, not in his usual "oh-no-a-saddle-that-might-eat-me!" way, but in an interested way.

So, I picked it up. He didn't flinch, or pull back, or get tense. I put the saddle pad on him, and then the saddle. He acted like it was no big deal. (Which all in itself is a BIG DEAL for Ace.)

He followed me to the tack room, then ground tied in the aisle of the barn while I got out his bridle. He stood with his mouth open until I put the bit in his mouth.

I walked him around in hand with the saddle. I trotted him in hand. He didn't jump at the bouncing stirrups. He didn't arch up his back. He just perked up his ears and trotted after me.

Without really thinking about it, I mounted. I didn't even hold the reins. He stood dead still as I settled onto his back. I clicked once, and he walked on. (I did bother to grab the helmet hanging on the fence before this spontaneous venture, but I wasn't even wearing boots. Riding was not in my plan for Ace today.)

We walked around the yard. We stopped and turned and checked out the trail course I had set up.

I can't describe to you how overwhelmingly happy this simple thing made me. This short five minute ride around the yard gave me hope. It made all this heartbreak worth it. It gave me a small glimpse of the future that Ace and I can have together. Nothing is ever hopeless. Nothing is ever too broken to fix. Sometimes you just have to have faith.

(Fortunately, my boyfriend shot a video of the ride and took a few pictures!)