Chiropractic Adjustment

Frankly I am still getting adjusted to the idea of taking a perfectly sound horse to a veterinarian. However that's just what I did this Friday: Delphi had her very first chiropractic consultation and adjustment with Robin Robinette,DVM at Veterinary Chiropractic and Rehabilitation Clinic. Jeff Moore has commented upon Delphi's "stilted-ness" at canter and her need to more fully articulate her lumbo-sacral joint; the clinician Michael Vermaas also commented that Delphi could benefit from a chiropractic adjustment; and our trainer Karen Brown not only has suggested having Delphi evaluated but uses Dr. Robinette for her own horses as well.

Turns out that Delphi was out in her pelvis (confirming the lumbo-sacral joint needed attention) as well as at the poll and bilateral jaw. While we were there I also had Dr. Robinette do a saddle fit evaluation that confirmed Delphi's Albion saddle fits her well with no pinching of the spine, back or withers and ample spine clearance in the gullet, over the back, and under the cantle-- though it was suggested the saddle could eventually be re-flocked as it seemed I sit heavier to the right side based on the flocking distribution. After she performed the adjustment Dr. Robinette suggested two days off work but with ample turn out, which Delphi got. Today I worked Delphi.

Did I notice a difference? Well, there is no magic bullet, so if I expected chiropractic to be enchantment, it isn't. However I did notice slightly more fluidity in Delphi's lateral work today, particularly in canter half pass. She gave me two excellent flying changes- one in each direction. Most importantly: first we did no harm. Delphi was not stiff or sore, and even seemed slightly more supple in the neck. In canter she felt through and balanced.

Dr. Robinette suggested that after Delphi's return visit scheduled for one month there is no particular set schedule for follow-up adjustments, but that one allows the horse to tell us when they are needed. All in all I am pleased with the result and will definitely return to Dr. Robinette in future.

Delphi arriving at the beautiful Veterinary Chiropractic and Rehabilitation Clinic:

Dr. Robinette begins her evaluation by having Delphi stand squarely:

During the adjustment Delphi looks almost as skeptical as I felt:

Dr. Robinette performing a saddle fit evaluation:

Stardust

The very first horse I ever owned, my parents bought her for fifty dollars. After years of reading The Black Stallion series, Black Beauty, My Friend Flicka and others in the same genre, I had built up a pretty insistent theme of wanting a horse of my own. Our family having recently relocated from town to a small farm in the country, one day early in the school year of my fifth grade I came home to find this exquisite gray mare in one of the stalls of the 100 plus year old cypress barn that stood on the acreage adjacent to my parents' farm house in south central Louisiana. Truly the stuff of dreams come true.

(As an aside my parents still live in the same house but one of their farmer neighbors [my old school bus driver] has since reclaimed the wood from our old barn but made a lovely cypress bench from the wood that made up Stardust's stall which he presented to Chris and me as a wedding gift-- and my parents still have the board on which I painted her name above her stall door.)

The following several years a friendship deepened between me and "Girl" that only those who have had the privilege of calling a horse a comrade will ever understand-- and for those no words of explanation are necessary. After several months my dad finally purchased a western saddle for Girl but even after that I preferred to ride her bareback. The saddle was reserved for the weekends when Dad would saddle up Girl and the three of us would ride out together on the turnrows of the acres of surrounding farms.

Late in my junior year of high school Girl developed a gas colic and we had to take her to our local country vet. She stayed over night and back then my family just wasn't in the position to authorize surgery on a twenty-something fifty dollar horse-- though priceless in my eyes-- and she was humanely euthanized to prevent further suffering. I remember praying for her to recover and even "making deals" with God but He saw fit to take her away. As hard as it was then I've since learned that as we become sensible adults with goals of medals and expensive riding habits and many blue ribbons and lessons later it is still just as hard, just as sad, just as miserable to say goodbye. The years have mellowed the frustration and sadness of that moment into fun and beautiful memories but her loss is still keenly felt.

My heart goes out to each one that has lost an animal friend. They will always be remembered and as hard as it is when we lose their physical bodies we will never lose the love that grows between two friends.

Monkey on My Back

My ride times for Delphi's last show were prior to 7am, which meant in order to have time to feed, clean her stall, lunge, and warm up we had to leave the hotel long before the continental breakfast was served, and the in-room coffee service had everything to make coffee but no actual coffee. Never mind, I thought, I'll just grab a cup at the show concession stand.

Which wasn't open at the hour we got there and by the time it did I was already mounted. So here I am at 5:30 in the morning sucking down a cold, nasty diet coke just for the sake of the caffeine. I looked it up later: a typical cup of coffee has about 200mg of caffeine while a soda has about 80mg. It was enough to keep a headache at bay but only just.

There I was in the 100+ degree heat having to slurp down a coke zero every couple of hours just to stay functional. Ridiculous! I have vowed to kick my caffeine habit so this week I've cut back to a single diet soda per day, and then only when the headache, nausea, and irritability are no longer to be borne.

I want to be free to focus my best effort in all situations, and being caught off guard in an unfamiliar environment really drove home my dependency on caffeine. I'm trying my best to get the monkey off my back.

Braiding with caffeine withdrawal shakes is NOT my idea of efficiency at a show:

Harmony, Elegance, Refinement DEFINED

Love the commentary, and of course I love the Trakehner Biotop and Dr. Klimpke (note Dr. Klimpke is warming up for a major show in a snaffle!):

New Wash Rack

Old Chocolate Barn- so named for its proximity to Old Chocolate Bayou- now has its own washrack. No more slumming it under the tree. Hip hip, hooray!

"Food"

Cloning and Gene Banking

ViaGen, "The Cloning Company" can produce an exact genetic replica of my horse. Okay not MY horse, of course, but one's horse. Allie comes to mind: a 25 year old Hanoverian gelding with the patience and demeanor of a saint; Moorlands Totilas also comes to mind: how many horses earn in the 90th percentiles in Grand Prix dressage? (That would be a sum total of one: the Trakehner Totilas.)

So, for only $150,000 one can have an exact genetic clone produced of one's mare, stallion, or GELDING. Not sure if it's right for you now, or you just want to have a safety net to fall back on in case of accident or you geld a colt that later proves it could have been stallion material? For $1,500 you can gene bank your horse's DNA for storage for future cloning. But act now: only live tissue can be used so if your horse passes it's too late. Be aware: in my sport of Dressage there are no current restrictions about competing on clones; the Jockey Club flat refuses to register any clones and the AQHA racing industry is trying to fight the registration of clones for race track use.

Personally I see both sides: as a scientist it is definitely tampering with nature to throw out the possibility of desirable genetic mutations by making a heritable stamp of an existing animal (for example, Allie cribs: would his clone crib also?) and possibly stunting natural genetic progression for the improvement of modern horses. On the other hand, as an amateur horse owner, I certainly see the allure of reproducing an exact replica of a beloved animal that has proven itself in the barn aisle, competition arena, daily schooling, and maybe even the breeding shed.

Either way it is exciting to think about the possibilities of attaining the "perfect" horse, whether through the new hindsight of cloning or the traditional methods of humans trialing genetics over successive generations through selective breeding.

Where Are They Now from Viagen on Vimeo.

Happy Hanukkah

As seen in my neighborhood this week:

Columbia University Online Study

Contribute to the universe's knowledge of the human dog interaction by participating in Columbia University's research project. It says it takes 30 minutes but it took me much less. You don't have to be a dog-rotic like me to participate; you don't even necessarily have to own a dog!

Go to http://www.columbia.edu/~msw2111/online.html to take the survey.

The Pursuit of Perfection

If Delphi Had a Second Job

It would be as an anatomy model:

These are the artwork of Gillian Higgins, sent to me by my trainer Karen Brown. Cool.

Top 10 Exercises to Become a Better Equestrian

10. Drop a heavy steel object on your foot. Don't pick it up right away. Shout "Get off, Stupid, GET OFF!"

9. Leap out of a moving vehicle and practice "relaxing into the fall." Roll lithely into a ball and spring to your feet.

8. Learn to grab your checkbook out of your purse and write out a $200 check without even looking down.

7. Jog long distances carrying a halter and a carrot. Go ahead and tell the neighbors what you are doing- they might as well know now.

6. Affix a pair of reins to a moving freight train and practice pulling to a halt. Smile as if you are having fun.

5. Hone your fibbing skills: "No, really, I'm glad your lucky performance and multimillion dollar horse won the blue ribbon. I'm just thankful that my hard work and actual ability won me second place."

4. Practice dialing your chiropractor's number with both arms paralyzed to the shoulder and one foot anchoring the lead rope of a frisky horse.

3. Borrow the US Army's slogan: Be All That You Can Be-- bitten, thrown, kicked, slimed, trampled, frozen...

2. Lie face down in a puddle of mud in your most expensive riding clothes and repeat to yourself "This is a learning experience, this is a learning experience, this is..."

1. AND THE NUMBER ONE EXERCISE TO BECOME A BETTER EQUESTRIAN: Marry money.

Inspiration

This video inspires me. Not so much about the horsemanship, flying changes, rein backs and other maneuvers, though those are all impressive in themselves. To me the greater miracle is that, in a huge crowd in an unfamiliar arena, the horse is constantly licking submissively and gives the appearance of complete relaxation and trust.

Rocky Mountain High

Thank you Lori, Don, Dave, and Jen for an awesome visit! Some photo hilights of our trip back to Colorado:

Mountains in Estes Park:

Animal sightings included
Elk:

On the sidewalk strolling home to our B&B, we saw this doe:

A marmot:

Random baby kangaroo in Kit Carson, Colorado (it's a long story):

We played in the snow like goofy Southerner tourists:

Snow Goobers:

And the best part, Dave's Fourth of July show finale:

No Work Today! Here's Why: