I now possess the wisdom of the ancients

23 June 2010 5 Comments

Today was Chiropractor Trip #2. Trip #1 did not go so well, which is to say it didn’t go at all.

Trailer loading this time went much smoother, and we made it to the chiropractor’s without incident. The mare’s owner warned them ahead of time that the mare had been acting out and they discussed options in case the mare objected to any adjustments that might need to be made.

After getting some history and doing a visual look-over, the vet went over to the mare and started massaging her head, talking quietly to her all the while.

I have seen college students high on pot and holding a full plate of brownies on their laps who looked more tense than the mare did. The vet could have asked her to jump through flaming hoops of fire and she would have, as long as she could have a face massage at the end of it.

For the rest of the session, she stayed relaxed, with big, soft eyes. Even when she got a little worried, she looked to the vet for reassurance. Beyond that initial conversation with the owner, sedation never came up. The vet was the mare’s new BFF forever after that head massage. Every once in a while, she’d steal a glance at her owner and I: See this? See what she’s doing? THIS is the life I deserve. I am staying Right. Here. Forever.

Owner and I called a timeout and huddled in a corner. She has a new BFF. She’s stubborn enough that she might not come home with us. What if we learn the jedi facial massage thing? Would that be enough? How much will we have to bribe the vet to teach us that?

Fortunately we didn’t have to resort to bribery and the vet showed us the secret to the head massage at the end. After due consideration, the mare decided that we knew the most important bit and that she would come home with us after all; she hopped on the trailer like a pro.

I looked around online to see if I could find a diagram that shows where the pressure points are, but I can’t. I am heartily afraid of being sued—although I have no idea why anyone would bother; the only thing I own are massive student loans—so I’m not going to try to describe it. However, even for people who are skeptical of massage/chiropractic care for horses, I’d recommend getting someone who knows what they are doing to show you some basic things you can do at home. Apparently not all horses adore the head massage the way this mare does, but if you can find The One True Thing your horse likes… like I said, I think this mare would jump through fire to get this particular massage done.

Heck, she’d probably load on any trailer you pointed her at, if she thought it’d get her this head rub.

It’s like a tailor-made reward for her, and that alone made the appointment worthwhile (says the person who wasn’t paying for the appointment and was just along for the ride).

Horses and Riding, Horses I Have Known, Ro

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