The JR Chiropractic Report and Wizard Session 59
Wednesday, 3/18/09
JR had an appointment with an excellent local veterinarian/equine chiropractor yesterday. His neck, poll, teeth, atlas, all felt great. She adjusted his left knee but otherwise, his legs looked great and she likes the work my farrier is doing with him (he’s barefoot). My farrier is slowly bringing his toes back a bit and rebalancing his feet. She felt the same back-soreness that I felt. She said that the rebalanced feet will help his posture quite a bit, plus she suggested that I get my saddle reflocked. The tree and panels of my saddle fit the shape of his body but the saddle is bridging a bit, which might be aggravating his already sore back. JR loved the acupuncture treatment :^)
So I have a call in to a local saddle fitter/adjuster and until then, it looks like JR will be doing a lot of groundwork :^) I also learned that JR is an Appendix Quarter Horse! I had always assumed that he was a full QH.
I longed Wizard outside for about 15 minutes. I longed him in the unfenced dressage court. I graze him by the arena but he’s never worked out there with me before. He was energetic but responsive, even when all the horses in their paddocks decided to have a bucking party. Not a lot of horses work in the dressage court so they were totally fascinated to see us out there.
Rock and Racehorses: The Blog 
It’s a shame you won’t be able to ride him for a bit, but at least now you know what’s wrong and what you have to do to make him feel better!
Thanks Lori! I’m really glad that I got her out when I did. And I’m sure JR is grateful as well :^)
JR is a gorgeous, gorgeous boy no matter what he is!
A thought about his back…
When our backs are out of whack or we adjust to pulling/pain/tightness in a part of our body for a big quantity of time, our muscles can be quite sore when the issue is corrected and take time to relax back to the way they should be rather than how they’ve been. I bet the same is happening with JR. I *think* this is what’s been happening with Casey’s hip.
Anyways, JR might be stiff and sore for a couple weeks or need to be adjusted again (or more frequently) as his muscles adjust.
Very good observation, OS! I think that the stretching and working of a new muscle group definitely is causing a little “good” soreness, and I fear that I will aggravate things further with a bridging saddle. Once the saddle fits better on his back, he can use the back muscles better and they will go through the normal process of rebuilding muscle tissue between rides.
He does have a high wither for a QH! Glad to hear that your farrier is working on those toes, as they were the first things I noticed in these pictures. He is so handsome!
Thanks DP! My farrier only worked on JR once so far and I think he did not want to do too much in one trim. He’s one of the best in the area and I’m really happy with his work so far. I’ll be sure to post the progress of his feet.