Pony Spa

This past week has been an adjustment time all around, but after a few spa-like appointments, it’s great to see Factor seem confident with his new surroundings. He has stopped calling when I let him loose in the indoor (not consistent calling, just once to hear who responded…so far, no one…) but is quick to offer a whicker hello every time he hears me in the barn aisle. It’s also given me a chance to learn some more of his quirks!

To start things off on a good foot (oh yes), the Humble Hoof came out to size up my boy’s feet and make some adjustments. We took video of his walk, and got a sense for his balance overall - he continues to be a balanced kind of guy all around. She’ll be back again in five weeks to take more of a look at how he’s doing, and hopefully by then I’ll have some new radiographs of what’s going on in his toes.

We also got him sized for Scoot Boots on his fronts, which I’m excited to get ordered for him!

MagnaWave induced relaxation!

The next day saw Jen, our magical MagnaWave PEMF practitioner, come out to give Factor a work over. He always tries to be so stoic at the start of these sessions, but over the course of it becomes more and more relaxed - it’s like he’s been sedated! He gets all loopy and loose, lowering his head like he could fall asleep. Despite all of the feel-goods, though, Factor fights the urge to yawn every time…

He’s such a cutie.

I love these visits - they give me so much insight into how our work is taxing him. Coming out of his third session, we have seen some muscle groups (right shoulder) become non-issues as his feet have improved, he’s grown up a little more, and we’ve put some muscle on him in good places. It was noted that he’s gained a lot of muscle in good places in the last month, despite really only getting a handful of rides in the month of January - I definitely attribute some of this this to his improved diet.

Of course there are also things we learn in each session that are really useful for me helping him muscle up correctly, or back off exercises that seem to be pushing muscles too much towards strain. (Fortunately, the latter is more what we have been working him through from his previous lifestyle.) This visit, though, it was suggested that we get a chiropractor out to take a look at his ribs. After watching Jen poke at a few places, and then observing his reactions to grooming and other interactions on the area, I wouldn’t be surprised to learn he has a rib out of alignment.

With a recommendation in hand, we go forth!