A day at the stables

[Eriathiel]

I think Dutchess is one of the most beautiful horses I've ever seen. She's just so... regal. Her name is quite fitting.

Sounds like you have been having fun! Stay away from those sheep!

 

[diamondlil]

All change at the stables! The rented grazing becomes water-logged so Kim's been busy with a major move-around. In the meantime new paddock fencing and a new all-weather surface school have been built, but the contractors to resurface the paddocks fell behind schedule this year, so now there's a lot more feeding and mucking out to do.
Valiento the colt foal is being weaned from his mum, stabled and needing a lot of TLC, but he'd virtually stopped nursing and is taking the change in his stride and is calm and happy. Opposite him is Corsaria ('wee'), the yearling filly he's bonded to while growing away from his mum, they'll be turned out together.
Valiento's mum and 3 other mares are on grazing together across the village, Quiver has settled well without her baby and her milk supply is drying up nicely.
After the yardwork, I got to try out the school with a formal lesson on Merlin. Kim wanted to look carefully at my position, so she had us walking and trotting in circles of various sizes and in different directions , which showed a problem. To confirm it she put us on a lunge and made me just use leg aids with my arms straight out to the sides. The madleg is affecting my seat! In hacking out, Merlin and I are compensating and balancing ourselves, but in formal schooling she could see that the left leg isn't stretching down properly.
So now I've got to see what I can do in the way of exercises to get the madleg to work better. If not I'll end up having to have the left stirrup shorter, which will in turn reinforce the madleg's weakness.

 

[diamondlil]

Hurrah! The tens machine and stretching regime seem to be working on the madleg. Much better balance in the stirrups. For my lesson today Merlin and I were practising diagonals across the school and leg yields. I can now keep Merlin in trot for longer and stay in sync with him, so no bruises for me today.
And because I've got a weird shift pattern this week, I'm having another lesson on Friday, can't wait!

 

[Susielea]

Hurrah! Glad to hear the tens machine is working for you and the madleg is letting you do something fun

 

[diamondlil]

Thanks Sue! I couldn't make head nor tails of the instructions, so I just tried different settings until it felt similar to when I had the acupuncture. The madleg seems to be hurting more but working better, and I'd rather have the function as normal as possible.
I actually got in the saddle (not very elegantly) without a leg-up for the first time. Luckily Merlin lets me scramble over him like a climbing frame.

 

[Susielea]

You may find that different settings work better on different days, so be prepared to fiddle a bit, but it's so worth it when it works

Which reminds me, I need to invest in a new one, (my one is ancient), seeing as the doc said I shouldn't take the anti-inflammatory pills anymore.

Hope you enjoy your lesson on Friday

 

[diamondlil]

Thanks for the tip Sue, I'm refusing to take any meds while the tens is working, I deal with so many gastric bleeds at work that I needed a way to get off the anti-inflammatories that I'd restarted. Having my hip-bones 'open' properly and have the power back in my leg made such a difference today that I'm really impressed with the tens

 

[kathylove]

So glad to hear the TENS and physical therapy are helping a lot! So nice not to have to deal with a plethora of meds, along with whatever side effects they may produce.

Considering what you have gone through so far, maybe you will be able to give some first hand advice to future patients on how to deal with similar problems, so they won't have to take as long as you did to get this far.

Hope your recovery continues!

 

[wade]

She Who Must Be Obeyed uses the tens one me and I quite like it. :grin01:

Happy for your success J9

 

[diamondlil]

So glad to hear the TENS and physical therapy are helping a lot! So nice not to have to deal with a plethora of meds, along with whatever side effects they may produce.

Considering what you have gone through so far, maybe you will be able to give some first hand advice to future patients on how to deal with similar problems, so they won't have to take as long as you did to get this far.

Hope your recovery continues!

Actually, Kathy, I got some brilliant advice from a recent patient on managing the madleg. She'd had a serious spinal injury about 5 years ago due to a car crash, and asked my why I was lopsided. (I was on a run of nights and the madleg was misbehaving while I was doing the drug round) She's coincidentally an ex-nurse who had to give up working due to the accident. Her meds have caused gastric problems.
We were chatting about the various failures of the medical system, and she recommended the tens when I said the acupucture had helped the most so highly I ordered it to try it out.

 

[kathylove]

I shouldn't be surprised!

Relying on the government to "fix things" seems to often be less helpful than people helping each other, lol! Your experience with socialized medicine certainly didn't sound as rosy as the picture painted in the "Sicko" documentary!

But I am glad you found relief, no matter what the source! Are there patient support groups over there who meet and discuss problems and solutions they have found for similar conditions? That seems to give at least emotional support, and sometimes actual solutions, such as you found.

 

[diamondlil]

Yep, there are support and pressure groups for most problems. As an example of how our health system works, my friend who owns Coconuts has waited a year to see a physio for her back problems but is being put straight into a 'back club' now where they will use Pilates to help correct problems. In contrast I saw my physios sooner, but only had the acupuncture and was actively disouraged from using their gym, being told my usual gym would have better facilities. Now my gym instructor won't give me exercises or let me on the equipment without a detailed injury report and discharge summary from my physio! My request for a report got me a one-paragraph letter just stating I shouldn't do exercises that increase symptoms, well 'duh!'. In order to go back to my physio I'd have to go back on a waiting list.
My friend lives about 15 miles from me but is under a different health authority.
So it looks like the tens, stretches, mucking out and horse-riding are my recovery program! My health authority doesn't offer the Pilates, so I'll look into the costs of finding a class near me, then work out if it will fit around my shiftwork. Interestingly enough, Merlin's owner found some articles about Pilates based exercises to do on horseback to improve core stability and balance, so we can give them a whirl with Merlin's help!
So, here's my health-providers last Monday, just before my lesson.

 

[kathylove]

I think your health providers are much more beautiful and calming than the "usual" kind, lol!

 

[snakemom1961]

Forgive my ignorance. But what exactly do you mean by the "tens"?

 

[diamondlil]

So do I, Kim's asked me if I'll be prepared to keep on riding Merlin more regularly and perhaps become his sole rider if she gets a new horse in the future, I was speechless, such a good friend is priceless! She's working on the next stage of her qualifications for instructing, so her teaching hours part of the course will be credited from my lessons along with her paying clients. Last week she was trouble-shooting loading a client's horse into a new transporter it had taken a dislike to, fascinating to watch and listen to the lesson and see the horse loading confidently with his owner by the end.

 

[kathylove]

T.E.N.S. (from www.about.com)

Definition: "TENS" is the acronym for Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation. A "TENS unit" is a pocket size, portable, battery-operated device that sends electrical impulses to certain parts of the body to block pain signals.

The electrical currents produced are mild, but can prevent pain messages from being transmitted to the brain and may raise the level of endorphins (natural pain killers produced by the brain).

 

[diamondlil]

Forgive my ignorance. But what exactly do you mean by the "tens"?

transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulator. My new gizmo that seems to be helping the madleg. You can use them at different frequencies, constantly to encourage natural painkillers (endorphines), I'm using it to actually stimulate the nerves to work better, in sessions every other day. It's making the madleg hurt more but work much better. So instead of the leg being numb and the foot dragging, I'm finding that I'm walking better and the leg's staying warmer, I'm able to stretch it out better. (At rest the madleg tends to want to contract, and as my knee reflex is affected the toes catch on the floor when I get tired)

 

[diamondlil]

A lovely day at the stables today! First thing was Kim's dressage lesson on Merlin at a nearby livery yard, which went really well and is always interesting to watch. Then back for turnout, feeding and mucking out, only 4 stables being used now because Lola the filly is turned out with the colt, Valiento and last year's filly Corsaria, as a little weanling herd.
Kim's boss had Dutchess out for some schooling, then Corsario the stallion out for a lungeing session. Corsario has been backed and ridden but had all summer off for covering mares, so he's very 'green' and silly again. I never knew horses have to learn how to balance themselves for schooling and riding, so it was interesting to see the stallion leading off on the 'wrong' leg in canter then being corrected

 

[diamondlil]

Then after lunch and a trip to the feed store, I had my lesson on Merlin. Having had a workout in the morning, he was quite indignant about doing more work! Once we were in the school he settled into the lesson and gave a really good stride out at walk and lovely transitions to trot. We practised diagonals and changes of direction, and Kim had me trying sitting trot. Now I've learnt the rising trot, staying sat down was virtually impossible! By the end of the session I was managing 5 strides of sitting trot at a time without bouncing out of the saddle. Kim kept an eye on my posture and balance and took lots of photos for me to see when I had the position right and when I was unbalanced. She says I'll be ready for cantering soon

 

[Jynx]

That is definitely one gorgeous stallion! I have to say, I don't miss dealing with the boys' attitudes after breeding season! Even though my boy was generally a gentleman, they can definitely be total pigs!

Janine you seem to be doing quite well! The best way I remember posturing is to "Dolly Parton" it, or at least thats what my instructor used to tell me. The trot is definitely not as much fun, but pretty soon your bum will get used to it. Wait until she tells you to drop your irons and then post! :grin01: That was the hardest thing to be able to do after I broke my hip in a car accident about 9 years ago. Once you have all of the trotting down, the canter will be a breeze... just like a rocking horse

I'm glad to hear that the TENS unit is working well for you. My great-uncle had one placed and it gave him quite a few issues. Though to be honest, he wasn't very ambulatory in the first place and got quite comfortable with not moving, so he was reluctant to move even with the TENS in place.

I look forward to seeing more updates!