Today was a long day for both of us. Kai was soft and willing during the beginning of the session so I tacked him up, did some pre ride checks and mounted. I asked him for some lateral flexion and waited for him to soften. I then did a little of “hurry up and wait”. I asked him for lateral flexion with the carrot stick. Kai was not making any effort to bend even though I gave him a long chance to respond, so I thumped him softly on the nose. He was surprised but he bent his neck more than he ever had, but with an attitude of sass. We repeated the exercise until he was bending more than before and decided to play “follow the rail”. As Kai was very tense I just trotted him around the rail waiting for him to relax. After some time trotting he snorted and I felt him soften his back underneath me. I breathed out and he stopped. I asked Kai to back up a step or two and went to neutral. I gave him a rest and then did some FQ yields.
Next we did more follow the rail while waiting for him to relax and it started to take him less time to soften. I dismounted and did not let him eat his grain until he asked me a question. I started doing this so that he is more respectful around his food and it is our new ritual now.
As he was eating I noticed that he was chewing slightly differently than he had before. We made an appointment with the vet to look at his teeth. After Kai was done I untacked him and hosed him down before letting him back in the paddock.
I returned a few hours later to groom him and get him ready for the massage therapist. I groomed all the dirt out of his coat and picked his feet.
We then hung around while he grazed waiting for Esther to come. I brought him inside and did some Spanish walk for fun to help pass the time. I then taught him to walk next to me with his head lowered in preparation for Straightness Training that I hope to do in the future. By then Esther came and started his massage. Esther is a Masterson Method practitioner and a very awesome one at that. Esther showed me how she was testing Kai for soreness and then got right to massaging him.
It was a very hands on experience and she let me do some of the techniques. Kai loved every minute of it. He was holding tension in his left shoulder, in his poll(mostly on the right side), his TMJ, and his left hind leg--especially in the muscles on the inside of his thigh. Esther showed me how I could release tension in his TMJ—this wasn’t covered in the Masterson course that I took last month with Susan Ross.
Kai also had an unusually cold gelding scar which indicated poor circulation.
After his treatment Kai was so loose and happy. As Esther was about to leave it started to rain so hard it was difficult to hear each other. Mom and Esther left the arena while I stayed with Kai. I just did some liberty stick to me with Kai as we waited for the rain to at least slow down.
Today was a wonderful experience for us and we will definitely have Esther back whenever she is in the area.
Next we did more follow the rail while waiting for him to relax and it started to take him less time to soften. I dismounted and did not let him eat his grain until he asked me a question. I started doing this so that he is more respectful around his food and it is our new ritual now.
As he was eating I noticed that he was chewing slightly differently than he had before. We made an appointment with the vet to look at his teeth. After Kai was done I untacked him and hosed him down before letting him back in the paddock.
I returned a few hours later to groom him and get him ready for the massage therapist. I groomed all the dirt out of his coat and picked his feet.
We then hung around while he grazed waiting for Esther to come. I brought him inside and did some Spanish walk for fun to help pass the time. I then taught him to walk next to me with his head lowered in preparation for Straightness Training that I hope to do in the future. By then Esther came and started his massage. Esther is a Masterson Method practitioner and a very awesome one at that. Esther showed me how she was testing Kai for soreness and then got right to massaging him.
It was a very hands on experience and she let me do some of the techniques. Kai loved every minute of it. He was holding tension in his left shoulder, in his poll(mostly on the right side), his TMJ, and his left hind leg--especially in the muscles on the inside of his thigh. Esther showed me how I could release tension in his TMJ—this wasn’t covered in the Masterson course that I took last month with Susan Ross.
Kai also had an unusually cold gelding scar which indicated poor circulation.
After his treatment Kai was so loose and happy. As Esther was about to leave it started to rain so hard it was difficult to hear each other. Mom and Esther left the arena while I stayed with Kai. I just did some liberty stick to me with Kai as we waited for the rain to at least slow down.
Today was a wonderful experience for us and we will definitely have Esther back whenever she is in the area.
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