Chiropractic Work

Last Friday Cheryl asked me if I would like to take Spanks to the Chiropractic Seminar and of course I said yes! I had never seen work done on a horse but know the benefits myself. When we arrived three people came up and said they would love to work with Spanky. Spanks did so well standing there for the wonderfully nice and informative people. They took the time to explain to me that the knots in Spankys neck was arthritis and what I was doing with bending him and working with him was the best thing for him. They said the arthritis might have been caused by some sort of trama. They found all of Spanks sore spots and worked to correct all his aches and pains. I asked them what Spankys future was and they said with some farrier work on his feet, the hooks corrected on his teeth and some more muscle put on his chest and hind end he would be perfectly ridable. I always love good news and to know that Spanky could live happy and not sore and in pain was great! Thank you Cheryl for giving me the opportunity to learn how great chiropractic work is.

On Thursday this week I worked with Spanky again and he learned to move his forequarters and we worked on the basics bending, disengaging his hindquarters, and sending. The chiropractic work seemed to help out a lot I was able to brush him without him flinching away from the brush and I was able to touch more of his back legs rather than try and kick at me.

Everytime I blog I seem to shower Spanky with praise which he is due. But this time I would like to say thank you to Cheryl who has amazed me with the commitment she has to these horses each one she fights for no horse is left behind I feel honored to be able to help Cheryl help these horses. She is honestly one of the best role models for how people should be. One day I just hope to be able to help as much as she does. If not I would be happy knowing that Spanky is just a little bit happier grazing in the pasture waiting for someone to take him home.

Spanky The Great

Sorry I have been late on the Spanky posts! I can't tell you how much Spanky has improved he is such a happy and loving boy. These past two weeks have been wonderful. Spanky went from a snappy kicky pushy horse to a loving calm horse. He has learned to trust people again and loves the attention he gets for being a good boy. This past weekend Spanky's ground manners were so much better that it was time to ride. What I heard in the past from people about when they tried to ride Spanky is that he takes off as soon as you mount him. So in taking precautions I worked with Spanky on the ground lunging him in his tack and just had him relax. I think the biggest problem was he was always so tense and frightened. He relaxed under saddle and realized that just because he has a saddle on he didn't have to take off. I then decided it was time, I had Lexie and Brigette by my side to give Spanky the support he needed to know that everything was ok. After a little bit of getting used to being under saddle again Spanky walked calm and proud. We walked! I know it doesn't seem so great because everyone wants to get on a horse and go but for Spanky this meant he was calm and not scared anymore. It meant the world to me to know he was attentive and ready to listen to me. After walking Spanky around a few times I asked him to step up into a rack and WOW! What a smooth ride he was wonderful! I am so proud of him. I will post pictures within the next few days of Spanky being ridden. After we were done Spanky walked proud as we left the arena. Next week its on to learning to back and turning. To me the goal was never to ride Spanky but to give him the confidence and ability to trust humans. I would love to know that one day Spanky will be loved as much as I care about him and ridden on trails and maybe even showed by someone he can call his own. Thanks to everyone who takes the time to read Spanks' blog!

Massage Day

Hello again to all who reads Spankys blog! Spanky has knots in his neck as I've mentioned in the past. I asked Nicola if she could help him out a little by giving him a massage. She agreed to come out on Weds. and try and help Spanks out. Spanky is a very tense horse he had tons of tighteness in his muscles and he was a bit sore in his neck area. He let us know by trying to chop on my arm. Which is understandable massages start out a bit painful and soon turns to loosened muscles and a lot less tension. On Saturday Nicola will work his back and help loosen up that area too.
After Spanks massage I took him into the round pen for the first time. We stretched his sore muscles and bended his neck. After his streches it was time to lunge lightly I have been trying to find Spanks gaits under the mess of trot/rack/walk stuff and finally found a nice smooth slow rack. He has an amazingly smooth motion once he gets into it. After awhile of lunging close range Spanks decided he was done and kept pulling away and stopping. So this is where the round pen came in. I let Spanks loose in the pen and let him run around a bit. I then started making him trot one way then made him turn and go the other way. (Basically what I was doing was taking control of his feet. When you have control over the horses feet they focus and begin to listen to you). With Spanks he wanted control he liked being the lead man and wasnt going to give me that power without a fight. Earning a horses trust as a leader of the herd is the most important thing you can teach your horse. Well back to the round pen. Whenever I made Spanky change direction he would turn towards the fence which meant he wasnt really paying attention to me. After a few more times and a lot of patience. Spanky stopped...and looked at me. From there we were finally getting somewhere! I then pointed in the direction I wanted him to go and he turned and walked that way. When I was done working with him. I stopped. Layed down the lunge whip and looked down. Spanks walked up to me and rested his head against my arm. I had finally gained his trust. From here it's smooth sailing. Spanks is willing to work now he looks to me for his next move just like he would a stallion of a herd he was in. I am so proud of him he has come so far in such a short period of time.
This Saturday depending on the time I will try and work on Spankys gaits again and see if I can seperate his trot from his rack. Sorry I write so much! But I'm so proud of him he's an amazing horse.

Update

Welcome to the second post on Spanky! This weekend Spanky was feeling good with the cool fall winds blowing in. The knots in Spankys neck seemed to have gone down some from last weekend. I massaged his neck and back again and Nicola said she would give him a massage and show me how to help him as well. This weekend Spanky and I worked on bending and focusing on what I ask of him. He has learned to back off the biting a bit and also this is the first time he hasn't reared or bucked while I worked with him. Spanky was also able to rack on his left and right side for the first time. He still needs lessons on lunging so next weekend we are moving to the round pen to work on his gaits right now his trot/rack is horrible he just needs someone to get his gaits straightened out, most racking horses need a lot of slow rack work to teach them to relax in a comfortable gait. Spanky is a very willing and strong horse he has endless potential for a wonderful riding horse.

As far as Sunday went which was Hay Day it was so much fun and so wonderful to see all these people out here supporting the horses. I couldn't believe how many volunteers came out! All the horses behaved and it was so amazing to see the horses running around in the pasture after the hay truck. Every time I come to the barn I am so thankful to be a part of something so wonderful. Thanks Everyone!

A Day at the Barn

This is my first post so I would like to welcome everyone to Spankys own page! Spanky is a beautiful black Tennessee Walker who just needs some work. His ground manners aren't to bad till he tries to bite. Today I took Spanky out and brushed him down, cleaned his feet (we are still working on the back feet), and rubbed/massaged the massive knots he has in his neck. I defiently know how that feels! The first week I worked with Spanky is was almost impossible to lunge him on his left side he just doesnt seem to like it to much. So today we worked on it some and he can now make a full circle around me without stopping on his left side. I know it doesnt sound like much but every little bit means hes learning. Then I had Spanky rack a bit he seems unsure of his gait though its a cross between a rack and a trot. Just needs some fine tuning to get him nice and comfortable in a slow rack. Spanky also learned that bags arent out to kill him. The first week I introduced the plastic bag he wanted nothing to do with it and hid behind me anytime he saw it. Today I was able to move the bag around him and rub him all over with the bag. He still doesnt like it swinging in the air much but thats fine theres always next weekend and Im in no hurry ( I dont think he is either).
I will keep everyone up to date on how hes progressing and just remember next time you see Spanky out in the pasture he sure does love for someone to pet him and love on him. He's a sweet boy and he may not be the most handsome but he has such a beautiful soul.
Danielle