Help from Liz

 Today was lesson day with Liz! So helpful! 

Luckily Lyric and Dan came when I called so I didn't have to walk all the way back up to the arena to get Lyric. I tacked her up and we headed up to the arena. I jogged her around the arena once to loosen her up and then Liz looked at her. She said she didn't feel that weird toxic feel anymore, so yay for that! (Although I may test her for Lyme just in case). She felt some heat just above her knee caudally... said if felt more like tennis elbow... like nerve pain/tension type pain. And she felt like that was making it uncomfortable for her to pull her limb foreward and push off of it, thus she was dumping onto her front right... which now has a new medial high splint. Argh... like... new today I think! Or the last day or two. And then she said her hocks were sore, especially the left. And a little bit of soreness over her TL junction in her spine. 

So we started with some groundwork. I walked her over the poles but we drifted left as we went so she really had to reach and pull and weight that left front, vs using her right front to drag herself along. Then I walked her in a circle... (walk faster to make it effective) and I stood on the outside and pushed her almost shoulder in, tracking right. So she really had to bring that left hind forward and around. I would get a few good steps and then stop and reward her. We decided that would be a great warm up for her. 

I got on and we walked off. She was a bit laggy, so Liz reminded me to tap her with the whip vs nagging every step. And she was like "yeah, you're right... okay" instead of kicking out as she sometimes does. Her walk started a bit tense and awkward. We decided it was because she was crooked. So I had to ride her very straight! And I had to stay straight. And we played with some things but I think I had to open my right knee tracking right to allow room for her shoulder to come in, so she could swing the left front around and then I had to ride almost shoulder fore tracking left so that she wasn't dumping onto her right front. And then I had to ask for a little bit of flexion, and a lot of flexion tracking right, and suddenly... she was much swingier in her walk! Whoo hoo. 

So then we trotted. I have to do all the same things as with Funny... post up and down... keep my head straight... but Lyric is different. I have to give her time to settle into it. She starts inverted and hollow and if I can make my body straight... her's usually comes into the nice soft place. I have to keep my hands slightly higher for whatever reason. And holy cow though... once she got her body parts lined up, she felt amazing. Like.. her back was lifting!!! She struggled in the hind end some... but it wasn't awful and it got better. We did some counter bend to true bend, and again, I had to get her into the outside rein, not give it away, and then soften to the inside rein. And she actually went into the right rein today! I had to be soft and elastic but maintain it. And let go of the blasted left rein. I told Liz that when I did that ... she turned right... even tracking left. So.. ha! She told me... "how do you stop that, without holding the left rein?". Sigh.. my body. Yes. :) I had to lift my inside seat bone a hair and rock onto my outside hip bone. And it worked! Like.. massive changes in her balance. Wheee! 

Same thing with the canter. And same things with Funny.. we got a nice walk.. then a nice trot... then when the trot was lovely... slow it down slightly and ask for the canter! She ran into it both ways, but we just carried on. It'll get better. And the canters got really nice. Like really really nice. Like her back really lifted up!! And she softened... and blew.... Again.... I just have to keep her straight!

It was really fun today! She felt much less fussy and more settled... not so chompy or rooty. And she didn't feel lame. And Liz didn't see any lameness. And she felt like she was able to use her back without having to have her nose on the floor. Whoo hooo!

We are guessing that she might be sore tomorrow, so hopefully some bemer, acupuncture, shockwave and rehab will do the trick for that area above her knee and in her back. And we'll see what our vet appointment shows. But yay! At least I now kind of have a rehab plan in line until then. Of course I had to help Mike out with getting his bike so I didn't get to do anything other than untack her and turn her out. Guess she'll have to get shockwaved maybe this weekend... Although I did bemer both front legs today at dinner. 

Sadly we didn't get any video or photos. But rest assured, she felt lovely!