Cola and his Bad Back

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We had almost a month of no turn out this time which has been really hard work, expensive and for me.... worrying.

I am over budget due to having to buy extra hay and shavings. Also, I am out of pocket because I have had to have the chiropractor out to him a number of times and at £50 a shot its not cheap!

This short you tube video shows you what a chiropractor will do for a horse.

When Rachel came out to Cola last Tuesday he was grinding his teeth, stamping his feet, flicking his tail and pulling faces at her when she touched him on his back. By the end of the session he was relaxed and pain free. The next day I could practically "see" him smiling with relief.

The reason Cola is getting this back injuries (never repetitive) is due to a combination of things but mainly because of the confinement. Weight gain because he can't be left without hay for the fear of not only boredom but ulcers, muscle wastage and stiffness due to lack of movement. These factors combined with his age have led to these injuries.

At the moment there is turn out because the ground has dried out so Cola is going through rehabilitation.

I am starting off with walking out in hand. I will then introduce the saddle as extra weight with in hand walking out and I will gradually get him used to my weight in the saddle. This is going to take a few weeks and allot of patience and fear of hurting him on my part.

I have ordered him a memory foam saddle pad to help ensure the saddle is comfortable for him and I have been giving him stretching exercises and massage to help keep his muscles flexible. I am hoping for a magnetic back pad which I think will do him the world of good.

The video above shows some of the stretches I do with Cola twice a day.

Seeing Cola in pain breaks my heart. The other day when he saw his bridle he spun around and "hid" in the corner, it made me cry. All I can say is how grateful I am to him for being such a communicative boy, he lets me know when he has a problem not by being nasty or hurting me, he actually takes good care of me, but by showing me with his body language.

I am hoping that now spring is here we will see an end to these lengthy periods of confinement. As the summer comes I am looking forward to riding out on Cola without him sustaining further injuries.

Lets pray that the rain is not heavy and the ground dries out thoroughly.