I think we finally figured it out....

Well let me first start out with my experience with an Animal Communicator. I had been debating doing this for some time and when the results for PSSM came back negative I decided to go for it (and after some urging from a couple friends).

I must say it was a unique experience. I called the AC and she asked me for Woody's name, age, breed, color and location. She goes silent while she is finding him and before I could say anything the first thing out of her mouth is that Woody has weakness/soreness in his left hip/stifle area. She had no idea what my main reason was for contacting her and we had been thinking that the left was the origin for his lameness. After this she asked me what I would like to ask him. These are the following questions I asked with what she told me:

How does your body feel - does anything hurt?
She proceeds to do what she calls a body scan. She stated that she saw the left hind again, the stifle area; that there was right front stiffness at the base of the knee, inside the knee before the cannon bone; the right front hoof has a bruise on the sole or in the foot; he has right eye irritation, pressure behind eye; left side of mouth, possible sharp tooth; unevenness in hips, the left hip is lower then the right, might be a twist in his pelvis; and that his back muscles are tight, hard time lifting through his back.

How does your saddle fit?
She first stated that he said that it was tight in his shoulders. I then asked her to ask him if the dark saddle or the light one fit better. She said that the dark one rocked to much, caused back to be sore. The tan saddle fits better, but wants a thinner pad with it and to move it back more, off shoulders.

What are some of your likes/dislikes?
The first thing she said was Woody said he has an amazing lope, that he is very proud of his lope and that he is comfortable to ride. He doesn't like sprayers. Likes a chestnut horse. Likes working on a long loose rein, that he has trouble balancing his body when I first start riding him. He likes riding with other horses, likes to show off. He doesn't like being left alone. He gets impatient with the blacksmith, that he needs to be quicker.

How do you like your barn?
Likes the new barn much better, has a better area to ride in. He also showed her the light colored horse again, which we determined was a palomino that is stalled to his right.

How does he feel about horse shows?
He loves the attention and likes being in new places. He likes being pampered.

What do you like about me?
Likes the fact that I use my body while riding, he prefers this method.

What is wrong with your poll area?
The muscles behind the poll area are tight, a lot of tension, very sensitive, needs to be stretched.

What is your purpose?
He thinks he is good looking, his job is to make his people look good, quite the performer, that he is flashy.

Which lot does he prefer to be turned out in?
His current lot.

Do you have a message or any advice for me?
Needs more stretches on the ground prior to working. Gets stiff in the tail, would like to be release. Would like to go off the property more. His big muscles get really tight, help to rub muscles. Recommended maybe more supplements, vitamin E?

He also flashed her his left hind again, up high in the stifle/hip area and that he had a sore spot to the left side of back.

It was interesting. Some of the things she said clicked, like the fact that he does not like sprayers. He does not like to be sprayed with anything, he's not horrible about it, just can tell he does not like it. The fact that the dark saddle rocked is true. When I had the vet look at the saddle she said it was too big for him and was sitting on his back which was causing it to rock.

What is really wrong with Woody....
The following day after the reading with the AC, I had an appointment with a leg specialist. I was curious to see what he was going to find. I was fully prepared to be there for some time while x-rays were performed, etc. We where out of there within an hour. All he had to do was a lameness exam and was able to determine what was wrong with him. He was able to determine that Woody had significant pain response over his right hip in the sacroiliac, meaning it was strained. This was also causing secondary lameness in his left front, mild proximal suspensory pain. Due to this he was trying not to put his weight on these feet while moving, causing him to move funny. If watching him trot from behind, it can be seen that he is moving incorrectly. The vet says he sees this in steeplechasers, and it is usually from when a horse splits his back legs and could of happened out in the lot. He prescribed estrone shots, one every week for 4 weeks. This helps loosen up the liagment that it tight and advised to only walk/jog him for the first two weeks. He said we should see a significant change a couple days after the second shot.

Sooo.....the AC was not correct. She stated that he had pain in his left hip and right front, but it was the other way around. I still think she wasn't that far off, she was able to see that two legs were being affected, so I will not say that I am not a believer and will use her in the future if necessary.

After this visit, I decided to finally put him in training as it wasn't something that required him time off. Even though I can only jog him right now, I think it will be good for me to perfect his jog. He just needs to learn to keep his shoulders up and not to get heavy on the front. And finally he will go into a shank, as he is four now and way behind other horses his age. So Connie said she will start him in a tom thumb and see how he goes from there.

The vet is coming out at the end of the month to do shots and coggins, so I think I am going to schedule him for chiro again to see if that helps even more.

Keep you posted on how he's doing and hopefully we will be seeing less and less of the vet.

Christina