The awesome Lisa Cawte-Baker (name used with permission) came out to the barn and did thermal imaging, laser therapy, and adjustments on Winn and Indy last week. She has been invaluable when it comes to the race horses. We've had several horses that wouldn't have had much of a career or lasted very long in this sport without her. She doesn't feed us lines of BS or promise results that she can't deliver, her knowledge has spoken for itself and Lisa has proven herself to the fiancé and I several times over. We are very lucky to have access to her and it's great to now have her helping my dressage horses too. Spoiled/lucky horses.
Lisa is an Equine Therapist, certified thermographer, and laser therapy expert. For more information on the work that she's done, case studies, etc., you can search her name.
Lisa watched my lesson to see what is going on with Indy. She is usually spot on with where they are having problems and picked up on Indy's right hind immediately. Lisa was also quick to pick up on me sitting crooked and counted for the effect that would have on my horse. This led to the decision to thermal my saddle.
Image courtesy of Diamond L Equine Therapy
*This is a picture of the image on the camera. The image on the camera itself shows up very clear.
So the red spots are what we don't want, especially on the panels. Ideally, both panels would be yellow/green. In the picture above, you can see where it's red towards the middle of the panel. I sit twisted in the saddle, with my left seat bone further forward than my right. In the picture below, you can see where my weight is causing pressure towards the middle of the panel on the left and towards the back of the panel to the right. I knew that I wasn't sitting evenly, but this shows me where I'm crooked better. Looks like I need to get adjusted too.
Image courtesy of Diamond L Equine Therapy
Image courtesy of Diamond L Equine Therapy
This shows how I am affecting Indy on the right side by sitting crooked.
Image courtesy of Diamond L Equine Therapy
Another view. The hot spots coincide with where the heat in my saddle is. I unfortunately forgot to get an image of her left side, which also matched what my saddle showed. My saddle is also a little wide for Indy and causing pressure in her withers.
I would just like to point out that while the Ogilvy Memory Foam Half Pad (or any other half pad) probably helps with pressure points, it doesn't completely eliminate them. There literally is no perfect replacement for a saddle that fits correctly or perfect cure for one that doesn't fit correctly. The saddle fitter is coming next month and I'm definitely having mine done. It's needed to be fit for quite some time and I'm so glad to finally have a trusted saddle fitter in the area.
I figured Indy was out in her poll, kneck, withers, back, and hips. I was right about everything except that her poll was fine, her shoulders were uneven, and her sternum needed adjusted.
Lisa marks the spots that need adjusted, I used Doodle to mark them so that you guys can see them easier.
I missed the spots on the left side and the one that you can see on the right in this picture due to the light.
The left side. I believe that there is another spot hidden just underneath her mane.
Her right shoulder needed to go up.
Out in her sternum.
Indy loved the laser therapy and had a euphoric/blissful look on her face. After that, she had her adjustment. Her hips looked even for the first time in a long time.
What is interesting is that Winn was out in similar places to Indy and I hadn't even ridden him in a LONG time (apparently I've been sitting crooked in the saddle for way too long). That just goes to show that if a horse has a sore back, just giving them a break won't fix the problem. The soreness may mostly go away, but the same problems will eventually come back once they start working again. I've seen better results come from adjusting them before giving them time off.
Neck
Right side (there were a couple of spots that I missed marking up by his withers)....
Left side....see what I mean?
Winn really loved the laser therapy and after the adjustment? Well, for the first time since I started riding him, he didn't twist in the hocks when he walked off. I started riding him when he was three and he's now ten. For the first time in SEVEN years, Winn walked completely normal! I seriously need to start taking before and after videos....
I will do the follow up on their post-adjustment rides in my next post.
*If you don't believe in laser therapy or vertebral adjustments, that's fine with me. You have every right to your own opinion. That being said, I've seen what it can do and nothing will change my opinion. Please don't try to force what you believe on me because I would never try to force what I believe on you. Also, no, I don't believe that laser therapy and adjustments should be used as an alternative to veterinary care. Lisa is adamant about not starting on a horse without a vet looking at it first. We've never had a problem with our vet not approving and we've had very good results using laser therapy and adjustments in conjunction with veterinary treatment.
A special thanks to Lisa Cawte-Baker for all that you do and for caring about my horses as much as I do!
