Or.. "The Rain is a Giant Pain in My Ass."

I didn't plan on writing today because I don't have anything substantial to say.  No body cares about work stuff.  :)

I rode Archie last night and he was pretty spry.  It was just a bareback walk-around for about fifteen (until it started raining, surprise!).  I spent some time braiding his mane.  Since we moved to Savannah and the luxury of showing at home was stripped, I haven't cared as much about his mane being pretty.  But, then I pulled it really short (for me/us), and it started going all stupid-like and I decided to try to tame that beast.  So far, I haven't been successful.   And today, it rained (surprise!).


Here's a topic I'm pretty interested in:  horsie massage.  Or "Equimassage".  Or "Equine Sports Massage".  Or whatever the fuck it's called.  Archie was previously seen by a super-fine chiropractor, out of Aiken.  Dr. Ridgway.  He did the full gambit:  adjustments, acupuncture, saddle fitting and massage.  I even got a little horse chart (COVERED in red) of what were Archie's problem areas.  I've gotten a connection for someone who travels to Savannah periodically, but I would have to find a way to get the Arch to the barn at which he visits.  Until then, though, I've been focusing pretty heavily on massage and stretches.

We already do carrot stretches and I can tell that he thinks they're silly.  "Okay, Mom, I'll touch my side.  CARROT!  Head between my knees?  Fine.  CARROT!  Other side, okay. CARROT!"

And, because he is super back sore and Eventer79 has had good results with massaging, I started researching that.  I found a pretty good YouTube video by EquineMassageVA that was informative and easy.  We do this video almost every single time we ride, because it seems to welcome his back for a saddle: 

This group also has a website and never-updated blog: Mane-ly Muscles.

But you can't really do massage without some knowledge of anatomy and I found this to be informative (and short.. I mean, relatively short):