We were straight back out to the horses at the riding school in the morning. We started articulating the foot and then moved up to the ankle (fetlock), knee (carpus), elbow, shoulder and scapula. Each time we moved one joint higher we first went through each of the more distal joints.
All in all we did this for about six hours today, both at the riding school and a local property. We had access to 18 horses over the day. I must admit by the end of the day I was starting to feel much more comfortable picking up the front leg and articulating the individual joints.
Before the day was over Stuart went to demonstrate articulation of the back leg or hindlimb. Several horses protested about having their back legs lifted and Stuart wondered if in NZ they were simply not used to having their back legs lifted so high as he said horses in the UK virtually never protest.
On further assessment it was determined that the horses were in fact uncomfortable in their hips and low backs in that position. Another demo treatment or two and the horses were completely happy in a position, that not 10 minutes before they had been really protesting about. Once again it reiterated how responsive horses are to treatment.
The owners were amazed and they both said that they simply knew no better. One of the horses hadn’t been turning properly but otherwise they hadn’t really noticed anything. Stuart explained that sometimes when there are problems on both sides, an owner may not notice as they move equally both ways.
Day two was over and it was time to head home for a well earned rest.