Spring Tune-Up

No.

I knew February's warm weather was too good to be true! Sometime between now and the time I last blogged, we got dumped on with a whole bunch of snow.

Several days after I'd had my farrier out to take off Dino's snow pads. Go figure.

So, between the snow and my work schedule getting busy, that meant riding since then has been limited to one very muddy hack around the farm, and one ten minute bareback walk through the snow.

We have, however, been getting ready for future warm-weather endeavors in a different way. I had the vet out for vaccines, fecal testing, Coggins, and to check up on Dino's hormone levels in relation to his Cushing's disease last week. He'll get his second round of vaccines tomorrow, and we'll see if his meds need any adjusting once the bloodwork comes back.

Homeboy also had his first visit from our wizard of a bodyworker since November, and she was thrilled with how he looked!

None too shabby for a 19 y/o Cushings pony coming out of winter! 

I have to say, I am too. This is the first year where he hasn't lost a whole ton of topline over the winter, and I really feel like we don't have such a huge mountain to climb in terms of strength and fitness at this point in the season. Our bodyworker, Tara, said that his back and neck looked GREAT - he really maintained excellent muscle over the winter, his back is pretty much muscled totally evenly at this point, he gained muscle on the top of his neck and lost it on the bottom, and is overall in super condition. He was pretty tight in his front end, however, which I'd been feeling under saddle. Especially when the footing at home is dodgy, he tends to guard himself and hold tension in his shoulders, withers, chest, base of his neck, etc. Tara really worked those areas quite a lot, and Dino definitely told us that he had some painful spots as she pressed and poked and massaged. He gave us a lot of good releases, however, and was definitely feeling good all over when the session was done.

Tara also noted that his hamstrings felt fantastic, and much looser than she was expecting them to be, and said that his poll felt much better than it did last time, too. She also gave me a few spots to work on in my daily grooming routine: the fascia around Dino's hocks could stand to be a little looser to allow him a fuller range of motion in that joint, so I can work that area with our special massage curry. And as always, his girth area, pecs, and the base of his neck can do with a lot of attention on a daily basis.

Thankfully, Dino is also fairly expressive when it comes to areas where he feels tight, sore, or has muscle knots. In the spots where he needed more work, he pawed while Tara pressed into his muscles and relaxed and yawned when the tight areas released. Any time he reacts by pawing while I'm grooming, I know that he needs some more massage in that place!

So, while we're on a brief hiatus from daily riding, I'm doing everything I can to get my little old man feeling in tip top shape before the real work begins!