Zen pony

Aruba got worked on a couple weeks ago, getting a massage and an adjustment. She needed it. And now I have a totally different horse. She is totally chillin' now. Completely relaxed, peceful, softer than ever and for a change-> comfortable. I had noticed a while back that when going to the right she wasn't oversteppng with the right hind at a walk and at the trot she wasn't even coming close.

A few text messages back and forth. Hit and miss on schedules. Having the money at the time, then something comes up and it's spent... I knew she needed it and it would help her, but things just didn't work and it didn't happen. I would run into Dana at driving events and club meetings and we would agree- "We need to do this!" and still we tried to figure things out...

I had brought Aruba back to doing long line work and noticed she started having bigger issues going to the left. She seemed tight, stiff and at times looked like she was off in the front, but there was nothing in her feet, nothing to show she should be lame and a few strides later looked fine. I rode her again in the dressage saddle and things were more than obvious, something was not right. Again she was off and on 'off' and not moving like she should. I got on and figured we would work on some stretching and softening work and see if things improved. We ended up going out around the block and just trying to let her relax.

When we got back, finished up and I pulled the saddle there was a big dry spot high up on her left shoulder. That hasn't happened before, so yeah there's deffinitely something going on. After another driving club meeting Dana and I agreed, she needed to come work on Aruba. As much as Aruba was on edge and not sure of things when I led her out of the stall? She was convinced this was for the better and totally relaxed when I put her back. Even Dana made the comment she is a completely different horse now. Yes, yes she is.

She started with the Magna Wave and got the muscles to relax as well as letting Aruba get used to having this weird white thing moving all over her making her muscles twitch. She was reactive in both knees and her left hip was giving her a lot of issues. When Dana pushed on one spot on her hip, you could see the muscles in her back tense up and react. With plenty of work with the magna wave, some red light therapy and time to wait for it, finally Aruba relaxed. Finally the muscle let loose and pushing on it now, there was no reaction in her back. The adjoininng muscles lay flat and unresponsive to the pressure.

Some stretching, a few more releases some of the bound up knots in her neck, back and hips, an adjustment of her spine thru the loins, another resulting in 3 loud pops in her neck and suddenly it was like a light had switched off. She put her head down and was at peace, completely relaxed, soft and quiet. It was as if she was transformed into a state of zen. Aruba stood there as calm as could be as if she could care less about anything and everything around her. I have honestly never seen her like this at all in the 5 1/2 years I've had her.

I had her turned out overnight before her therapy session but when I put her away, I put her in the stall so she could relax in the shade by herself and enjoy her new state of calm peace. Before puting her back, we stood there under the tree, taking it all in and for the first time, Aruba was not only standing near me half asleep at times, but she would reach out to me and nuzzle me, working her nose back and forth the way a horse does when they scratch an itchy spot for each other. She was expressing her thanks for her new found sense of AAAAAAaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh. I know how it feels.