Think of yourself not just your pony

For the past few weeks I have been fretting about trying to find someone to come and give Ceaser a checking over and massage before the show season starts up again. During this time I completely forgot about myself and whether or not I needed a checking over before the show season started!

For the majority of my teen life I suffered a great deal with migraines and recently this pain has been in my neck. I just put this down to the fact migraines ran in the family and I'd be stuck with them for life. Doctors wanted to put me on Amotriptolyne, a drug used to control migraines but one that was previously used as an antidepressant. As soon as I heard the word depressant I immediately told Doctors no and I would rather take the required paracetamol for when a migraine strikes than be dependant on a tablet daily that ''controls" my migraines.

Two years ago now I was involved in a car accident and had mild whip-lash. I didn't expect that this at all could have been associated with my migraines but how wrong could I be? I recently mentioned to a friend that I suffer with horrendous migraines and also happened to mention my car accident. She advised me to see someone as the two could be connected.

For a few weeks I forgot about even needing to see someone until a conversation arose about Ceaser being easier to ride on one rein than the other and suddenly it hit me. Could it be me that's slightly "wonky" so to speak? Have I made him stronger on one rein than the other? It is commonly known between my close equine friends I have one hand that has a mind of its own when I occasionally ride and if I am honest I put this down to my weakened wrists through breaking them, I never imagined what I was soon to find out.

So, on a day when I had suffered a migraine for three continuous days I rang a lady who specialises in sports massages and reflexology. I described my symptoms, the pain in my neck, the tender parts of my neck, the migraines, everything and that was it I was booked in.

As soon as I layed down and the lady pressed my neck she instantly said "Your neck is a mess!". Admitedly this broke the ice and she went on to say how my neck was very knotty and I was quite tense throughout my neck and shoulders. She agreed the car accident may have triggered the neck pain and over time it has just gotten profoundly worse. After an hour of working her magic she said I should feel better but needed to rebook for the following week.

Before I left she did a routine check of my spine as I had mentioned I had been told I rode stronger on one rein than the other and although she had found one side of me was more tense than the other, she also found something else!
(This where it gets scary!) One of my hips was ever so slightly higher than the other, and funnily enough my stronger side was the slightly higher side! So we had found my problem, I didn't have a "weird" hand as all my friends had laughed about, there was a genuine reason why I rode Ceaser on one rein better than the other!

It was recommended that I go to an Osteopath who will sort me out, but told it wasn't a huge rush.

So, if I hadn't have gone to be checked over I may well have spent a huge amount of money having Ceaser sorted, checked and prepared for the coming season when really its me who needed doing more! My plan now is to get me sorted and then get Ceaser done. Both me and my lovely massage lady thought that if I sorted him before myself then it would be a waste of money as I'd only need him rechecking when I was sorted and back to having two equal strength reins.

It amazes me how quick people are to judge that the 'bad' behaviour of their horse is instantly their horses fault. I had always assumed Ceaser had one weaker rein and one stronger rein yet in reality it has probably been me who has one weak and one strong rein. So, next time your horse won't bend as easily on one rein, or strike off on the correct canter lead just stop and think. Is it your riding? Are YOU doing something wrong, or could it be your position or how you are sat? The answer to these questions could be yes and really you think it's all your horses fault.

Also, through your love for your horses and spending time and effort on them you could be prolonging getting a problem of your own sorted. How many times do us equine lovers think "oh I'll just treat myself today?" I know the ansrew to that and I'm sure it's a very rare occasion!

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Labels: Equine massage equestrian blog showjumping dressage oteopath reflexology