Over the past few weeks, my five year-old gelding, Irish, has become increasingly cranky when I've asked him to collect under saddle. Two Mondays ago, Irish graduated from crabby to tossing his head in the air and pinning his ears. Naturally, I called the two people I trust most.
Dr. Jennifer Posey and Nikki James of Pacific Crest Sporthorse have been taking care of Irish since he was a sprout, from the colt's pre-purchase exam to all his vaccines and annual check-ups to each and every dental. They know Irish just about as well as I do. The duo quickly assessed Irish last Wednesday, noting a knot in his poll region and some very sore areas poll to shoulders to quarters and hocks.
Taking a two-step approach, Dr. Posey massaged the knot out of Irish's poll area and showed me how to do three carrot stretch exercises for the coming week. Then, she inserted accupuncture needles.
We agreed that I would stretch Irish every day, two to three times daily, and try riding him. We also set up a follow-up appointment for today. The stretches were successful, improving Irish's range of motion and comfort. Under saddle, he was still fighting the bit, so I tried a sidepull and then a bosal. While Irish performed better, he still resisted collecting.
Since Irish's flexibility and range of motion had improved and he didn't appear to be sore elsewhere, I suspected the problem might be related to his teeth. Horses' teeth grow continuously throughout their lives. With normal wear, they often develop sharp points that can create ulcers on the inside of the mouth. While Irish was current on his dental -- the process where the vet "floats" or files down the sharp points -- a tooth problem was a real possibility.
A whisper hadn't worked, and a shout didn't seem to be doing the trick either, so Irish decided to scream. Whenever I passed by his paddock, my gelding openned his mouth wide and seemed to be saying, "Look in here!" A billboard with flashing lights could not have been clearer.
This afternoon, at our follow-up appointment, Dr. Posey and Nikki were pleased with Irish's range of motion and his flexibility. When I relayed his behavior -- resistant to collecting under saddle and the runway lights yawning that had occured out in his paddock -- they broke out the dental tools and gave Irish a sleep-time cocktail sedative, a double.
Sure enough, there were some fairly large points at the back of Irish's mouth. Nikki held Irish while Dr. Posey filed them down with her power tools.
While Irish was sedated, Dr. Posey inserted a second round of accupuncture needles. My red-headed gelding's mouth will be sore for the next day or two, so I'm planning on riding him in his favorite no bit option, the bosal. In three or four days, I'll phone Dr. Posey and Nikki with an update. In my book, those two gals pretty much walk on water!
"The best doctor in the world is a veterinarian. He can't ask his patients what is the matter -- he's got to just know." ~Will Rogers
