I purchased Fabs in February 2007. She was 17 years old and I bought her sight unseen on recommendation by my good friend of Cocolalla Creek Sport Horses, Marion O'Connor.
I have never regretted this decision.
Fabs is a wonderful animal and we should all be so lucky to experience the kindness and patience that I get from this mare.
I showed Fabs a few times the first year I owned her and she was teaching me so much about dressage, and what it's like to ride unafraid . My skills were improving and we were quite successfull. I was having so much fun!!
I am quite restricted in my winter riding, and so Fabs was quite sedentary that first winter with me. In the spring, she was showing signs of some kind of lameness. A serious hitch in the hind end. My vet was quite perplexed, as the mare showed no sensitivity to flexion tests or other diagnostic examinations. It was called a mechanical lameness and not much could be done. A slight adjustment to the farrier's work and wait and see. On a senior horse, like this, there is only so far I can really go. She wasn't in real pain only some discomfort when her legs didn't work right.
The mare slowly improved , seemingly on her own, and by the mid to end of summer all was well.
I tried to keep her going through the coming winter by boarding her an hour away at my coaches barn.
Things were fine for the first several weeks. Then something went horribly wrong. At the end of a ride, Fabs just wasn't right. She felt lame on all four legs and started sweating profusely. Then she refused to move. Something seemed to have pinched in her back. Specifically her right side. She was in extreme pain. Anti-inflammitories helped and then a deep massage of the area got the mare moving again. she seemed to "shake it off" and proceeded to be her normal self again.
The picture to the left shows Fabs's conformation pretty good. Do ya see that nice flat croup? That might be the trouble. 19 years old at the time, imperfect conformation, and hard work. Something had to give!
Though Fabs was moving around again. She still wasn't right. Because the massaging seemed to be the biggest help, I instantly thought of a young lady in my area that did massage therapy.
Meagan Leslie is a Certified Equine Sport Therapist. She runs ATouch of Hope Equine Therapy
Click here for Meagan's website
Meagan worked on Fabs several times over the next few weeks, and we saw improvement each session.
Meagan would massage a group of muscles and then do Reiki (a type of energy work) on those same muscles. The results were visible! The mare's reaction was undeniable. She began sweating and quivering at certain points, Then chewing and licking as a "release" happened.
The mare had looked weak before the "breakdown" occurred. We were feeding her an abundance of feed, but she just didn't have a filled in topline. She looked shallow. Each session with Meagan improved the mare's condition and by the time we had her back on her feet, about three weeks, she had a nice plump, filled in look. Amazing!
Other symptoms were spooking and general resistance to flexion in the bridle. Whenever this mares gets spooky, I know we need a visit from Meagan.
I have used Meagan's services for other horses with other issues and I find her
absolutely gifted.
Thanks to Meagan, Fabs has had another successful year and hopefully Meagan can help me keep this treasured mare going for a few more years yet.
