Freedom Farm Equine Therapy

Bones! ... continued

2011-01-29T20:44:00.000-07:00

So after my VERY excited phone conversation with the darling lady who was donating her horse's bones to me... I was on a mission. We scheduled a date to meet and see if we could find them. I was trying desperately to contain my enthusiasm as I wasn't sure if there would be anything salvageable left. The coyotes have a nasty habit of destroying bones left out in the woods.

So one cool fall morning, my daughter and I headed out, with gloves and garbage bags, to see what we could find. My friend drove me out to where the bones were, and after some searching of the area, we found her. I could see her skull, and pelvis easily but the fallen leaves had covered up most everything else. My friend and I started searching and sifting through the leaves and basically just put every bone we could find into bags. Soon, our daughters pulled up on a quad and got right into it with us. My excitement was probably catchy as the four of us were soon sifting through leaves, hunting for any glimmer of white. I left that day with a HUGE grin and two giant garbage bags full of bones, spewing repeated thank yous to the dear friend who probably, just a little, thinks I'm crazy as a loon.

Unfortunately that afternoon, I had other commitments so I was unable to examine my loot, but the next morning, my daughter and I set out some tables and started putting these bones back together. A task that was much easier than I anticipated. It was the most fun I'd ever had putting a puzzle together, and the best part was that my daughter's enthusiasm pretty much matched mine. After a couple hours, this horse was back together. Amazingly, I had a complete skeleton minus three legs and most of the tail bones. These, though sadly missed, were not hugely important seeing as I was more interested in the spine. I had a skull, all 7 cervical vertebrae, 18 thoracic vertebrae, 6 lumbar, the sacrum, pelvis and 3 caudal (tail) bones. I also had a complete left hind leg and just the scapula from the right front. This, had to be the best Thanksgiving EVER!

She (I knew she was a she) stayed laid out on those tables for a while, creeping out any visitors to our shop and leaving my poor husband explaining the strangeness of his wife. I was researching the best ways to clean and prepare her for re-articulation when I decided she needed a name. Her 'live' name wouldn't do. She needed a new label for this new chapter of her... well... life. Again I turned to facebook and decided to ask the opinion of friends and fans. Many names were suggested but none seemed 'right'. Then a few days into my search, appropriately enough, the friend who donated her horse to my passion, came up with the perfect name. "Bone-ita" was born - again.

Months went by, Bone-ita was put in storage, awaiting the next step in the process. I was having some trouble hunting down the chemicals needed to prepare her. Finally, I found what I needed and Bone-ita is once again creeping out visitors to our shop. They give me strange looks and pity my husband but I think this is fascinating. She's soaking in a de-greasing solution right now and will be for about another week or so. Then - the whitening process.

I can hardly wait to see her take shape - I only hope that I don't mess up. She'll be making her debut at the Mane Event - Equine Expo and Trade Fair in Red Deer, Alberta in the spring.

I'll keep you posted on our progress!

Look how cute she is!

Bone-ita all stretched out.

My cauldron.

Soaking in the de-greasing solution.

... to be continued...

BONES!

2010-10-14T23:43:00.000-06:00

It started out quite innocently. I never thought it would go this far, but I'm thrilled it has.

This journey starts one day last year, as I was researching the skeletal system of horses... I came upon a website selling fully articulated equine skeletons. How exciting! If I could get one, I could show my clients and anyone else interested, exactly what the skeletal structure of a horse looked like.   I could take it with me to trade shows and demonstrations... no more boring diagrams for me - no way - I could see myself admiring my new 'toy', it was going to be amazing! Then I realized that these wondrous pieces of science have one heck of a price tag attached. Most definitely out of my budget.

Hmmm, how am I going to get my hands on a horse skeleton?  Because now of course, I just have to have one.   I continued with my research, all the while thinking that the only way this is going to be affordable for me is to do it myself. To do so, I'm obviously going to need a deceased horse, but a horse is not a cow, a deer or a moose, something I can see myself preparing for this task.   My emotional attachment to a horse - any horse - is different. Can I shut the emotions off and view this as a scientific project - one for more information and better understanding of their skeletal system, in order to be a better therapist?   I think so... as long as it doesn't smell too bad, the smell might be a problem... a little worried about the smell... ooh boy, this could be interesting.

I recently went away to do some upgrading and had the privilege of staying with another equine therapist. Her neighbor had a horse die last spring and they (as farmers sometimes do) had disposed of the body way out in the back quarter. The two of us, in our bone obsessed excitement, went out to inspect this find. Now to the normal person, counting vertebrae on a not so completely tissue (or smell) free skeleton sounds like something out of a Stephen King novel... but to us, it was... well... fantastic! Two crazy women, during a cold, rainy, Alberta fall evening, counting and inspecting bones with only the light beaming from our ATV headlights. We felt like five year old kids on Christmas morning. This little escapade however, only fed my desire to find a skeleton of my own... the hunt was kicked into high gear.

Maybe I'll just put the word out that I'm looking for an equine skeleton for educational purposes. You never know, this is rural Alberta. Horses die out on the farm for various reasons, and as is life (or death rather) on the farm - the bones are usually accessible. Unfortunately, most times the coyotes have gnawed on most of the bones and carried some away, so finding a complete skeleton could be a challenge.   But, I figure I'll take my chances and see what comes up.

I talked to a local vet, the tech behind the counter looked at me like I was some sort of ghoul but once I explained the purpose for my request, she seemed to understand (I wonder if the crazy bone hunting person was brought up at the next staff meeting)? I asked around to friends and stable owners - more strange looks pointing my way. Oh well, I was on a mission... I wasn't going to let anything deter me.

Finally, almost a year after my initial 'bone-y idea', I posted a request on my Facebook page for the bones (or carcass - I'm not picky at this point - and I figured I could wear some sort of gas mask). Miraculously, on that very day - I received a message from someone with bones. YAY!

... to be continued.

Busy, Busy, Busy

2010-09-26T13:51:00.000-06:00

I often wonder, what in the world to write about on this blog, wracking my brain for topics of interest for you, the anonymous person on the web... and I've decided that I'm not going to stress out about it anymore... I will write whatever pops into my head - I hope you find it interesting or at least entertaining!

The last weekend in September already? Where has the summer gone? On the plus side, the colors are beautiful outside right now and the view from our hill is stunning.

This has been a busy year for me so far. I've met a lot of interesting people; both as new clients and in random encounters.  In the past few years I have learnt - the hard way - that I must surround myself with people who bring me joy and distance myself from those who bring me down.  People who, when I see their name on my ringing telephone, I'm excited to answer.  People who understand that it's ok to disagree and still be friends - it makes life more interesting, and most of all, people I can trust, because once my trust is broken, it's rare if not impossible to gain it back.   I am very grateful for those people.

This year, I've attended clinics, workshops, seminars and courses, and every free moment finds my nose in a book in order to broaden my knowledge of Equine Therapy. My focus is on chiropractic, but chiro alone isn't enough. I find that the stress point therapy and massage are also integral portions of my therapy treatments. Treatments need to be customized for each individual horse as their needs vary significantly. It is my job to find that perfect balance of therapeutic modalities to provide your horse with the care it needs, a job I take very seriously. If I don't have the answers, I will find them, or refer you to someone who does.  Your horse's care is my priority.

I've had the privilege of attending treatment sessions with other equine therapists in order to learn from those with more experience. I've worked at some fabulous barns, run by amazing people. I went back to school to learn more in depth massage techniques including some cranial-sacral work. I've learnt that there is much more to equine acupressure than meets the eye (a fascinating modality).   And my favorite... I've learnt that imbalance doesn't necessarily mean misalignment.

Basically, I've learnt that I have so much more to learn - and that I'm loving every moment of it! Every day teaches me something new and I'm excited to discover what that will be - every day.

So here's hoping for a fun, knowledge filled, fall and winter season!

What's up with the weather?

2010-08-23T20:43:00.001-06:00

Working in gale force winds with horses... not fun.

What is it about the wind that creates a hyper, fidgety, tense bundle of nerves out of a normally calm, respectful horse? Is it the twirling and bending of the trees, the flattening of the prairie grasses, the swooshing noises that seem to come from everywhere? Maybe the wind howls in their ears in a way we can't begin to imagine. Perhaps it's just the simple fact that the whole world around them seems to come alive with movement and that, to a prey animal, must seem like torture.

Days like today - those crazy windy days - test my ability to exude calmness; to try and reassure the horse that I am there to help them and if they could focus on me for just a moment, the outside world may seem a little less scary. It also makes my work much more dangerous... standing chest to tail, hugging the highny of a nervous horse in order to examine his pelvis, is not exactly a pleasant place to be, much less having to do that while standing on a stool because said horse is 18hh!

All this being said, I wouldn't have it any other way. Working outside on these blustery days only helps me gain the experience needed to be a better therapist, they also remind me how grateful I am to those who graciously let me work within the protective walls of their indoor arenas!

Brand spankin' new blog!

2010-08-22T15:21:00.000-06:00

First of all, I've never ever had a blog before, so this is all new to me. My plan is to have interesting, informative, and of course, entertaining information for y'all to enjoy.

A little background information about me...
I've been a Certified Equine Therapist for almost two years now. Going back to school was an event in itself. Let's just say that quite a lot of time had passed since the last time I was in a classroom and I was by far the one in class with the most years on me (sounds better than 'old' doesn't it?).   That alone being intimidating enough - but I didn't have a history with horses going back to diapers either.

Riding horses was something I did whenever I got the chance; renting time in the saddle by the hour (or half if it's all the money I had) at a local dude ranch. One of those places where they only asked what your experience was, and the only rule being 'if you brought this horse back lathered - you're gonna pay'.   My favorite mount was a black mare (I'm assuming of QH breeding) named Angel. I would specifically ask for her every time I went there. Thinking about it now, I'm not exactly sure why... for an angel she was not. She tried to knock my knees off on trees, she'd dive under branches in what I'm positive was an attempt to dislodge me from the saddle, and as soon as you'd even remotely point her nose back to the barn, she was off like a shot. I loved it - I'd just hang on and enjoy.   Poor Angel, she put up with many inexperienced riders for sure, especially me, but she was a gem.

So, back to school... I LOVED IT!! Why wasn't high school this much fun? It sure makes a difference when you're obsessed about what your learning. I'm not saying it wasn't difficult - brutal actually all the information I needed to absorb - but it was amazing.   The best part about my Equine Therapy course... I discovered exactly how passionate I am about horse health.   I graduated at the top of my class (yay for the aged!) and haven't stopped learning. I continually study horses and their inner workings. I've attended nutrition seminars and clinics with the sole intent of gaining the tools to help horses and owners help horses. I am currently enrolled in another equine massage therapy course in an effort to build on my current knowledge.

I'll never stop learning all I can about our equine partners. My first priority is to ensure that horses are physically and emotionally pain free. They give us so much, it's the least we can do for them.

Right now, my focus is on "the horse" instead of "riding the horse". I do ride though.  We have a Shire mare that is my usual partner and a 4yr old QH mare that I started last summer. She's currently with a trainer (to fix any mistakes I made) and my hope is to do some working cow horse stuff... possibly try out reining?  We also have a 5 yr old QH gelding. He's my project. He's very fearful and has some serious trust issues. His tendency is to buck when afraid and the two of us are on a journey of learning together.

I welcome any questions about Equine Therapy that you may have. I will answer them all to the best of my ability.

I'll talk to y'all soon!
Melissa