by Jo Pogson,  England  –  Tellington TTouch for horses Practitioner 1

MISSY (Hit and Miss) Part 3

All the photo’s below were taken on 26th November 2009 before Mark did the significant trim and clearly showing the new and old horn growth.

These are the pictures taken a month later on 30th December 2009 still showing clear definition between new and old horn growth, but the hooves are now a more useful shape.  The pictures of her soles show the perfect newly formed frog that was exposed when Mark removed the old frog (which was about to drop off naturally).  The third picture shows the depth of the collateral grooves and thickness of the old sole which Mark left to drop away naturally (which it has now done).  The right hoof’s frog was not ready to come away, but fortunately we had heavy snowfall immediately after which helped to naturally pack the left foot around the frog and so allow stimulation of the new frog tissue despite it’s lack of contact with the ground due to the distance created by the old sole remaining in place.  I regularly did python lifts and stroked her legs with the wand.  This seemed to help her walk even more naturally.
I introduced groundwork for Missy and found that she became tense when her headcollar was put on and I asked her to walk.  She would raise her head and become a bit locked.  I stroked her legs with the wand, stroked the lead line and she would lower her head, but as soon as I gave her a signal to move she would raise her head again.  I introduced dingo and she was able to move off with her head down.  She regularly had a tendency to raise her head as she halted which effectively locked her for the next move off.  I led her in cheetah and used the wand really low down when signalling the halt and this helped her to keep her head low.  I also introduced tracing the arc as Missy felt very fixed just behind the ears.  This seemed to help her understand that she could relax her head and neck and to keep her head lower.  On the next leading session I introduced some surfaces for her (she has habitually been very spooky).  Initially she quickened, raised her head and went on ‘tip-toes’ but after attempting rubber, carpet and fake grass, she quickly took slower steps and was able to halt on each surface.  By this session she was still occasionally locking before moving off or stopping with her head up, but she responded well to drawing the bow and was turning better to the right than the left.  I suspect this was as a result of the changes in her feet as part of the soles had come off, but not all which left a small ridge at the toe and the outside of her left foot.

Missy is now very nearly fully recovered: she still has a little more co-ordination to recover and strength to build from the ground.  Both frogs have now come away together with all the old sole.  But on the day I rode her I felt and saw a change in her.  It was as if she stopped being an invalid and once again became a proper horse with a job to do.  Her hooves are about two-thirds re-grown, she has a normal diet again and her weight is nearly normal.  She’s hairy and muddy and has the run of the stables, yard and pasture along with her two companions.  All in all she’s a very happy horse and I consider myself privileged to be accompanying her on this journey.  She has taught me so much: about her will to live, about laminitis care and about myself.  I am truly grateful.

A little bit about Jo Pogson………….

Jo has been a personal performance coach for over 15 years during which time she has helped individuals understand themselves better and help them explore their choices.  She has worked extensively in both the public and private sector where she has enabled individuals to become aware of and build on their potential.  It is no surprise perhaps that when she found the TTEAM method she was delighted to discover that this compassionate approach towards horses was one that so closely mirrored her own towards people.  Jo offers one-to-one sessions or group workshops.

To learn more about Jo and TTouch visit her wesite: http://www.tteamperformancecoach.webs.com