Getting some exercise

So in an effort to keep my fat old carcass going as long as possible I have signed up for the 5x50 Challenge again this year. This time I am raising money for World Horse Welfare. Day 12 today and I'll be getting out on my bike shortly......

At the same time, Gandalf has had his yearly MOT from the osteopath and his sciatica is flaring up again so he has to go out for exercise in hand and not be ridden. All this takes time, so yesterday I decided to see if I could cheat......and it turns out the old boy is fine about it.

But he needs to trot to keep up, which he's not supposed to do too much of, so Ali and I take it in turns to lead him.

So no riding for me for a while, just cycling and walking. The osteo is coming back next week to give the girls a going over so we'll all be on foot for a while!

Gandalf's MOT

After the dentist yesterday the osteopath came today. As Gandalf hasn't been quite right since he came home, I got her to give him a workover and I'm glad I did because he had one of his lumbar vertebrae out of line, and she said if I'd left it he would have had problems with siatica again. Apart from that she says he is looking good and not only can continue to do the mileage we do, but he should continue to keep him in good shape.

He doesn't seem to mind the strange things she does.....

...in fact he obviously enjoys it!

The osteopath came today.....

......and had a look at Gandalf and Chester.

She gave them a thorough going over, which they seemed to enjoy!

Gandalf had soomething not quite right in his neck and she manipulated it you could hear a loud pop, then he sighed and licked and chewed, whatever she did obviously felt good!

I got her out to see him in the first place because he's started being reluctant to let me pick up his near hind, and she said it hurts him to lift it due to a bit of siatica. So she's done a load of work with that and I've got to give him a homeopathic thing called Traumasedyl for a month then she's coming back to do another session.

She also said he was otherwise in really good shape and was surprised when I said he was 17!

Our worries about Chester were largely unfounded, she found he had one of his neck vertebrae completely out of line, she said he must have had a serious fall when he was younger, and that's why he stretches out and down when you try to ride with a contact. He also needs to see the dentist, but we know that, we're just waiting for him to tell us when he's coming.....

She also said he had a blockage in the nerves that supply part of his gut, this is why he was susceptible to colic, she's sorted that out too. He doesn't need to see her again, just needs to do lots of free work in the round pen to get him using his muscles properly. She agreed with my thoughts that he'd probably done too much too young.