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Sophie had her first Bowen session last night. I think it went really well...her right stifle was *very* stiff and tight and her neck/shoulder on that side was even worse. Debbie worked all over her, it was really interesting to watch and hard to describe, but it was very small movements in specific places. She would do one "adjustment" and then step back and wait for Sophie to show some sign of release.
She said that Sophie was very guarded and polite in her reactions and that we'll probably see bigger reactions as she has more sessions. For Sophie the main sign of endorphin releases she showed would be lowering her head or licking and chewing. Nothing major and sometimes those moments would come a full minute or so after the work was done. Sophie will have another session in 7-10 days and another in the same time frame after that. Then we'll reevaluate and see where she is.
Craig and I went to see Sophie today and she was much perkier than normal. Super friendly and bright eyed, it was a little like seeing the change in Jessie after his hock injections. I would have loved to watch her move but it was raining so I just groomed her and gave her treats, maybe tomorrow I'll get to watch her move some.
Jilly, our Papillon, had a treatment as well. She has some hock problems going on, even though she's only a year old. She wasn't too crazy about her treatments in the beginning, but they grew on her. Debbie just did a bit on her, saying that it's better not to overload the system by doing everything at once, since Bowen relies on helping the body to recognize where things should "be" and that the biggest part of Bowen comes in the days *after* the treatments, because that's when things settle into place and the real results start coming through.
Debbie also did a little work on my back as well, since it's been bothering me quite a bit due to the pregnancy. She did this weird thing with my shoulders and they felt a lot looser afterwards. She didn't charge me for that because she called what she did for me "less than half a Bowen" and told me not to judge my results on that. My back did feel a bit better this morning, but the big thing I noticed was my groing/way lower abdomen pain was gone when I woke up, and hasn't gotten nearly as bad today as it normally is by even noon...and it's the end of the day!
So, I'm very pleased with how things went, Sophie's eye is a lot softer today and Craig was really amazed at how much friendlier she was with him. Hopefully I can watch her move tomorrow, but I am shooting a dressage show, so we'll see!
I don't know if I'd posted on here, but I had scheduled Sophie to have her feet done last Thursday, except the farrier didn't show. Since it was my first time using that farrier I decided to just find another farrier, since if he can't be on schedule (or even show up) for my first appointment what's that say about future appointments?
So I asked Debbie, the massage therapist if she had a recommendation, and she did! She recommended the farrier she's been using for the last 12 years, so I called him and set up an appointment for less than a week later (fortunately Sophie wasn't really overdue, I just like to be proactive on feet). Tonight was the night and he showed up 5 minutes early, was done in 40 minutes, and Sophie's feet look great. Needless to say I am very pleased.
Tomorrow is Sophie's first Bowen treatment (and mine, due to my aching back), I'm *really* excited about that!
Sophie has a busy couple of days coming up! Last night we longed for the first time in Florida, very lightly, about 10 minutes total and that was mostly walking. She did really well, especially considering she hasn't been worked in the dark before (though the arena is lit, just not very brightly) and normally she's very looky and a little anxious when taken out without her buddies. But she didn't put a foot wrong and was very smooth and relaxed. I did a bit of walking behind her while she walked on in front of me to get her used to it for when I add long lines.
Tomorrow the farrier is coming to do her feet and Friday evening the massage therapist is coming. I'm using a Bowen Therapist so it'll be interesting to see how that goes. I'm going to get my back done as well since it's *killing* me!
Today I stopped by the barn to see Sophie after work. It was pouring down rain so I just groomed her, delaying our longeing session one more day. As I groomed her I realized how much deja vu I was experiencing, so similar to Sophie and I's first spring together, when I didn't have a saddle that fit so we spent our time grooming and longeing, getting to know each other.
I'm trying to figure out what to do with her tail, right now it brushes the ground and I'd like to find a way to get it up off the ground without cutting it. I'll have to do some investigating I guess. I braided the middle part and that got it higher, but I don't know if I should wrap the braided part so that the hairs don't break.
Meanwhile, tomorrow's going to be busy...baby class in the morning, photo shoot in the afternoon, and The Nutcracker in the evening! I already need a nap!
We made the trip to Florida in 18 or 19 hours. We left at 3:00 in the afternoon Monday and arrived at 10:00 in the morning Tuesday! Sophie travelled like a champ. We stopped every 3-4 hours for gas and I checked Sophie at every stop and she never sweated once. It was in the mid-30's until we got to Georgia, then the temperature started rising.
I drove from 2 am to 7 am and Craig did all of the other driving. I like driving in the middle of the night because there are hardly any cars on the road. Once we got in we unloaded Sophie and she looked around a bit before stretching her legs in the arena. She trotted a few laps and then started looking for grass so we put her in a paddock where she trotted over to make friends with her neighbors. She drank some water and ate some hay after greeting the other horses.
Craig and I went home to nap so that we would be awake for the Spacecoast Arabian Horse Club meeting that night, so we weren't there when Sophie was brought in for dinner. Apparently she got a little upset when they started taking the other horses in, but she calmed down and was fine by the time we stopped back at the barn before going to the meeting.
Yesterday I went out and turned her loose in the round pen, she trotted around a bit and I worked on just having her move a bit and turn in response to my body language. She was nervous about being out in the round pen while the other horses were inside. After a bit of work I just led her around the round pen, stopping and backing a couple of steps every now and then to get her focusing on me. I also worked on asking her to lower her head when I applied pressure to her poll with one hand while pulling gently downward on the halter.
Today we went for a walk in the big arena, doing lots of walking, stopping, and backing to get her focusing on me and ensure she was walking on a loose lead. We did a little jogging too, but I just can't handle much physical activity right now, which leads me to doubt what I'll be able to do as far as long lining until after the baby is born!
She does have some kind of issue with her neck, so I have a Bowen practitioner coming out next Friday to work on her. I'm really excited, I hadn't heard of the Bowen Technique before, but after doing more research on it I think it will help her a lot and can't wait to see the results! I may longe Sophie tomorrow, just using the cavesson and letting her stretch out, no side reins or anything.
