Equine Case Study: Radetzki

Red in ridden work, a few weeks after his first treatment.

A more recent picture of Red from September 2009, showing how far he has come from a horse that was once unrideable!

September 2009.

Posted 25th June, 2009

The horse used in this case study is an 8 year old, 15.2hh Rubinstein gelding called Radetzki (Red), who has been owned by Rebecca Smith for 3 years.

Since buying Red, Rebecca has been unable to ride him regularly due to ongoing problems with his soundness, due to a series of accidents. He presented as having an intermittent lameness on his right fore and left hind, and had become unrideable following an incident in the trailer. Rebecca had previously been recommended various treatments and tests for Red from vets, including x-rays, scintigraphy, faradics, and various complementary treatments. Of these complementary treatments, the only one which offered Red any relief was McTimoney.

I initially treated Red twice with McTimoney, Sports Massage and Reiki. The first treatment involved quite a lot of gentle manipulation, particularly to the thoracic and lumbar areas of Red's spine and his pelvis, which was tilted, rotated and twisted! When massaging Red, tension was found over his back (longissimus dorsi) on the left side of his body, and on the right he was tight around his withers and the gluteal and hamstring muscles in his hindquarter. I left Rebecca with some massaging and stretching exercises to do with Red, and arranged a second treatment a month later.

Red's condition improved after this treatment, and he resumed ridden work after approximately 2 weeks. When assessed for the second time, he was sound in walk and trot and amazingly only needed one spinal adjustment as well as a massage and Reiki treatment.

Red now has regular 2-monthly checkups to ensure that he stays comfortable. This has been the key to keeping him in continuous ridden work for the first time in three years. He also has a specially fitted saddle from Free n Easy (www.fnesaddles.com) which allows his muscles to work freely and gives an even spread of pressure across his back. Please also see Rebecca's testimonial for her point of view on Red's treatment.