At the Mark Rashid clinic last weekend, he noticed that Theoden tilts his head when bending in trot - not down but sideways. He thought it could be a result of chronic pain in his TMJ (temporomandibular joint) in his jaw. This he felt could be attributable to dental work, wearing the gag and the use of power tools to rasp his teeth. He warned against the removal of the grinding surface of the back teeth which, he said, led to the horse using his jaw in a different way, and also failure to address problems with the front teeth which he felt couldn't move as well as they should. He was also made aware that Theoden endured two broken wolf teeth at different stages in his life, which were not addressed as soon as they should have been. He recommended the removal of wolf teeth as a matter of routine and was against the practice of making a 'bit seat'.
I am not complaining at all, but where is the conscientious horse owner meant to go? I have the best horse dentist who happens to be a vet that I know, not only are they great with the horses (and their mental welfare should be as great a consideration as their physical) but I know that they do a thorough job. Ironically one of the vets from the same practice turned up at the clinic to treat an emergency colic and I longed to push them into the arena and say, here you go Mark, here you go X, sort out this teeth problem would you!!
Anyway, yesterday I had a Chartered Veterinary Physiotherapist take a look at Theoden. It's not disrespect to my normal practitioner, who I will be calling out in a couple of weeks, just that the physio was staying at my house and I trust their opinion too. They worked with Theoden for well over an hour and confirmed that he has pain in his TMJ which they treated. They then showed me bruising on the left side of Theoden's tongue and found new soreness in his back which are probably a product of all of the changes in position and carriage stemming from last weekend.
Dealing with the tongue bruising first. I do everything I can to avoid the use of gadgets and it's awful to think that bruising can be caused just by the hand - imagine what it must do if a horse pulls against the weight of its own body.
The soreness in his back is akin to me doing new exercises and moving muscles in a new way at the gym and my goodness I am often very sore the next day. However, I have the power of choice and know that if I continue with the exercises the pain will wear off and the muscles become stronger. Little old horses don't know that and it is only out of the generosity of their souls that they don't make greater objection than they do. I shall be making sure that I take it steady with Theoden, always give a release for the offer to carry his head nicely, and continue to seek that Holy Grail of softness in his body (and mine) and his mind (and mine!).
Enough angst!
