Interesting Find

[Sodapoppers]

In a bit of a bore today, I did a search on hock horse and flicking. Look what I found, in reference to saddle fit and saddle pain:
<B>What to watch for:</B> When palpating look&nbsp; for your horse to react in one or more of the following ways.&nbsp; He may raise his head, dip his back , flatten his croup, step away from you , toss his head, pin his ears, or flick his hide where you are palpating him as if he is ridding himself of a fly. (termed here fly-jerk).&nbsp; He may tense the muscles around your fingers, and his muscles may shudder in the area you are probing.&nbsp; Remember to study his face as you are&nbsp; working.&nbsp; He may only tighten his lips, clinch his teeth or have a steely expression about his eyes.&nbsp; Form the time they are young horses are taught how to operate with saddle pain.&nbsp; Many "old pros"&nbsp; will not readily admit they are hurting.&nbsp; That is why you must palpate properly, know the natural reflex points and always keep an eye on the horse's face.&nbsp;
When i first read it I read it as the horse was flicking it's back leg. But now i'm reading it again i think it means flicking it's skin like it's trembling, to get rid of a fly. I was thinking the hock flicking was simialr to what Dream is doing but that's not what this article describes. Oh well, I learned some new signs of saddle pain. HOpefully some of you did as well <IMG src="smileys/smiley5.gif" border="0"><edited><editID>Sodapoppers</editID><editDate>38390.6170949074</editDate></edited>

[Dee22]

Many "old pros"&nbsp; will not readily admit they are hurting.&nbsp;
This is SO true, a horses natural instinct it to act as if nothing is wrong, they are FINE, nope, not sore! LOL I experience this with almost all my 'first timers' when I do massages. Some are worse at hiding it than others. My own for example, just stands there, to someone who doesn't practice massage it would be pretty hard to tell where she is sore. I have others that chew on things, try to walk away, turn in circles etc. which is a surefire way of knowing something is up. Watching the face and ears is one of the best ways to know what's what but some horses are extremely good actors! <IMG src="smileys/smiley2.gif" border="0">
SP - Has your therapist shown you how to palpate and do some basic massage work? If not, next time she's out, ask her if she might show you some basics, it's really interesting and has helped out&nbsp;a few of my clients quite a bit for the basic stuff and for helping to keep their horses supple and relaxed <IMG src="smileys/smiley2.gif" border="0">. I have clients that do basic stuff themselves, I show them how to properly&nbsp;apply&nbsp;some very basic strokes,&nbsp;and than they get me in to do the full massage and work the deeper muscles for them. Just a thought <IMG src="smileys/smiley1.gif" border="0">&nbsp;if your interested.