A, B, C7

Of all of the horses I've owned, Izzy has been the one that needs the most body work. He is really hard on himself. He's big and strong, and he frequently uses his mass to work against himself and me. When 1,350 pounds of muscle slams on the brakes or dodges left, his joints experience a lot of torque.

At my most recent lesson in late May, Sean Cunningham, owner and trainer at STC Dressage, commented on the progress that I've made with Izzy. He was impressed, and I was feeling encouraged. I had a few good rides after that lesson, but then the weather turned viciously hot, and Izzy had three or four days off. The next few rides after that were not pleasant, and I found myself asking What the h...? That's all it took. Once I hear myself utter those three words, I know Izzy needs some body work. Fortunately, CC was able to come out on Saturday.

Usually, CC just gets to work without my input, but this time, he surprised me by asking what I was feeling. I think that was a sort of promotion. I explained that Izzy couldn't bend, particularly to the right, and I suspected his ribs were sore again. They were sore, CC agreed with that, but as usual, I had missed the bigger picture. It was actually the C7 vertebrae in the neck that was preventing Izzy from bending. Normally, the C7 is hard to tweak and equally hard to readjust, but if there is a way, Izzy will find it. 

The last time Izzy's C7 bothered him was when he broke a halter last summer by sitting back. It took a good month for the pain to show up. I am not sure what caused the "misalignment" this time, but Izzy was quite vocal about it. Because Izzy has seen CC for so many years and so regularly, it now only takes a few minutes to get him feeling good again. Saturday was no exception.

Once CC was able to manipulate Izzy's neck to his satisfaction, he went to work on the ribs. Izzy loves having body work done, but for this visit, he displayed some strange behaviors. While he always acts like he loves CC, for this visit he was over-the-top affectionate to the point of having quite a large erection. Izzy also demonstrated the flehmen response repeatedly as CC worked on him.

No matter how firmly CC pushed on his ribs, Izzy never tried to walk away. In fact, he leaned into the pressure and repeatedly asked CC for more by nudging him, nibbling at his neck and shirt, and generally just being a pest. Once CC was finished with the body work, Izzy persisted in following him around and snuggling up to him. CC finally laughed and had a D'oh moment. Laughing while he told me, he explained that earlier in the day, he had washed the tail of a mare in heat. That must have been the scent that Izzy was responding to. 

No matter what CC smells like, Izzy adores him. CC just has a way with horses, and they respond to him. And since he always makes Izzy feel better after a visit, Izzy practically claps his hands like a little kid when he sees CC walking his way. While we use a halter for safety, Izzy doesn't actually need it. He'll stand for CC all day long. I hate that I have a horse who needs such frequent body work, but I love that I have someone so effective.

I wish CC would work on people. I've got this ache in my neck ...