Vet Check

Just a quick note to record Tuesday's (24/04) vet check:

• Flu and Tetanus vaccine given.  We're not sure if she had her standard vaccinations as a baby but Marta the vet says that as long as she's healthy there's no reason why at this stage we should give her any more than the annual vaccinations.
• Manual checkup shows her to have some TMJ, neck and lower back pain and tension, probably brought on in part by the fact that I've started riding her a lot more, for longer periods of time and with more rein contact lately.  Marta recommends lots of massages with long, heavy strokes along the tense areas and plenty of relaxed groundwork to build the muscles she needs to carry me well.  Apparently she still needs to build a lot of muscle in her lower back, croup and quarters.
• I mentioned her movement was a little wierd sometimes, so the vet took a look at her while she trotted around the roundpen and said that she had some intermittent irregularities in both back legs which she thinks is being caused by the back pain more than anything else.  So more of the same, building muscle and trying to relax all that tension with massage.
• As far as all external and vital signs go she's AOK and Marta also says her weight condition and feeding regimen is good (I always think she looks skinny and worry she's not getting enough to eat).  So my plan is to do at least a little work every day, even if it's only 20 minutes of walk and trot in the roundpen, and also do a little bodywork every time I groom her.  And start incorporating long trot sessions of at least 5 minutes into our longeing and roundpen routine to build up that muscle.