Bolinhas has been struggling, even with a very light work load we could tell she was not very happy in herself. Ridden she was very stiff through her shoulders and would occasionally show lameness in trot.
We invited an osteopath to do a work up on her to see if we can find the imbalances and help her get better. Karen Allwright from Equiperform Portugal came to see her and gave us some really great tips on how to improve her and what her problem areas are. Because of her blindness, Bolinhas is very stiff to the right through her whole body. Karen did some manipulations and releases on her and left us with plenty of homework to do before her next visit.
We have been doing plenty of circle work, encouraging her to bend and flex through her back, gently massaging her face where she holds a lot of tension and doing in hand work to encourage bending and get her working through her back to become stronger. After the first session with Karen, the instructions were very simple; 15min walk in hand 3 times a day for the first few days. During these walks, we could see Bolinhas letting go of tension and releasing and relaxing – it was really magical.
We continued working with her every day and in the first follow up session we could see a great improvement in her mobility and in her general wellbeing – very encouraging! Now we have more exercises to do and another session is booked. Bolinhas is really feeling better, it’s obvious to see. We can’t wait to get her back to her normal, cheery self!
