Ah, Back Revisited

Dec 242009
 

Gratitude creates it’s own attitude. It can give you a new perspective, a new focus. I am going to use this day as my opportunity to see those things.

Silkscreen Print © 2009 Simrat Khalsa

Silkscreen Print © 2009 Simrat Khalsa

I am very thankful to be pretty much pain free today! I was walking around, even bending over. I have to remember how I felt a couple of weeks ago. I was barely able to hobble around the house, unless taking prescription painkillers after spending the first week of December mostly off work, in bed with back pain. I need to follow through putting a plan together to improve the health of my back. This episode started with moving hay and became critical the day I went to the Oregon Horse Center to practice on the trail course.


I’ve been researching all this week, educating myself about spinal anatomy. This involved looking at MRI images (mine and other’s), reading blogs and websites and googling terms that are in my MRI report. Things like Degenerative Disk Disease, hypertrophic endplate changes, annular tear, bilateral foraminal regions. And I’ll say that I now understand much more about this very important part of my body.

Our disks are made up of the nucleus pulposus, the shock absorbing “jelly-like” center of the disk, contained by the annulas, a fibrous outer layer (much thicker than I imagined). These structures must stay hydrated through movement. Without maintaining this hydration, they slowly become thinner, eventually loosing their shock absorbing, elastic qualities. As they thin, the openings in the spinal column for the nerves becomes narrower. Without the ability to absorb shock, arthritic changes may develop in the spine as well. Tears and bulges in the annulus also occur as elasticity is lost. While drinking adequate water is vital to maintain these “small hydraulic shock absorbers”, movement is vital to get that fluid to where it is needed. Another vital thing that I learned, is that the vertebral disks rehydrate at night during your sleep! Another reason to get a full night’s rest.

Basically, I have a few disks at the base of my spine that are drying up. The lowest one is already degenerated. The one above is bulging and the one above that has a tear in the annulus. It all makes quite a bit of sense to me now. All the years that I have been sitting at a desk at work must have contributed to this, along with my slacking on my sadhana and yoga practice. Well, it’s time for me to get back in gear. Pun intended!

All during my reading, I kept remembering the many hours of lectures and yoga classes I sat though with the Siri Singh Sahib (aka Yogi Bhajan). He talked about how a practicing Kundalini Yoga would create a healthy, flexible spine and how important that was; that it would keep us young. I wish that my twenty something self had listened a little better! I was thinking about it more on the level of raising my consciousness, not merely keeping my body healthy. I suppose that’s one of the follies of youth; thinking that you are indestructible. It’s not too late for me now, twenty years later. I know that I can heal myself. Time will tell if I follow through and do the day to day work. I fully intend to, but I now that follow through is not always my strong suit. It may be challenging for me.

Please join me over this next year to see how I manage. I’ll be starting in on some basic spinal exercises and will post what I’m working on as I go, along with my results. I welcome your support. Feel free to keep my on track! Maybe I’ll actually start to teach. I did get certified as a Kundalini Yoga instructor many years ago. It’s one of the many hidden talents I haven’t really used yet…

Take a few minutes today to create your own Thankful Thursday.

How:

  • Sit back and consider what you have to be thankful for. Listing three to five things is nice, but one will do.
  • Post about gratitude on your blog. If you don’t have your own blog, go ahead and write about what you are thankful for in the comments here instead.
  • If you blog, please link back here or leave a comment.
  • Feel free to tag other bloggers, if you like to do that, but it’s not necessary. This is not a meme that obligates you to do anything, but look for gratitude. Oh, and link back, and comment, that’s all I ask.
    • Visit these other blogs that often participate in Thankful Thursday:

  • Tired Dog Ranch
  • Enlightened Horsemanship Through Touch
  • Earth Dancer Spanish Mustangs
  • The Pony Expression
  • From the Horse’s Back

    • How To – Mud Knots

    Dec 192009
     

    I thought I would put up a How To today on tying up tails for the winter. I’ve done this most years here in wet, western Oregon. Vinnie’s tail had started to get clods of adobe permanently building up on the end of his tail. They can become heavy, get caught on branches and even pull out large sections of tail. Vinnie’s tail already touches the ground. Add a few inches of mud to sink into and I’ve got a problem… I’ve found this to be an excellent solution.

    100_0814webHStart with a relatively clean tail. I washed, combed and conditioned both Lily & Vinnie’s tails, thanks to abundant free samples of Eqyss Premier Cream Rinse Conditioner from my local feed store. I’ve liked all the products from this company that I have used so far. I’ll see how their tails look when I take them down in a few weeks. Vinnie was my model today, since his tail is so nicely multi-colored.


    100_0817webHYou will need a strip of fabric. I use the end of a turban, handy for me, but likely not for the average horse owner. Any lightweight cotton fabric will do. Mine was about 50″ long and maybe 3″ wide. Locate the end of the tail bone and section the tail into three parts. Take the middle of the fabric strip and run it behind the tail with each side running along two braiding sections.


    100_0821webHBraid the tail, holding it down toward the horse’s hocks and the ground, incorporating the fabric into the braid. If you don’t hold the tail downwards, your braid will not hang nicely or will have a bulge on the underside. I leave about 10″-12″ of unbraided tail. This will be left open when the mud knot is finished. Wrap the fabric once around and tie. You should have about 6″ or more fabric left for the next step.

    If you don’t want any loose hair, you can braid to the end of the tail. You will either need a longer piece of fabric or braid half way before adding the fabric in. Either way you need some fabric left at the end.


    100_0824webHOpen a space in the braid at the top, just under the end of the tail bone.


    100_0826webHThread the end of the braid through this space from the underside.


    100_0829webHRun one fabric end through the space and wrap them around the tail, so that they can be tied into a square knot. Be sure to stay below the end of the tail bone. We don’t want to damage any of the living part of the tail by putting pressure on it.


    100_0831webHLay the open, brush end of the tail flat against the front of the, now folded, braid. This is a side view of the bundle just before wrapping in vetwrap. I cover the entire braided portion, making a point of not covering the loose end or the tail bone.

    If I were going to wrap the entire tail, I would make the bundle longer, just folding the braided end of the tail up. It would then get covered in vetwrap.


    100_0834webHThe end result – a much shortened tail that will stay clean and protected from the mud!



    100_0867webHUnless my work falls apart, I plan to leave their tails up for 3-4 weeks. I’ll take them down, check them and likely put them back up. It will be interesting to see how long they grow over the winter. I may need to do some trimming come springtime.

    For more photos of them enjoying the nice grass, visit my Flickr page. It was a really lovely day and they enjoyed some time in a new paddock. Their paddock was getting gravel added around the gate.

    What Matters Now

    Dec 182009
     

    WhatMattersNowThe goal of this little free pdf book, is to get five million (that’s 5,000,000) people thinking about what matters now.

    WMNA Few of Those Things…
    Generosity
    Facts
    Dignity
    Meaning
    Ease
    Vision
    Enrichment
    Excellence
    Autonomy
    Momentum
    Consequence
    Power
    Harmony
    Compassion
    Knowledge
    Empathy
    Neoteny
    Celebrate
    DIY
    Adventure
    Attention
    Context
    Change
    Passion
    Confidence
    Open-Source DNA
    Fascination
    Difference
    World-Healers
    Sacrifice
    Focus
    Leap
    Timeless
    Enough
    Sleep
    Knowing

    So go download your copy today.

    Silver Lining

    Dec 172009
     

    Gratitude creates it’s own attitude. It can give you a new perspective, a new focus. I am going to use this day as my opportunity to see those things.

    081225-0001Today, a day late …. I am grateful that I have not succumbed to my usual winter dark moods. Despite my back issues, my spirit remains buoyant. It’s quite wonderful to actually enjoy these dark days. Instead of cursing at the lack of light and the cloudy skies, I see their innate resplendence. This entire winter, I have been amazed at the transcendent beauty of the air around me.

    Yesterday, I renewed my AERC membership and added Vinnie to the roster. He is young yet, but if he gets enough conditioning next year, I may consider taking him in his first 25 mile ride in October. He will have reached the 48 month age eligibility in August. I won’t push him. but if he does turn out to be in shape and ready, we will plan for the Foothils ride on October 16th.

    I also rejoined PNER (Pacific NW Endurance Rides). I am on the PNER email list and also PNERgaited list. I may get to the PNER convention too, so figured it was worth supporting my local organization. Lily and I plan to make it to one or two Limited Distance rides in the spring and summer.

    Maybe my sunny disposition is due to the fun of planning for next year’s outings. My horse activities are shifting from the NW Expo and dressage schooling shows to trail riding and endurance rides. I hope to throw in some driving training for Vinnie and a parade as well. It is nice to settle into working with my two horses. I’ve had a few years of more horse numbers, different ones moving through my hands, thinking of all the possibilites of breeding, etc. It was maybe too many possibilities to consider. So it is nice to scale back and have more focus. And also to just think about doing what’s fun!

    As the year draws to a close, I am thankful for all that has come before and all the opportunities that the future holds.

    Take a few minutes today to create your own Thankful Thursday.

    How:

  • Sit back and consider what you have to be thankful for. Listing three to five things is nice, but one will do.
  • Post about gratitude on your blog. If you don’t have your own blog, go ahead and write about what you are thankful for in the comments here instead.
  • If you blog, please link back here or leave a comment.
  • Feel free to tag other bloggers, if you like to do that, but it’s not necessary. This is not a meme that obligates you to do anything, but look for gratitude. Oh, and link back, and comment, that’s all I ask.
    • Visit these other blogs that often participate in Thankful Thursday:

  • Tired Dog Ranch
  • Enlightened Horsemanship Through Touch
  • Earth Dancer Spanish Mustangs
  • The Pony Expression
  • From the Horse’s Back

    • A few more “firsts”

    Dec 132009
     

    I took advantage of the sun this afternoon and put a bit more work on Vinnie’s driving. I dug out the PVC shafts I had made years ago for Paisano and took them to out to the barn. Vinnie got groomed and harnessed up. I put on the cavesson that I’ve been riding and long lining him with. Then I put the full bridle on over that. I don’t have a driving bit for him yet, but I wanted something that wouldn’t pull through his mouth. I had taken the full cheek home, so all I had was a low port Kimberwicke. Since I was mostly going just ask him to carry it, that’s what he wore today. He mouthed it at first, but once we were headed out, there was plenty to take his attention away from playing with the bit.

    I got this. What's next?

    I got this. What's next?

    I took him right out on the roads, ground driving off the cavesson. We went one way down the gravel road, past some people riding a four wheeler ATV, a barking dog and other horses. When we got around the other side of the property we board at, the expression on one horse’s face was priceless! I wish that I had had my camera and another hand to hold it in. It was just like he could NOT believe what Vinnie was wearing. They snorted and ran around. Vinnie’s head went up and his energy built, but he stayed with me quite well. We went a bit further, then turned and headed back.

    When we came to the gate, we passed it and went down the other way a bit. All told, we probably walked a bit less than a mile. I practiced halting and standing, as well as asking him to move side to side on the road from whip and rein cues. He did well to the left and a bit stickier to the right. That’s likely because it’s harder for me to reach his left side with my whip. I had my ground whip with a short lash. Next time, I’ll have to remember the one with a longer drop. I really need a proper driving whip.

    Doing well.

    Doing well.

    On our return, I removed the breastplate, traces and driving lines. I walked him into the shafts as they lay on the ground. We practiced standing there without fussing. That is really something that he will need work on to be a good driving pony. After a few time of that, I lifted the shafts and put them in the tugs. They weren’t secured at all, but the end caps kept them in. They would have come loose easily, if there had been any problems. I led him around in the paddock. It’s not too large, so we were circling and doing figure eights. He got a lot of Good Boy praise and pats.


    Since he had taken all this so well, I decided to try driving him off the bit. I took off the shafts first. Then we did a few rounds of the barn yard, turning and halting before calling it a day. He wasn’t too keen on this bit and pushed his shoulder through a few turns. We ended on a nice halt that only took a couple of half halts to get. Now I just have to figure out the best driving bit for him. And do more sessions like today. Vinnie is quite willing to what I ask, once he understands what that is. Repetition and practice are what we need now.

    The wheels that I ordered for my cart are in. I have all the supplies to paint it. I’ve decided that it will be black. Then I will need to make the seat and back, measure for foam and upholstery material and purchase those. I am not sure what color the seat will be yet. I do hope that the cart will end up being large enough for him. I wonder if it will all be ready by April for the parade in Oakridge. Stay tuned!

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