MITCH

Mitch was one of my case studies for my diploma course work.

Mitch is a 6yrs old quarter horse, He is ridden western style.while writing up Mitches assesment sheet, his owner told me Mitch has one foreleg shorter than the other & suffers re-occuring lameness.

He also had chiropractic treatment to realign his hips. She told me Mitch had sinus problems too & had been on devils claw for a long time.

At first, Mitch did not know what to make of his massage & decided he wasn't going to make it easy. But before long he began to enjoy it & done all the responses I could wish for!

His near foreleg is the shortest but seemed to be tender on his off side shoulder, so I worked gently on that for a while & was rewarded with lots of chewing and yawning.

His next massage, there was no pain in his shoulder but there was a lot of stiffness in his hind quarters, mainly on his off side.

While doing a friction technique on his gluteal muscle he let out the loadest groan!!! we couldn't believe it! it wasn't an uncomfortable groan, it was pure pleasure. I stayed with it for a while as he kept groaning. the expression on his face said it all.

As Mitch has sinusitis quite a lot I showed Helen, his owner, where to massage on his face (which he dosen't usually like but is happy to have during his session) she has carried on doing this herself.

With each massage I have given, Mitch has become more & more relaxed & supple. Within five massages,

He now has:

• No stiffness in his hind quarters
• No pain in his shoulder
• Is off devils claw for his sinusitis

Case study October 2006