Mysterious Lameness: Kay's Story

I got Kay 4 years ago when she was just a 4 year old. She had already been on the racetrack for a year before I bought her. We started the first year racing in Limited Distance rides and moved up to 50's and 65's the next year. She was wonderful!! She had ‘tons' of go, even carrying my ‘Heavyweight' body over some very tough courses. She would occasionally be ‘off' at the vet checks, but would be sound again within 2 to 3 hours. The other vets and I could not find out why. I met Van at the 20 Mule Team 100 when I was pulled at 30 miles. Her ‘ghost' lameness had struck again. I had him evaluate her, and guess what he found?

Van found that the saddle I had been using was making one side of her back so sore that the muscles were almost ‘rock hard'. Over the next several months, he worked with Kay; stretching, massage, myofascial release and acupressure. Within just a few months, her back was soft and pliable again. Pretty good since it took about 2 years to get ‘rock hard'. Oddly enough, she had about 50 to 60 vet checks with all the endurance rides during those 2 years, and never showed any signs of pain in her back. She is a tough mare! Van has made me much more aware of Kay and she is doing much better because of that. We have finished some tough rides in very good health, including the Californios 100. We are shooting for Tevis 2005. Wish us luck!