 Rock and Roll were delivered to the Lucky Three Ranch on December 5th, 2010. One look at the way Rock was moving and we knew this was going to be difficult at best. They had both foundered and did not travel correctly. There was muscle atrophy throughout their bodies, and their bellies hung from the spine, with no apparent musculature in the abdomen or over the top line. We knew there would be limitations as to what could be done for them. Although Rock was rendered sound at the walk for only one year, Roll continues to thrive today. Read their whole story below.
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What’s New With Roll? Farrier Foot Check
We wanted Roll to go as long as possible in between trims because we didn’t want to put too many nail holes in his damaged right hind foot. Today Dean Geesen came out and trimmed the foot after our veterinarian had the opportunity to check the foot yesterday. Things are looking very encouraging for Roll as long as we don’t hit any serious snags. The foot is growing at a rate of 1/8” per week and is producing healthy tissue ...
What’s New with Roll? Goodbye Roll
February 11, 2019 Unfortunately, after eight years together, Roll passed quietly from a mild colic and weakness in his hind quarters on February 11, 2019 at the age of 27 years. I rescued Rock and Roll from slaughter in December of 2010. We lost Rock in December of 2011 with a completely shattered hip joint after being rendered sound at the walk with no medications for a whole year. With ring bone and side bones in three hooves, I continued ...
What’s New with Roll? A Great Massage and a New Friend!
10-25-18 Roll had a good massage today! He seems to really enjoy the new Equisport massager. You can always tell when your equine enjoys his massage because he will “talk” to you along the way. Notice how Roll is pushing his hip into the massager in the first photo? That means, “Feels so good... go deeper!” His left hind is often a bit sore from his twisting in the right hind, so he isn’t too sure about it at first, but the right hip ...
What’s New with Roll? Ground Driving the Pasture
8-31-18 Roll needed another core tune-up today, but every time we take him out, we need to document everything in photos and video. Normally we would work in the hourglass pattern, but we wanted better pictures than just the arena sand and fences so we decided to do some ground driving today in the 5-acre pasture instead. I had to tighten the reins that were tied up to the surcingle because he thought it might be nice to just ...
What’s New with Roll? Hourglass Pattern, Stretching & Backing
7-12-18 Roll had his summer bath yesterday and it was a great day for it! It was 100 degrees! Today it was a little cooler, so we opted to go to the dressage arena and work in the hourglass pattern on the lead rope in his “Elbow Pull” and surcingle. The twisting in his right hind foot was markedly better today after last week’s workout. I am glad I made the call to go back to the leading exercises after his ...
What’s New with Roll? Body Language & the Hourglass Pattern
7-2-18 Roll and I both needed some exercise, so we did a quick vacuuming, left the Tack Barn and headed for the dressage arena. We didn’t have a lot of time, so we opted to navigate the hourglass pattern on the lead line in his surcingle and “Elbow Pull” and did some core muscle work. When you routinely execute gates the same way, your equine will know what to expect... ...and he can always respond accordingly. Consistency breeds consistency. Accuracy breeds accuracy ...
What’s New with Roll? Roll’s Insights into Massage Therapy
5-17-18 Massage for equinesis now used more often as an alternative or complementary healing process toward health and fitness. Simple massage can prevent various injuries throughout your animal’s lifetime. Don’t wait for obvious injury to occur—preventive massage increases the length of the muscle fibers, taking pressure off the joints. When the muscles are allowed to contract and expand to their full length, they are able to absorb important nutrients that reduce fatigue. Massage also increases blood flow, which helps the body flush ...
What’s New with Roll? A Walk in the Jump Course
5-8-18 After about an hour of shedding grooming with the hairbrush, shedding blade and then the vacuum, Roll and I headed out for a walk around the jump course. We started at the Tack Barn and walked through the alleyway between the buildings. We stopped occasionally along the driveway to square up and he seemed to be reluctant to weight the right hind again, but after a few times, he did better. We stopped at the MULE CROSSING sign for a photo-op ...
What’s New with Roll? Spring Work in the Hourglass Pattern
3-28-18 Roll did exceptionally well today! He was also happy that he got to work out with his little buddies, Augie and Spuds. His body is beginning to get toned up again and he is starting to shed off his winter coat. I did a quick pass with the hairbrush and then the vacuum cleaner. Last was Johnson’s Baby Oil in his mane and tail. I noticed right away during the grooming process that he was finally put weight on ...
What’s New with Roll? Spring Grooming/Work in the Hourglass Pattern
Finally a day came that was warm enough to be able to wash the winter dirt out of Roll’s mane and tail! The first thing was to make sure he did not “feed on his lead rope” while I wasn’t looking, so I removed the rope lead and attached him to the chain lead at the wash rack. The water was still icy cold, but I tried to limit his and my exposure to the cold. When we were done, his dirty brown ...
