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When we discovered Batman’s tense back and pelvis, the first thing I did was to call Ellen Schmedling. Ellen is a veterinary, equine dentist and chiropractor who has helped Batman a lot earlier.

His problem right now is very complex. Lameness on the hind legs, back pain and tension around the pelvis. Maybe caused by his earlier problems in his front hooves. It must be treated from every angle, so I’m glad I have a great team of vets around me. It won’t help just to remove the symptoms, we must find the cause as well, but if we remove the cause without treating the painful symptoms, the problem can be worse again. It is not healthy for a horse to walk around with a tense back. Therefore he is getting chiropractor treatment to help his pelvis and back. He is also getting his feet trimmed every 5th week, and his front hooves looks much better now. Meanwhile, we are trying to understand the lameness.

Batman’s entire confirmation while standing looked horrible some days, I had seen him stand with all four legs under his body a couple times, and he looked extremely tense these days, but some days he seemed fine. I knew so well that something was wrong. We drove to Ellen to give him treatment, and when we loaded him off the trailer, the position was back, and I finally got to take a photo of it. He was standing like a goat. :( Batman’s confirmation is really not bad at all, but in this photo, because of the pain and tension, his exterior looks like a disaster …

Ellen started working with him, and found a lot of muscular pain. We could see the difference on the entire horse with our own eyes when she started treating the back. In the beginning, his eyes was screaming “uncomfortable!”. His back seemed to be half a meter longer after the treatment, he was standing more proud and much more relaxed. His eyes and facial expression also changed a lot during the treatment. It felt amazing to finally see him relax again!

We will continue to give him treatment on a regular basis to get him back on track, while we are trying to get rid of the lameness. Right now he is two degrees lame on the right hind leg. The front hooves is doing fine and he is actually in a very good mood, with lots of energy. We will drive him to a veterinary clinic to get a full examination of the lameness the 7th of April. If you are looking for a new torture method, I have found one. The waiting is hell. Fingers crossed we don’t find anything serious.

Peace, love and Friesian hugs,
Batman & Matilde