Horse Fence Encounter: Cookie Meets The Electric Horse Fence And Her First Chiropractic Adjustment

The other weekend, Cookie got acquainted with the electric fence around the horse run. She was not impressed!

There are several runs at the horse farm. The horses stay in one or another based on the season. Most of the year, the horses are at the back of the property. The runs up front are empty, and the fences are off. Cookie could run in and out and brush on the wires freely with no consequence.

Logically, she learned to pay no attention to them.

Horse Fence Encounter: Cookie Meets The Electric Horse Fence And Her First Chiropractic Adjustment

Then, winter came

With the winter coming, horses got moved up front. Suddenly, the rules have unexpectedly changed and Cookie found out the hard way.

As much as I hated that happening to her, it was probably for the best. Cookie likes to chase anything that moves—that included the horses. A kick from the fence is better than a kick from a horse.

Sore leg

However, that night, her rear left leg was a bit sore.

It could, of course, have been from something else she did—Cookie is a crazy little girl on jet fuel. But we decided to pin it on the fence, as it seemed to make the most sense. She runs and jumps like crazy all the time.

We gave her massages and had her take it a bit easy for a couple of days.

Getting a rocket to slow down

Getting Cookie to take it easy is a double-edged sword, though. After a few days of leash walks only, she was so wound up, that she’d lose her mind even going to potty in the yard. Her and JD would start playing as if the Earth was going to end. Then they would bring the wild play into the house too.

If Cookie doesn’t get to burn her allotment of energy and puppiness, things get easily out of hand.

It is a fine line between resting the leg and having Cookie make up for it. We did do more training and played more calm games, but that clearly was not enough. The little girl needs to run. There is no way around it.

Seeing a chiropractor

Back when she was so very lame because of the porcupine quill in her foot, I was wondering whether we could also get Jasmine’s chiropractor to check her out, just in case.

Trying not to go overboard with care, we left it be. Now, though, we felt it might be a good idea to have her checked out to find out what actually happened and whether or not something might be out of alignment.

Surely enough, her pelvis did need adjusting.

There is no telling whether it was because of the fence, because of the previous lameness, or because of something else together. But we’re glad we did that. Who wants to walk around with their pelvis out of proper position?

Too hard on herself

The chiropractor also determined that her right iliopsoas are sore, as well as there were some sore muscles on her shoulders. Yeah … that again. And those are so hard to do much about …

Everything else seems fine and apart from the adjustment, we were told to ice the area for a few days. We do also massage it. Cookie loves the massages, the cold compresses not so much.

Cookie is young and tough, so we’re hoping this will heal quickly.

Considering her escapades, we probably need to consider having the chiropractor check her out from time to time. Better to take care of problems while they’re small.

Just like Jasmine, Cookie thought that having her own visitor was great, but what was up with all the manhandling? She did well, though, only looked back when a sore spot was found, that’s how I could tell those places hurt.

Related articles:
Don’t Knock It Until You Tried It: Animal Chiropractic

Further reading:
When to See a Dog Chiropractor and What They Can Do
Dog Chiropractic Basics

Categories: Alternative treatments • Chiropractic • Conditions • Limping • Real-life Stories • Symptoms

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Jana Rade

I am a graphic designer, dog health advocate, writer, and author. Jasmine, the Rottweiler of my life, was the largest female from her litter. We thought we were getting a healthy dog. Getting a puppy from a backyard breeder was our first mistake. Countless veterinary visits without a diagnosis or useful treatment later, I realized that I had to take Jasmine's health care in my own hands. I learned the hard way that merely seeing a vet is not always enough. There is more to finding a good vet than finding the closest clinic down the street. And, sadly, there is more to advocating for your dog's health than visiting a veterinarian. It should be enough, but it often is not. With Jasmine, it took five years to get a diagnosis. Unfortunately, other problems had snowballed for that in the meantime. Jasmine's health challenges became a crash course in understanding dog health issues and how to go about getting a proper diagnosis and treatment. I had to learn, and I had to learn fast. Helping others through my challenges and experience has become my mission and Jasmine's legacy. I now try to help people how to recognize and understand signs of illness in their dogs, how to work with their veterinarian, and when to seek a second opinion. My goal is to save others the steep curve of having to learn things the hard way as I did. That is the mission behind my blog and behind my writing. That is why I wrote Symptoms to Watch for in Your Dog, which has turned out being an award-winning guide to dog owners. What I'm trying to share encompasses 20 years of experience.

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