Just over 2 years ago while searching for my first horse I was lucky enough to find Molly.
It was love at first sight. I am the first to admit that I used to be a real novice and very nervous rider, but there was just something about Molly - I felt that I could trust her to look after me.
After a short time we were hacking quietly round the lanes but I noticed that Molly kept tripping. I also realised that she walked very slowly down hills and seemed like she wanted to go sideways. I asked my Farrier if it was anything to do with her feet but he said he could see no reason for her to trip.
Then Molly started to put her ears back and was trying to bite me when I was putting the saddle on so I called the Saddler to come and check her saddle. He said that the saddle was fine and fitted well but that she was sore behind the saddle area. So, I called the vet to look at her. He gave her a thorough examination and said that she was sore in her back and suggested I called Julie from Equi-balance to look at her. Julie came to see Molly and watched her move in walk and trot and then ran her hands all over Molly. Julie said that Molly was sore in her Withers and behind the saddle and that she had tension through other parts of her body. Julie gave Molly 3 Massages over 3 weeks. I noticed a difference straight away after the first massage. We went out for a hack and she didn't trip once. Then I noticed that she was walking a lot faster and didn't put her ears back and shake her head when I asked for trot ( and she kept trotting without me having to keep kicking). By the 3rd massage I noticed that her strides seemed to be longer and smoother - no more backache for me, and she didn't try to bite me when I put her saddle on.
Since then, Molly and I have done lots of things together - even Showjumping - something I never thought I would be able to do ( we have even won rosettes).
Molly has a regular massage session every three months to keep her happy.
So thank you Molly for making me a happy person, and thanks to Julie for making Molly a happy horse.
Emma