Strides LLC

27/01/2025

You may be wondering why i posted a picture of a winter vest ???

This is one of my favorite winter vests. It is super warm and has lots of pockets for horse treats treats.

Even though the vest is the correct size and is very comfortable, I find that I alter my neck position while driving due to the thickness of the collar and position of the truck headrest. This can result in neck discomfort if I drive for long periods of time.

The same can be true of horse blankets. Even if the blanket is a perfect fit, horses may still alter their movement due to the their blanket. While I have the simple solution of taking the vest off while driving, horses don't have that option. The extremely cold weather last week resulted in horses needing to be blanketed for longer periods of time,

This can result in stiffness. I have have adjusted two horses in the last few weeks due to wither stiffness. Both of these horses were on a break from riding, so the wither stiffness was not due to saddle fit. Both horses showed significant relief after their adjustment.

Schedule an appointment with Strides LLC to have your horse checked for stiffness and muscle soreness. Remember that in addition to equine chiropractic adjustments, Strides LLC offers equine massage sessions and therapeutic laser sessions.

07/01/2025

It is truly amazing to see a dog doing what it loves to do. The drive of a hunting dog is unreal. Even when they are doing something they love, subluxations can occur. Here are a few signs to help you identify subluxations in your hunting dogs.

1. Damaged birds
2. Refusal to fetch
3. Refusal to point or flush
4. Missing birds
5. Reluctance to jump
6. Trouble navigating rough terrain

Routine canine chiropractic adjustments can help with all these issues. Contact Strides LLC today to schedule an appointment for your dog.

30/12/2024

I am asking for your help. Being a small business has many benefits, but one downfall is that if you aren't working, no income is coming in. This December has brought many challenges. It started with the whole family getting Covid which resulted in a 2 week hospital stay for my Mom due to Covid complications. She then had to transfer to a nursing facility for therapy and rehabilitation. She has improved greatly and should be returning home soon, but the majority of my time this December has been centered on her care. Between the Holidays and hospital/nursing facility stays, I was only able to schedule a few appointments.

I am asking your help to help me get back on track for January. If you have been considering scheduling a chiropractic/rehabilitation appointment for your animal, now is the perfect time. Or maybe, you have been meaning to refer a friend. No time like the present.

Chiropractic and/or laser sessions can help your hunting dog stay performing at it's best. Winter can be hard for geriatric animals, regular chiropractic and laser sessions can help significantly with stiffness associated with arthritis. Maybe you are about to start the 2025 show season, get your animal in top shape.

Please consider reaching out to Strides LLC for all your animal's chiropractic and rehabilitation needs. Thank you.

25/12/2024

"Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men" Luke 2:14

08/12/2024

Checkout Blaze's Christmas List

04/12/2024

We are all ears 😃. Please share in the comments how Animal Chiropractic or Rehabilitation has helped your animal in 2024.

02/12/2024

I am planning a trip to the Mathiston, Mantee, Houston, Houlka area the week of Dec 9th for Equine Chiropractic Adjustments and Therapeutic Laser sessions. If your horses need anything, I will be happy to add them to the schedule. Please share this with your friends. Lets help your horses end the year feeling great. Mileage is included in the adjustment fee.

28/11/2024

Happy Thanksgiving

29/10/2024

It is finally complete, a process that started a year ago. I completed and graduated from an accredited animal chiropractic program in April. While not required, i wanted to sit for the AVCA exam which was in September. Today, I finally received my results from the AVCA Exam.

I am officially "Certified in animal chiropractic by the Animal Chiropractic Certification Commission (ACCC) of the American Veterinary Chiropractic Association (AVCA)"

AVCA/ACCC is the primary national credential for this feild in North America. In order to become ACCC/AVCA certified in animal chiropractic, a graduate from one of the accredited programs must pass both the ACCC Comprehensive Written and Clinical Compentency Examination.

I am so thankful to God for helping me do this. All praise goes to Him. I also want to say thanks to my amazing husband who supported me and traveled to all my labs and the exam with me. I also want to thank all my friends, family, mentors, and clients that supported me, encouraged me, and prayed for me during this process.

25/10/2024

Another satisfied laser customer. Cheeto is currently geeting weekly laser treatments to help with knee pain. As you can see, she approves.

25/10/2024

Once a teacher, always a teacher. I can't help it 😃

23/10/2024

Does your horse have good head extension? Sharpie does !

21/10/2024

I got to work on this handsome boy for the first time the other day. He is the Best dog. Looking forward to his next session. Regular chiropractic sessions can help older dogs stay moving at their best.

18/10/2024

Hottie loved her equine chiropractic session. She got several great releases as seen in this picture. Releases in horses are often seen as yawning, licking, and/or chewing

05/10/2024

I was called to check a newly purchased barrel horse. I start all my equine chiropractic sessions by greeting the horse and evaluating muscle tension. This is a very important step. It provides me with a lot of information while giving the horse a chance to get use to me.

I quickly figured out that this was not going to be a normal session. I walked up, greeted the horse and went to pat it on the neck, and the horse turned and tried to nail me with teeth. I thought, "ok, did I just happen to hit a sore spot or trigger point"? I reached out again to run my hands along the shoulder and ribs, same response but the horse also kicked out. Everywhere I touched the horse, the horse responded with teeth or a kick. She wasn't playing. The dilemma ....was the horse that uncomfortable? Since she responded everywhere, where was the issue? Had she had a bad experience with a vet of chiropractor in the past? Was someone in scrubs a trigger for her? Was she anticipating pain or guarding? Was the horse bluffing or bullying?

The owner has been GREAT through this process and is a really good horse person. Working together carefully, I was able to finally test range of motion in the horse's poll and neck. I adjusted the horse's atlas and several areas in her neck. The horse went from biting and kicking to the occasional "mare look" and seemed to relax. I suggested to the owner that we split the session into two sessions. My gut said attempting to evaluate the horse's pelvis that day was probably not the wisest idea. At one point, I thought barn cats might start flying out of the barn.

I knew she had several areas of muscle tension, so I recommended a therapeutic laser session. I positioned myself very carefully. The horse responded and seemed to relax further. We scheduled Part 2 of the session for the following week.

In between sessions, I talked with my mentor in animal chiropractics. He is an amazing source of information and encouragement. He gave me some excellent guidelines and tips for different assessment techniques, how to best position myself out of harm's way, and adjust the horse's pelvis. I wasn't sure what to expect but followed his guidelines carefully. It went well. Very little drama, no attempted kicks, and the horse leaned into the adjustment.

Closing thoughts: I think the horse was hurting through her poll and neck and got some instant relief after the first adjustment. I still don't know if she had a previous bad experience with a vet or animal chiropractor. I did some mock setups to show her that it was going to be ok and rewarded the good behavior. I plan to continue to do this. She was so much better for the second session. I also think the mare is really smart and will try to bluff you a bit. Time will tell. Chiropractic treatment is not a one-time fix. Instead, it is a healing process.

I want to complement the owner. She is doing a really good job with this mare. You can already see a difference int he horse.

Things that I am thankful for from this case:
- An owner with excellent horsemanship/horse handling skills. I knew she had my back.
- Excellent mentors that are willing to teach and encourage further growth
- I am thankful to God for allowing me to do this, for keeping me safe, for helping me to learn to read animals more and more, for helping me put the puzzle pieces together.

To God be the Glory

P.S. the horse pictured is not the horse mentioned in the case.

04/10/2024

Meet Oscar. Is he not the cutest pony? I just want to hug him. He has the fuzziest littlest ears. Oscar is a therapeutic riding pony. He suddenly came up back sore one morning. It is assumed that he an a pasture mate must have played or run too hard the night before. He was given a month off to recovery, but he continued to indicate something was off when one of the trainers saddled him and rode him for evaluation before placing him back on the therapy schedule. This is when Strides was contacted. He was a super good boy for his assessment. He thought getting treats as part of the assessment was the BEST thing ever. I found multiple subluxations and adjusted him accordingly. I reached out to his trainer today. She has ridden him several times since the adjustment, and he only kicked out once during the first ride. We are very encouraged. Fingers crossed he will be back in the therapy rotation soon. To God be the glory.

03/10/2024

I have been fortunate to see some really neat cases over the last few weeks. I am going to try to share some of the highlights over the next few days.

This is Zack. He is 21 years old. His owner reached out to me because Zack started shaking and bobbing his head. He also was more reserved and was not eating as much as normal.

I know this horse very well. When I arrived, I immediately noticed and agreed with his owner that something was not quite right. Zack was more reserved than normal, his eyes were dull and hooded, and he was less interested in things going on in the barn. He normally greets me at the stall door and checks my pockets for treats.

I started a therapeutic laser session over his trigeminal nerve to see if that would help with his head shaking. This is one of the main nerves believed to be associated/involved in head shaking in horses. We started the laser session, but he kept repositioning and reacting more to certain areas. I stopped and started palpating his poll and found an atlas subluxation. I adjusted his atlas. His eyes immediately brightened. He started holding them open more. He came to the front of the stall, started being inquisitive, and about took us down for some bites of apple.
He continued to be more alert and started eating his hay while I worked on a few other horses in the barn.

I messaged with his owner today. She said Zack continues to be so much brighter and his appetite is so much better. These pictures are from today. He is back to his usual self.

I am so blessed to be able to do work with animals. I learn so much from working with them. I am learning to listen to them more and watch their responses.

To God be the Glory.

24/09/2024