Chiro Visit

I forgot to mention - at the show, we met someone who had baby Leo pictures!!!

When I first got Leo, he saw the chiropractor regularly. He was fairly unbalanced from left to right, had a hard time maintaining the canter when tracking left, and was generally body sore due to his major lifestyle change (going from a pasture puff//bi-weekly trail horse to being in partial training and learning to jump was a big transition).  In October, though, he "graduated" from regular visits, with the chiro telling me to sign him up again in the future if I noticed any changes in behavior or physicality.

Although I haven't noticed anything major or particularly alarming, in the past few weeks there have been a few small changes in Leo's demeanor that together prompted me to sign him up for a visit with the chiro.  These include an occasional increase in irritability when I first put on a girth, and an occasional refusal to stand still near the mounting block when I go to get on - regardless of whether or not he is saddled.

Pictures during chiro sessions are rough

The chiro thought that Leo was looking and feeling great - hugely more developed and balanced than he was when I brought him home and even more improved since she last checked him in October.  He was completely non-reactive when she checked his ulcer points and when she checked the areas that normally indicate trouble with saddle fit - our two most highly suspected issues, neither of which seemed particularly likely - and was just a little sore in the pelvic area.  The only place that he strongly reacted to was an area above his withers. She said that his reaction was highly unusual, and suspects that at some point in the recent past he had some sort of incident in the pasture that stressed or strained that section of the nuchal ligament.

Her recommendation was to continue doing stretches after rides/groundwork sessions, but to focus more on lower stretches - encourage him to stretch down rather than back. She also suggested getting him a massage, which I definitely want to look in to. Otherwise, she thought he looked great, and unless something dramatically changes in the next month she thinks he's set to carry on.  Other than the one point of reactivity, Leo seemed to greatly enjoy his body work session, and almost certainly enjoyed having a day off. 

Has anyone else ever had inconclusive reactions to a body work session? Are equine massages worth it? 

I can't get over how little he looks!!!
Thanks to Leah for getting pics of these pics!