Qi Boosting

Rhio meeting me at the gate

Time for another bandage change - and this time I'm going to try to jump start the healing with a little acupuncture.  We got a significant lake effect snowfall yesterday, and running around in deep, fluffy snow had completely soaked the boot & the bandage, despite the duct tape.  The wet boot then froze, so I had to bang on it a bit to chip the ice off the buckle.  Once past the hurdle of the iced-on boot, the bandage came off easily.  

Rhio has never had acupuncture before, and he's a pretty sensitive guy, so I wasn't sure how he would react to treatment.  My good boy was totally cool with acupuncture :)  I put in just a few needles, mostly around the wound area.  These are called "Ting" points and are especially strong points because they are either the beginning or the end of a meridian.  The front feet have the Lung, Large Intestine, Pericardium, Heart, Small Intestine, and Triple Heater ting points.  I use very small needles for these points, 1/2" long and very, very thin.  And they conveniently have colored handles, so they actually show up in a photo!  

Acupuncture needles in Rhio's foot

I left the needles in about 10 minutes (my timing wasn't exact because Rhio knocked the timer off the stall front and when it hit the ground, the battery fell out!) and during that time I worked on my own Qi.  Qi (pronounced "chi") is energy, and one of the best ways I know to boost my own qi is to spend quiet time grooming my horses.  So I spent 10 minutes replenishing my Qi while divesting Rhio of some of his shedding winter coat - therapy for both of us.