OklahomaHorses Magazine September 2020

September/October 2020 • OklahomaHorses 11 E very year, the Lazy E Arena in Guthrie, Oklahoma, hosts the National Little Britches Rodeo Association finals where 1,200 contestants gather from across the U.S. and compete in multiple events for championship titles and prizes. Kids of all ages rodeo all year long, many on the same horse, to qualify. The long hours of practice, hauling and competition are demanding on their equine partners. We work with many youth rodeo horses in our facility, but in other states, the knowledge of therapy and the availability for services just isn’t there yet. It’s not that people don’t want to give their horses the best possible care; they just live in an area where there isn’t someone to teach them the basic knowledge. I am thankful for the mentors that taught me when I was a child. They are a huge part of why Superior Therapy LLC exists today. For this reason, I knew I wanted to give back to the youth community, so I pitched a sponsorship idea that was a completely new concept to the NLBRA. We organized a team of volunteers to bring their therapy modality of choice, donated two free treatments for each contestant and taught families about how each modality helps a horse perform better. The NLBRA finals consists of two long go performances and a short go performance, with most horses also competing in multiple events within each performance. These horses are the perfect candidates to receive therapy services. My goal for the week was to provide services they could continue to use at home. Usually, there are booths at shows with therapy professionals you can pay for services, but that isn’t very helpful when you are at home and have an injury. From the Superior Therapy LLC barn, we brought our portable whirlpool ice boots; they use a simple compressor to pump air into the boots to keep water circulating while you ice the leg. Temperatures stayed near 100 degrees the week of finals, so icing hot, tired legs was especially important. Icing helps to prevent injuries by decreasing inflammation and swelling around fragile tendons and ligaments. Many of the aged horses, that help teach younger WRITTEN BY: Summer Terry Superior Therapy LLC serves horses and offers kids interactive education at the 2020 National Little Britches Rodeo Association Finals GIVING BACK Equi-Resp breathing treatment in progress Equine taping for shoulder relief Patrick assisting with a hind leg ice treatment