HORSE SPA HAS HOLISTIC HEALING; HARD WORKERS GET REFRESHING BREAK.

Byline: Sylvia L. Oliande Staff Writer

For much of his life, Rachmaninov, a 14-year-old Arabian horse, spent his time standing in a small pen in a back yard in the city.

His owner said he was rarely taken out for a ride and was treated as an afterthought by his previous family. He wasn't mistreated and his basic needs were always met, though at times he was neglected.

But in May, Fillmore resident Jean MacDonald finally convinced his owners that ``Rocky'' would be better off with her, where he would have space to run and equine friends to play with.

And as soon as she took him away, she brought him to Goodenough Farms Horse Spa, a ranch located deep in a canyon in Fillmore.

There, he has his own roomy stall. He gets some outside time to run with the other horses in the fields. And the difference in his attitude is amazing to his owner.

``He's been in this isolated situation, and I was worried about how he would react to the new situation,'' MacDonald said. ``He can't believe his good fortune. He can't believe he has a choice of grain or alfalfa to eat. To watch him run with the other horses when he has time out of the pen would bring a tear to your eye.''

She said that because Rachmoninov spent much of his time on his feet and has not had much exercise for several years, she didn't want to just jump on and start riding him until she knew he could handle the stress.

``Horses are 2,000-pound butterflies - they look so strong but they're so fragile,'' she said.

But instead of taking him to a conventional veterinarian, she brought him to Goodenough.

The horse is the first client in the newly opened spa that uses alternative methods to treat horses and employs techniques that complement those medicines used by conventional veterinarians.

Lynda Kovisto, operations manager of Goodenough, said the facility caters primarily to athletic and work horses, treating injuries as well as trying to prevent them.

``They work very hard, and they're prone to a lot of injuries because they're primary job is to be an athlete,'' Kovisto said. ``Anything that happens in one area is going to be compensated in another area, and that makes the problem worse.''

Treatments at Goodenough include comprehensive dental care, acupressure, acupuncture, chiropractic, nutrition and massage therapy. Equine guests are given a place to recuperate from injuries, play and just plain relax.

Dr. Greg Ugarte, a Santa Barbara-based veterinarian who deals exclusively in alternative and complementary treatments, said he and others who specialize in holistic medicine look at the big picture when evaluating a horse.

While a conventional vet will diagnose the exact injury, then medicate it or put a cast on it, an alternative vet will find the injury and figure out what might have caused it.

Ugarte, who often works for another horse spa in Santa Ynez, said that while the methods may sound like something only for the New Age set, they are slowly gaining acceptance and popularity - especially those methods that are in vogue with humans.

``When people have bad experiences with hospitals, or they have someone in their family to go through this, they say, no way, that's not for me,'' he said. ``They turn to other things. Then they say, if this works for me, it's going to work for my pet. They truly believe in it.''

And so do many horse trainers and veterinarians.

Kovisto was a veterinary assistant at a local equine vet office and had managed a dressage and endurance horse facility in Moorpark before taking the post at Goodenough. She studied massage techniques for humans and adapted those to an equine body.

She said one horse she worked on grew so attached to massage therapy that he'd present his leg or back to be worked on whenever she approached.

Along with Lisa Warden, director of research and spa therapies, Kovisto evaluates clients to come up with a customized spa visit. For specialized treatments such as chiropractic, dental work and acupuncture, the farm contracts with veterinarians to do the job.

The 53-acre farm where Goodenough Road meets the hillside in Fillmore has 10 stables in its big, red barn, as well as a grazing field and a practice ring.

Kovisto said the farm cannot yet afford to buy an Aqua Tread - a water pool that acts like a Jacuzzi to soothe tired muscles. But they are cutting a path to the nearby Sespe Creek to let the horses soak in the cool water.

She said horses begin to show wear in subtle ways, but the symptoms are easy to spot if an owner is looking for them.

Favoring one side of the body or objecting to being touched in a certain place are some indicators, but another is simply the horse's attitude and his approach to his work.

She said some owners just think they are being recalcitrant if horses refuse to do a trick or a task, but it may be that they have an undetected injury or some other problem.

``We try to get them to speak our language, and we don't listen to theirs,'' Kovisto said. ``As it begins to hurt more and more, they get more and more resentful.''

But the spa is not just for the athletes, show horses and racers.

It's also for the weekend warriors, who are cared for but not exercised during the week but are taken for long trail rides on the weekends.

That's especially true during the summer months when the riding time goes from once every few weeks to weekly and even daily.

Kovisto said cost and length of stays at the spa would vary depending on the amount of time off the owner is giving the horse and the amount and duration of the treatments.

``If they can come here, hang out and just relax, get some body work and not have to do a whole lot, (they) have some time to really try to address their needs rather than address our needs,'' she said.

Signs that indicate a horse may be ready for some time at the spa:

- Not happy

- No longer performing like they used to

- Pinning ears when a sensitive area is touched

- Lameness, shifting weight from leg to leg

- Recalcitrant attitude

CAPTION(S):

Photo, Box

PHOTO Goodenough spa manager Lynda Kovisto gives one of the guests a rub-down.

Tom Mendoza/Daily News

BOX: Signs that indicate a horse may be ready for some time at the spa (see text)