Tuesday Sunshine

Two and a Half Horses at Work

Chance is the half worked horse this time because I just lunged him long enough to see how he was going.

He is still lame in the hind end. It is not dramatic but definite. I can't find any heat or any swelling anywhere, so I am most suspicious of the stifle. It is worse when he travels right, but he drops the hip on the right so it may be his left hind. I hate hind end lamenesses as I am not always sure which leg is the problem. If it is the stifle, then left is more likely.

I will call the vet tomorrow to arrange a visit. I'd like Dr. Klayman himself as he does both chiropractic and acupuncture, but Dr. Perez usually comes out here. She does just the acupuncture which is OK, but the two therapies together are better. Right now, I guess I just need to know what's going on with him.

I lunged Toby again, trying to get him at least a little fit. We primarily trail ride so he doesn't have to be really muscled, but since he's older, it's good for him to work a bit. I only had one carrot left so he got it, as it was our agreement that he always be rewarded with a carrot after working.

I rode Tucker with the intent of really trying out the movements of Second Level Test 1. The main challenge remains the simple changes of lead. There are 10 meter circles at the trot and canter and three loop serpentines with no change of lead on both canter leads. Nothing is really too difficult for him, but what I have to work on is getting him more balanced up on the bit. That is my goal for the next few weeks.

I am planning on entering a show near the middle of June, but I will ride First Level Tests 3 & 4 for that first outing and move up to Second Level in July. Patrice Edwards is not coming again until July, so I won't be able to pick her brain. Hopefully Chris will be down soon so I can glean some ideas and good training from him before the June show.

If not, I've been on my own for long enough to sort things out myself. It's just so much easier having a trainer correct those little mistakes before they become big ones.

Tomorrow, I need to buy carrots! Apples too, if I can find a bag with mutiples of three.