J and J were getting the big boys ready for a carriage ride when I got to the barn. I didn't have too much time since there was a ton of stuff left to do at the house before leaving for a week so I opted to not go with them. Axel seemed like he was moving pretty good so I saddled him up in his dressage saddle and set out on the road for a quick trip. Axel was very very sticky and I didn't have a whip so we inched our way past the pasture and didn't even make it to the trees. The team passed us so we turned around and headed back to the barn. He didn't seem terribly "off" just annoyed and stubborn. Granted this would be the second time he's had a saddle on since last December. I guess I'd be annoyed too. I also didn't give him any bute so cutting the trip short seemed like an okay idea just in case.
In the meantime Cody was acting like I hadn't taken Axel away in years. He was calling and running around. Not sure what got into him. Another boarder was there and had forgotten her bridle so she was bummed that she couldn't ride with us. Probably a good thing since her horse had thrown a shoe anyway. But it would have been nice to get a longer ride in. She was hand grazing Steele out in the ditch when we were tacked up and ready to head out. I got a little speed out of the drive way. I asked for a trot and Steele was standing at the end so Cody was a little more willing to move. We took the ditch (slowly) down to the path between the fields. So far Cody hadn't tried to turn and bolt so I asked him to turn into the drainway between the plowed wheat and the bean field and then I asked for a trot. It took a couple times to keep him moving and I asked for a canter. We took maybe 10 sort of bumpy strides in the canter but when I asked he went back down to a walk and was calm about the whole situation, despite having his head up in the air like a giraffe. So I asked him to turn around, which he did without bolting. His reward was a walk back to Steele with a loose rein where I dismounted and let him graze. I probably shouldn't reward him near the barn like that but he did behave very well.
I ended up hosing off both Axel and Cody's legs before I rode. J&J had the warm water hose already out so the boys got a treat in that respect. Axel's wound is looking okay. I think the scab was coming off so it was a little raw looking but not too bad. Cody has got himself some mud fever on his back shins (basically) so I actually shampooed his legs and then scrubbed them with chlorhexidine. I was hoping he'd drop while I had the bucket of soapy water but he's not a fan of the hose so I didn't get a chance to clean up his man bits. At least he's been letting me use a baby wipe, it just doesn't clean as well. The mud out there is like cement I don't know how they get it all out of the Clyde's feathers. Even with warm water, shampoo, and scrubbing Cody's legs were still pretty dirty.
On my drive home I passed the team coming up the highway in perfect sync so I slowed down and stuck my phone out the window to take a photo. Wish I would have had a real camera!
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