Bath time?

Last week I went out for a ride and Cody turned up lame. Well not really lame. Just very sore from his hoof trim. He had a huge chip in his foot from stomping flies so I think the farrier had to trim it back a little further than normal to keep it from cracking so he was a little foot sore even in the arena. I put his boots on and he felt a lot better but still not perfect. I hate making him work in the arena with the boots on though, it seems like he trips a bit in the sand so we stuck to a walk and in the end really didn't do much of anything. But lately, that's how I ride I guess. I did try and pull Cody's mane a bit. I had watched a few videos on how to do it so I decided to try my hand. I don't want his mane super short but I thought maybe if I evened it up a bit it would maybe look a little thicker. It's a little scraggly these days. Unfortunately the thinnest spots I didn't feel like I could pull without making it thinner. This might be a long term project just keeping the stringy bits out and hoping it grows in better.

After jury duty this week I snuck out to the barn for a little while. Cody seemed to be feeling a bit better so I tacked him up and rode in the arena. I'm still hesitant to push him (yes I'm a wimp/softie/pushover) so we worked on a little turn on the haunches (not so great), turn on the forehand (much better), and some leg yeilding (okay to the left, not so good to the right). We did squeak out a frantic left lead canter but between his feet and the heat I didn't want to get him working too hard. He was sweaty before I had even gotten on. When we were finished I hosed him off and turned him out. Of course the first thing he did was roll in the dirt so now he looks like he hasn't been groomed in weeks. I decided Axel needed a little TLC as well so I hosed him off too.