Axel's Scratches

Another quick trip to the barn.  Really looking forward to the mud drying up someday. The boys have been out on pasture for a little bit every day.  They were turned out while I was dealing with Axel.  When I turned him out he ran out until he could see them at the far end of the pasture and then just stopped to eat grass.  Lazy bones.

I ended up just hosing Axel's legs really well, spraying him with the blue stuff (CHG), letting him dry while I groomed, walked him down the driveway, and then spraying him with J's WD40 on her recommendation.  Apparently she was actually going to do that all herself this afternoon as she noticed he had a pretty decent case of scratches.  After hosing though they weren't as bad as they looked. Still pretty scabby but the mud made it look a million times worse.

I might go ride or work with Book(g)er tomorrow or something, who knows.

Exciting Happenings

Lots of stuff going on these days.  First we almost had Spring and then it snowed again, and again, and again.  So there was snow in May.  Not really inspiring for getting to the barn.  I just finally made it out to do spring shots and just made the spring vet appointment for June(!).

Daniel came out last week after the farrier appointment to ride a bit.  We pretty much had to pry him off the horse.  Gonna try and get out there weekly if possible for him to ride.

Then the most exciting news is that we finally found a horse. Did a lot of looking on the web, looked at a couple TBs in person that didn't work out, and found a couple QHs to look at a couple weeks ago.  The second of which just clicked. Big beefy AQHA, great brain, and a work ethic and his name is Booger.  So that was our guy.  He arrived on Saturday and we didn't waste any time to saddle him up and put him through a few paces.  He's coming off a gaming career followed by a roping career, neither of which he excelled at so he does need a little reprogramming to figure out what we're looking for but he's so calm I just don't think it'll take much time at all.

He does have a little "hitch in his giddyup" as it were, but it doesn't seem to bother him and the previous owner thought he'd work out of it as he shaped up.  We're having the vet take a peek in a couple weeks when he's out to check teeth and all that. Not ideal for a new horse to be off but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

And I got back on Axel!  He's been looking pretty good lately so I thought I'd give it a try.  Walk, trot, canter.  He's not perfect, still off, but it seems less than before.  My goal is to get him in shape (mentally and physically) enough to handle a walk down the road once in a while and eventually to learn to be ponied so Daniel and I can go out when we've moved them to the farm.  I stopped riding him because I just wasn't comfortable making him "work it out" if he got snotty with me with his sore knee.  But now that he's feeling a little better, I think a little work is going to be good for him.  He's been having some troubles in his stifles so hopefully a little exercise will help keep stuff loosened up.

So the plan is that N will ride Booger and I will do some ground work with him and keep Cody and Axel in shape.  We'll try and ride Booger and Cody together when we have the chance over the summer.  And then later in the summer/early fall we'll move Cody, Axel, and Haji out to the farm to semi-retire in style.  Then I'll half lease Booger and we'll turn him into a mounted shooting expert (or just a trail horse ;) ).

There's Still Mud and Snow

This is probably the most annoying spring ever.  Last year we had our vet appointments done and were riding down the road already.  This year we are still under snow with the forecast calling for more.  On top of that, or under it, the frost went out so it's also muddy.  So so muddy.

I ran out to see if I could scrape some mud off of Axel's legs and see what was going on under there.  I got a little mud off by scrubbing with snow but I couldn't get it all.  I'm pretty sure there's some scabs under there.  I've just been spraying the CHG on top of the mud, hoping it'll at least help a little.

I chased him around in the arena with the whip and once again, darn horse is nearly sound.  Walk, trot, canter, seriously.  If he keeps this up we're going to do some ground work and get the last two years of retirement out of his system and maybe, just maybe, go for a ride or two.  I don't think some light riding is going to matter much in the grand scheme of arthritis.  I just want him feeling good enough that if he feels too good I'm comfortable kicking his butt.

I also ended up meeting one of the new boarders that works nights, so I might have a lunch time riding partner again.

Ick ... mud

Okay the mud is in full swing.  Up over my ankles and totally disgusting.  The horses kind of looked at me like, "help me please."  Heh.  I was going to just go out and try out my new grooming tool in the paddock but the other horse was trying to help so that wasn't going to work.  A horse was in the arena for some reason.  I suppose I could have put her in a stall but that just seemed like more work than I wanted.  So I took the boys out and tied them to the rail by the other barn.  Not really out of the mud but that's next to impossible at this point.


I did end up spraying both Cody and Axel's feet since it was so horrible out there.  Though I just sprayed right over the mud.  Heh.  I couldn't quite see if Axel's scabs were worse or better or otherwise but they didn't *seem* any worse so I suppose that's a good sign.

So I ended up ordering a giant dog short hair Furminator for the horses.  The horse one is super spendy and I found this one on Amazon for 20 bucks.  As far as I know they are the same thing just a different size and the reviews said the horse one was too wide.  I had to brush off as much dried mud as I could first but they were still pretty dirty, hopefully I didn't dull the blade at all. So at first glance it didn't seem like it was getting off that much hair but when I was done I went back over the horses with the regular brush and it didn't fill up with hair nearly as fast as it usually does.  Probably would have been nicer had I gotten the thing a couple weeks ago before they were so nasty.

So when I was done grooming I walked each of them down the driveway.  I've come to one conclusion.  If we end up with a TB (or even any other horse) I'm going to need to pay closer attention to what the horse is doing.  I'm sort of spoiled with my more or less bomb proof horses.  Axel was on his toes the whole walk down the drive way.  We walked back and forth a tiny bit on the road and then headed back up the drive way and Axel got behind me and decided to let off a little steam and jump around.  So my back was turned to him while he did this and it could have been a really dangerous situation with most any other horses.  Cody wasn't quite on his toes til we got to the road then he did his usual trotting thing getting himself all worked up a bit (not really all that bad but more energy than he's had all winter).  I backed him up the first part of the driveway with success and some actual speed so that was nice.  But he still wanted to trot his way back to the paddock.  So I guess taking the boys down the road first thing in the spring (aka flying kites) is good practice for handling a less than bomb proof horse.  I should probably wear a helmet when I'm doing that too but I didn't have it with me since I didn't intend on riding.  So my rules for myself when we get a new horse is to 1. wear my helmet even doing ground work and 2. pay better attention at least until the horse is settled in and we know his personality a little better.

Horses are Dangerous

No pictures, cuz the mud.  So much mud.  Anyway, horses are dangerous, I tell ya.  I can hardly use my right arm since my last visit to the barn.  I put Cody in the arena so he could roll and then I scraped a pile of hair off him before tacking him up.  I decided to grab my dressage whip since Cody has lacked a little inspiration lately.  And here's where things got dangerous. I stood Cody at the mounting block, reins in my left hand, whip in my right.  I transferred the whip to just a few fingers and then used the remaining fingers on my right hand to grab the mounting block and move it closer.  The mounting block is homemade, two by sixes, pretty heavy, and apparently the remaining free fingers on my right hand are not strong enough to move the block and I pulled a muscle in my forearm.  Ug.  So yeah, I'm a wimp.

Free lunged Cody first to get him moving, left lead canter just about every time he was asked.  Rode for about a half hour.  Not a spectacular ride.  I think I need to step back and work with him on just responding when asked.  We're stuck in a catch 22.  He's reluctant, I nag, he tries everything but what I really want, I nag more, he's more reluctant.  Rinse, repeat.  So we might have gotten a left lead canter, it was hard to tell. When I got off I lunged him to the left and got the correct lead so that was our stopping point.

I keep thinking, "I can't wait til we get a new horse to work with and Cody can retire" but I really do need to keep him in shape so I can ride him while Daniel rides Haji.  But it'll be a whole new set of issues to tackle once we move him to a new location so I guess for now I just keep him in shape and keep working on his confidence and anxiety.  Looking forward to a few rides down the road when the new horse arrives, I just hope he rides out with a new horse as well as he did with his BFF Steele.

Spring TLC for Axel

Spent a little time getting Axel cleaned up. Scraped a small horse's worth of hair off him (still waiting for my furminator to arrive). I clipped up his back legs and dyed them blue. Heh okay not really. We decided to go a little cheaper this year and got some dairy cattle teat dip. Same ingredients as the hibi-clens I was using but a lot cheaper. Might be a little lower concentration but hopefully it'll still do the trick. This stuff is dyed blue so you can see where you've sprayed so now Axel has blue socks on his back feet.

I put Axel in the arena for a bit as well and chased him around a bit, though it certainly didn't take much encouragement on my part to get him moving. He trotted out a little lame at first and then just went wild and nearly sound. His canter is especially sound (at least comparatively). I hate when he does this, makes me really want to ride him. I should keep letting him stretch his legs in the arena as much as possible, keep the old man moving.

Spring?

Yeah so Spring seems to be taking it's good ole' time.  But the shedding has begun, and in full force.  Farrier visit this past week, Cody is doing well.  Still not a lot of growth and I don't think he even had to trim, just rasped.  Shoes will go on next visit in May - hopefully the mud is gone by then.

Axel is still swollen, actually more swollen than before.  My theory is that the swelling went down as the horses were learning how to use the hay net.  Now that they have it figured out - commence pigging out, and thus the swelling is back.  Boo.  I plan to get a hay net for the boys when I move them but now do I need to consider the slow feed net?  It's significantly more expensive than the regular net.  It's kind of an expensive experiment.

I haven't gotten out to ride too much.  The last two times I rode Cody went okay.  Kind of lazy. I didn't have a crop or spurs or anything.  He really really will not stay on the rail or willingly go to the left.  He doesn't act like he's in pain or pissed, just doesn't want to go.  So I've been riding a bit and then lunging to the left.  Probably should do that in reverse order.  Along with some bending to try and loosen him up and some carrot stretches.

So on the lunge line when he picks up that left lead canter it looks really easy and nice and effortless, but getting him into it is like pulling teeth.

We still haven't gotten out to see our first choice adoption horse, we're hoping for this coming week.  I think Cody has his hooves crossed as well.  He's ready to just be a pretty pasture ornament.  Though until I move him I'll need to keep him in shape for some road/trail riding.  I could probably make it out to the barn more than once a week, maybe ride Cody bareback for speed's sake, and then ride the "new" horse regular style to get him legged up.  Then maybe once every 2 weeks (or more) ride out with both horses and N.  Big plans!

Back in a "new" saddle

I had to try out my "new" saddle.  I couldn't wait any longer.  I had ridden in the saddle before but you never know, maybe it wasn't as awesome as I had originally thought.  Lo! It's still awesome!  Cody is happy that there's snow in the paddock so he can walk instead of skating.  He was, however, wondering where my little plan ran off too (I had planned to ride bareback in a halter for the winter to help keep me off his face and help me establish some more subtle cues).  But I couldn't help it, he's been sound for over a month now so it was time to jump on quick.

So we did a little walk and trot and he even gave me a nice little right lead canter.  He did everything in his power to avoid going left though.  Didn't really even want to walk left, would cut the corners and try and circle around the other way.  He wasn't lame or anything in that direction just avoident (is that a word?).  Might have to dig out my massage and stretching book and see what I can find and maybe get the chiropractor out this spring again.

So yeah, rode in a saddle for the first time since I can't even remember, fall sometime I guess.  It was good. The sitting trot was awesome. The canter was nice.  I still need work on my hands, I'm too fidgety with the reins. Also need to swap out stirrups and leathers, the one's that were on the saddle are brown and too short.  I should get a new girth that has the extra buckle for the saddle flaps.  And I hate riding in my winter boots.  They're meant for riding but they are just so huge and I have to adjust my leathers and blah blah annoying.

And Axel! The swelling has gone down both sheath and belly (you can't even see the swelling in the picture, that's just fat).  Earlier this winter the barn owners got one of those big round bale nets. The horses were wasting hay and eating them out of house and home so they thought they'd give it a try.  I had my hopes.  After a month or so I had my suspicions.  And now I think it's official.  Slowing down their free choice hay has reduced Axel's swelling.  Similar, I think, to spring when they go off the round bales.  So I will be purchasing a round bale net before I move the horses out to our farm.

Checkin' In

Just a quick visit last week to make sure everyone was upright.  They were until I put them in the arena.  But getting them to the arena was an adventure.  Leads me to make plans for our own place as far as ice goes.  Cody and I skated to the barn, Axel and I skated to the barn.  Cody skated back from the barn and almost fell on me.  Same with Axel.

The difference between the two boys is interesting.  Cody is cautious.  If there's any potential of ice, he goes so slow I think he might be dead lame.  Axel is the opposite.  "OMG ice!  I better RUN!"  Which looks as little like Bambi, legs flying everywhere until he gets to something not icy.  Of course he doesn't aim so he usually ends up dragging me further into the ice before I can stop him.  Really looking forward to spring, I'll say that much.

I found my self in possession of a new (to me) dressage saddle.  I rode in this saddle last winter in my lessons and it was the most comfortable saddle in the universe.  I like my cheap-o no brand dressage saddle but this one was awesomeness.  So in the end it ended up being mine for a steal.  Crosby Prix St George.  Very used but still very much life left in it.  Might need a little billet strap replacement but it looks like it'll be a simple job whenever I get around to taking it in (remind me to do that before I move out to the middle of nowhere).  I haven't cleaned it or replaced the brown leathers or even ridden in it on my horse. Maybe in the next couple weeks - still waiting for my back to heal up from this latest bout of pain.  I don't think it fits Cody perfect but it is better than my other.  Sadly it seems to fix Axel like a glove.  Hopefully it'll fit the new horse (when we find him) ;)

Retirement?

So I mentioned retirement in my last post.  So potentially the person taking care of Haji right now might be selling his place or moving or whatever in the Spring.  Which means Haji needs to either move in with Cody and Axel at the boarding barn or move out to Canby.  If he moves to Canby he'd be alone so obviously we'd need another horse out there.  But moving just Cody or just Axel seems unfair to Cody and Axel so maybe they'd both move to Canby with Haji.  Which means no horses nearby for me :(

Enter the gal who's been riding Cody for a while.  She'd like to own a horse one of these days but taking the financial plunge is always a big decision plus the thought of having a horse 30 minutes away is a little less than ideal.  So we formulated a little plan (much to our husband's dismay).  Send Cody and Axel and Haji out to Canby and buy a new horse that I then lease from her.  Sort of a reverse of her leasing Cody from me.

I'm thinking I can keep my budget about the same, I'll have to buy feed for the boys at the farm and then pay half the board on the new horse.  I think that should turn out to be about the same (not counting grass hay from the inlaws).  I think Cody and Axel's old owner would maybe lend a hand and grain them since they will be right down the block.  And since we visit the farm usually 2 weekends a month (at least), I'll still be seeing them about as often.  Plus Daniel can start riding Haji and I can still ride Cody.  And even take him out to the cows and do a little cow work.  While I won't be able to rush out there in an emergency I think there's enough family and friends that would be willing to lend a hand if necessary   Of course now I need to find a farrier out there.

So we're on the hunt for a new horse.  This could be interesting.  Oh and fencing, there needs to be a bit of fencing done at the farm place before all of this can come to fruition.  I think there might be a bit of overlap with my horses and the "new" horse so maybe we'll get to ride together a few times even.

Still Winter

Been out to the barn a couple times now and while the paddock is so hard, icy, and bumpy and makes all the horses walk like they are 3-legged lame, when I get them in the arena they move out well. The first time I got out there Cody did one of those crazy cat leg stretches on the way out of the paddock. I think standing on bumpy ice makes the old men a little stiff.

These last two times I went out I didn't ride at all, just let the boys stretch out a bit. The second time it was sunny so everyone was a little more interested in snoozing than running and rolling.

As soon as this super cold streak breaks a bit I bet they'll be happy to do some rolling in the sand. And I picked up my "new-to-me" dressage saddle which I'm hoping fits Cody at least enough for a few rides before he's maybe retired.

Cody's Back - Fingers Crossed

Well had he not gone through what he did this summer/fall/winter I wouldn't notice any difference in the old man.

Went out today at lunch, he was a bit slow and tender in the paddock (nothing new from past winters). Ran around the arena and rolled. On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being completely sound, he'd be a 9-9.5 and that might just be how he is normally.

Pretty sure he's exactly how he was last winter, maybe a little stiff but I don't think he's feeling the foot thing any more at least on good footing.

So I did a little ground work and a little free lunging and then spent quite a few minutes getting him to stand still at the mounting block before I hopped on bareback (while he was walking away I might add). I might have picked a not great day to be on bareback with just the halter as the ice was sliding off the roof - whoops. He startled once and I startled once. But we survived. Only rode around for less than 10 minutes probably. Just walking and then worked on some turns on the forehand and haunches and some backing up. He's a lot more responsive bareback with a halter. I think I'll ride like that more often I think it makes me less naggy and more precise. And definitely not in his face.

So yay to that, it was a good day.

On the mend?

Had to run out and drop off the board check the other day so I grabbed Cody and threw him in the arena for a few minutes while I was there. He was still reluctant in the paddock but seemed to move a tiny bit better. Once he got to some deep snow he moved really well. In the arena he rolled and then ran around by himself without my encouragement. Pretty close to sound trot and canter. Even had a nice left lead canter. So it was a good day, he was feeling pretty good. Thank god for that!

Cody Update

Just a little update to how Cody is doing with his bout of Laminitis.  He was on bute for a week and even though he liked to walk away from when I went to fetch him and he'd toss his head a bit he was a pretty good patient and took his bute well.  He was feeling pretty good with the combo of bute and foam insulation in his boots.  I left the boots on for a week after the bute was done just to make sure.  I never did get a god answer from the vet on how long to leave the boots.  But it snowed and I figured I better take the boots off so they didn't get stuffed with snow.  The heat was gone from his hooves and the stocking up in his right front was gone.  And he was throwing some pretty decent bucks in the arena, so I think he was feeling pretty good.

So he had been out in the paddock for more than a week when the farrier came up for a trim.  He checked out his heels and all that and did his best to bring them down a bit so his feet were covering the ground as best they could but he had very little toe growth so there wasn't any nipping, just filing.  We agreed shoes this time of year would be a pain in the butt as well as nailing shoes on a sore foot isn't exactly everyone's favorite job.

A week after the farrier appointment, or maybe a little longer I went back out and threw Cody and Axel in the arena to blow off some steam.  Cody was really walking poorly out of the paddock but it's icy and bumpy and frozen and that seems to be his MO in the winter like that.  Even Axel was tip toeing around.  But with a little "encouragement" in the arena they both tore around and Cody started to look like his old self.  still the tiniest bit "off" on the right front so I'll be keeping an eye on that for sure.  I really hope this is behind us and I'm planning on shoeing in the spring from now on.  It has yet to be determined if we'll have to shoe all around or just fronts.

I'm buying another used saddle and I'd really like to try it out so I hope Cody is getting back to riding condition.  Mommy's getting a Crosby Prix St. George dressage saddle - yum.

Laminitis

So we think it all started mid-late summer.  Cody is always kind of tender footed that's why we put hoof boots on him when we ride anywhere that isn't the arena.  But it started to get to the point where he couldn't even walk from the pasture to the barn without looking like he was going to fall over in pain.  A few other horses were having some foot issues around the same time so we chalked it up to the weather and the ground hardness.  So we put some shoes on him and he got a little better.  But he was never quite right after that.  We pulled the shoes at the beginning of November and he remained not quite right.  We gave him some time off and evaluated him again.  He was hard to figure out.  He'd go from lame, to sore, to lazy all in a few minutes and we couldn't ever really tell which leg was bothering him.  It was kind of vague and hard to pinpoint.  So he had a little more time off.  I was out there last week and he was worse than before so I called the vet and put some boots on him.

The vet made it out the next afternoon and by then he'd been in the boots for 24 hours and was looking quite a bit better.  He did test sore with the hoof testers on the sole of his foot.  But judging how tender he usually is that alone wasn't really indicative of anything specific.  He was also reactive to concussion on the hoof wall which the vet said could indicate laminitis.  He figured it was a pretty mild case and we couldn't really determine why.  He was off sweet feed already, he's not a fat horse, so it pretty much leaves something like "road founder" from hard ground, maybe from stomping flies.  Might just be one of those things.  He had a similar issue several years ago, a round of bute and shoes fixed it up at the time.

So Cody is on 2g of bute a day for 7 days to reduce any inflammation.  And the vet recommended pink foam insulation duct taped to his feet.  The alternatives being special boots ($190) with special orthotics ($90), or corrective shoeing.  We figured trying the insulation was the cheapest route and he had the best luck with it apparently.

Instead of using just the duct tape I figured we'd put the foam in his boots, I thought that would keep it on a lot better than just tape.  So he's had 5 doses of bute and has been wearing his boots with the foam in it.  And he seems like he's feeling pretty good these days.  They put a different horse in the pen with them this weekend and I guess there was a lot of running around and Cody looked like he was feeling just fine.

So the bute will be done tomorrow and Cody will be happy for that.  He's not a big fan of how the bute tastes.  Surprisingly he's been pretty decent about it though.  He yanks his head up about 4-5 times and then he just stands there and lets me put it into the corner of his mouth.  So in the grand scheme that's not too horrible if you ask me.  He has been "running" away from me now though, really just walking away when he sees me coming.  I think that'll stop when I stop making he eat gross tasting medicine.  I'll have to make sure to give him some treats when I go out there for a while after the meds are done.

After the week of bute we'll have to see how he does.  I'm thinking I give him the rest of the week in the boots with the foam to give the bute a chance to wear off.  Then maybe no boots for the weekend and we'll see how he is.

More Lame Horses

Cody's been "nqr" (not quite right) for a while now.  I was hoping he'd be better after a few weeks off but I was just out to check on him and boo he's not better, in fact he might be worse.  So I bit the bullet and called the vet and left a message.  I'm hoping he can diagnose without xrays cuz that's wicked crazy expensive (and a different vet has to do it cuz my vet doesn't have an xray machine).  Though if it's what I think it is it might only take 1 picture per hoof so that wouldn't be too bad. Merry Christmas Cody!

So anyway it was tough pulling him away from the hay feeder and he would hardly move, kind of parked out rocked back on his heels.  It seemed like it was both fronts bothering him. His right front is stocked up but even after cleaning out his hooves and getting him in the arena footing he was favoring both feet.  (still willing to roll of course)

His front hooves are warm compared to the backs.  Not hot and I can't feel a pulse but they are definitely different than the back ones.  So I'm thinking he's foundering or has laminitis or something like that.  Last time this happened was the first time I had him shod and he was fixed right away but we had just shoes on him this fall and he still wasn't quite right so it might take some meds for inflammation and maybe special shoeing (usually they put pads on and the shoes on backwards sometimes) and maybe some diet changes.
So we'll see what the vet says.  Hopefully he calls back soon and can come out this week still. 
I put on his old hoof boots on with the old pastern wraps and I found a scissors and cut down the gel pads and put those in the boots as well. He was walking better with the boots on but still a little gun shy I think.

Boy does he look low backed in this photo, someone needs to do some sit ups.

And they are definitely getting the hang of the hay net. The barn owners picked up one of those big round bale nets to try and slow the pigs down and save on waste and it seems to be doing the trick.  I'm secretly hoping the slow in feeding will make Axel's swelling go away, but it's only been two weeks and he's still my big pregnant gelding.

Pardon Axel's *ahem*

Cowboy Dan

Earlier this year (sometime in the summer), Jeff brought Daniel out to the barn to go for a little ride with me on Cody. Daniel was pretty quiet and content riding around in circles in the arena. And then we went to take him off the horse and he got upset. So I decided since he seemed pretty into it and I teach riding lessons to other people’s kids, why not start Daniel on some short lessons at least until it gets too cold to be in the barn.

So a few weeks ago we started heading out to the barn once a week and letting Daniel ride Axel. Axel has been lame now for a few years due to arthritis but keeping him moving is good for him. He’s been telling me he’s neglected lately by trying to climb in my pocket when I go out to get Cody. Daniel’s not heavy enough to make a difference on Axel’s back. So it seemed like a perfect match.
The first week we just had Daniel ride bareback but Axel’s so huge Daniel could hardly stay in the middle so I grabbed his little saddle for our future visits. The first couple rides Daniel made it for almost 10 minutes but our last few rides he’s only made it about 5 minutes. But considering his age I don’t expect him to have much more of an attention span.

He’s really catching on fast though. He tells Axel “GO” when he wants him to move and he’ll pick up the reins when we tell him to. Usually he holds onto the saddle horn with one hand (don’t worry, we’ll fix that when he gets a little older). Our only issue right now is that when the horse stops Daniel decides that he’s done and tries to get off. So thus some of our lessons are very short.

I usually have him help groom a little before he rides and clip the reins on the halter and we had him sweep the aisle after riding. You gotta learn all the chores not just the fun part ;)

Always Catching Up

Though there's not too much to catch up on. The last couple weeks that Cody had shoes on he was off on his front right. He got better but still was the slightest "not quite right." Shoes got pulled and he's still a tiny bit off. N has ridden bareback in the arena and I rode last week for a few minutes. It's really hard to tell if he's lazy, foot sore, or lame. It's so subtle and it's not every step. So here's hoping whatever it is gets better soon.

Back on the Road

I finally met up with another boarder for a ride down the road this week. Our ride started out a little slow. Both Steele and Cody were kind of stop and go because the neighbor had the airplane running getting ready to take off. After that they picked up the speed a little. We went down the drainway between the fields and a little bit in the empty bean field cuz I can't help but ride in an empty bean field, so much flat space. Had a long grass break in the usual spot and then back over to the tree for another grass break. Steele had been giving hints the whole ride that he really wanted to start acting like an idiot and after the tree there was a car parked on the side of the road from some farmers checking crops. He decided to shy at that and then there was no going back. He'd freak out, Cody would freak out, Steele would freak out again, Cody again, they were just feeding off each other. By the time we got to the town hall they were both pretty worked up. Steele even kicked Cody (he had squealed at him a couple times prior). Luckily they calmed down a bit and after one more little burst of exciting Cody was back to a walk even with all the traffic, it was like a main thoroughfare through there today. I had him give me a left lead canter and a right lead canter in the arena before I called it a day. Left lead took two tries but he did get it fairly easily, of course it was the fastest canter ever. He was a sweaty mess after all the freaking out down the road. So the ride started out really nice and ended up a little exciting.

Riding Cody