As the wind blows

I will say there has been some crappy weather since I got back from Kentucky. Temperatures in the 40’s and 50’s, rain, and strong winds much of the time. Nothing makes me or the horses crankier than riding inside in May.

Monday I rode both ponies to catch up from the long weekend out of town. Of course it was raining so I rode inside. Stampede just did some walk and trot to get loosened up. Nothing spectacular or horrible there, just went around. P got to try out his new bareback pad. I will say it did not move the entire ride, which is impressive. I can feel his spine more than I can with the coolback pad, but the grip and closeness is nice. It will take more rides to make a final decision on the pad.

Tuesday I lunged Stampede in his rig. I couldn’t bear to go inside and it was probably the nicest day all week although very windy still so we braved it outside. Stampede was somewhat distracted by his surroundings and lazy but it wasn’t a bad workout for him.

Wednesday I rode Mr P in the outdoor ring while Jessica rode Bijou. He started out a bit up but settled in nicely by the time we trotted the second direction.

Stampy cooling out indoors after our bad ride Thursday

Thursday it was cloudy and extra windy out so I rode inside with Christie. Stampede was cranky and didn’t want to move off the leg. It was really a fight to get around, especially when I tried to canter, and I was feeling pretty discouraged. I try to be realistic that some days Stampede’s back just hurts and it will be a struggle, but it never feels good to ride a horse who is feeling that way.

Friday the vet came to give the boys their spring shots. I hopped on P fast when I got to the barn to attempt a nice flat before she came but he turned out to be a nut. I got after him for evading the left bend so then he refused to trot and would canter instead. So we had a few discussions and ended up settling on starting out trotting to the right. He did settle down but then the vet came so it wasn’t really much of a ride in the end. We will make up for that today!

I showed the vet how Stampede was being really sensitive where he was injected even though he has no swelling, heat, etc. She recommended that I give him some previcox for a few days just to settle things down in his body. So he got some drugs before I left hidden in his remaining birthday Willie Muffins and said they tasted strange. The vet also brought me more magic goo, so the beast will be upset this week since I will be wrapping his hind leg crusts starting today!

The vet did say P was one of the best looking 25 year olds she has seen, which made me feel good. I work hard to keep that boy well cared for!

New Ogilvy Profile Pad now monogrammed!

Anyways, on to Saturday. Juneau is doing obedience classes now and it ran over so I didn’t make it to the barn in time to lesson. This was really fine after the horrible ride I had on Stampede Thursday, plus they were flatting inside since it was once again cloudy and windy. As I finished getting Stampy ready the lesson came outside to jump and the sun came out too so I decided to ride outside.

The wind was sending Stampy’s mane all over the place

Stampede was reluctant to start trotting but once I got after him and we started moving he felt more like himself than he had earlier in the week. The wind was gusting like crazy and the sun kept going in and out of the clouds but he only got spooky in his usually offensive corner where the show jumps sit. We did have to have a discussion about that but moved on after a few extra passes by the scary area. His canter was so much better – forward and energetic of his own accord. Not sure if it was the drugs or the great outdoors but my boy was feeling happy again.

Headed out to ride P and maybe lunge Stampede, haven’t decided what to do with him yet. Hope everyone is having a good weekend!