Since coming back from Chicago I’ve actually gotten quite a bit of riding in. Going to mix it up and do a recap by horse today.
Phoenix
The pony has finally gotten back to full work so as long as it hasn’t been raining we’ve been making the most of our field time.
Field time!
Earlier this week I found a swollen bump on P’s belly and it is has so far been fairly resistant to my attempts to get rid of it. Maybe some kind of crazy bug bite or sting?
Big belly bump
It’s been a very stubborn lump, but finally seems to be receding slightly today.
Ingenuity for belly bump icing
Stampede
The large beast and I have been quite stuck lately. I quickly figured out that attempting to canter was sending us backwards, so we’ve taken a step back to walk/trot land again. When Stampede becomes obstinate and overly spooky it always means he’s in discomfort.
Headed out to the rings
Tuesday I had tried to ride him out in the field with my friend Rachel on P and he was so bad in the field that we had to give up and go back to a ring. The more he hollows his back the more sore he makes himself and the more reactive he gets so sometimes you can’t just push him through an issue.
One may be taller than the other
So we went back in the ring to finish the ride on a better note. P made it clear he was happier in the field by biting his brother.
Brotherly love
So Stampede got some lunging in this week to try to get his back feeling better.
Hard at work
I also managed to get a steal of a deal on a Mattes pad that takes shims so I can try some other saddles on the beast as well as make his Butet sit a bit better on his crooked back.
Grass makes him happy
The Mattes did make it possible to shim the Antares enough to make it usable on Stampede to see if he responds to a saddle change. He definitely feels different in the Antares, but I need some eyes on the ground to tell me what it looks like.
On the move
The boys also got their feet done last week and Stampede’s abscess hole from earlier in the year has been looking quite large so I decided to tape over it to keep it clean. Picture with tape above.
Big hole in the hoof
Willow
I got to ride Willow on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday this week. It really helps me a lot to get on a horse who doesn’t have a ton of issues to worry about. Willow and I work on keeping her hips straight and maintaining her pace mostly.
Willow says this might be scary
On Monday night when I rode Willow it was raining so we ended up inside. Some bags of shavings had already been brought in since the temporary stalls for a show this weekend were coming in that night. Willow had to give the bags the hairy eyeball but then proceeded to be great for the rest of the ride.
Very thankful to get to ride Willow although I feel bad that her mom’s ankle is still causing issues!
Belly bump icing, genious!!
What’s that saying – necessity is the mother of invention? Lol
that pic of P nipping Stampede is adorable lol. my mare gets those lumps on her stomach too – right around her belly button – whenever the gnats are getting at her something awful. they go away on their own, but when they’re very scabby i usually just smear swat all over the place
Hmm, maybe I will try some swat on it. Poultice was doing nothing to bring it down but cold hosing and icing seem to help. He’s just been a bit blah and I wondered if it was related. Before the bite he was still selectively doing his version of running away with me, lol.
Great idea for icing the belly bump! Apollo gets those sometimes too, I might give that a try next time.
It worked surprisingly well. Poulticing did nothing, nor did a shot of Dex.
Stampy looks handsome in his Pessoa rig tho 😀
New division needed so we can show – Hunter lunge line! Of course then he’d probably spook and take off, lol.