Not So Wordless Wednesday

Sweet sweet Grinder. I love his eyes... they are so soulful, they speak to you!

My visit to SunnyBrook today was accompanied by rain and hail. Thus, a ride inside. Today, I discovered my horse is very flexible - which means lots of work has paid off - and that she can turn and stop on a dime. We did a sliding stop today. =) And the vet was out Monday, and she scraped off some of Grinder's frog (don't worry - it didn't hurt - his frog was so hard, if it didn't get taken off, it would've made him hurt worse), and told Lisa to soak it every day and then wrap it. So, today Lisa also soaked it and wrapped it and Grinder boy is getting better by the day! We kept Missy inside in a stall and Grinder inside in the round pen. We wanted Missy to stay in so that we could give her some extra food, grain, and supplements. Even though Missy got wormed a month and a half ago, Lisa's going to worm her again tomorrow to make sure that worms aren't the reason Missy isn't gaining weight. =/ And last but not least... Lucy lady was playing 'boss mare' at Missy when I got there. I rescued Miss though, and I think that frustrated Lucy and made Missy happy. ;)

Now, a little more in-depth information about my ride.

I arrived and talked to Lisa - who had Grinder in cross-ties and was getting ready to soak his hoof - for a minute before heading out to get Missy. Actually, I was just kind of killing time until the rain stopped, but who cares? I did it anyways! I ran outside between bouts of violent rain and grabbed Missy. Poor Lucy girl wanted to come along! One of these days I'll bring her inside and groom her and tell her what a pretty, beautiful, good girl she is. =)

Anyways, I took Missy inside and put her in the second, less-used grooming stall. I brushed her coat so that it lay as flat as possible when it was wet, and then picked her hooves. She had so much gravel and mud packed into those hooves, I'm surprised she could still walk, they must've been so heavy! I'm more surprised that Missy still has all four shoes on; I thought she would've lost one by now, since she hasn't had them on in such a long time. I threw a saddle and bridle on and waited for Lisa to wrap Grinder's foot before heading to the arena / round pen.

I hopped on and let her walk around a bit before asking for a trot. We worked on different speeds at the trot, with lots of circles, spirals, serpentines, and figure-8's. Then, I asked for a canter and we worked on tight turns, roll backs, figure-8's, and switching direction across the diagonal at a canter. Missy picked up very quickly on all of this, and even broke to a trot across the diagonal to change leads without me asking. We practiced quick stops and changing gaits randomly. When we were finished, we walked around a LOT. I asked for a lot of flexing and once, when Missy was getting a little bored with walking, I made her stop, then canter, then I asked for a sliding stop. It worked! No, not a professional sliding stop - but it was a sliding stop. And it was brilliant! =) We walked it out and were done.

When I put Missy up and while waiting for my dad (I had 45 minutes until he got there), I watched Uncle David and Troy hoist the tractor up onto Uncle Stephen's flat bed trailer to take to the shop. Apparently, they finally decided that it's crucial to have a tractor for winter! Especially since today, we got 30 round bales - free! Joy! ;)

That's about it... What a great day! Gotta love those rainy days... they're good days for PARTIES! Just kidding! 

His poor hooves! Look at his LF (the hoof on the right in this picture) - you can't see it very well because the light is crappy and he was standing on his toe, but it's wrapped and duct-taped. =(

Left to right: Misty ("Missy" #2, Mary Katherine & Elizabeth's horse), Missy, and Lucy. Lucy's face is blocked by the tree. Oopsies!

Now go hug a horse!