I went out to visit my girl last night. It is so nice to not have to study and make a decision between prepping for my exam and taking care of my injured horse. Had she gotten hurt a week ago i would have been in torture over the situation. Anyway, she seems to be doing fine. She's on stall rest for a week, and had one of the geldings hanging out in the barn keeping her company all day, which she enjoyed.
Since she does not seem to be showing any lameness I decided to ride her at the walk for a half hour instead of just hand walking her. I wasn't too sure what to expect as she wasn't worked the previous day, hadn't been turned out all day, I couldn't longe her (for fear of her breaking into the trot), and we were riding in the new arena for the first time. Before i got on, I hand walked her around the arena a few times so that she could check out all the nooks and crannies. By the time I got on her she was nice an calm, and I think a bit confused and bored as to why we were only walking, but she settled into working on our circles, figure eights, serpentines and any other pattern I could come up with to keep her focused on bending and yielding to my leg. I was very relieved, although I am looking forward to trotting next week and I'm sure she is too. Since she can't be turned out right now, I rewarded her with a good 45-minute long session of hand grazing which she of course loved. Thank goodness for smart phone entertainment!
*On a side note, the barn owner "A" has a very cool method of delivering her medicine tablets. I've always just ground them up and dusted them over her feed, but his method is fantastic. Apparently most tablets dissolve in water, so he simply places the tablets in a syringe and fills it up with water and then gives it to her orally. Simple brilliance!
Follow my adventures as I bring a long an upper level dressage prospect, starting as a yearling.
That's how I give medication and for me it's the only way that works lol!
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