Getting better every day

I have had two good rides this week. While there is just a little something going to the left, I have reintroduced the canter and it feels quite good. Dr. Liz was by this evening and thought he was making remarkable progress. She thought his canter to the right was perfect and he needs a little help going to the left. So with her direction, we will focus on keeping him conditioned by going to the right and adding the left as it feels good. She also said we can trail ride. It would be very good for him to get out of the ring. Yay...

I am going to have to look at his saddle since it is too tight as it sits behind the shoulders. He has gained weight and I do not think he had much room to spare to begin with. Oh well, better to fix the saddle issue then to have ongoing soundness issues.

Dr. Liz said we could think about doing some shows the end of August/ beginning of September at training or first level. I may just consider it to get us both back in show shape.

All said, this was a great day!!!

A couple of days off

I was at the barn today after giving Blu a couple of days off -- I was traveling and he had shock wave done on his back and left front foot on Wednesday which required a day of rest. Dr. Liz is pleased with his progress and is not sure if his ongoing discomfort is coming from his back or his left front. This is a long slow process for sure! The heart bar shoes have helped tremendously and overall he is much more comfortable. The farrier will be back on the 11th and we will see what happens at that time.

So I rode him for 30 minutes today -- 5 minutes of trot in each direction and 20 minutes of walking. Going to the right at trot was super but he is still struggling a bit going to the left. So instead of doing the full ring I would walk him on the short sides. I will see if I can go for more trot tomorrow.

The boy got a shower and some hand grazing then back out to his pals. He is quite social with all the other horses. He and his other gray pal Windjammer were having quite the conversation! If only I could understand what they are saying...

Back to work

It has been a long haul. Blu has been the best of boys while we have tried to figure out what was going on. The root cause seems to be Blu was shod poorly for a period of time and developed very sore feet and back. I think we are on the right track with therapeutic heart bar shoes, rest, shock wave for his back and Polyglycan. He is now ready to start back in light work after a week of light lunging. I sometimes think I still see/ feel something in his right front when going to the left but then it disappears. I see it from the ground on occasion but when he is under saddle I can not see it when we pass by in the mirror.

Blu is loving life on the farm. He has gained much weight and now needs to watch his intake. We have cut his grain way back and watch the amount of hay he has in his stall. He is a very happy boy despite his restricted diet.

I have had to travel quite a bit this month but my friends have been great about looking after him. My daughters even visited the Blu - ster and put a smile on his face with their attention! They also put a smile on my face by taking the time to visit!

I feel there is light at the end of the tunnel. Dr. Liz comes back to visit this week so I can't wait to hear what she has to say. Go Blu Go!!!