Slowly we prepare...

Blu's back has been a bit sore... what could it be? Instead of trying to guess, let's call Dr. Liz. So the good doctor came for a barn visit yesterday and ooohhhh'd and ahhhhh'd over how wonderful the big boy looks. She was so impressed with his topline saying he was regressing in years. She could have said nothing better. She agreed that his back was sore but not bad and chiropractically he was in good shape. So after a little shock wave we talked about another issue that has cropped up... SCRATCHES... uggggggghhhh.

I noticed Blu's right hind was stocking up so probing fingers discovered the nasty little crusty fungus and went to work trying to crumble it away. He did not take huge offense to my probing but did let me know he did not care for it much. So I cleaned it, dried it and applied some Micro-Tek. While it had improved it was still there and he held some mild swelling in his ankle. Dr. Liz gave me some SSD with dexamethasone to slather on his ankle. She warned me that I would have to be vigilant and if he continued to hold fluid in his ankle then he would have to be wrapped every evening since as an older horse he would be prone to developing lymphangitis. DOUBLE UGGGGGGHHHHH. He is such a good boy and would be great to wrap, it is just getting it done when I am not to the barn that becomes a problem. There always seems to be something to worry about...

Putting all that aside, I begin the preparations for a bronze medal show season. I called the USDF after finding they had not recorded all my scores. Very helpful that I kept all of them since 1999!!! This has to be the longest medal in the making. Having goals is important even if your anticipated timeline is exceeded by a decade.