We Did What??!!

Yesterday morning I get a text from Kelsey saying she was gonna be at the barn at 1700. Minutes later I get a text from Tif saying she was puking her guts out, but would still be at the barn to ride around 1730. LOL!
It never ceases to amaze me at how awesome my friends are. I can tell you I have never made friends, in my life, that are quite like the ones I have found in the military. I have only known these two girls for about a month and I feel like we have been friends for years. It almost sucks to have them as friends because I know one day we will be seperated and will only have long-distance relationships with them. For now, I am taking advantage of all the wonderful time I can get. I will truely miss you girls when the time comes.

On to the fun stuff!!
So, like I said the plan was barn @ 1700-1730. The day dragged on. I basically cleaned my house top to bottom, just to occupy my bordom. Fun stuff, right? I took a break around 1400 to go outside and survey the weather. It has been ungodly hot and I was curious. I had been in the air conditioning all day. It wasn't as hot as the day before, but when I looked up I saw this...

My "house" is the one with the bike in front of it...thanks boys!

...heading straight for my house. Now, my house is like 4 miles from the barn. Chances of that sucker hitting us both was pretty good. Just as I am wondering if I should re-evaluate my plan, Kelsey texts me. Of course, she is concerned about the hurricane-esk storm barreling down on us. I told her "Not. To.Worry!" This stuff always blows over and we still have 3 hours before we are even due to be at the barn! Piece of PIE! Amazingly, she trusted me...LOL! After 20 minutes of wind, lightening, and Jesus bowling thunder(that is what I tell my kids), it was over. We hardly even got any rain. The sky cleared up and the plans were never changed...until.
1700 rolls around. I have my breeches, boots, ipod, camera and phone all ready to go. I walk out to the truck and whatta-ya-know the sky is just the same as earlier. I didn't care...this too shall pass. Half way to the barn I start getting texts from Tif and Kelsey. "O.K. weather-girl!! What now?" I was firm believer in the storm blowing over. I think since I have been at this barn we have had like 4-5 storms just blow right over the barn and never interfere with the riding schedule. My luck was about to run out...
I convinced Kelsey that it would be cool. Tif...no convincing needed. I mean, she was already coming out hopped up on anti-nausea meds...like a thunderstorm was stopping her. I turn down the road the barn is on...next to the river. The RIVER had white caps...the RIVER!

Yes, that is the RIVER!

I could feel the wind on the truck and the temperature on my odometer had dropped like 10 degrees. Once I got to the barn I took this pic....

My friend text me reminding me not to die...thanks, I almost forgot! LOL

I decided to sit in the truck and wait it out. Both Kelsey and Tif were on their way. I did, for just a moment open my door to feel the storm...

Windy much??

The heavens opened up and it was one of the biggest storms I have witnessed this year. It didn't last long, but she was a good one. After about 45 minutes we went to get the horses.

It was looking better.

It was still raining, but the sky was no longer black and the winds had died down. For the first time this summer, I thought "man I should have brought my hoddie." It was actually a bit chilly. One day it's 104* and the next I need a jacket...I feel like I am back in Indiana.

He was like, "seriously, mom??"

Luckily, I have my Wintec and you know what that means, synethtic. That makes cleaning easier from the rain. I took off all my electronics, lol, and saddled up. We were gonna trot some hills...

This was BEFORE the ride...LOL!

I couldn't part with my camera I tucked it way down into my leather tall boots and we were off! We didn't even make it out of the drive and we were already soaked. We were a sight for sore eyes. Clinging shirts, pathetic looking horses, make-up running, with the wind blowing. I am sure EVERY car that passed was thinking W.T.H.??? I am telling you it was the funnest ride I have ever been on! We started out on the hills...and as I'm sure everyone could forsee this (because we actually didn't) wet hills+trotting=retarded riders. What were we thinking? Obviously when we attempted it, we changed our minds for saftey reasons. We just trotted along the road...or did we?
Kelsey took the lead with her HUGE QH Ben (Ben is a barrel racer). He casually trotted alongside the road...minding his own business. Soleil was next. Tif with her rope halter again...just trotting away, then there's Olly. OMG!! They are gonna leave me, they are trotting ahead of ME!! I must buck, canter in place, throw in a piaffe, and then drop my head and evade the bit to get closer. At one point I had to actually stop him and re-group. Don't get me worng, I love the fact that he has this energy...I just wish he would have used it more constructively. The entire ride was like this. And I could have eliminated all the riff-raff...but he needed to learn that he isn't always first and a small part of me was having fun riding my fire-breathing-dragon ;). We get to this long stretch of beautiful grass and Kelsey warns us she is going to "breeze" down. She picks up a canter and is just in her own world, enjoying her horse. Olly was second in line. He of course was happier that he wasn't last, but still having issues not being first. He did get to canter, legitimately, and was getting to use his energy. Soleil was last. Tif was just cantering along and after about a tenth of a mile Soleil decided he is going to use his TB breeding to just haul ass. Remember he is in a rope halter. I am not kidding you, by the time I realized what happened that horse was a quater mile down the road. He kicked into high gear and was OUT! I totally wish I would had had my Garmin. I yell to Kelsey to stop cantering just as Tif races by. I can see her hanging on and trying everything in her power to slow him before we hit the next cross road. Olly starts freaking out because it's his boyfriend leaving him and I'M freaking out trying to think of what I can do to help. In the end...Soleil comes back to his senses, probably thinking "Oh, shit! My mom is gonna beat my ass!!" and slows to a walk. Now...I HAVE to say this because everyone was thinking it...TIF WEAR YOUR HELMET!!! you never know what is gonna happen. Now, I know I am a bit of a hypocrit, because I didn't wear mine on the swim...but I did have mine on for the crazy rainy day ride.
Once we figured out that we were all alive we walked back to the barn.
We had only been out for like 45 minutes so I went into the arena and set up a jump. Olly, obviously, had some excess energy. 3ft it is. Kelsey, the barrel racer, asked "...ummm...are you ginna jump that?" Yup!! Tif was in on it too, so I handed her the camera. Could the day have gotten any better? Firends, riding and jumping 3ft? I didn't think so...
He popped over the fence and threw me out of the saddle...I had to do it again. After doing it correctly, Tif says, 3'3"...hmmmmm....should I? I didn't even have to think about it. He had cleared that 3ft like it was nothin'. I got off and raised the cups. NOW, this is the first time EVER jumping this high. For me AND Olly. He owned that jump. The second time through he popped over and threw me completely outta the saddle. Kelsey and Tif enjoyed that one. After successfully completing the 3'3", they peer pressured me into 3'6". Don't get me wrong...I soooo wanted to do it, but I didn't want to do something that would mentally hinder our good jumping streak. I circled a few times and Olly seemed like he could jump the moon so I went for it. O.M.G. It ws the best feeling ever! He sailed right over. I had to quit there. I so couldn't ruin that moment. The day HAD gotten better. Amazing! Lucky for all of you Tif had the camera...

OMG! I can't tell you how cool that felt.

Tif and Kelsey...my cheerleaders and awesome-est friends!

Tonight, Diesel will be going out for a ride. Olly deserves the day off.

Back at it!

Yesterday Tif text me and asked if we wanted to do some bounces. I was nervous because of Olly leg. Yes, I am still paranoid about it. He never acted like he was in pain and I gave him a month off, so I decided to give it a try. We weren't going to be at it long considering it was so freaking hot out.

Can you believe that?? And it was like 1730??!

By the time I got to the barn Tif had already gotten the jumps set up. I am starting to think she is an over-achiever...
We both sat down at the picnic table just talking, but it seemed more like avoiding saddling our poor horses. Just sitting there made us sweat, what would it be like riding and what would the horses feel like? After a few minutes we peeled ourselves off the seats and got the boys ready. Olly had already been turned out so I had to walk out and get him. Of course, he was at the farthest end of the paddock, in the largest paddock. When I called him, he just looked up as if to say, "what? I think you are calling me, but I am just going to stand here like you didn't." Luckily I had brought a carrot that was left over from dinner. When I got out to where he was (what seemed like 5 miles later) he was already soaked from sweat. He had only been out for like 30 minutes...I was questioning even riding. The worst thing about the large paddock is that there is NO shade. Now, Olly is on night turn out because he gets too hot and sweats profusely. While he is in his stall during the day, he does sweat a bit, but nothing like standing outside.

My poor boy!

While he was tied and being saddled he seemed to feel like he was cooling off. The sweat started to dry and he became perkier. I think it is just too hot to put horses out in the sun like that. Olly doesn't do well. I have to keep a close eye on his sweating/evaporating, or lack thereof.
I skipped the boots and only used over-reaches (bell boots) because of the heat. I don't need those tendons to bake...
In the arena we walk and walk and walk. I was aware of all the humidity. The jumps were low and we were gonna take it slow. I warmed him up with one lap each direction, both trot and canter. With breaks inbetween each set to completely monitor his breathing. I wish I would have brought my Garmin to monitor his heartrate (I have it charging for tonight). We went over two single jumps before tackling the line. Before you watch the video I just want everyone to know that I have like 13 minutes of actual ride time on the videos. We were out in the arena for 90 minutes. That is how many breaks we took to cool the horses to ensure no over-heating. Oh, and one more thing...Tif was cracking me up! She seemed to be attracted to the camera. Situational awareness, Tif, situational awareness! Without further adue....

On the way home I looked down and noticed the temp...remember by now it was 2000 (8pm)...

I should have checked what the temp was after the sun set.

Tonight we are going to do some trotting sets on the hills. Garmin will be charged and the weather is much cooler than yesterday.SCORE! I am sure Olly will be much happier.

Non-BigRedHorse blog...

Today I got up early to head out and do work day at the "full-service" barn of mine. Yes, that was sarcasm. Well, I got to the barn at 0750. Ten minutes early. Tif, was there EARLY! Go girl! We should all take a lesson from her. We got started right away. We quickly figured out that ODR are dumbasses and didn't measure the posts when the cemented them into the ground. We had to measure and cut EVERY SINGLE BOARD before screwing them in. Are you freaking kidding me??!! Genius' I tell ya! So...Tif and I made sure that we were the "motivators" and kept the drive going. We also had some awesome friends that came to help us out...granted they were LATE...but I am totally thankful that they came. We can always use some muscle.
After we placed all the boards, it was time to run the hotwire. Where's the hot wire? Someone forgot to buy it! Ahhhhhh!! Are you kidding me?! I had to untangle this hot mess....

So after I untangled it, Jonathan decided to step in and help me run it. How gracious of him...after I did all the hard work. The guys ran ahead and nailed in all the plastic insulators while I ran the wire. Then came the gates...since Jonathan was afraid of heights (ahahahaha) I the GIRL who was afraid of heights had to climb up and do the job. Jared was nice enough to do the last one.

Jared

Jonathan watching from below...Thank you guys for helping!!! :)

After the work day Kelsy and Kim were going to the tattoo shop. I'm in!!! We went home and showered and got goin'!
A few hours later....

My awesomeness taking place...

Finished product.

Did Someone Say Swimmin'??!!

Yesterday, Tif and I decided that we were gonna pass on the breeches and go for shorts and bare feet and head down to the swimmin' hole next to the training areas.
I got to the barn early to muck and then took a short rest on the picnic table while I waited on Tif. It was sooooo hot. Perfect for swimming.
I had been debating on what bridle to use...Tif chose a rope halter with reins. As much as I wanted to choose that too, I just couldn't. The BigRedHorse tends to not see certain things and then freak out. Yesterday he didn't see a, ahem, dumpster...and jumped 5ft to the left. I stayed on and it wasn't THAT big of a deal, but I was glad I had some control. Normally, in an arena, I would have no problem riding him with a halter...I just don't think we are ready for halter-road-swimming yet. I decided to use my pffffft bridle. That would be the bridle I use when we are doing absolutely nothing.

I haven't ridden Olly bareback for a long time. I do enjoy it, but totally forgot how freaking tall his withers are...I think I need to get some beet pulp to fatten him up a bit. Sheesh! His back was killer on my butt!
The way to the river was about a mile. We mosey-ed down onto the beach and I could feel that Olly wanted in. I set out my camera and headed for the water. Just a little FYI..this video is long and kinda boring...lol.


He was cool until he stepped in a hole and then he decided he was going to be a bit more cautious when walking in the water.
It was totally fun being in shorts, no shoes, and shhhhh no helmet. I know, I know!! And Saturday was Helmet awareness day...Shame on me!!!

Toes!!

On he way back to the barn, some random guy decided to, yes, get dressed at the trunk of his car on the side of the road. Yes, you read right...as if that isn't weird enough, he starts talking to Tif as we walk by. Olly wasn't feeling it...he spooked a bit. But this guy was cracking me up. We just started trotting and tried to get the heck outta there. As if freaky clothes guy wasn't bad enough, the biting flies mysteriously appeared and the horses were totally miserable. On top of all that, across the road there was the kid screaming, yes screaming "look mom, right there, right there they are!!!" Over and over again...I mean if his mom DIDN'T know that there were horses walking, trotting by now from the flies, by...she was an idiot. SHUT THAT KID UP!!! Screaming kid+horses=not cool. Finally we made it back to the barn. We cooled out the horses and turned them out.

My butt...lol

My butt..lol

After turning him out I happened to catch him on video about to get eaten by a bird...it was so funny. My poor BigRedHorse!!!

Finally Back Home!

We got back home late last night. I was hoping to get in early enough to go see my BigRedHorse, but it just wasn't happening. First thing this morning I have a few meetings to attend and then it was off to the barn to give my boy some sugar cubes and hugs.
As I walked through the barn door to his little paddock, I call out "hey boy!" He perked up his ears and trotted into his stall whinnying all the way. I love it!!!! I slid the stall door open and there was his huge red head waiting for a hug. I wrapped my arms around him and let him rest on my shoulders. After a few minutes of me NOT letting go he picked up his head, as if to say, "o.k. mom that's enough." I dug in the tack box for some sugar cubes. He LOVES them, and why wouldn't he? I rubbed on him a bit and then it was back to life until his evening.

To make a long story short, I am trying to plan a poker run hosted by the Ft. Eustis Stables. It isn't going well. Losts of resistance. I guess free money just isn't the ODR guy's thing...So, even though this poker run may not be hosted, Tif and I decided to still go out and scout trails. I guess "no" isn't in our vocabulary. I made it back out to the barn around 1800 and went back to Olly's paddock. He was just finishing dinner. I pulled him out and did a full scan of his body. TONS of nicks and scratches! Everytime I walked around him I found a new one. I found out from Tif that Olly and another horse just stand at the back of his paddock and nibble on each other all day. I may just have to run hot wire around his paddock to keep him from looking like a chew toy. I made sure I checked out hisleg. Pretty much it was back to normal. There was a teeny tiny bit of puffiness low in his fet, but nothing I was gonna worry about. We were just walking and trotting today anyway.

How handsome is he??!!

After getting saddled I fired up the GPS and we headed out. We were on a mission for 4-5 miles of trails for the poker run. We ducked in one of the training areas that looked promising. To our surprise they were using the area and we had to turn back. See if the gates to the training areas are closed then we are cool to ride. Today-gates closed...once we got back there, there were tons of trucks and guys just having a blast...and the biting flys were ungodly! So instead we went down the road to the beach and let the boys splash around. Tomorrow I think we are gonna skip the breeches and go for shorts and go for a swim!
On the way back Olly just so happened to notice a huge dumpster, portable toilet and a kite flying. All these things were there on the way, but I guess just weren't that interesting when traveling south...just north.
We made it back to the barn all in one piece. It was such a great ride. I have missed my boy!!!
After turning out the boys into the paddock, I noticed the quarentine stall doors were left open. Ugh...don't you get it people?? I had to close the doors. I walked to the stall and saw this...

A box turtle!

Ahaha! Tif!

I had to take him home to the boys. I put him in the truck on the center counsole thing and he freaking took off!! After a moderate scream, I compiled my thoughts and decided to hold him the whole way home.

Who has an Awesome BigRedHorse??? I DO!!!

I know I am suppose to be on vacation, but I am so proud of my boy, I can't wait until I get home.

I got online this afternoon to check on the FaceBook happenings and saw that one of my friends that I went to the Lucinda Green clinic posted a link on her page from Horse Talk Magazine. She recently wrote an artcle and submitted it. I knew that she took pictures of everyone that attened the clinic, but by no means did I think that we would ever be in the article. There were so many other horses that were way more advanced than Olly and I. I just kinda shoved it out of my mind. I did, however, get the copies of all the awesome pics she took.
So, back to the magazine...I go to the link to check it out and son-of-a-monkey!!! On page 20 there is a picture of Olly and I coming out of the water jump! I cannot explain how cool it is. I mean I know that I have an awesome horse....but now the whole state of Va knows too. Not only did we get a picture, but we got a whole paragraph about us. My boy is a STAR!! Next thing you know he will be on TV (lol)!!! I have attached the link so EVERYONE can read....And I know you will!

I still love the BigRedHorse!

I got a new project that I started yesterday. This is the tri-color that I have been eyeballing in the paddock. His conformation is far from perfect, and he is a spit fire...but I can't help but be drawn to him. I love the way he looks and he loves attention. I guess I am a sucker for guys that love my attention...my hubby (lol), Olly and now Diesel. What can I say??! So, a little background on tricolor (Diesel). He is a 5-6 yo QH gelding. His dad is Active Army and has NO time to ride. Diesel is just sitting in the paddock doing what ever the hell he wants. He has made friends with Olly...
I love his color, and like I said before his conformation is kinda crappy, but he is totally sound. He is normally (if 2-3 rides is considered normally) ridden in a western saddle with a "snaffle," what ever that means...My interpretation? My english saddle and a french link D-ring. He did pretty good. Diesel and I have a long way to go, but I have high hopes for him. Here is the video!




I also am going to try to tidy up the barn and make it a place to be able to hold shows and make some money. Hopefully.

Olly is doing much better. I still haven't brought myself to ride him though. He isn't showing any signs of being lame, but his has some teeny-tiny swelling still. Since i will be leaving for Indiana tomorrow morning, I have decided to let him have his time off and we will resume work when I get back. Two weeks off, in addition to the two weeks he has already had, should be plenty of time.

I think I see some progress....

Since I am really tired from spending some quality time with the BigRedHorse, this one is gonna be short. And for those of you who say I never keep things short...you are probably right.
I went to cold hose this morning and when I took off the wraps, Olly's leg was almost normal! Now there just seems to be slight inflammation in his fets! Woooohooo!

Sweet!!!!

Nice!

I cut back the time to only 10 minutes and skipped the bute.
This evening when I went out his leg seemed to hold out all day. Now that IS an improvement! I skipped the cold hosing put some DMSO on and wrapped. Then I turned him out in the little paddock for about an hour.

That was before I wrapped him.

While we let Olly graze, Tif and Soleil had a fun time jumping the course my boys and I made. I would video her and she would let my boys ride her paint. Fair enough. lol

Travis had the first go...

Then Colton, he even brought his chaps...lol

The Brad...he doesn't usually ride. lol

While we were paying attention to the paint, Olly seemed offended. He started lunging himself in the "welcome" paddock. WTF!? I clipped a quick video with Tif's camera, I will upoad tomorrow when I get it.
Overall, Olly is getting better. I may even get in a ride before we go on leave. We are heading back to Indiana to visit family for 2 weeks on the 1st. Olly will have plenty of time to rest and relax while I am gone. I fully anticipate him to be ready to ride then.

Even Better Today! Yeah!!!!

This morning I pull up at the barn and notice that this white pigeon has been hanging around. One of the ladies at the barn seems to think it is a dove and keeps leaving water for it...out of the cat bowl. Interesting.

The "dove"

I continued back to Olly's stall. I unwrapped his legs and took a peek. Nice. The swelling had decreased. Now, only if it would last throughout the day.

Not too shabby!

The view from the inside...

I cold hosed again for 15 minutes. I have been doing this three times daily. The kids are loving going to the barn all the time. They get to take their bikes and play "Army guys." When I took him back to his stall I gave him a sprinkle of bute on his sugar cubes. I doubted he would eat it, but it was worth a shot.
By the time lunch rolled around I was anxious to see what his leg would look like. Yesterday, it was like a freaking balloon. To my surprise, it wasn't too bad! There was still some inflammation, but you could totally see definition! WIN!!!

Again, what is with the standing on the hurt leg??

Again, cold hosed for 15 mins and then I headed to make the rest of my jumps. I got everything out and ready to go and the first hole I drilled barely made it through. Why? Because I forgot to plug my drill in last night and the battery was dead. SUPER! So I packed everything up, including my boys, and went home to finished up some things there.

I planned on making the after dinner/evening cold hose a family affair, but quickly found out that Husband was on extra duty. Some one has to do it. So as soon as dinner was finished I piled everyone back in the truck to do the last hosing of the day. I am sure that all the soldiers in the training area next to the stables were thinking, "what in the hell is she doing here all thie time?" I had driven by 6 times total today.
Olly's leg was still a bit filled when I got there but it didn't look any worse than lunch. Another WIN! I recruited one of the boys to help hose while I scrubbed the fly spray residue off his back. I have had to come out and spray him twice daily since it is too hot for his fly sheet. Poor boy. Travis did a great job, then again how hard is it to hold a hose?

Still inflammed, but better.

After the hosing was over I broke out the scissors. That's right...I cut his tail. Time to mke it look professional. I did have the clippers with me, but they don't work as well after hosing your horse. I could have thought that one through better.

It is still perfect, even cut.

Travis, sporting the new do. lol

Since the grooming didn't take that long, I wrapped his hinds for the night and let him eat some grass on the way to his stall. I added a few sprinkles of bute again to his sugar cubes and called it a night. Now all I had to do was finish my jumps. I brought the plug in drill this time...no wussy battery stuff. I was just finishing the last few holes on the first standard and Tif walks up and says "I hope that is a 1/2 inch bit." I was like I am sure it is. It's pretty big. Well, again with the thinking through...it wasn't. Today was just not my day. I will have to get a bigger bit for tomorrow and I swear to you those jumps WILL be finished.

He looks so content.

Today's Evaluation

This morning as soon as the kids got up I headed to the barn to see how Olly's leg was. He had eaten all his dinner and was acting like nothing had ever happened. I pulled him out of his stall and walked him to the hitching post. When I took the wrap off, his leg appeared much better. There was a bit of definition in the tendons and I was getting a tinge of relief. I cold hosed him for 10 minutes and hand walked him for about five, just to see if there was any difference in the way he was walking. He seemed completely normal...with swelling.

A bit better, right?

Going for a small walk.

Pfffft on those jumps!!

My poor boy!!

And back to the barn.

My children insisted on this shot. That is Rudolf and Cody Maverick hitching a ride. Notice the excitement on my face...?

I made my way back home and after doing some laundry and getting the children lunch, I packed them back up and went to cold hose. Again.

15 minutes of comfort.

Ugh!

This time his fet was really inflammed. More so than last night. Dog-gone-it! I cold hosed this time for 15 minutes and no hand walking. Again Olly seemed like it was just another day.
While I was there, I wanted to make myself useful, so I went to the scrap barn and dug out some wood that EVERYONE insisted was rotted. Really? Since when does wolmanized wood rot? Well, they weren't going to be using it, and it was just stacked in an empty quarentine stall, so I made three new jumps. I made sure that I grabbed my tape measure and drill...with bits before I left the house. Well, not my drill and bits, Husband's drill and bits...lol. I ended up having to use the table saw. Ugh! I don't like using saws. Why? Well...as much as I would like to say I don't know how (so I can get out of it), I can. I have used circular saws, table saws, and even jig saws. I just have this weird fear. I always invision myself getting hurt. And not like, the board jumped and hit me in the face, like gore-y, my kids have to call 9-1-1 because I can't. I know, totally irrational. Today, for the sake of jump making, I sucked it up and used the table saw to cut the feet to the standards. I only finished one jump. I had Husband bring his circular saw and finish cutting the feet to the other two after work. He loves me so!
While Husband was herding my kids this evening, I made another round of cold hosing and added some bute. His fet was still inflammed. It didn't get worse...which was good, but I was hoping for some sort of improvement.

I only wrapped his hinds tonight. I have heard that when you wrap you are suppose to wrap all fours, but I think he will be fine. I am hoping that in the morning we will see some sort of improvement.

I know y'all like the blue ;)

On the way back to the barn to administer some bute, I caught him resting....on his LEFT HIND!! AHHHHH!!!!

What happened now??!!

Yesterday after the work day at the barn Husband tells me that he would like to take a nice outing on the boat. Of course, I was thinking of going to the barn and making more awesome jumps with all the wood I found in the end quarentine stall. I quickly gave in and text Tif and told her she was on her own. The next morning, since it was Father's Day, I got up early and made pancakes and coffee for Husband. I skipped the morning check in with the BigRedHorse. It wasn't until this afternoon I HAD to go out and check on my boy. I had left his tail out so I could trim it and he so totally needed fly spray.

Friday before our ride. Look at all that awesomeness...

I showed up at the barn in a swim-suit and flip-flops. I think Olly sighed a sigh of relief, considering the temperature. I first sprayed him down and then went to tackle the tail. After that, the two things he hates the most, I decided to put some RainMaker on his feet. Just to keep them going in the dry dirt he was being turned out in. I always start with the right front and work my way around clockwise. I got to his Right Hind and he kinda put up a fight. Ummmmm...Olly...Why are you not wanting to stand?  I made it quick and crossed over to the Left Hind. WTF!! Now I know why you didn't want ot stand! My poor boy!

See the ANTI-definition?

The good leg

Ignore the stance...he was stomping at flies...

What did I do? PANIC!! The check list started forming in my mind.
Tenderness?
Heat?
Asymmetrical?
Yes, yes, and yes. Crap! At first thought I put linement on it, and turned him out. Dumb move. I actually am a bit embarrassed to even admit it on here, but I try to own ALL of my mistakes. I went back to the barn a few hours later and decided to actually do the right things.
No turn out.
Cold Hose.
Standing wraps.
Bute....if needed.
Well, the standing wraps turned into polo's because I can't find my pillows. I SWEAR I took them to the barn....I might not be happy if I can't find them at home.

When I got to the barn I double timed it to the gelding turn-out paddock. To my surprise and mental anguish, he was out trotting with Soleil. Great. I grabbed him and took him to complete the "correct" check list. He was patient and enjoyed all the pampering. I put on his fly sheet and mask to try to make him the most comfortable as possible. I didn't want him stomping all night on a sore leg at flies. After a few sugar cubes he was off to bed in his stall.

All tucked in!

I think we will hold off on the turn-outs for a few days and just go with hand walks. At least, until the swelling goes down.

I started replaying what might have caused this on the drive home. I know I didn't see anything yesterday, but that doesn't mean it wasn't there. I also can't rule out it happening sometime while I wasn't there either. I hate not knowing. BUT, I did come up with a good idea....

Non-Fox Fox Hunting!!

Yesterday evening we set out to go on another long hack. I normally like to do arena work, but it has been so boring and hot. We have found so many new things to do while out on the trail we are both starting to enjoy just going where ever the wind takes us.
I made sure I had my Garmin and we went for the longest hack that we have done in months. I think it took us 2 hours to mosey 6.68 miles. We w-t-c, went up and down and over some jumps. We stood on things and walked over things that we have never encountered before. Olly is getting used to the whole I guess cuz mom said do it, I have to do it. He is really being a great sport. I think weare ready for a horse trial. Now, I am not saying we are gonna win the thing, or even place. I just think we could complete one. My goal for this year is to complete on horse trial.

Here is a video of Olly and I doing our on-the-side-of-the-road-jumping. Otherwise known as Non-Fox-Fox-Hunting as Megan puts it.



I forgot to turn down the background noise...grrrrr!