07-25-03
YAY!! Farrier came!! So I got to ride today, finally. Tony wasn't great, but he wasn't horrible either. Warmed up quickly, and got a nice working canter going. Tony kept trying to put his head down and buck, so I did lots of big, balanced circles to get him under control and relax him. There was a crossrail in the ring, so we played around with that for a while. Tony likes to rush jumps, so we worked on that problem. I'd turn him towards the jump (at the trot), and as soon as I felt an increase in speed, I'd turn him in a circle and try again. Finally, it got to the point where he expected me to turn him in a circle, so he slowed down, but I pointed him over the jump instead. He finally got it, I think. After all that he was pretty sweaty, so I hosed him off and put him away. I love Tony. He's the coolest horse ever. =)
07-24-03
No farrier. Geez. Went to the barn today around 2. Got Tony out, brushed him, put fly spray on him, all that stuff. Paid special attention to his face, as the flies are pretty bad right now. But nothing a little SWAT around the eyes and roll-on fly spray in the ears can't handle. Swept the floor, started to clean my bridle but decided not to. Pretty soon I really need to get to the task of cleaning Tony's sheath, which I'm *really* looking forward to. (kidding, hehe.) I plan to do that sometime soon. Don't worry, I'll let you know each and every detail of how that went. ;) hehe.
07-23-03
Still no farrier.
07-22-03
Went out to the barn around 2ish. Tony was happily grazing in his pasture when I arrived. Brought him out to the crossties and brushed him. I noticed something on his heels that looked like a minor skin infection, so I washed everything below Tony's knees and hocks. Farrier still hasn't come out yet.
07-21-03
Got to the barn at 6? Brushed Tony, tacked up, and went into the ring. He seemed perfectly fine, and I had every intention of giving him a nice little workout. Too bad he was lame, heh. When I trotted him, he was *extremely* off. It felt like his whole body was twisting. I'm assuming this problem is due to the fact that his left hind hoof is all messed up due to a shoe that has shifted into an unusual position. His hoof is all crumbled up. Anyway, had Mom trot him for me. He looked a little uneven. So that was the end of my ride, heh. Of course, in the pasture, he trotted fine, lol. But just to be safe, I called the farrier. He should be coming in a day or two, hopefully.
