It has been too long since I posted. To make a long story short, my horse gained some weight over the winter and was taped at 1100 lbs at his spring vet check. I was expecting him to be 900 so that was a bit of a shock! I was really impressed with how thorough the vet was, she wrote down everything I said and filled out a 2-page report that she printed off for me for my files. He was negative for worms. He got his 5-way in the left pectoral on a Friday, and by Sunday it was really swollen and he was acting quite stiff. I took a short 3+ mi ride with him mostly at the walk and by the time we turned for home he was moving out a lot better and trotting with ease. It took a couple more days for him to recover completely (he had some butte in the meantime) and he goes back in for his WNV soon. I am hoping he doesn't also have a reaction to that!!
We are working on getting back in shape in time for the July ride in Montana this year. I am going over to Heathers once during the week and she works on trailering her horse (she's had some issues) and then helps me with some lessons in her arena. It's been awesome for me because I have learned so much already and it is helping Sinwaan to be more responsive and move in a better frame. It is not without hard work, for him and me, but worth it.
I am also fitting in a weekend ride, up to this point it hasn't been over 6 miles but that is about all we can do with Sinwaan's current fitness level. He also hasn't had shoes. I have been booting the front and barefoot hinds on the side of the road and he has done well with that. Heather and her OTT Standardbred Bunny have been our riding companions this spring.
I can't wait until we can cover more distance in the same amount of time. We will have to really step it up to be ready for a mountain ride, that is for certain.
