So needless to say, it is January in upper Illinois and the cold has truly sunk in. Don't get me wrong, I know it's Illinois and I know that every winter is unbearably cold, but that doesn't mean that I like it any more simply because I expect it! The good and bad news is that J is shedding out like he needs Rogaine, good meaning that possibly means an early spring and bad meaning he might be a Popsicle by the time spring comes! But Tawney is keeping him bundled up tight in nearly every blanket I own, the poor guy is lugging around probably 50 pounds of blanket! But I certainly won't complain that he isn't well taken care of!
So I got out to the barn last night after not being able to get out on Tuesday. Tawney had just brought J inside and I pulled him out of the stall to find a few good scrapes up the inside right hind leg and his entire leg- fetlock to hock- stocked up. Now this is the third time that he has done this in the recent months, in the exact same spot, which is not easy to manage in this facility. The fencing and stalls are virtually "horse-proof", so the only thing we can reason is that he is hitting himself with his opposite leg when he is rolling, which he does vigorously every day. I did a quick lunge, both ways, in all three gaits, and he was perfectly fine. I did a quick adjustment on his shoulders (as the chiropractor showed me) and got a decent pop out of his left shoulder, which is the more sore one. So on went the tack and we joined four other riders in the arena, which is like Grand Central Station for our facility!
Now J is a bit of an oddball and has more personality then most people I know and one of his many quirks is that he doesn't like other hoses being near him while he warms up. After he is warmed up and focused he is fine, but until then he is a grouch. It is not something that I am not proud of, so I do try to keep clear of anyone so that his ugly faces and pinned ears are not scaring the bejeezus out of anyone else. Of course, with an arena this busy, J had lots of "F-you" gestures to make, but fortunately got over himself pretty quickly. While I didn't work on a lot of what my last lesson had consisted of, I did work on his responsiveness to the aids through transitions between gaits and within the gaits. I felt that I was still missing a piece though- J is "king" of just holding himself- never quite "towing" the reins as we would like. It's best described as "I won't bother you if you don't bother me" which might be easier to ride, it is not correct and does not create that swing that we need. I tried to get him more honest by keeping his neck absolutely straight and going forward and back in the trot and canter, but he was still holding himself through most of the ride. I didn't want to push him too much as he was stocked up in the leg, so I ended it when I was happy that he was straight (not bulging through either shoulder) and moving well off my leg. I have a lesson on Friday, so I figure that we can address more then.
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