passing time. in pictures

So let's see here. Last we heard from our hero, we were letting the Olympics Selection Committee know that he's a serious contender. Especially if Tokyo 2020 is gonna be won over the merits of walking down 18" banks. We got that in spades.

i love cheering on this team! pc Austen Gage

So what all has happened since then? Lots!!! This past weekend was Loch Moy's third and final winter series cross derby. You may recall Charlie and I went to the first one in January with Brita. Then last month I hauled Brita and Rachael's horses in my trailer, since Charlie was lame.

lots of happy horses in the sunshine!

This month... Well. Charlie is not sound again. Yea. Tho Rachael was bringing another friend's new horse to hang out and soak up the atmosphere, so Brita's mare Bella got to enjoy her first solo trailer ride. And she was great!

brita made us these adorable laminated equipment packing lists for horse shows!!! how cute!!

I had planned to bring Charlie anyway, sound or not, since the money was already spent and he could benefit from hanging out at a show. But we nixed that idea when he went all three legged again. Sigh.

aw she also made us team hats in our colors. #socialeventing
pc Austen Gage

So ya know. Being at a horse show with friends and watching them have a great time isn't really the worst way to spend a Saturday, in the grand scheme of things.

esp when those friends are badasses

This abscess stuff tho has gotta stop. It's really grinding me down. I'm just so.... tired.

from our last night time ride!!!

Charlie was so so so good for our rides once he came sound again from that LH abscess. I wrote all about what we did leading up to that awesome mini pretend xc school (ditches banks & water, yo!) last week. And he was just so good, my heart was just singing with joy.

yea he continues to be really goofy about soaking lol. no this was not on purpose.

We continued on with that theme through another dressage school - cut a little short bc the arena became very crowded. But it was short and sweet, plus trainer P was there to see how Charlie was going after not having seen him since he first went lame on the LH. And she thought he looked great!

but hey, if he's comfortable, then whatever!

The next day I went ahead and told new upper level event rider trainer K that we'd be good to go for our weekday morning lesson. Our first since the whole nail impalement four weeks prior.

ponies. bc just ponies. they make everything better with their goofy little noses and floofy manes!

Alas tho, Charlie was.... not sound. And in a new and weird way that has me a little concerned. Methinks his entire hind end has grown sore from constantly compensating from one sore hoof after another. In any case, we nixed the lesson and I just worked Charlie out on the flat instead: transitions, leg yields up the wall, raised poles. Trying to engage and stretch his hind end.

horse show prize treats!

He didn't really work out of it, tho. And perhaps the lameness was the precursor to the next day, where he was basically not weight bearing on that left hind hoof again. With a practically visible digital pulse. Poor horse :(

trainer P and her big BIG dressage horse!!! she says he's 17.5hh lolol

So.... Verdict seems to be that LH abscess hasn't actually resolved yet. Sigh. Luckily he wasn't super duper crippled for very long on it, but he still hasn't come sound yet either.

just bc you're size giant doesn't mean you don't love wither scritches!!!!

Tho naturally I'm still spending just as much time at the barn. Luckily doing fun things too, like scribing at an in house schooling dressage show. Where I got to watch a lot of friends go through all their tests!! AND! Got to watch my jump trainer P take one of her horses through his third level debut!!

charlie's also been keeping company with some of the other patients. like this poor very sick mare

I loved getting to watch that, and especially getting to sit in on all the judge's commentary. This particular judge is wonderful - I scribed for her a couple years ago and it's honestly like a mini lesson. She was quick to point out certain movements in various tests (including the eventing tests) that would prove to be the difference makers for winning scores.

and it's shedding season too!! can't have a blog without obligatory hair shots, right?

And quick to provide insights on how certain movements should be ridden etc. I liked it a lot! And apparently trainer P feels similarly bc she had specifically wanted to ride her first 3rd level tests on this horse for this judge, to get honest and constructive feedback on how they're doing.

plus obligatory selfies from hacking out, always gotta have those!

Mostly tho, it just made me eager and simultaneously bittersweet. I wanna ride some tests for this judge too!!! :(

because we've certainly been hacking

In time, tho. For now, Charlie seems pretty sound at the walk again so after finishing up at the show I pulled him out to go wandering around all the fields in the sunshine. Because dammit, if you're sound enough to be turned out, you're sound enough to cart my ass around the pasture.

and exploring

Charlie, for his purposes, was quite happy to do so. Per usual. Sigh. Such a good boy. He even volunteered to trot a couple steps, tho not particularly soundly. So we repeated the same adventures but with the addition of some friends the next day too.

and hacking and hacking. so much hacking.

I'm definitely grateful for the saddle time. And honestly just being able to enjoy my horse. So. Ya know. That counts for a lot. I'm greedy tho haha and I want more.

We'll see. I kinda want to go all crazy helicopter mom and start throwing ridiculously expensive diagnostics at what is almost certainly an abscess. Or ya know. Just fly entirely off the handle and buy a second horse to have another saddle to sit in. But, knowing my luck, then I'd just end up with two lame horses who break my heart haha. So.... yea.

For now, we're just passing the time. I've got a couple upcoming events on the calendar (like fox hunting! and our first horse trial of the season! and the one after that too!!) that look a little less likely with every passing day. But ya know. We'll see. I gotta say tho, the extra daylight hours definitely make everything a little bit better!