chuck-a-doodle-doo!

Guys, life with Charlie has been such a roller coaster for the last few months year. Full of moments where it felt like we finally got everything just right for his soundness --- when he started on equioxx --- and moments where he was in the most pain we've ever seen in him --- while in the throes of that catastrophic subsolar abscess. 

This pattern repeated into the spring, too. We got a bit of a, hm, false sense of closure from the abscess when the horse seemed sound, started back into work, and even won his first horse show back at Thornridge. I started getting really excited, more excited than I've been in years. We booked lessons, lots of them, and I even entered a full HT. 

the big boys (and spirit), blissfully ignorant of being called down to breakfast all the way down the hill...

But, Charlie wasn't holding up to the work. In.... kinda surprising and extremely worrisome ways -- he was way too footsore for what we were doing. 

Then a few more pieces came into focus, learning that maybe his latest farrier wasn't the best fit, and, more generally, his hooves had changed and overall degenerated significantly in health and shape throughout his months of intense lameness.

charles stands in this certain sort of way behind that makes us all feel a certain sort of way

And we've kinda been stuck in this rut ever since. He's generally a little foot sore when coming due for getting shod, and a little sore right after getting shod. The hooves just aren't super happy right now. But we got new rads, the new farrier is committed, and I'm doing my best to be patient. 

Charlie, however, has not been super helpful. He loses at least one shoe per cycle, often more. Particularly his hinds -- the perfect storm of lost muscling, overdue hocks (bc other more pressing issues), and general compensation, results in him stepping all over himself behind -- frequently twisting off those shoes, and stepping on the clip in the process. 

how many times have we seen this hoof bleed at this point?? whyyyyyyy.....

Just about everybody at our barn has had to pull a shoe off this horse in recent months. It's legit insane. He just keeps stepping on the clinchers on the inside of his hind hoof walls, wearing them down, then poof!, twisted and stepping on the clip. 

Last week was a real mess, too. My farrier has been trying to tighten his clinchers more often mid-cycle, but it's a double edged sword bc he still twists the shoes, but now they're harder for us mere mortals to pull. This time, when I arrived he was in a significant amount of distress, and all the clinchers were pulled straight into the hoof. 

red = unfortunate nail jab; blue = where the clip inserted
luckily does not appear to be as nasty a clip location as charlie implied by his extreme distress. 
will probably still abscess in 7-9 days anyway, tho! 

It took a team effort to get the shoe off, and in the chaos Charlie stepped on one of the loose nails - puncturing his sole soul (literally and metaphorically), and spurting blood everywhere. UGH. Not gonna lie, I cried a little bit. It just seems... so hard. Why is it this hard? Why?

But ya know. Horses. I took care of him, cleaned it up, soaked it with betadine and epsom salts, wrapped it up carefully, and tucked him into his stall for the night. And believe it or not, he was hale and hearty and sound as an (unshod) dollar the next day! Whew.... We don't call him "King of the Dings" for nothing -- in all his drama, most of his oopsies are just... ya know... dings. 

we love you, charlie <3 <3 <3

The shoe got replaced within a day with no issues, no lingering tenderness or soreness, and so... Ya know... We're otherwise in the middle of his shoeing cycle right now, the golden ~2wk period where he's been pretty comfortable.... so... Maybe let's go for a sit, yes?? Yes!!

Charlie was happy to volunteer as chaperone for a barn mate's 4yo TB, while she evaluated a new trial saddle. She wanted to go to the jump ring to give the saddle a proper test, so... obvi we'd go wherever! 

ermagerd we really love you tho, esp when you trot sound omg! 

Mostly when I've ridden Charlie in recent months, we've stuck to the xc fields for pleasant low pressure wanders... And ya know, while out in the fields it's easy enough to squeeze up into a trot or canter around whenever Charlie has wanted to volunteer it... 

But I legit do not remember the last time I trotted this horse in an actual ring.  

might not look like much, but to me this is everything!

And ugh <3 <3 <3 he was so good. He's just such a good horse. Like, I always want to make excuses for us --- "ignore my position, I'm out of shape!"    " he's overdue for his hocks!!"   "we were just playing around, nothing serious!"

ok possibly actually getting a bit trotted away with at this point <3 <3 <3

But the feeling.... Maybe just because I know this horse so well, and he knows me, but I can just tell when he's showing off, when he's struttin' his stuff, ya know? And I LOVE that feeling!

perched up there, probably drooling like a gleefully dazed idiot, cantering for the first time in god knows how long 

It doesn't have to be perfect, it doesn't have to be correct, bc.... seeing him go this way tells me everything I need to know. It's like, sitting there, cantering him around for my first canter in probably months, it took every ounce of will power not to point him at any of the little jumps. Every. Ounce.

d'awww charles, legit tried to pet him down from trot to walk, and he burst off into canter again!!

We trotted a lap or two in each direction, then cantered a lap or two in each direction just to sorta do it, have fun, and see how he felt.... and I legit could not get him stopped for another lap or two bc he just wanted to keep going and going and going. Ugh <3 <3

meanwhile, in Dooz Nooz, everyone hated the turkey leg fauxtoshop, so how about something a little less.... cooked? my vet lol'd so basically idc if you hate this too haha

It would be so easy to get greedy in these moments. Bc he feels invincible, would do --- wants to do anything. But, eh... Maybe I'm trying to get smarter. Trying to think about tomorrow, ya know? 

squeezed in a party with the whole family, Chesapeake style, for mama's 65th!

Like, this cycle has repeated often enough that I'm simply unwilling to actually put the horse to proper work until he can trot off sound right after getting shod. That's my metric. Based on... Well, nothing, actually, except that it kinda seems to make sense to me. 

kittens are nice but michael is better lol

So. We continue as we are. I'm hoping to get on Charlie again today, actually, one day after trotting and cantering around briefly, just to see if it feels any different, any less gung ho or willing or forward. Anything that feels like maybe his feet are paying the price for yesterday's exuberance, ya know? 

We'll see. I'm willing to be hopeful. But maybe not willing to rush. Cross your fingers for us lol. Hope you all had a wonderful weekend too!