Spent some quality time at the barn today which was good, because this past week was rush-rush-rush. Had given Dude the previous week off because of his little wall-kicking lameness episode, then I was so busy I didn't have a chance to do anything with him during week #2 after the wall kicking. I lunged Bestie about a week ago, and then she also got to have a week of leisure.
It was great today to go to the barn and not feel rushed. Yay for weekends! Dude and his buddies have been switched to a back pasture; they're rotating other horses through the lovely grassy paddock where he was last week. The field he's in now is kind of a mess because it has woods all around the perimeter and doesn't seem to get a lot of sun to dry it out (not that we've had a lot of sun). So it's quite soupy along the lower fenceline and the back corner that adjoins Bestie's field. I now know his field well because I had to walk it today to find his fly mask.
I got him all cleaned up and saddled up and then we headed to the outdoor ring. He was peppy, which was nice, and I took it as an indication that he was feeling pretty good. He just seemed to be happy to be out and about. One thing about Dude, no matter how much time he has off, you can jump right on him with no repercussions.
We got out to the ring and it was great, just damp enough to not be dusty. Trotted him a little bit and did circles around the jumps that were set up, then went out and around the perimeter of the ring to head back to the barn. The dark clouds rolled in all day, but it never did rain. The temperature was slightly cool but pleasant, and there were no bugs. All in all, a nice day for a ride.
Once we got back, I untacked him and then took him to the wash stall to scrub his legs. I noticed last week that the creeping crud that we usually encounter on his back legs is on his front lower legs also, so I've been scrubbing with Betadine whenever the weather permits a moment in the outdoor wash stall. I think they're looking better. Will probably scrub again tomorrow. I just did a search on it (which would've been quicker if I hadn't gotten mixed up about pasterns vs. cannons), and it seems like "gelding crud" is a pretty common thing that people battle with everything from Betadine to MTG to Neutrogena T-Gel shampoo). Plus he's got a couple nicks on his lower back left leg that I've been cleaning off and putting ointment on.
Looking forward to going to the barn tomorrow ... it's supposed to be in the upper 60s and sunny!
No comments:
Post a Comment