big update

I have been remiss in updating all week! Yipes! I will try to do a quick recap, and then some new stuff.

Last week, by some stroke of incredible luck, we had the arena to ourselves almost every time I went out. In addition, we managed to catch the arena after it had been recently groomed, and I love the difference it makes in the footing. I went back to lunging as part of the warm up, and I was VERY pleased to see some wonderful consistency in tempo developing in the trot, along with lovely stretch into the bridle. After the warm up in side reins on the lunge, I did a bit of in hand work as well. We had been working on leg yield in hand, and I added some shoulder-in. He grasped this right away, and I was really enjoying his responses and reactions. He was really grooving on it and grasping things quickly.

Unfortunately, we were still running into some stiffness on that right hind. Overall, I would say that his level of stiffness has reduced quite a bit since we start into work. Also, I have seen another nice decrease in stiffness since we started the joint supplements. However, that right hind remains a bit of a problem. At first he was working out of it nicely, and I contributed it to arthritis and coming back into work after a long time of inactivity. I still think the stiffness in that right hind is arthritis related, but we are going to play around with some management.

Since I will be gone for two weeks in the middle of April (I am going to Las Vegas to watch the 2009 FEI World Cup Dressage Finals), it was decided to move TBM home a month earlier than originally planned. It didn't make a lot of sense to have him sitting in a paddock, not using the facilities, at a boarding barn when he could be hanging out in a slightly larger paddock at home for a lot less money. I think that the larger paddock may help him stay a bit more limber as well.

So, we loaded everything up, hauled TBM home. He walked off the trailer like a gentleman, never made a peep, and just went to munching. He's such a good boy, I love him to bits. Today I went out and just walked him around the large round pen we will be working in when I get back. It is still pretty sloppy/frozen out there, so not much we can do at the moment. I am planning to ride him down the dirt roads in the area tomorrow, get some good long, straight walking in. That will help strengthen him quite a bit.

So, not much to update for about the next three weeks. Although I may post some updates on the rides I watch while in Vegas.