Two days, one better than the other.

[glenatron]

The last couple of days have largely revolved around ponies, as happens a lot with our weekends. Yesterday was very warm after the last few weeks and we ended up spending quite a while in the school - ironing out a few problems I was having with my groundwork (I was letting Zorro get too close, once sleepsy_mouse pointed it out and got me pushing him a lot further out things worked out much better) and then riding. Ponies were good, we were riding pretty well and everyone felt good about themselves. It was really good fun.

Today we had planned to ride out but it was very foggy and in the end we just didn't think we would be safe on the road even with all our hi-vis, so we spent some time in the school again. Unfortunately after yesterday's high's no-one seemed quite on form today - my groundwork was better but I let my riding get a little slack, Zorro was ever so sleepy and flat and Small was back to his anxious ways.

It was only a little later that I noticed that Zorro was still sleepy and that maybe combined with how much mud was on his rug and in his mane and the fact he'd been kicking at himself a couple of times (which I just put down to needing his sheath cleaning) it's possible that he'd been feeling a bit colicky during the night and not rested very well. He wasn't at all ill when we were there, just tired and he certainly seemed alright in other respects- eating, pooing, having a noisy tummy and generally being normal, but of course now I'm going to be concerned dad. Especially because, as everyone knows, if a horse is going to be properly ill they will save it for a bank holiday so they can ruin the day for you and the vets cost triple for callout.

We've dosed him up with Psyllium on the off chance and left them with plenty of hay to keep them warm overnight ( horses largely generate heat by digesting fibre, non-horsey trivia fans ) so hopefully he will be fine. If we hadn't been out and doing stuff I wouldn't even have noticed, but you know how it is- once you start to be anxious it becomes self-propogating and unless you've got the ponies at home so you can check on them every few minutes you just end up worrying.

Assuming all is well tomorrow we shall be decorating them up with tinsel and going for a Christmas Eve ride, something I'm reasonably confident will lower me even further in Zorro's estimation...

Comments

[spirithorse21.livejournal.com]

I do hope Zorro isn't ill, especially over Christmas. And enjoy christmas and your ride! I also like a good christmas eve ride, though it is usually in solitude under a bright moon and starry sky.

[glenatron.livejournal.com]

Full moon this year. If we had an open place to ride it would be great, but we have very overgrown roads between us and anywhere wide open enough to enjoy the moonlight and no transport to drive down them, sadly...

Mmmm sheath cleaning

[z111.livejournal.com]

Not.

But seriously. I had to clean Dan-man today. And my mare was acting really weird. Like she couldn't get enough of his man-smell and then she started turning her butt to him and acting like a hussy.

And then to really gross me out...my dogs were like all over the dried up smegma.

*shudder*

Anyway, back to your post -- I hope Zorro is all better tomorrow!

Re: Mmmm sheath cleaning

[glenatron.livejournal.com]

I'm glad to say he seemed pretty much his normal self when I visited this morning. By which I mean he was grazing intensively and couldn't be bothered even to pick his head up to say hello, which is absolutely par for the course when I'm driving a 14 mile first thing in the morning round trip to see him.

Re: Mmmm sheath cleaning

[z111.livejournal.com]

Haha! Glad he's back to his bad old self!