Bubble. Wrap...

Ever since I have been given the go-ahead to start using the tractor path, SOMETHING has been giving me grief about it.  Be it the torrential monsoon like weather we have had for the past couple days, be it the hurricane force winds we have been having...whatever.

So since Mother Nature - who is NOT my favourite person at the moment - again decided to have some fun at my expense yesterday, I ended up in the arena...sigh...poor Chester.  I did set up a little grid of poles though for us to go through. 

BO was working on the new barn and she decided to observe us while we were working about 10 minutes into our ride.  At this point we were trotting around the arena in a nice forward trot, doing some BIG circles and going over the grid.  I stop and we chat about what BO is seeing. "He looks short on his front right." I stare at her blankly. "His front right?! That doesn't make any sense.'  He feels okay to me...the best yet actually. So, we continue talking, it has been 3 weeks since we started riding again and determined it is now time for him to take it up a notch. Meaning, more collection, circles, cantering...If he is having difficulty with this now, then there is something else still going on at which point I would have to put my x-ray vision goggles on to determine what. 

We cantered - both directions and once I remembered 'FORWARD' (okay, that is a lie, BO had to tell me to go forward FOR me), he felt pretty good....to the right, he was not as good as to the left...weird weird weird.  After the canter, we determined he was in fact able to bring it up a notch.  AND - more importantly, mentally in MY head, I needed to hear that.  I sound like a broken record, but pushing him forward and ON, is just as much in my head as it is in his...he is after all protecting himself - AND I would be too given how I know he had been feeling.  We finished doing some long and low and trot and walk and called it at that.  I was really excited at the end of the ride to put the dreaded dressage saddle on tomorrow (today) and really start to ask him to work again.

As we were coming out of the arena and onto the cement walkway, he sounded...off.  I stop him and take a look.  The horse, HAS PULLED HIS FRONT RIGHT SHOE OFF.  No wonder he was 'coming up short on his front right'.  I stared at him open mouthed.  I, of course, didn't put his bell boots on because we were stuck inside the arena and not going out on the trails.  I sighed openly and then yelled at BO who was in the other isle to tell her what happened.  Then I feel bad because I didn't notice when it happened...but I honestly didn't feel anything happen!!! Booo Carrie.  BO chalks that up to the footing - it is pretty cushy in there.  The farrier is going to come today at 4 to put his shoe back on.  Sigh - thank god he is good to me.  At night check last night, he hadn't stocked up or anything, which is some small miracle knowing that horse.  Bell Boots it is, pretty much for the rest of Chester's life...sigh.

I have no idea who this is - except for the fact
he should be Chester's new idol.

Technically, I should be surprised that he pulled a shoe, but really, I'm not.  I wouldn't expect anything less from my gangly-legged-accident-prone-redhead.  He belongs in bubble wrap. (Except that when he moved and the bubble wrap popped, he would scare himself, causing him to do something worse then pull a shoe...sigh...)