Good News!

The vet was out yesterday for shots, and I got great news! The bumps are Spyder's back are just bug bites that got hardened from a reaction to them. Funny thing is, it could have been a spider, and they are just cosmetic. My 3 options are: 1) surgical removal 2) steroid injection 3) leave them alone. I think I'm going to leave them alone being that they don't bother him and they have shrunk on their own a bit. Why irritate him with procedures since everything seems to irritate him?

Spyder was Mr. Grumpy coming out of the field. He didn't want to be bothered with what work he might have to do or who might be poking him with needles. He's BEYOND easy to catch, but he's beyond grumpy when you get him (unless it's feeding time). The BO texted me about this and thought it was funny when she grabbed him for the vet! Yes, he hates to work so that's what we worked on! Walk and trot were nice (only because he ate his grain before I got on), and he didn't pull back towards the barn much. We rode in the xc field by the water where he had a head tossing fit, but he didn't flinch at the deer running through the water.

After his head tossing came to an end (very short because I was not having it), I got him back together and pushed forward. Forward was quite the issue for him so I kept moving him off of my leg in a circle. Since he was reacting well to getting off the leg and going, I asked for a canter. He was a happy horse about it which was good, but he didn't want to keep going. He responded negatively to leg pressure and was even more upset with kissing which made him walk. GREAT, Spyder... not at all what you're supposed to do. I  picked him back up to a trot, and he wanted to canter! I kept him trotting until he listened to my cues, and brought him back down to a walk, each time asking for something different to get him listening. He's going to need A LOT of transitions to keep him thinking and excited.

The ride was a quick 30 minutes, and it may be one of the last for some time as we have a storm rolling in. It looks like rain just about every day for the next week or so which will make for a fun time getting back on with him being out of shape. As long as it's not raining, I'll still do the trail ride on Saturday, and I just found out there is a 4-h open English show the week before the hunter pace. We always do the "older and bolder" classes since they are walk/trot, but it's a REALLY long show day as they spread out each age group and keep the classes together. I usually end up showing against people that have been riding for their whole lives 40+ years which is never fun. They are always so competitive and I just go for fun. Behaving is a win for us! IF it's nice out, and IF I have time, I'll do all 3 events! :) We'll hope for nicer weather!

The sun sets behind Spyder's paddock.

Hay time and this beautiful scenery as I looked for Spyder's missing halter!