Great Expectations

I rode the Bluester today, and it was our first solid ride in 3 weeks. I tried to keep it low-key and not ask for too much advanced work, and we didn't jump either - I'm planning on doing a little tomorrow.

He felt good, he felt sound, even when he decided to canter right through the big speed bump of sand I was trying to steer him away from. His steering and his "go" button were a little wonky today, lots of running through my outside leg and being pokey. I don't think this has to do with soundness, I think this has to do with the weather. Blue always seems to slow down the better the weather gets.

The problem is that I'm trying to reconfigure my expectations to fit my horse. Obviously, we can't simply pick up where we left off before the time off - he's lost some fitness. The other thing is, before Blue went lame, I had pitched my spurs out and been working on trying to get a happier horse at the expense of my idea of an ideal trot. I think my preferences are skewed anyway...he's always been short-strided, and while I can get him to work his hindquarters much better now he's still never going to be long-strided or a really forward kind of horse.

For right now, I'm just going to cruise along and simplify my goals. Goal #1 for tomorrow is to re-establish the rules of steering (ie right leg does not mean run right!). Goal #2 is to jump a quiet course. This one is open to change, however...if he can show me that he can be a good boy and keep his head tomorrow, then we bump it up to Goal #3, otherwise known as get the desired striding for the jumps without having to stretch or shrink a lot to do so. I was really optimistic about our prospects for the May 9th show before the lameness - I'm hoping the course of treatment (hock injections*) was just what he needed. I think he'll be ready, but just to make sure I'm going to squeeze in some hillwork after the lesson tomorrow!

*I'm not sure how I feel about hock injections - on one hand, I know a horse at our barn who gets them every year and a half or so and it works really well for him. On the other hand, though, I don't like to think about the fact that Blue might get dependent on them. Since I don't own him, I really don't get a say in the situation. The vet recommended them, seems to think they're a good idea, and thinks it will keep him comfortable for his current workload without making his condition worse.