Ding Dong the Witch is Dead...

So Alex has had his shoe back on for over a week now and he is SOUND! -- Cue Wizard of Oz "Ding Dong the Witch is Dead."

Last week he got a bit of a reprieve, because Monday night I got the dreaded stomach bug/flu/nastiness and wasn't feeling like myself until nearly Friday night. I can ride through respiratory sickness, but this stomach bug was way too nasty.

Saturday, we had some family out to meet Alex for the first time and man did he put on a show.... four-legged leaping bucks on the lunge line, snorting and gawking and just basically being ridiculous for almost 25 minutes total.  To be fair, he hasn't been worked but one time in the outdoor arena since October and I hadn't done anything with him for nearly two weeks.  Finally, he gave up and I thought for just a minute about whether I really wanted to push my luck by climbing into the saddle.  I decided that I did, which I think surprised my husband who handed over my helmet without saying anything.  Once in the saddle, Alex was actually pretty good.  He spent a lot of time gawking and playing, but he only threw in two half-hearted bucks at the canter and generally was pleasant.  Score!

Sunday it was a nasty blustery day so I decided I'd just lunge in the surcingle.  Alex spent a little less time performing acrobatics and a little more time stretching and moving very nicely at the end of his work.  Sometimes less is more, so I felt like the lunging was just what the doctor ordered.

Today was another rainy nasty day, and since it's still getting dark to early for me to get a ride in outside, we were stuck with the indoor.  Normally we've had the indoor to ourselves, but tonight we had to share with another horse/rider while we worked on the lunge.  This is a first for Alex (inside) and I really have to say he handled it much better than expected.  Generally he was very curious (read gawky), but no real acting up or acrobatics at all!  After a few minutes, he started to relax and stretch and that was pretty much all she wrote.  I do think he was a little heart broken when the cute little mare left the arena prior to our ride, he'd been showing off for her, I think there's a little stud still left in him :-)

In the saddle he was very agreeable, minus a few looks at his least favorite corner.  Walk, trot and canter, were all pretty decent and well behaved.  His movement is so much better than before the abscesses, I really feel like they had been brewing a long time. 

Overall we've had a very satisfying and excellent start back to the routine.  So happy to have my horse back!