I tell ya...

The hony, this evening... He's cute.

The hony has been, um, expressively bad as of late. Both under saddle and the handful of times I've lunged to see if it was me or saddle fit. Sigh. Typically this means he's uncomfortable. That could be saddle fit, in need of a chiro/massage, needs his feet tweaked with, whatever. It occasionally also means he's not getting enough turnout, the weather's been crazy, or his feed is making him hot. So let's go down the list:

• Saddle fit - Yup, could be. He's lost a lot of topline (due to losing TONS of weight last winter, ulcers, no work, lyme and some more no work) and we're building it back now. I'm using a shimmable pad so I'm doing the best I can. Can't afford a saddle fitter at this time for a more professional opinion. Also, he's been bad when I lunge without a saddle so while I think the saddle fit isn't the best, it's probably not the only problem.
• In need of a chiro/massage - Yup, could be. One of the lovely ladies at Digby's barn actually took a look at him tonight. She does some "energy work" but it was free and I figured no harm, no foul. It was fairly interesting when I convinced my science based self to be open minded. I'm going to see how he goes tomorrow.
• Needs his feet tweaked - I mean, maybe? Probably not? His feet have looked the best they've looked since I've been back in PA. Does this mean it's working for him? No, but they look awful good. I'll chat with my farrier the next time he's out.
• Turnout - Seriously doubt it. They go out for 7-8 hours a day. In the area I live, that's a lot of turnout.
• Weather - Ehhh. It's fall and I get it. It's cooler, they're feeling better. His bad isn't "whoo it's cool! I'm feeling good!" though. It's more "I don't want to so SCREW YOU LADY."
• Feed - Seriously doubt it. He gets almost unlimited grass hay plus about 6 lbs of Tribute Maturity which isn't particularly high in sugar/starches. In an ideal world, I'd keep him on TC Senior but that's not included in my horses board and again, money.

Not a whole lot else to say about that topic. I've done a lot of thinking, not a whole lot of whining, and too much adulting.

I'm trying to not think of the doom (AHH MY HORSE IS GOING TO GO LAME AND I'LL BE STUCK WITH HIM FOREVERRRR AND FOREVER BE BROKE OVER A HORSE I CAN'T RIDE AND IT'S GOING TO SUCK) and just continue on with my life. Full disclosure: I have asked around a bit lately to see if anyone wants a companion horse. It's not 100% what I want but.... Ya know. Digby and I do this shit. Every. Single. Year. Every damn year. Usually more than once a year. He tells me not so nicely that I can fluff off. I tell him not so nicely that I do everything I can to make sure he's comfortable and happy and FOR THE LOVE OF GOD HORSE WILL YOU JUST BEHAVE?!? So then I fuss and worry and sometimes we come to an agreement and sometimes I get so frustrated that I give him some time off and he comes back fine at a later point. I'm not sure what to do about it now or in the future. Maybe he's made to be a pasture puff. Maybe I just need to learn how to ride. Hahahah.

Being an adult sucks.

New vet

You may recall here where I lamented that I needed to find a new vet because my current one has deemed my new barn was too far away. Boo because I love my current vet! Anyway, the barn I'm at uses two vets mostly. One, who we will call Dr S, will never touch my horse with a ten foot pole. I've had too many friends/friends of friends use Dr S's services with bad results. "Bad results" could be a severe reaction to a vaccine to total misdiagnosis of an illness with drastic consequences. Either way, I'm not a fan. The other vet the barn uses we will call Dr D. This seemed like a better option and I've heard some good things about the practice. I called and got Digby set up for fall shots.

Old photooooo, always old photos!

I am actually quite pleased! I was kind of grumpy about the whole thing because, well, they aren't my old vet and I wish I didn't need a new one and blah blah whine whine. The vet that came out isn't the main vet but she was nice, knowledgeable and genuinely interested in Digby and I. Digby is pretty interesting given his history (you know, chronic colic, ulcers, blind in one eye, has been treated for lyme, has a navicular bone in two pieces, way too much chronic lameness...) but I love getting new opinions on his issues. She had a few suggestions. At one point she said, "if you want, you can ride more than you do. There are several options that won't break the bank to help with his issues that you haven't tried yet. Go ride."

WHEE! Love hearing that! I tried to keep my excitement under control since, those options may not work but that would be awesome. I miss having goals and riding my horse regularly!

In other news, Digby and I switched farriers in May when I moved to the new barn. He shoes some of the racehorses that my full time job farm owns. I was always impressed with him and decided to just give him a shot on my own personal (not racehorse) horse. I'm pleased to say that Digby's feet look the best since he's been back in PA. His heels are better than they were and his angles are finally even. Way to go Digby.

My favorite month!

Ah yes, life has settled down a bit for me. October is my favorite month so this is perfect timing. :) Since the horses are back on day turnout and I work 7-4 at my full time job, I'm not helping turnout at Digby's barn. I'm also not pet sitting at the moment. I went from working legitimately every hour of the day, minus my hour lunch break, to having almost every night off. It's a magical thing. I've been wildly productive since I'm not used to having down time.

Old Digby photo, maybe 2012?

It's been great to get some stuff done! I've been trying to ride more and I've been catching up on some of my blog reading. I've got some posts to write about, well, what's been happening, some stuff I've bought lately (and not so lately), and how the rides have been going. Stay tuned, Digby lovers! News is on the way!