Finally Spring

 Spring in Nova Scotia is not for the faint hearted. The weather can veer wildly from sunshine to rain to hail to wind and possibly snow. Sometimes in the same day. 

despite this my magnolia is blooming

Last week I didn't ride at all. I can ride in wind, or wet or cold but when I get all 3 I bow out. It's just not fun. Friday was better. And by 'better' I mean when we wore our winter coats it felt okay. Julia rode Carmen and I worked with Quaid. Julia rode because she was taking my lesson slot on Saturday. Since she is riding Carmen we both felt it would be useful for both of them. 

It's not my place to recap someone else's lesson but it was great. I loved seeing someone else work through things with Carmen. Both of them were keen and there was some lovely work. 

Carmen: I hope you appreciate how great I was 

After Saturday the weather started trending in the right direction and now we're in shortsleeved. It's been interesting getting Quaid back to work. I have noticed that he has been more wary and less social than pre-injury. It's understandable, given all that he experienced. However, I don't need to keep that as permanent and I set out to bring him out of his shell. 

Nothing magic, just time and consistency. I have introducing more stuff and asking more with the aim of helping him figure out how to deal with pressure. 

I love how he's filling out again

While I was away it seemed like his legs sprouted and he became tall and lean. I actually doubled his feed and he's slowly filling out again. I measured him last week and he's almost 15.2 at the wither. 

I weaned them onto the back pasture and they are now there full days. In the past Irish would block the alley way to keep Carmen from going out for a few minutes. Now she's doing it to Quaid. Herd dynamics are interesting. 

He's been completely sound. The plate is still on to protect the soft spot on his hoof. I was worried but the farrier and vet both assure me that it's fine to leave it on. On Friday with the weather a balmy 20 degrees Julia and I worked the horses and then gave them a bath. Quaid was less certain about being bathed but tolerated it. When we let them in the field he ran out, rolled and leaped up bucking. This was followed by a good five minutes of him gambolling about the field while Carmen ate. It was adorable. I probably should have grabbed my phone to take a video but I was too busy enjoying him frolicking about. 

As we've been working he's becoming more out of his shell and more like his affectionate self. It's not perfect- he still wants to yank his hoof out of my hand when I'm working on it but it's improving. Both horses are signed up for an obstacle clinic in a couple weeks. It should be fun. My plan is to take him with Carmen and I when we show so he can hang out in the atmosphere without the pressure. 

I am looking forward to warmer weather and summer.