My Butt Hurts

Well, it had to happen. I guess I was due.

My butt and the ground had a meeting yesterday. And it was not pretty.

But at least I know my horse will turn! With or without me! I was working on WHOA yesterday and we were loping down the line. I just flat didn't see the barrel that has sat in that exact same spot for 6 months. I sat down and said "whoa" which he interpreted as "set and turn." So he did. Good job Bubba. Too bad he went left and I went right.

I'm sore sore today and my right hip is really swollen. The more I move, the better I feel. Hopefully I'll be ready to go next week so I can ride on Monday.

So anyway, we rode yesterday. Everything went pretty decently. I think I'm going to try working on "whoa" from the lope with my headsetter tie down on. He got a little light in the front end by the end and I think that'll keep him reminded to stay down. I'm hoping it works well so I can use it running home at the barrel race. He keeps his head down fairly low turning but it gets way way up there when I'm trying to get him stopped. That's my other project. STOPPING coming out the gate. Sometimes it's like trying to stop a freight train without any brakes. At this point I'll try just about anything. The Pretzel works pretty well but he hates it so much warming up. Hmm. Dilemma.

God I can't wait to go to Ed. Direction! Direction! My kingdom for some direction!

Also, I might try loping him on a loose rein and see if he'll eventually settle down and just lope without constantly speeding up. He naturally carries his head a little lower than it feels like he does under saddle. I wonder if that's a product of my hands. Hmm... something to study.

In health news...
Bubba got his teeth floated today. My appointment for yesterday got postponed due to a colic emergency. So Bubba got to go on a field trip to another farm and spent the day there. He was VERY sharp in the back (I told you Spencer!!) but Doc knocked them down. Hopefully my dentist can come up sometime soon and check it for me.

We didn't do any lameness stuff after he worked so good Monday and Wednesday. I'm hoping the "offness" on Saturday was due to the and those sharp teeth instead of anything more serious. I might try the Lubrisyn that everybody is raving about on BHW and see if that helps at all. It's a little more pricey than I like to spend every month but if it works, it's worth it.

Also got our "we're legal to cross the border" paperwork today from Doc. All we need now for Ed is to pack our junk up and hit the road! Can't wait!