Defining awesome!

awe·some

   /ˈɔsəm/ Show Spelled[aw-suhm]  

noun 

1.  My ride yesterday

2. My freaking rock star horse!

3. The weather this week

4. The vet saying, "You have yourself a sound horse"
5. This cartoon (I edited this post to add this because it fell under the category of awesome!)

The ride!  It has been great.  It is like all the time off we have had Steady has lost nothing.  And gained the starts of what appears to be a top line!  Say whaaaa??  You read that right.  It is true.  He has also gained a new start in training.  It is like a clean slate.  The things we were struggling with at the end of last season.  He was getting ticked at me for insisting on contact.  That is gone and the contact is just there.  He wants it and searches for it when it is missing.  The topline is allowing him to round his back much nicer than before.  We even did shoulder-in in both directions yesterday.  He still lacks the strength behind to canter on a 20 meter circle.  Every time I try he throws a "B you betta reconiz" buck at me and I let it go.  I know he just absolutly needs back end strength to pull out his super awesome fancy canter and I need to give him the time to build it up.  I need to remember to NOT rush him into it and the it will come again.  So we now just canter in a large area around the pasture and let him build some fitness back.  The stretching?  His new favorite thing.  He does it, he wants to do it and we have been able to get it at a trot.  Not as consistent as at the walk but still can get it. 

The horse!  He is truely amazing to me.  His abilities are so great and he is really coming into his own.  He of course has faults but don't we all.  But I understand his faults and know how to deal with them in a way that makes him flourish and that is an amazing thing.  It has only taken 2 full years but his body condition is finally becoming healthy.  All the worry, stress, money and everything else I have poured into and over this horse.  I really think the thing he needed the most was time.

Here he is last summer

His ars is skinny.  He is lacking some serious topline. 

Here is today

It may be hard to see in these photos but in person the difference in his topline is incredible. He actually has meat on is back and but now.

And here are a couple more just because it is my blog and I think my horsey is purtee.

The weather!  Wow!  I don't know how long 70's and sunny in March in Indiana can last but I do know that I will take advantage of it while it does.

The Vet.  I trailered Steady to the vet today and he got a good work up.  Soundness check and I heard every horse owners dream.  "You have yourself a sound horse"  Ahhhhhhh I could listen to that all day.  Accupuncture was next with moxibustion needles that heat up in his muscles.  It was facinating to see my horses back with smoking needles coming out of it.  Before he began I asked the Dr. if the needles usually bother horses.  He said no they really don't.  Well about 3 minutes later when Steady tried to high tail his ass out of the building when he started sticking him with needles.  The Doc decided to give him some sedatives...lol.  Leave it to Steady to prove the vet wrong.

Is this not one of the craziest things you have seen?  I had to snap a picture of my horses back smoking.

Then vaccinations, coggins and dental work.  Same thing with the dental work.  Normal dosage of sedatives don't do enough to relax the big guy and he then got to be blindfolded for it.

Rarrrr...it's the big scary, blind, metal mouth.

I really like my vet and I also love the fact that they let me hang around and get Steady's mane completely pulled while he was still sedated.  YAY!  I have never been able to do a full pull on him because HE HATES IT!  I don't care who you are and how many times  you tell me they don't feel it, I won't believe it.  He HATES it so I don't do it except for 5 pulls at a time and that is only if I don't care if I tick him off (never before a ride).  So about an hour and half later we have this!  A lovely pulled mane.  I hope that I can keep up with it with a few pulls here and there and also he gave me some stuff to chill him out so I can get it done at home!  I can't show up to the Horse Trials with a whacked off mane like I usually have.

Best picture I could get of it between him not cooperating hand the wind.