June 2011 clinic

We spent most of the week doing groundwork. The goal was to help him get ready to re-start. Mon-Wed were hard, but went well. We were ready to give riding a shot on Thursday.

After a short ground session in the big ring we headed to the round pen. I got on and Libby stayed on the other end of the lead line. I was just a passenger. It had been a year since Chance had been ridden and we didn't know how he would handle it. He was awake now and it could go any way. He was less likely to buck with Libby leading him around.

He did great! Lots of turns, a little trotting and he was ok. My emotions got the best of me. An entire year of helping this horse wake up. It's a good thing Libby was on the end of the lead line, I was crying and an emotional mess! Happy tears! Tomorrow I would ride on my own.

Friday came and I saddled him up. He didn't feel as good. He felt tight. His head would drop and wasn't the same as yesterday. I didn't feel ok about riding on my own so Libby continued to lead us around. We kept it short. I was crushed, what was wrong?

I packed up and trailered him home. When we got home I ran my hands down his back, he was sore. He flinched a lot. I decided to give him a few days off and would try again at home. In those few days I noticed his personality changing. He was grumpy, spooky and still sore. The lyme had come back. Maybe the clinic was too stressful for him. Maybe his back couldn't handle a rider. Too many questions again. I started the doxy again.

Libby had some concerns, was his back injury just too much for him? Was the pain from the injury what shut him down in the beginning? It was time to get real, Chance
may never be ridden again.