Time

D and I are one week short of a year at Scott Hills. What a quick year it has been. D has filled out nicely and loves his home. He acts like a moron from time to time but has never seemed nervous about our change in location which has helped me tremendously. His eyes continue to change in ways I don't understand at all but he is a pain to ride so I am under the impression he feels great still...
Currently he has super sore heels due to the weather/ humidity or whatever so today we walked for 20 minutes. A lot of this walking brings me back to nearly 4 years ago when we spent an entire year just walking.
When D stays at the walk I can feel exactly if he is shuffling or short stepping and I feel the minute his hips loosen which lately happens a bit faster. Due to the heat a shorter walk is what we did today and I avoided the trails trying to give preference to his sore feet.
I am looking forward to cooler days and less bugs and hopefully rides that include a few different gaits.

D loves his window

I love the sentiment behind this!

D's right eye has started to get strange... this is the one with  that had the medicine implant above it. 

Right eye again... didn't get a good shot of the left

What "eye" see

It is amazing how quickly time passes by. It has been a hot summer full of riding. I returned from traveling (D enjoyed attention from Liz) and jumped into riding him 5-6 days a week. We are only handling the heat for 30 minutes tops (or maybe thats just me) but it has been consistent and sometimes, even decent. :)
Wednesday we rode into the field and I was able to stay on him for 3/4 of the way before his confidence kicked in and made me hop off. I have become very attentive to the cues my horse gives me. I think the fact that he is so confident is a good thing, I do, but it would be nice to just wander on a trail without having to completely direct him AND keep him off the forehand. It would be worse if he never wanted to move forward but still, balance in this would be a bit easier.
D's eyes have been changing a lot lately... his right eye had the medicine implant over it and now since the meds have worn off his eye is progressing. One of the girls at the barn noted how pretty it was despite the cloudiness and cataracts. Currently he seems to be pain free, which is a blessing.

This post in a bunch of wandering thoughts, I know... but it has been a busy summer with a horse who is full of himself no matter the heat or the color of his eyes.

Left eye

Left again 

Right eye

Better pictures coming soon- quite hard to get, actually 

Can you hear me now?

My horse whinnies all the time now. I really wish I knew why. I mean I get that he is completely lost in space but where did this vocal horse come from? He NEVER did this before he lost his sight.

I used to think he was complaining since it happened a lot when we were working and he wasn't being the most compliant... but he does it at a loose walk, when he seems to be happy with work, even when I'm on the ground beside him.

This week he started doing this like "hrmphing" type sound and blowing out all big and bad while whinnying but his pace never changed... he continued to trot the circle with even a bit of a correct bend to the inside. It absolutely boggles my brain.

It bugs me because it is loud, his whole body shakes and it means he isn't listening to me... I am an attention hog when I am on his back, I want all of his.

I have been working hard to manage D's energy. With the return of his weight, his energy has also escalated. I keep thinking the super muggy weather will help me but no such luck as of yet. I am still hopeful that someone will appear wanting to half lease which would be a 2 -part blessing. He will get attention from our buddy Liz this summer which will help with energy but she has her own horse. I love the reminder of watching someone else get on him and see that he is quite rideable.

We have been working to extend where D can go without getting too excited. He is pretty good about walking around the property and I haven't had to cue him nearly as much. Last week we rode while several machines were moving dirt around and he was relatively focused although still very chatty. He has a buddy in the field and in general is adapting just like any other horse...

He is a happy, chatty camper making sure he can be heard and for that I am grateful.

Photo Op

Yesterday a few of the girls were taking pictures and I was the only one foolish enough to be riding in the 30 degree weather. However, its always fun to get pictures of you and your horse :) So here are a few for perusing. He is, slowly, gaining weight. :)

Happy New Year everyone!!