Ladder of success

 Hoorah for today.  

I went to the barn with the image of a great ride and lots of positive moments.  I do beilive if you think of things, it can happen......I don't understand how or why, but it seems to work.  

So, first I decided I was going to set up Laz and I for success.

I was going to approach like walking up a ladder, with each good step, I would take another.  If the next step was too fearful for either of us, I would go back down to the previous step. 

One of my reader/friends mentioned to me that it's important to not push your horse past the point of trust/fear but if you approach it slowly, it will be a win/win situation.

First step on our ladder.

I talked to him, told him of our success plan and spend some time grooming calmly.

I noticed he knicked his heel bulb slightly (not even a scab) and it must have been from Thursday's fit.  Same foot that has two horrid past crescent shaped scars (from racing I can only assume) around his heel bulb area.   Note to self, when we start canter work I may want to put bell boots on him.

I also noticed his lovely winter coat starting to come in which makes him a darker rich Bay, what a beaut!

And, we are in the official ugly stage of growing out his awesome mohawk for winter.  I want a mane for him to help protect from the winter winds.

Second step on our ladder, I refitted our Nurtural bridle.

One of my readers mentioned perhaps it was too low on his sensitive nose area and I think, indeed it was.

I raised the cheek straps up which also pulled up the noseband on the harder part of his nose.

**Note-I just re watched the how to fit video and still need to adjust more where the rein strap and circle x are**

Third step, I hand walked Laz in the bridle to allow him to get familiar again with it and work on ground aids with him.  He did stellar, and I saw no difference or fighting.

Fourth step, I hopped on, starting out in the round pen.  We rode in there for about 10 minutes working on turning, halting, walking, and trotting and getting used to the bridle.  He was quiet, responsive and lighter than on Thursday.  He also licked, exhaled and seemed to be comfortable all around.  Good cues to keep moving up our ladder.

  I rewarded with a few carrots and we walked towards to large arena.

Fifth step, we rode in the arena for about 30 minutes.  Great work, no spooking, no fighting the bridle.  We walked, we trotted, we did circles and serpentines, and walked thru our obstacles with no issues.  Well, no new issues.  Those that have OTTB's know that we have the Cadillac smooth movements going counterclockwise, and clockwise is the jalopy.  We'll get there ;)

Lots of praising to Laz and patting.  He was such a good worker today.  He would sigh and lick everytime we transitioned down from the trot to a walk, like "I did good!"

He even pushed forward in the bridle a bit and stretched into it which was great to feel.

Sixth step was to be our last, I wanted to walk/trot around the outside of the round pen (scene of the crime from Thursday) with out any issues.  We did!  He walked around a little more alert and perked up but I continued to soothe and encourage and he was great. He picked up a nice little clip of a trot without any snaking or bucking and we walked around the outside of the large arena and ended it with LOTS of praise.

GOOD LAZ!!!!!!!!!

Best of all, he enjoyed the ride too.  No anxious chewing, no competitive racing spirit bursting out, just a nice light hack with lots of positive glints.  I tried to really listen to his body language today to see if there was something else he was trying to tell me on Thursday which led to our bad ride, but today it was all seemingly happy and content coming from him :)

 Thanks coming from both ways for a good ride and a good ending

On another note, I took Mason in to the vet just to make sure he was feeling 100% because he had just been off for a while.  Vet said she thinks he has 'traveler's tummy' which basically means he will vomit/have loose stools from time to time due to his rides to the farm.  She put him on an antibiotic to clean out his gut, and he's been acting/feeling much better and showing more energy :)

Go Masie!!!

Also......Happy Birthday to my sweet Husband today who always listens to my non stop talk about Laz and supports my sickness! :)

Riding Lycius Two

Things were going so well!

Lazarus had been really turning into such a gentleman when we rode, stayed so quiet, starting to spook less or not at all, and listened to my aids so lightly and with such team attitude.

I started out yesterday with high hopes.

I just purchased a new bitless bridle from Nurtural and knowing so many of you have had great success, I thought this was going to be perfect! Laz and I have already been riding bareback and in my rope halter so surely this was going to be a seamless transition.

Puh

Look how handsome he looks in it!

I love the feel of the Nurtural Beta, it's synthetic but feels like lovely, floppy leather!

That's the Circle X that aids in communication

and the noseband has this lovely rubber gripper to keep it all in place.

Well, Laz simply hated it. HATED it! 

WHY?!

 I think it actually had something to do with the noseband..he kept trying to rub it off with his legs, tossing his head which lead to an awful ride. He wasn't paying attention, he knocked over 3 cavelettis when we walked over them, tripped a few times more while tossing his head around and snorting.

When I ride him in our rope halter, he licks, he's quiet and soft. In this bridle, he kept pushing forward in it and seemed to try and escape it and there was noooo licking.  I will give it another shot to make sure it's not some error on my end, which is quite possible.

After him being a complete snot and fighting the bridle, he got pretty fired up and then kept spooking at everything. So, I switched him back in his rope halter and we started over.

It went much better, we had a decent, not great, ride for about 40 minutes. 

To end it, I took him around the yard outside of the arena by the BO's house.

The BO's opened the sliding doors and her three dogs came barreling out, as they do everyday so it shouldn't upset Laz but he decided to buck and be bratty.  I rode him through it but it didn't end there.  It was the beginning of the most hellish ride.

Enter Lycius Two!

Laz had left the building, and he was in race horse mode BIG TIME.  Another boarder has her quiet QH lunging in the round pen and Laz could NOT handle trotting around the round pen with the horse going opposite or in the same direction. Nor could he handle that she was using her whip...at all.  I had to ask her to stop using it because I had to attempt some control.  Laz is very reactive off whips..like BOLT reactive.  I would ask for a trot and he would buck, snake his neck, hump and starting to really get pumped up and not even remotely listening or hearing or feeling me.  How I stayed on is beyond me, I'm pretty sure feeling how incredibly sore my back, chest and legs are today, that I just had the death grip clinging to him, to ride it out.  A few times the BO shouted for me to circle and trot him which I attempted to do, but I just couldn't concentrate on her and what was going on beneath me.  I wanted to reset him, not encourage forward movement in a area that was taking all his attention away from me.  He was incredibly anxious, and competitive and in total race horse mode. The bucking was the exact thing you see every race horse do as they jig their way to the loading pen and while they are in the pen, rearing up and getting anxious to go.

Laz was Lycius Two again and I was just a jockey to him.

No connection, no respect.  It was a bear to get through.

I trotted him back in the arena where he settled a tiny bit (ie no more bucking) and got a trot. A crappy sideways banana trot but none the less, movement.  Each time I took him out to attempt to work around the round pen, the boarder and her moving horse, he could not handle it. He was so wanting to rocket around and do god knows what?! 

At this point, it's now been about 30 minutes of bucking, humping, coiled TB energy and I was so spent..and this is after our 40 minute ride. Did I mention this is bareback?? Not that a saddle would have helped unless it had a couch cushion and a seatbelt.

  I did what I could, and was looking to find how to end it on a good note because I knew I couldn't dismount and end it here.  

My thoughts were to get a calm walk, forget about asking for forward movement when he actually wants to burst out bucking and running and I was turning into a limp noodle. Ask for the opposite and ask for it in an area that he can re set his own brain and hear me.  Back in the arena, then out to the grassy area a bit away from round pen, then around the outside of the arena and we were finally done.  

Literally one of the hardest rides of my life.

All night, it bothered me and I am so sore, to remind me of it all day long. 

I felt totally disconnected from Laz and felt he was actually quite dangerous.

I think, however, the key for him when he gets so fired up is to find him a happy place and reset and start again. My question is...what if this happened out on a trail, or somewhere, where I can't reset him?  All I know, is that pushing him forward when he's like that, is not a winning combination either.

Laz...come back!!!

Photo series-mounting up

For those that have an OTTB (any horse actually but the OTTB's are notorious for taking off the minute any weight is on their backs...not their fault, they are trained to be moving/trotting/jigging to the track as jockeys mount up) mounting up can prove to be a challenge in the beginning.

Laz has been really great at being patient with me about 99% of the time

This photo series was captured my my sister in July

I thought I would share it with you today, as today I mounted Laz from the 2 step block instead of the 3 step, and he walked off with me dangling over his back on try #1. LOL! Try #2 he stood as I squirmed my way over on him. Good boy!!!

As I put his reins over him, I always tell him "Take care of me."

 

The beloved 3 step

"Oh the grazzez is calling to me Mom....lemme go!!"

What not to do...one leg over and your horse not paying attention to you starts to wander away

Resetting him

And a one...

Alley ooop jump swing

and squirm up a bit

Ahh heaven's seat

"thank you, thank you!"

And we're off

Using Holistic Medicine...

Sigh.

Ok, first off...I just wish there was something in between.  I'm not 100% sold on doing only Western or only Eastern Medicine 

Maybe because I'm an Aries, I question EVERYTHING...and only trust what I see with my eyes and not what people tell me...what I do know is that I'm going with my gut.

My gut says to try something a little more gentle, something that has been around for a very, very long and something that has been proven to work with other people going through what we are going through.

So...Holistic medicine was that route to take.

I just couldn't get comfortable with certain vaccines that came only as a tri-medicine form (EEE/WEE/Tetanus for example) to administer to Lazarus.  I can't run the risk of his laminitis returning or setting him back with a typical vaccine.  That being said, I didn't want to leave him unprotected against the EEE which has been showing up in our State of Michigan.  

So...I purchased a nosode of EEE and gave him his first dose on Sunday.

He seems totally fine (knocking on a forest of wood!) and he'll get 2 doses a month until frost for this.

So, let me back up.  

Last Tuesday evening I met with a lady that many of my horse friends (including Cliff) use.  Her name is Sue and she is a Homeopathic Equestrian Care Consultant.  What does that mean? To me it means another source of care for Laz, that explores more into the holistic world.  It's micro nutrition used to stimulate and strengthen the body's own natural ability to heal itself.  I think it's a good balance along with normal vet care, and in this case, offers me options to treatment for Laz, who seems to react strongly to medicine.  I did talk to a different young vet who offered me some great insight. She is a MSU Vet and said she's intrigued by holistic treatment as an option, and supports it via using Sue, but offers normal vet care when needed.  I'm hanging on her number in case we choose to switch to her.  I like the option of having a vet that is open and clear on what I'm doing, instead of against it because they aren't willing to hear/learn about it.

So back to Sue.

For $55 she came out and did a 2 hour check of Laz (all external, no bloodwork) and talked to me and listened to our story.  She thought he looked good, bright eyes, good coat/skin/hair.  It was CRAZY windy so he was UP UP UP and she was like "is he always this nervous?" but on windy days, yes. 

She gave us all the goodies shown below to aid in his healing, and we may stay on some for longer, or switch it out for new versions.  It seems with some of these 'meds' they can help many issues and some are needed for beginning, or for a cleanse and not long term.  

What I like too, is the price point.  The meds range from $11-22 each and last up to 3 months. 

I took a close of picture of the 'dose'..they are teeny tiny little globules, or balls, about the size of 1/2 a sesame seed.

One dose is approximately 10-15 but Sue said it's ok to be a little more/less when dosing.

So, I know, some of you were interested in the details.  

I'm going to list what we have, and what it does.  PLEASE by no means, do this on your own.  I would recommend to talking to a professional and doing your own research, as we are learning as well and using Sue for our knowledge.  I haven't started any of this yet...I wanted to give Laz a chance to do well with equine dentist (check) and with the nosode of EEE (check).  

Ok, here's what is in our little apothecary:

Conium-2 x a day-for motor nerve endings in rear end

Arnica-2 x a day-for inflammation and swelling 

Ruta-2 x a day-ligament and joint stiffness

Silicia-2 x a day-for regeneration

Calc Fluor-2 x day-for hoof growth (use 2 x a day for 2 months, then 3 x a week for a month, then 3 x a month until hoof is normal)

Secale-1 x a day-for circulation restriction, to allow circulation in weakness of rear

Lycopodium-1 x a day-every 2 days-cleanses stomach, liver, spleen

Kelp-1 to 2 tablespoons, 1 x a day-helps general health; digestion, condition of skin, hooves- 12 vitamins, 60 major and trace minerals and 20 key amino acids

Celtic Sea Salt-1 teaspoon, 1 x a day-nature's electrolyte aiding in better digestion and stabilizing bodily functions and fluids

Overwhelmed yet?! 

My plan, is to give this a good try...when I'm out of the medicine, I will revise and see what I think is essential. I like the idea of the sea salt and kelp..and possibly the Arnica

We'll see.........I hope for good luck with this and above all, for Laz to continue to feel healthy and grow strong.  I also hope that this will build his immunity up so he won't react to medicine so adversely in the future, if/when he needs it.  

Also, Sue works with dogs! So Mason may be put on some holistic options to help him out.  She thought his thyroid was goofy which is quite interesting because as a puppy, he got really sick with demodex and the vet back then, told me that he could have a screwy thyroid...so we'll see.  She also recommended stopping the use of vaccines (other than rabies) because many of them cause tumors, which he has a couple lumps already on his rib cage. 

Again, I feel the need to say...I'm not selling holistic as the only option.  I don't have an 'easy keeper' horse and I have to find alternative solutions and second guess what goes into his body from what happened to him last Fall.  I'm stepping into this direction and if it works for us, GREAT...if not, I'm still learning.  All I know is that I feel better about this treatment for US.  I want to write about it in case someone out there finds themselves in a similar situation as we are in.  

Happy Feet

Pea gravel was delivered!

Hoorah! 

The BO's decided to put pea gravel by all the horses's troughs in their paddocks to encourage foot stimulation and hardening. So excited about this and how great that they did this!

The dogs loved playing on the hill

Laz's posh paddock

He loved it! He pushed it around with his lip, and the BO's said at first, he was pawing at it wanting to roll!

He walks right in, no reservations at all.
Must feel good

Ahhhh cushy pea gravel

Mason playing with his friends...he could hardly see but held the frisbee like this for a while, lol!

During our ride, he just sat outside of arena and watched.  He gets a little confused as to why I'm up so high I think.  He doesn't like to come close or step foot in arena when we are in there working.

Laz and I had an amazing ride!!!!! 

No spooking, no attitude.......well that is not 100% true. We did about 30 minutes of walk/trot work in arena.  He did great with trotting in both directions. I can definitely feel him struggle in deeper sanded areas and going uphill (like within the arena..not hills) so I didn't push it with him in those areas. Slowly, slowly.  We do about 80% walking, and 20% trotting-IF that.  I try to push him a little for strength training BUT I am soooooooooo careful to watch his body language to see any signs of fatigue, stress or pain.  It's very difficult to know that fine line and I err on the side of not pushing him.

I'm trying to convince my hubby to come out and video tape us so you can see (and so I can see) how he's looking.  

Anyway, last night was beautiful-great weather, happy calm OTTB and pricked forward ears listening to my aids. He was so soft and light yesterday. He seems smooth on the trot (despite the major limp) but considering, we did great transitions, large sweeping circles and serpentines and he was so in tuned with my aids that I barely had to leg him.  He is so light! All bareback and all in rope halter! No speeding up and wanting to buck and play.  After our work in the arena, he seemed a little bored because he started twisting his head (as he does when being snarky or bored) out.  So, I decided we should walk around the property some.   Fellow blogger, Juliette, always rides her OTTBs around their property and on trails and her boys seem to love it.  I personally, get a little tense thinking Laz will spook and drop me and be off running.  I had to thank Laz for pushing me as a rider and doing what he wanted to do.  We walked for about 10 minutes around the arena, around the round pen, in the front yard by the street and around some pine trees.  Only once did he do a little nervous jig but I'm quite sure I was sending my nerves down to him, so I make a conscious effort to b-r-e-a-t-h-e and talk to him.  He was great and seemed to really enjoy it.  Mason even walked with us for some of the way and Laz went to nose him and Mason bolted, ha! 

It was a great little ride and very peaceful.  Laz took good care of me. 

His legs/ankles after our ride.  Yay!

I do have to take more pics of his right rear.....it's still so odd, so odd. I am still not convinced his not still rotated but I'm trusting Cliff and time will tell.  For now, I try so hard to not obsess over it.

Mason sneaking in a snooze with his brother Pudgie

Pudge, our Frenchie, does not like the farm.  He prefers pillows, cushion and hand fed treats.

Fall Willies and Butterflies

Hello Gorgeous!

Laz (and Mason in the background) in tuned to a neighbor's conversation.

Laz is obsessed (and often freaked out) by noises from the neighbors. 

It just was good timing for an ears forward head shot :)

We had another great workout today.

Laz's right rear was again a bit stocked up at ankle only.

It did rain yesterday and I'm assuming he didn't move much...the swelling went away after our workout.

I'm dreading swelling in winter when he chooses to stand still..I'll have to be good about keeping him moving!

Anyway, back to our lesson.  We started with about 40 minutes of hand walking, doing our obstacles, mixed in with trotting (cue me running along side Laz asking him to trot and having to lightly slap his mouth when he gets excited and wants to 'bite' my hand when he trots and arches his neck, playing show pony stallion). Along one side of the arena, I ran as fast as I could to his trot and he extended out nicely showing me "No way Mom..I'm faster."  Good workout for us both. I have to get this on video..it's funny I'm sure.

We finished it off with a light ride in round pen working on walking, trotting to walking, etc.  He is quite full of himself lately and likes to throw in a head toss/shoulder pop while trotting.  I push him through it and I love how he wants to play and feel good, but don't buck me off!!!  I watched his ears during our trot work; pricked forward and happy.  Yea!

Do you notice if butterflies ever follow you when riding?! 

It' so strange, but I swear all summer and now into Fall, there has been butterflies that flit around Laz.  Hmmmmm? They like him and I like to think, they are drawn to his majestic-ness (it's a word in my blog) :)

Laz's new blanket from Schneiders (sstack.com) for the Fall.  

He's obviously dashing in Orange, but who knew!?

I'm excited to see how this blanket wears, it's a 1200 D and is basically a rain sheet (no thermal lining/insulation) so perfect for if/when it drops to a cold temp/raining and he doesn't quite have a thick fur coat yet.  It's a EURO fit, so fits the TB's perfectly. I got an 82" for Laz and it's a great fit, and long to protect his stomach/check/tail/legs.

I already have a nice heavy weight turnout for him for winter, but wanted a good in between seasons turnout.  This one was only $54 including shipping. Not bad! :)

I feel good about having it ready, in case he needs it.

No signs of a furry growth just yet...he still has a sleek and beautiful coat.

Speaking of sleek coat, an encouraging comment from the Holistic specialist was that Laz had a great coat and mane/tail.  Very healthy. Yah! :)  

Also, I gave Laz his first prescribed 'nosode' today...for the EEE. It's a low dose protection for him that is non reactive for his laminitis.  I dosed out 10-15 globules from his EEE jar and mixed it in with about a Tablespoon of his L/S feed.  He gobbled it no problem.  I am choosing to not vaccinate him via a shot, so I hope this Holistic option proves to be worthy and protect him without the risk of  causing reaction in him for his laminitis.

I am to give him this EEE nosodes 2 x month until Frost.

Our new Equine Dentist!

Laz got his grill floated today!

It's been since September of 2008 since his last float because right before his 2nd was due, he got mega sick. So it's been put off until now and boy was he due!

Thanks to Miles's Mom for the reference for this equine dentist. 

For those in Michigan, his name is Doug LaRose and he ROCKS!!!

He gets our rave review!

First off...big plus...No sedation!!!

Second plus..he was not only on time..he was early! The whole process took about 35 minutes.

Thirdly...he takes his time, he talks to the horse and encourages him through the process.

Way more gentle of a float than I've ever seen..and I've seen a lot.

He showed me that indeed Laz does have his wolf teeth removed and where he had hooks on his molars, etc etc. He also clipped his canines and filed them down.  Doug was great about showing me what he was going to do-how it looked before and how it looked after.  He was also very cool about me taking photos/video and answered all my questions.

What I LOVED about him was his process of how he does it.

He haltered him with his own halter/rope lead and when I offered how I could help, he said..."just watch the gate." LOL!  

He started with Laz with no tools in his hand, and just rubbing his nose and forehead telling me he likes to establish his trust and their cues.  Each time he switched tools or sides, he lightly rubbed the tool on Laz's nose telling him 'your good.' I appreciate that patience and communication.

"Um Mom..this is not to be shared on the internet...k?"

If/when Laz wanted to move, Doug moved with him instead of yanking him down.  

There was no fight.  Laz was very, very calm about it.

And a brief video of Doug in action with Laz

Photo series-Nose cleaning

Just a bit of funny photos to share

Baby wipes to clean out Laz's nose which he mildly dislikes slash enjoys

More to come on our holistic meeting .........so much detail not enough time to blog about it yet...stay tuned!

Minor trot work

Thanks to my Husband for taking a short video tape, so you can see Laz in walk/trot action.  Darn that we didn't video tape him bucking and snorting, and ripping around about 15 minutes prior!  But I do want you to see his progress in his trot work.  It's obviously still very off and maybe hard for some of you with sound horses to watch, but he is doing great and improving.  I work on majority of walking and just introduced trotting for some different muscle and brain work for him.

I won't lie that I have this odd pit in my stomach for the end of September and October...it's when last year, Lazarus first got sick and soon after, laminitis came.  I just am thrilled to see how happy and healthy he is now, that I don't want him to get colic/flu/fever..whatever the heck it was (I still think Potomac) to come back and steal away our positive path.  I talked to a young vet this past week who told me that the Potomac vaccine only covers about 1 string of the 20 something strings of Potomac, which could explain that even though Laz was vaccinated for it, he was still susceptible.  She suspects that even though he raced for years, he probably wasn't properly vaccinated which could be why he reacts so strongly/poorly to them.  She is a MSU Vet and is open to Holistic treatments.  Needless to say, I'm hanging on her number. 

I am trying very, very hard to stay focused on the good and keep him calm and hopefully he's stronger this year and will be able to maintain his health and beat any issue.

I have my first appointment on Tuesday evening, with an equine Holistic specialist and she is going to spend 2 hours to review with Laz and I, to see what he may need to get him healthy.  She also offers a EEE nosodes which is a mild version of the vaccine but I'll have more explanation tomorrow.

Friday, he gets his teeth floated and thanks to Miles's Mom for the referral.  This equine dentist doesn't sedate, which I was opting for as to not stimulate Laz immune system.  

Lots this week for Laz star. I'll be sure to coo and massage to keep any nerves from him away. Wish us luck!

Crazy winds!

Wow, Thursday, Friday and Saturday here, were WIIIIINDY!

It proved for a few mishaps in the wonderpony calm behavior but Laz proved to calm down after a bit.

Thursday, he did great. 

It was windy, cool and slightly raining but I wanted to work him, so I did.

I don't want him to think just because when we are working and it starts to rain, that we quite.  Also, it was light rain...if it was heavy, I would have stopped for my sake too, lol.

He did quite a lot of bucking, half rearing into bucking, farting and spooking partly because of the winds and I think when he's frisky, he just doesn't think as clearly...so he spooks more.  I was hand walking him, so at those goofy moments, I just lunged him and allowed him to get it out, which he did.
We walked for about an hour all around the arena and the front lawn and side lawn and he did GREAT and ended calmly. I massaged him which he 'groomed' me with his lip (aw!) and he was great.

Saturday, it was crazy crazy windy and COLD! I wore a hat and hoodie!!! ugh. 

In fact, Friday night the winds began and I noticed when I walked out on Saturday to get Laz, that his right rear was stocked up by his ankle.

See...?

I'm sure due to him choosing to stand inside his stall because of the winds and so he didn't move much hence the stocking up.

After lunging him (no riding him for me when he's a bucking bronco and spooking like it's talent) for a long time..we did walking, reversing, ho and go, trot work, etc, for 1-1/2 hr, his ankle looked back to normal.

See...after below.

Whew.

I'm glad I chose to lunge him because my goal (as always) is to get him quiet, where he's licking/thinking and calm.  He got there, it took a long, long while but due to the extreme weather change, I wasn't shocked.

I also was able to look at him and watch him.  When I hand walk him, I can't really see his body being he's behind me..and riding, similar.  

Yesterday, I notice the HUGE difference between his leg/stifle muscle area.

Look at the difference between the two pictures...

See below, the HUGE muscle! It's so much more pronounced than on his right side.

Could be from years of racing of course, but I think it's more likely that his left side has been compensating for his pain on his right so it's hold more of his weight.
Eeek...I'm not happy about that, and I hope he will balance out soon.  I chose to circle him more towards clockwise than counter, yesterday, trying to build it up.  I also noticed in his trot work (sorry, too windy for video yesterday with wild pony) he's better moving counter clock wise vs clockwise.

Interesting finds yesterday...

Summer love

Sweet Mason has been feeling better.  I think his stomach issues were due to heat and me keeping him at the barn way past his dinner time.  As a puppy, he used to get so hungry in between his meals that he would get sick and vomit...I think that may have happened a couple times being I fed him late on barn days.  The one time I brought his food with him, I think he was still too hot and active (even though I  made him rest with no running for 30 minutes) and he got sick in the car ride home.  I'm still keeping my eyes open for any new/different issue to arise but so far, he's been great.

This is from Sunday afternoon.

Laz has been so calm and sweet lately that some days I chalk it up to the hot summer days.  So, I don't want those sweet lazy pony days to go away!!! He can be such a beast sometimes, and I just prefer my calm wonderpony.  Although, as we learn each other more and more, I think he tends to want to be calmer and feels safer and loved. 

Next summer...our goal.  Trail riding and SWIMMING!!!!!!

This boy loves the water like his Momma!

Our rides have been going great.  We are doing some light trot work and he even opted to do the NICEST, sweetest, slow canter (like western lope style) for a couple of beats. HOLY mother was that fun to ride!!! BUT...I don't want him pushing himself, which those with TB's know...these energetic boys can do.  

I'll have to video tape our trot work. It's funky to ride, similar to a car with one tire really low on air.  There is a hitch in his giddyiup for sure.  He keeps his ears perked, he doesn't show any signs of pain so that keeps me happy that he is progressing.

Our newest hurdle..........what to do about vaccinations.  I'm not comfortable yet with giving the OK to a vet, and until I get there, OR get my comfortable answer/knowledge, I will not do anything to jeopardize his health and progress.  This is causing great anxiety in me as his "Mom."  

I have to weigh out is it riskier for him to be without vaccinations VS getting sick/laminitis set back from the vaccinations.