Ready to work, but not

 Oh Dan... I'm trying buddy, I'm trying... 

This morning I slept in as I didn't sleep well last night. After I fed ponies I went and got more grass seed and got it spread. Then I spread the manure. Then I drug the arena. And then I ate a bowl of cereal. And then I went out to work the ponies. Luckily they were all up by the arena. Dan walked up first, ears pricked and genuinely looking happy to see me! Be still my heart!

I was so tempted to ride, but didn't. We did our pillar work. He's still a bit stubborn about releasing to pressure but he did pillar 1 beautifully walking. We got some good pillar 2 and 3's even! So then I thought, well, let's just lunge at the walk and work on abduction and bending. I paid attention to his footfalls and made sure he wasn't swinging that left hind out too far. He wasn't! He was super. BUT,  he did seem like he was laterally circumducting the right hind. Sigh. At one point he grabbed the lead rope in his mouth and started trotting, so I ran with him and when he dropped the lead rope I let him keep trotting, so I could see. He still looks lame to me. It's subtle (at least for me... for all I know it's a grade 3 lameness.. I suck so bad at lameness). Sigh. We went back to walk and tried the other direction at the trot and he still looks lame. He wasn't being naughty about trotting and went into it on his own the first time but he also came back down to the walk very quickly with little ask, so... maybe he was feeling it. 

We did a bit more pillar 1, 2 and 3 and he got treats and then I turned him loose. He was a good monkey and hung out at the gate while I worked his sisters. 

Then tonight at dinner, he had his ears pricked most of the time. And he was much happier with pricked ears when I put his sheet on and opened his stall door back up. 

Tomorrow I think we will do a walk hack with Kelli for her birthday ride and then maybe I'll have her video him at the trot to be able to send to Keelin and see if it looks any better or worse. I'm also debating taking him to Denali Equine. They have a vet there that works with Dr. DeClue and I just wonder if I'm missing something other than the stifle. Like his psoas or something. 

(random photos not of today, because I was dumb and didn't get any of his cute self!)