Today I opted to ride Dan at home because... I needed to do some pillar work again. I am thinking I need to prioritize that more. And I wanted to take Lyric out for a hack. And Dan will get hauled Tuesday and Lyric probably won't even get ridden again til Wednesday, so... I figured that would work well for the who trailers and who stays home game.
So... I tacked him up and then we walked in pillar 1 (attempted) to the arena. Then we did a few laps and I also tried to do some more pillar 2 than usual. He was pretty good and we got a few releases. I did give him 2 grams of bute this morning too, because I was curious. And it had time to kick in because I cleaned out and organized the trailer after feeding them.
So then I got on and we did lots of walking with his neck forward, down and out. I did lots of serpentines. And I did some turn on the forehand and haunches, though I kept those pretty minimal. Then we did some trotting. And... he actually felt pretty decent at the trot. I didn't really appreciate any lameness though he felt a bit "sloppy" once or twice. And he got a little fussy at times, wanting to bend and bite his right shoulder again. I then went to ask for the canter and it was like he knew it was coming and he sort of panicked. He all of a sudden got super amped up and almost running. But not necessarily in a good way. Not like an "oh yay, let's go" way.. more of a "I'm gonna panic and run through this to get it done quicker". But... it's so hard to tell if I'm being paranoid and imagining things now. I did the right lead first and he was pretty decent with it. We held it a fair amount of time, considering how little canter we've been doing. So then we went the other way and he was still a bit panicky. He did pick up the left lead and it didn't feel nearly as awkward, and he was able to hold it on the straight line too. But... both ways he still felt like he was working way too hard to maintain it. And he almost seemed to struggle more on the turn tracking right. So... I told him he was a very good boy and had a stretchy trot and then we headed home.
We took the driveway and the wind had blown a trash bag up against the fence. Dan spooked at it! Which... fair, but... he just seems spookier than usual. I'm not sure that normal Dan would have spooked at that. But maybe?! It was a windy day with a bit of a chill in the air. And then on the walk home, he felt like his hind end sort of collapsed/gave out once and then he shimmied once or twice. So... I have no idea anymore. I can't tell if he's truly neurologic... or I'm imagining things because now that's in my brain...
But he was a good boy and was trying. He got a hair chompy but nothing major and certainly no tongue.
So... we shall see. He won't get any more drugs (other than omeprazole/cimetidine) until after we see Keelin. I hope he doesn't get too sore. I'm also tempted to NOT bemer him because... I really just want an answer. I don't want to mask anything in the slightest. Sorry bud.
He was his usual cranky self today for grooming and tacking though maybe a bit better. But I also had treats and was rewarding good behavior. But tonight when I was putting Lyrics blanket on while they were eating hay, I was snuggling with her. And Dan got jealous and walked up, ears pricked. He let me kiss his nose and even snuggle a tiny bit and didn't even snarl or curl a lip. Awwww... I love you too buddy. I promise I am doing EVERYTHING I can think of to get you feeling your best. Hang in there with me please.
Oh and then before dinner... he was hanging out with Broccoli Rob. :)
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