Somebody Broke My Pony

Isn't it always the way that when one thing goes wrong, a bunch of things go wrong?

Well, on Saturday, if you recall, Walker cut his nose by head butting a nail.  On Monday when I went out to check on him, I noticed a big bump, which I decided was simply swelling and he would live.  But on Wednesday when I went out for my lesson, the bump was still there (4 days later) and so I got my barn owner to look at it.  She said that it seemed to have no fluid, no heat, and she really didn't know what was going on.  Luckily, the vet was coming to see another horse today and so she said she would coerce him into stopping by Walker's stall to check him out.

When I got home, I thought that perhaps I should get his little bald spot checked.  You see, for the past couple of weeks, Walker's skin has almost been peeling in a very little spot on his neck (on both sides in different places) and although it's still pretty small, it just keeps growing.  I would not have been so worried about that if he was outside frolicking in mud or rain or god knows what else, but he's been inside for awhile now.  So I decided to get the vet to check that out too.

"What up, human"

Today when I went out to the barn, my trainer promptly informed me that Walker was not himself this morning.  Oh great.  Apparently he was laying down, moaning and groaning, and didn't really feel like eating. In the back of my head, I was thinking, "Why the hell didn't anyone tell me this morning."  But to give my barn owner the benefit of the doubt, my trainer said that the two of them were watching him this morning and that he seemed to come around not long afterwards.  I asked if I should maybe give him the day off, but she suggested that he could probably use a little light exercise just to work out the kinks.

So I tacked him up.  When I went out to the arena, I bent over to pick up his foot to stretch out his legs.  That's when I noticed that one of his hooves had some heat in it.  I hummed and I hawed about whether I should get on, but I decided to hop on anyway.  After a few seconds, he really felt off, so I got off, threw him on the end of the lungeline, and asked him to trot around me so I could see if he was lame.  Nothing in particular stuck out so I hopped back on him, and after awhile, he seemed to be fine.  I even cantered him, but only for a couple circles in each direction.  Since he really had me nervous, he got away with a lot more than I usually let him get away with, but I didn't want to risk an argument and him really hurting himself.  When I hopped off, I checked his feet again, and no heat. :S

On top of all of that, I don't even think the vet came out to the barn today!  I was positive that my barn owner said he was coming out today, but maybe I messed up the days.  Because the bump on Walker's nose and the little bald spot aren't really pressing, it's not big deal if he's not out for a couple more days, but it sure would have been nice to have a vet around when my otherwise healthy pony was having the biggest off day he could have.

All this comes on the heels of Wednesday night's lesson where he was such a maniac just to lead into the arena that my instructor made me lunge him.  He then proceeded to buck and canter like a madman for 30 minutes straight (no stop, no trot, no walk), and I promptly held up the entire lesson.  Luckily, we're the last lesson in the evening, and the other girls were pretty nice about it.  After I was done, there was literally steam wafting off his body and he smelled like a wet dog.  Oh joy.  But we still had a jump lesson.  My instructor set up some trot poles before a crossrail to help keep the horses consistent with their trot, but I still had a horrible time keeping Walker straight going in and out.  As with everything I do, once one thing falls apart, everything falls apart and I just come undone.  At one point, I was trying so hard to keep him straight going into the jump that I stopped squeezing him with my legs, he seriously considered not jumping it, and then decided to be honest at the last minute.  I got growled for slumping my shoulders, losing leg contact, and ducking out of the jump.  Haha.  Oops.  After H went with Ash, I asked if we could try it again, and we were much better - straight on his part, better position on mine.  As with all things with Walker, he likes to fool around and push my buttons when I first ask him to do something, but then he usually comes around.

Tomorrow I can't make it to the barn because I have some appointments, but perhaps it's a good thing since Walker clearly has some horse equivalent to the 24 hour flu.  :S  I may stop out just to give him some lovin and some apples and see if he's feeling a little better.