New Direction - no, not the boy band

Ships arriving for our Tall Ships Festival

When I got Walker's diagnosis, I was so happy that it wasn't founder/laminitis that I didn't care as much about the navicular. Don't get me wrong, I cared that he had minor changes, but I didn't care that it meant we could no longer jump. I've since learned that my vet would like to take additional X-rays to better understand the extent of the changes, but she suggested that it was simply because the X-rays she took were to determine the farrier's approach to shoeing him and she would like them for reference. Frankly, after three months of vet bills, I'm a little strapped for cash, and since she doesn't think they're urgent, I intend to wait for a little while - maybe until at least he's back into work.

It's finally starting to hit me like a brick that we can't jump anymore. It's not like we (he and I both) were very good at it, but it was something I was interested in doing - not to show at any high level or anything, just to do for us.

I've been saving up my money for a new saddle to replace my cheap English one. I was pretty determined that I was going to buy a jumping saddle but obviously there's no need for that now. Now I'm pretty sure we're going to try dressage, but for all the same reasons that he wouldn't make a good jumper, he's never going to excel at dressage. This was ok when I thought we could play with jumping AND dressage, but now that we just have the latter, there's seriously no point dropping that kind of money on a saddle for a discipline we won't be good at and thus won't show in.

Maybe I'll just stow away on board this

As always, this circles me back to Western. Except Walker wouldn't make a good barrel racer, penner or reiner either. Surprise, surprise. This brings me back to Western Pleasure, while no means an easy discipline and by far Walker's greatest potential to show at a "higher" level, is SO boring to devote my daily attentions to. I can't work on dressage one day and expect Walker to reel himself back to WP the next. It's an all or nothing adventure.

I feel quite lost. Believe it or not, but my little Quarter Horse actually has a beautiful extended trot that he pulls out to show off for the mares in the field or when he's really hot with me under saddle. My only hope is to somehow channel that energy and then maybe I can justify a little dressage saddle and some schooling shows. 

Otherwise, folks, I've got myself the cutest little trail pony there ever was.