You know something's wrong when...

Lately Walker has been pretty bad going to the right.  He drifts into the centre, he sometimes picks up the incorrect lead, and his leg yields out to the rail (to the left) are horrible.

This isn't surprising.  It's his right front that is worse than his left, and his hind right is stiffer than his left making it difficult for him to cross over.

However, you know when you get that sneaking feeling that you should not simply chalk something up to a lack of fitness and a little stiffness...

Well, Saturday I decided to almost exclusively work Walker to the right.  Don't get me wrong.  We warmed up in both directions, and we ultimately worked in both directions.  But we worked primarily to the right because I'm a slave driver I wanted to see if I could get some good quality work in.

Walker was not impressed.  I mean, he was so unimpressed that a couple times he actually tried to change directions on his own.  I'm not talking an hour of work in one direction here, people.  I'm talking a 25 minute ride total - warm-up included.

Then tonight I decided to just lunge him.  Once again, I lunged him in both directions but worked primarily to the right.  And he reared on the lunge line.  Facing my head, of all things.  

I was shocked since I've only ever seen him rear once (with another rider on him) and he has never even threatened to rear on the lunge line before.  But there was something about the way he reared.  He was extremely calm. It wasn't a crazy "oh my god I can't contain my energy" rear and it wasn't a "flipping me the bird" rear either.  It was more of a slow, assertive "we are done this now" rear.  

It soon may be time to xray those toes again...

Meanwhile, in Canada:

I went to bed and there was pavement on the ground.  I woke up to that.  In the course of three days, some cities here got 80 cm of snow (2.6 feet).

You southerners can just take your sunshine and shove it.