Teenager

Today Opie officially becomes a teenager!

side eye king

This is actually a big deal for me because I've never gotten a horse past twelve years old. I've owned one horse who was thirteen when I bought him so that doesn't count. And then I've put down horses at seven years old (a chronic flipper, he was legitimately a danger to himself and others); Red at eleven years old from a burst stomach ulcer that was causing him to bleed out internally; and Bobby at twelve from complications from sarcoidosis. 

So Opie has broken the curse! He is alive even if he's also been useless for awhile. Small wins, folks.

he took this milestone very seriously

MB fake laughed about it yesterday because I went to bring him in and he was acting like he'd broken his jaw. As previously shown, he likes to grab the chest straps on his blanket to play with. He likely wrenched his own stupid mouth while doing so and gave himself a nice adjustment. Fortunately, one of the boarders does repairs so he's going to sew the straps down so sir can't stick his teeth in them anymore. Fucking nuisance. 

an absolute child

In riding news, he's felt not the best under saddle. He's really ramped up his rumpus time outside with his friends. It's great he's clearly feeling so much better and wants to do partying, but rearing while playing bitey face for twenty minutes straight shockingly acts like doing 100 squats and makes him sore behind. 

Not to sound selfish, but damn, dude. Save some of those hard fought rehab results for me!

lots of time spent with the red light pad draped
over his butt

In typical Opie fashion, what seems to be helping him the most is doing the opposite of what conventional wisdom would say. 

He's been feeling good in his left lead canter--and seeing as how he was legit non-weight bearing on the LH when I first checked in on that after his injections that's a big deal--but the right lead and RH have been feeling locked the past few times. I put him on the longe over the weekend and asked him for it, and both directions he lifted his back right up, stepped under himself, and cantered off softly and happily. Ideally I wouldn't go about strengthening the canter with a questionable SI on a circle in our small indoor, but if that's what he wants that's what we'll do. For now. Until he changes his mind. Which he will inevitably do. 

One of my barn mates watched him go this morning after not having seen him in awhile and was like, "He looks way better, buuuut..." I told her to look away and come back in five minutes when he had a chance to warm up. Except she just kept (kindly) throwing out suggestions that logically made sense, but in no way would have worked for Opie. Asking him to lengthen his stride and drop his frame? Girl, no. Watch how fast he somersaults onto his head and really goes lame. 

He was in the double, and I coiled him up up up before slowly letting him out. And at the end of the ride, hot damn there was his back and ass and elevation and a real dressage horse. 

unit.

So we'll just keep keeping on, balancing the line between what Opie wants and needs, and what I can sneak in to keep pushing him forward. At least he didn't die of a broken jaw the day before he turned thirteen?