Nowt wrong with that horse!

The snow was deep enough to ride Woody on the arena today. Although I was anxious that he might find the footing unstable, which would usually worry him, he was fine and it was very good fun. He did some really lovely work and is getting steadier and steadier in the mouth.  The trot he finished with was once again the best he has ever done, and as he strengthens up he is able to hold it with more and more suspension too.

He does fuss to start with, before he understands that the bit is there to stay, to work with and not to argue with. But the time is getting less and less, and the strength of his objection is getting less and less and the work when he gives to the bit is getting better and better.

It was certainly impossible to believe today that he has anything going in in the hocks. Shifting my weight slightly forwards appears to have made quite a big difference. I guess after a year off, and four years or being unable to use himself properly because his feet hurt, he isn't yet strong enough to carry my weight further back as I increase the difficulty of what I am asking him to do.

I would have loved to have ridden Ace, but to be completely honest I chickened out. I know exactly what he is capable of if the snow over-excited him, or if a pack of snow flew out of his hoof and hit his belly, and I just couldn't cope with the idea.  Call me a coward if you like, but my neck is still in one piece :-)

Radar is happier on his foot and I am pumping the hole full of hydrogen peroxide. I just wish I could work out why he has an episode like this every six to nine months, in one or other front foot.  He's never had one on the back, which may or may not be significant, but it does tend to suggest to me that it is not a diet issue. It's always in the back of his foot under his frog and never seems to be related to the white line at all. Ace has never had one and Jazz had two, I think,  in 6 years, one at the toe as a  result of concussion laminitis from bolting on the road. Scooby was a laminitic and got them from the age of 3 on a regular basis, but again at the coronet, not coming out at the heel.

Thankfully Radar is rock crunchingly sound all the rest of the time, otherwise we would have to start to worry about infected bone inside the foot breaking out every 6-9 months. But horses with that would not normally be happily galloping around on hardcore the rest of the time. It's a mystery I doubt we will ever solve.

C