Witches, Goblins and Christmas Ornaments, Oh My!

Well, today I opted to just take Gus for a spin outside. The weather was amazing - cool but sunny. Absolutely ideal fall weather, least in my opinion.

Tomorrow is the fall show at the barn, so everyone is getting everything ready. This also means that the cross-country course is decked out with fun decorations. This year, B (the BO) went over board. Everything looks amazing, but I'm SO GLAD that I won't be competing. There's no way that Gus would not look at the jumps. They are down right busy, in a non-obnoxious way.

Anyways, I took some photos during our ride. Nothing amazing... kinda hard to ride and take photos at the same time. I'm thinking about getting my mom to come to the barn next weekend, weather permitting, to take some photos of Gus and I. Since I wasn't able to compete at all this year, I never did get any nice photos of Gus and I. Heck, I need to get some new ones of Gringo and I as well...

Isn't the above jump just scary? Fortunately, there are jumps located on either side of the above jump. The baby beginner novice jump is off to the right, the beginner novice off to the left. So, they actually don't have to jump between the costumes. 

Gus was also decided to be a goofball this afternoon. This is what greeted me when I walked out to get him from his turnout this afternoon. Granted, these photos were taken after I had brought him into the barn. 

I personally thought he was trying for the unicorn look. So, I just added a bit of fluff to the ear piece and viola! Instant unicorn.

An no, I don't think Gus appreciated being decked out as a unicorn. Good thing that I didn't go searching for my Twinkle Toes hoof polish or body glitter. Haha. 

Gus was also delighted with the fact that he was able to enjoy an apple again today. He hasn't had one (to the best of my knowledge) in probably a good year or so. He does occasionally get pieces of an apple from the barn staff, but because of his insulin resistance and subsequent Cushings, I really monitor his diet closely. I figured since he was being such a good boy and I had a tasty Honeycrisp apple that was just beckoning Gus... well, the rest was history. As usual, I attempted to document it with photos... but they kinda ended up blurry. 

 Mmmm. An apple. 

 Hmm. It's a bigger apple then what I normally get. Wait! I don't get apples any more. 

 Shoot. I'm losing it! 

Mmm. Pure bliss. Pure satisfaction. Did I mention that I LOVE apples? Cause I do.

Oops! Not done yet. Least I'm getting a lot out of this apple. 

Mmm. 

Nom. Nom.

<insert slurpping sounds>

<insert mega slurping sounds> Nom. Nom.

This is... nom. nom. ... very good.... nom. nom. 

<more slurping sounds>

It's hard to talk... got my mouth full...

Nom. Nom. 

<insert one final slurp>

Mmm. Tasty! I love me some good, crisp, juicy apples. Do you think I can be a spokeshorse for the Honeycrisp apples? Cause they are just amazing! 

First Ride of the Fall

Well, today I opted to start working with Gus again. He was cleared on Friday by Dr. N to resume work and yesterday J, the farrier, didn't find anything new. I opted to take things really easy starting out. We ended up doing about 20 minutes of lunge work before I hopped up for about 10 minutes. Definitely not back 100%, but he seemed better today then he did a few weeks back when I worked with him last.

We only did w/t/c on the lunge and just mainly walking with a trot thrown in on both directions while under saddle. Gus seems a lot better if I can keep him off his forehand, but that's easier said then done. Least when we left the arena I didn't have any "drunken sailor" moves. Score for this team!

So, yesterday Gus has his hooves trimmed again. Like I previously mentioned, both Dr. N and J cleared Gus's hooves (ie no more abscesses). Here's the photos from today. As usual, it goes LF, LH, RH, RF.

I also managed to take more body shots of Gus today as well. He was extremely impatient outside, hence the ugly faces and crappy body stances. Oh well. He needs to learn a bit of patience.

 Gus is attempting to let himself out... he's kept repeatedly popping the gate door. Good thing I latched it. 

I wish he had a forelock... for whatever reason it almost disappeared entirely this summer.

I think, weight-wise, Gus looks pretty dang ideal. You can easily palpate his ribs and depending on his stance, they are visible... but not entirely. He's still getting between 1lb and 1 1/4lbs of Triple Crown Senior twice a day. He's still on 10g MSM and he's now on 1oz of Quiessence and 1 "scoop" of Grand Hoof pellets. The change in magnesium and hoof supplements is due to the fact that it was cheaper to switch then to stay with the old product. 

After visiting with Gus, seeing Gringo was my next stop. He's got this lump underneath this jaw, like between his jowls. My MIL noticed it last Friday, but didn't mention anything to me until yesterday as she knew I was going out of state for the weekend and didn't want me to worry. Gringo is eating/drinking/pooping/peeing like normal but the lump was originally about the size of a ping pong ball. When I head about it yesterday, I assumed it was a tooth issue, but now I'm not so sure. We plan on monitoring it for another few days and if it still hasn't resolved itself by the weekend, I'll be calling the vet to have someone out to check him out. On the plus side, it is soft and squishy - however, it's located in and around where I'd think a lymph node is, and I'm not sure if we're dealing with something more then just a simple lump. Hopefully that's all it is. 

Gringo seems to be doing well enough otherwise. Still not sure what's going to happen with Jade, his pasture mate. My now ex-SIL-to-be hasn't been out to visit her since she and my BIL broke up. Rumor had it that she was moving Jade to a pasture board situation for like $50/month... didn't sound like a good place for Jade but she's not my horse or my responsibility. My MIL is a bit worried, she really cares for Jade and wants what's best for her... so we'll see what happens after the first of the month. My bet is that Jade is still around... the ex had more then a few screws loose.

I also finally dewormed Gringo again. I haven't done that in forever... my bad. So today Gringo got a full dose of Equimax. In two weeks I'll be giving him a dose of just plain ol' ivermectin... then we'll get him back on a schedule again. Perhaps that's why he looks like he's 9 months pregnant....

Here's a few photos of Gringo from today.

He was so happy to see me. Him and Jade came trucking up from the bottom of the field. It's always nice (and very appreciated) when you don't have to walk out to get your horse. Makes me feel like I'm actually appreciated.

 The stall is very uneven... he's really not built that far down hill. Trust me. 

Anyways, we'll see what the weekend brings for both boys. I'm hoping that Gus turns around and becomes sounder (hopefully the bute prior to work will help with that) and Gringo's lump goes away. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.