I don't spend as much time with Speedy as I once did, but I make sure that he gets to be the star of the show at least once a week. I pick his feet, curry his coat, and turn him out into the yard. This weekend I also took him up to the arena for a short lunge.
He's still so handsome!
While it doesn't matter if he's sound or not, I like to check just to make sure there isn't more that I should be doing for him. I see him charging around in his field with Izzy alongside, the fence between them, but with adrenalin coursing through his veins, he'll always look sound. I also watch him as he plays out in the yard. He frequently gets a wild hair and trots around gaily or even charges along the fence as he races to visit his lady friends. He always looks sound, but still. I like to put him on the lunge at least occasionally to really evaluate his way of moving.
Over the winter there were a few days when he came up quite lame. I couldn't find an abscess and there was no heat or swelling, but it passed within a week or so. Since then, I haven't seen him take a wrong step. Speedy is always very well behaved on the lunge line, but he has never let me take video. The instant I point my phone at him, he sees it as the cue to stop and come in. Before I took my phone out, he was doing very nice transitions within the gate at the trot, all on my aids. I wasn't able to catch any of them on video though. Even so, I was quite happy with how he was moving. He looks as sound as can be.
I am throwing it out to the universe again; if someone wants some time in the saddle, even a junior, please reach out to me. Speedy would love a job. He's feeling good, and he's sound. He's definitely out of shape and lacking some muscle tone, but that wouldn't take long to rebuild. He's very sweet and eager to please. And while he probably doesn't want to do much collected work, he's happy to pack someone around in a working trot or canter.
Who could resist that face?
Who could resist that face?