Oh MY... Look at the Time...

Yeah yeah, it's been a while.  Again.  Life wraps you up in it's little warm embrace of lovely and snuggies with you, and getting on the computer to update a blog just blows into the back of my mind.

But WHAT an update.  Let's see.  Good news or bad news?

Okay, bad news first.

Since the last update (in late April, again, sorry sorry), Moe has had:
Foot issue:
- Hot nailed, and ended up lame for 2.5 weeks.  I love my farrier.  This was an accident, and with the number of times the guy has been out for Moe throwing shoes, I have nothing but glowing, appreciative words for him.  And, at least he kept the shoes on.
Weight Issue:
- Switched from his normal E Washington Timothy round bale to local orchard, and dropped a good 100lbs (which is BAD).
- Put on a weight gainer (hasn't worked)
- Had his grain changed to wickedly expensive/high fat content stuff that should be encased in damn gold nuggets at the price I'm paying (hasn't worked)
- Had teeth floated in May
At Moe's chiropractic session at the beginning of April, the vet and I both decided that Moe needed another good 200lbs to be in "peak" physical condition for the amount of work he's in, thus the amount of grain/hay/supplements.  Nothing has worked.  The diagnosis?  He's got ulcers.  Great.  The really bad part?  Ulcer treatment is ridiculously expensive.  Like, more than I paid for the horse expensive.  If he were an Advanced Level 4* eventer (or even a Prelim/Intermediate) or ready to go PdG or something, I'd find some way to shell out the $$ for that.  But, he's not, and I can't pay for the good shite.  So, to the generic pharmacy we go.  We'll see how that pans out and I'll keep everyone posted.

Now for the good news!

Photos!!  I know, he's not as soft as he could be, and I'm not a fluid as I should be, but... my heels are down and he's "almost" there (as Patricia is particular about saying).  When I'm by myself riding, there is NO way I'd say I'm "doing everything right" - the goal right now is for me to keep him properly on the bit/bent to the inside/using his back for longer than 3 minutes at a time without ME falling apart.  It's not easy.  But when it happens, it's freakin' lovely.  Just the feeling of your pony expanding under you, moving forward and actually making the connection in your brain that says "HEY, this is what it's supposed to feel like" is amazing.

*sigh*