Last Ride

It was a beautiful day out today, so Lady, Cody, and I took our last trail ride together.  At least for a while anyway.  Life's been kind of crazy lately, and I haven't ridden in probably a month, but Lady is such a trooper, you wouldn't really know she's had a month off.  And Cody seemed to enjoy getting out to pony along with us, though she was rather full of beans.  She hasn't been out on the trails in a while and mixed with the crisp wind, she was practicing her little Cody explosion airs above the ground every now and then.  It's nice to see some spunk, but she was usually a little ouch for a couple of strides after that.

So I say last ride, because it's probably the last time the three of us will trail ride together this year.  The weather is getting yucky, the days are short, and Cody's knee surgery on Tuesday is going to land her out of commission for the winter.  Though I'm sure Lady will be pulling lead horse duty often over the next few months to help hand walk Cody, but most likely in the arena on good footing while Cody's knee heals up.  And here's hoping by next summer I'll be riding Cody and ponying Lady!

On the eye front, Cody's eye just didn't get any better over the weekend, and by Tuesday I noticed a small spot in the middle of it.  So Dr. Collier came out Wednesday afternoon to check it out, and Cody's done a bit of a number on it.  I don't recall seeing the spot over the weekend, so she thinks she might have scratched it rummaging through the burrs and weeds (which are now all successfully cut out of the girls pasture as of last Sunday), then proceeded to itch and dig it, and made it horse.  But she's got a nice little round ulcer dug into the cornea of her eye.  So new eye ointment and plenty of bute and a fly mask till things heal.  Poor girl can't win. And it obviously hurts really bad, because trying to medicate that eye is a battle, but I think it might finally be getting a little better, or at least less ouchie, because she's actually been really good about letting me put the meds in her eye last night and again today.  So here's hoping that heals up quick and easy.

July 2011

Love the Rocky side!

 Gotta love Lady's Rocky Mountain Horse half!  She might be only 15 hands and short strided, but she can sure cover some ground on the trails when she gets her groove on!



Memorial Day Parade - May 2004



Tonight we did a little bit of arena work, just some flexing at the walk and more of the clover leaf exercise at the trot.  Then we hit the trails for a short trail ride with three of the big boys at the barn.  One 16.2 hand Quarter Horse and two 16.3 hand Thoroughbreds, and Lady kept up with or ahead of them the whole ride.  And helped show those big boys that the trail isn't that scary of a place to be.  She's such a little steady eddie.



But 15 hands or not, she can definitely cover some ground.  It's not uncommon for Cody to have to do a western jog to keep up with Lady at the walk on the trails.  And Cody's 16 hands and takes one stride to Lady's two!

When I started ponying them together, it took forever to get them both to canter together.  I could move Cody out in a nice english canter, and Lady would just book it at the trot next to her.  I have to push Cody into a hand gallop to finally get Lady to canter too! 

Lady just has a different set of gears I guess!  But then the gaited breeds are known for covering ground, and well, she is half Rocky!

Such a silly girl! - 8-21-10