All is well in the world of Ace, despite some funky looking feet and having a pretty easy summer so far. He’s happy spending long nights out to pasture, and hot days in the shaded, bug-free barn. He’s sound and healthy, and most importantly happy.
Where We’ve Been
It’s been slow riding for the last two months for several reasons. We spent half of May and most of June without a properly fitting saddle. I rode bareback maybe once a week while we waited for the new one to arrive. Then when …

It’s been an interesting week in horse ownership for me, with two pretty large revelations about Ace:

my saddle doesn’t fit any more
he’s allergic to … well … something

I swear, with everything our horses put us through, it’s gotta be like raising kids sometimes.
Saddle Selling and Buying
Ace is a tough on saddle fit, because he’s got such a high, long wither. I was so fortunate that the saddle I had fit him, as a new one wasn’t really in the cards. It was narrow enough to fit his back well and …

It’s a good thing I like beans (well, green and black ones, but that’s besides the point) – because Ace is completely sound and full of them.
His foot was looking good prior to my long weekend away at Equine Affaire (check out the main site for my review of the clinics and shopping at Equine Affaire 2010). It was so good to see Ace (after I saw my hubby, of course) after a few days away. I got him all groomed, checked out his feet and legs, which were cool …

I am a very happy camper right now because Ace blew an abscess over the weekend. I am not a happy camper because Ace has been a royal pain in the you-know-what about letting me soak said hoof.
If that sounds weird that I’m happy my horse blew an abscess, here’s what happened:
Ace has had some heat in his back left foot off and on for the last month. It was never accompanied by any unsoundness, indication of discomfort, swelling, etc. He’s also been tripping over that foot frequently, which tells …

You know that old saying, “time heals all wounds”? Even though I’m pretty sure it’s referring to broken hearts and the like, it sure does apply to our horses! From weight issues to hoof issues to injuries, time and patience seem to be the best thing we can give our horses.
That’s certainly been the case with Ace’s feet … that have dealt with flare issues, an abscess, bad thrush, and a toe crack all within the last year and a half. With patience and regular trimming, his feet are now …

My bad boy got a bit of a belly ache on Saturday night and really scared his momma!
Ok, he’s not bad. He’s actually pretty wonderful. We’ve had an awesome month filled with lots of riding. We now have a solid canter with snappy transitions and even have our leads mostly worked out. And we’ve been popping over crossrails and little 18″ verticals. And he’s starting to carry himself better; getting on the bit and rounding through his neck and back.
I left the barn at 4:00 Saturday afternoon after a short …

One thing I learned yesterday is to never ever take for granted having a healthy, sound horse.
And it wasn’t because Ace presented with yet another problem. It was because for the first time in nearly three months he was completely sound!
I lunged him walk/trot to watch how he was going, and as hard as I tried to find something wrong, I just couldn’t! And on top of that, my typically mellow boy was goofing off big time. He took off into a canter and would hop around at the end …