My Horse Is Back! (Sound And SANE)

In a post I made months ago, I explained how the new med regimen for "my" horse Blaze (i.e. the only horse I had been working with, at that point, for months) was making him a little crazy. Okay, more than a little crazy. He was completely out of his mind for a while there.

I still have no idea what drugs his owner had him on, but as I don't enjoy riding horses who are high (and angry and explosively energetic), I had to switch mounts for a couple of months. I rode him once more a week or so after that incident I blogged about, but mostly, since March I've been working with a poky little Quarter Horse called Sparky. The jumper turns are easier to make on him than on Blaze, but he's the kind of horse that requires you to "Speak softly, but carry a big stick." Plus, while he seems to have no energy when you ask him to canter a course, he manages to store some up for bucking if you dare ask him for a lead change.

Today, however, Blaze and I finally had our long-time-coming reunion. The 92 degree weather made him a little drowsier than normal, but all-in-all, my old horse was back! He was much more open and relaxed under the saddle today, and he was definitely back focused on his job. He was hitting all his distances and was listening to me, rather than rocketing around the ring like a lunatic bursting forth from a straight-jacket like that last time. Going out to the ring, I even walked him in front of a big bad rumbling truck (something that would not have fazed him before the med change, but scared the daylights out of him when he was high). He didn't even blink.

Hallelujah! My baby is back!