Royal the Explorer

I'm happy to report that whatever was bothering Royal a couple of weeks seems to have gone away. My sister thinks it was the gelding version of PMS, which I agree has merit. Royal and I seem to butt heads once every month or two, and then everything's back to normal. It also got really cold (50s and 60s) last week, which was practically freezing compared with the rest of the year. He's really sensitive to changes in weather, particularly when it gets cold. So, now that's he's had time to get used to it, he seems to be better.

We played OnLine last Monday, and he was quiet. Not lazy, but more like a Right Brain Introvert - a shy delicate flower. I just sat down and let him wander around on the end of the line until he came over.

He seemed much happier and more connected, so I sent him over to the line of Bloks I'd set up earlier. He of course popped right over and then came back and tried to destroy them.

It was then I knew he was fine.

Wednesday we played OnLine again and he was a lot more animated, which might have had something to do with these guys.

Oh hai!

They're baaaaaa-aaaaaaack. The cows got moved from across the street to the pasture behind the horses, and Royal was not sure what to think about this. There was a lot of snorting and prancing, but he did focus and we were able to practice some simple lead changes and canter spirals.

Friday I put his Cavallo boots on and we went for a walk on the road. We went by the big field and he decided he wanted to go in. We haven't ridden in since the redneck landscaping, but he wanted to take a look around. So he walked all the way to the end while munching on various things and we ended up doing one big loop. Then we continued down the road and took in some of the fall colors.

We also did some Game of Contact, but both of us were feeling lazy, so we ended up just meandering around most of the time. Best laid plans and all. I set up a couple jumps today to practice for the Hunt Cup next Sunday, but I neglected to kick the horses out beforehand, and they decided to test the durability of the jumps. Gabby and Royal lead the way, but everyone got some sniffing and chewing in. And this was the result:

Next time, I put them in the other pasture.

He started out sort of lazy, but perked up after we went over the cross-rail a couple times. He was pretty relaxed over the jumps and usually finds a good spot. He took a while to really warm up, which could be due to the fact that it was warmer today. I kept the session short to make sure he didn't get overheated.

He seems good and happy. This is why I was reluctant to try anything until I was really sure there was a problem. A lot of problems just go away on their own, and I'm glad this was one of those. I do think his hip stiffness is returning and I'll have to watch him for signs of arthritis, but for now he seems to be doing really well.