Horse of lead

All the images that express the delight of riding depict lightness, wind, wings, uplift, the universal sense of flying that harmonious riding brings.

Well, yesterday my ride was the complete opposite. Champagne felt as if he were wearing ankle weights.

Usually when I am leading him he is barging ahead, looking around, trying to influence where we will go, and it is sometimes not even clear who is leading whom. But yesterday he lagged, and I felt as if I had to pull him along.

When I got on, instead of the new swinging walk he has developed, we plodded like an old draft horse. I doubted that I’d get a trot. Eventually I did get one, but such a small one that I didn’t even bother to post, and he stopped at the least suggestion that I was asking for a halt.

I tried backing up, something that has become pretty much free, easy, and second nature, and he did back a few steps, but then just stood there stolidly like a lump (this was an issue a year ago but we had licked in back in December!)

And there was no canter in him at all. Just none.

So I am thinking that he may have sore legs from his hoof trim. His feet weren’t hot on the bottom, and looked quite nice, but the farrier did lower his heels a bit. I imagine that all the tendons in the backs of his legs may be sore and stiff from this new angle. It would be like someone who wears 4” Jimmy Choos all the time suddenly putting on running shoes. It would be normal to expect some stiffness in adapting.

Champagne’s legs aren’t hot, and I’m really hoping that he’ll spring back to normal in a few days. I’m hoping I didn’t make a mistake in allowing this new hoof trim. I won’t be riding today, but plan a trail ride for Saturday, and I’ll see how he is then. In the meantime my Pegasus seems to have become a sinker.