K tests her work by listening to the horses' jaw while sliding their bite laterally. I could even hear when the bite wasn't quite correct yet. The sound reverberates through the jaw and nasal cavity. The connection between the mouth, the TMJ, and your horse's way of going is facinating. K told me things about Val's and Cowboy's movement just from the condition of their mouths.
I showed K something that I thought might be a melanoma on the underside of Val's dock. She agreed it probably was. The plan is to photograph it so I have a baseline picture. She hasn't met many greys who don't end up with melanomas. Better believe I'll be watching it like a hawk. (This is where OCD tendencies come in handy. If only I could apply them to time management!)
The best part of the day was K's assessment of Val's condition - kind of like a good report card. Weight - 6. Muscling - 6. He looks like he's being worked properly - topline is happening. She thought my ottb was a warmblood. ♥Love♥ those sturdy thoroughbreds - kickin' it old school.
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I spent the (whole) weekend doing chores - taxes (boo), and finishing setting up my studio. (!) These are chores that I've put off for too long, (I should do a series of posts about procrastinating... maybe one day) so riding was not the priority.
Saturday afternoon I took a break and fly sprayed Val, intending to drag the arena and then get in a ride. After the relief of being bug free set in, Val promptly dropped to the ground, laid out flat and started cutting some serious zzzzz's. I didn't have the heart to fire up the tractor. It was probably for the best. The flies are super bad right now. I'm guessing this is how we pay for June-uary.
