A Frisky Horse Is A Healthy Horse

At least that is what I am going with right now.  I am still waiting to here from the vet about Harley's blood work.  Usually no news is good news, so hopefully we have just been dropped to the bottom of the triage list and she will call me back when she has a free moment.  My vet is very, very busy.

I got to see my teacher today.  She was out giving lessons, which bummed me because due to Harley's bizarre health issue this weekend, I had to cancel our slot.  Even though I did not ride, I still spoke to her while she was working on a horse and it was very reassuring to hear her impression of Harley.  She said that he did not look like a sick horse at all.  She is suspecting allergy.  Maybe there was a funky weed in the hay or something else that elicited an allergic reaction.  Now this does bother me, because without knowing what caused the problem, I cannot avoid it for next time.  Since I personally get full-body hives from a sulfites overload, I know that weird food allergies can go undiagnosed for a long time before a pattern is determined.  And, if we are talking about a weed, it will be near impossible for me to prevent him for contacting the mysterious weed in the future, unless I do not feed him hay.  There are some horses that cannot eat hay, which is a management challenge (i.e. nightmare).  Let's hope that we do not have to cross that bridge.

Honestly, Harley looked really, really good today.  He was eager and alert.  His legs were tight as a drum and he was very social.  My teacher tried to resist petting him, since we do not really know if he is "clean" yet, but she quickly melted under his spell and ended up kissing his nose.  She lamented in realizing that she would have to change her clothes before her next client, but connecting with Harley is worth it.  I am telling you, he does this to people!

After grooming him, checking him over, and preparing his dinner to soak, I decided to put him on the line for a few minutes.  I did not bring a whip, because I expected to just move him around a little bit and see how he felt.  Harley had other plans.  He was frisky!  When I asked him to trot, he tossed his head in a very studly manner and jumped around before stretching onto a circle around me.  I had to laugh when we changed directions, because he repeated the stunt, but escalated his antics to a bouncyy canter.  He leaped and hopped and tossed his mane dramatically until I coaxed him into a trot.  He stretched his neck down and snorted with satisfaction.  I asked him to repeat the walk-trot transitions a couple times, so that he was not just burning off steam.  If he wanted to work, then that is what we would do.  He definitely had his frustrated look on,

"What are you waiting for?  Let's go."

Harley is tired of resting and I am very happy to see this.