Horse Gets Time Off, Rider Does Not

My trainer sent me this adorable picture of Eli resting during the day!

Eli’s appointment on Tuesday went well. In addition to Eli getting his stifles injected and getting de-wormed, I asked the vet about his weight and body condition because he’s been looking a little bit not great to me lately. I went over his work load and what he currently eats, and the vet suggested adding rice bran to see how that goes. A few other horses at the barn already get rice bran, so it will be easy to get Eli on it. Hopefully he will actually eat it. I gave him a handful to see if he would, and he did. The vet also said he had some small points on his molars (because literally every time I see Eli’s vet I ask him to check his teeth because paranoia), so I will be scheduling a dental appointment for Eli soon.

Because Eli is off for the week, I was able to pick up the ride on Wednesday and today on a jumper whose kiddo is out of town. I’ve ridden this horse before, and find him completely enjoyable. He and Eli are a somewhat similar type of ride — bet you know, now that I’ve said that, that the horse is a thoroughbred-type gelding (not sure about his actual breed, though). Whisper is a flea-bitten gray, however, so I am not going to accidentally mix him up with my horse (hee).

I also managed to somehow get my left foot stepped on while leading a horse back to his stall and one of my toes looks a little janky. The horse was on my right, so I am not sure how my left foot fell victim, but the horse himself was completely well-behaved and polite to lead — it was just one of those freak things that happen with horses. At least my foot was in shavings rather than on concrete! And I was wearing boat shoes without socks, which is perhaps not the most appropriate barn footwear but they did offer some protection. I didn’t think much of the incident until hours later when I discovered one toe wouldn’t bend and yesterday morning the toe looked a bit swollen and purple-y. Eh, wouldn’t be the first toe casualty of my life. It seems fine if I wear hard-soled shoes so I am not too worried about it.

The toe is cycling through every color of the rainbow now. Also … I need a pedicure.