His name is Houdini....

Well I learned yesterday that Woody has the ability to take off his own blankets without unbuckling any straps or ripping anything in the less then ten minutes. Pretty good huh! It turns out that my horse has quite the personality.

Yesterday, we did not have a good ride at all. Since it was raining, I rode Woody in the indoor for the first time. I probably didn't longe him long enough, but he wasn't really acting fresh on the line either. I should of know something was wrong when I went to mount him and he just would not stand still. He has never done this before, he just always stands quietly when I go to get on him. He didn't want to stand still when I was bending him either, which I also never have a problem with. He just was not paying attention to me at all. I did get him jogging nice and relaxed eventually, but when I asked for a long trot he just was not consistent. I felt that he was short stepping again as well.

Before Connie left the ring, I told her I think I need to go ahead and put him in training sooner then I was planning. She thought he probably still isn't completely settled in, but did think he was short stepping and had me long trot him. She said he was short stepping both in front and behind it looked like and thought maybe he had something wrong with his hocks/stifles or his back may be sore.

Well I unsaddled him and she pocked around on him and it seems that his back is sore, but not his hocks/stifles which is a good thing. It seems my saddle is too tight in his shoulders, and maybe Jerry's saddle didn't fit him that great either because my saddle wouldn't make him sore this quickly. I threw one of her saddles on which fit him slightly better, but it looks as if I am going to have the chiropractor out to work on him and see what is really going on. Tomorrow I am going to ride him in one of her saddles to see if he acts any better. He also seems to be going through a growth spurt as he is a little down hill right now which would cause more pressure on his shoulders as well.

Keep you updated!!

Christina