Transformation, uh, Wednesday

Blogger app strikes again! Alas. 

In the spirit of Life of Riley's informal blog hop, here's a quick before and after of Red. He's been here almost a month!

These pictures make him look better than he did. His skin was inflamed and awful, especially his mane and tail. The skin on his body was flaking. He was missing hair on his face. 

He's far from all better, and I really do owe y'all nicer photos, but this one does at least show the improvement in his body condition. 

It isn't complicated, really. Beet pulp, orchard grass hay, senior feed, corn oil, Virginia grass. Curry comb. Light riding. 

He's developed a bit of a defensive posture about his stall. I don't really blame him, but he does have to get over it. Still, it's kind of adorable when he's a grumpus. 

Mom and I trailered him and her horse Teddy over for a lesson at Mary's. It's been YEARS, well over a decade, since mom and I had a lesson together. It was so much fun. We were just working on cantering polls, something Teddy (who is gaited) struggles with because he doesn't know where his feet are. But he did awesome, and Mom had a blast. 

Redmond was also fantastic. He was showing off his lovely trot. Mary helped us with connection, as I thought she would. I can tell that Redmond was a show jumper because he got lit up. But we just laughed at him, worked on getting five strides in a 60' line (instead of 3.5), and gave him pats. I'm so glad he felt well enough to do that! I hope to get him back there in a couple weeks, and maybe the ground poles can be cross rails.