A Missed Gotcha Day

Well, shoot! I missed Speedy's Gotcha Day. Last month. I accidentally remembered Izzy's but then turned around and forgot all about Speedy's. I nearly always forget though, so he's used to it. Speedy joined my family on December 8, 2007 - 14 years (and some days) ago. Most days it seems as though he arrived just a year or two ago. Other times, it feels as though he's always been with us. Truthfully, it's hard to remember not having him in our family.

He's always a polar bear in the winter.

While he's still quiet healthy, he is starting to age more quickly than I'd like. Over the weekend, I pulled him out of his paddock for the first time in several weeks. I took him up to the arena for a quick lunge. I had noticed that he had been hanging out by himself in a corner which isn't like him. A quick lunge told me that all was not well.

He was lame. I thought it was the right front, but when I put the hoof testers on, I got no reaction on the right hoof but saw an immediate OUCH on the left. I was pretty sure that it was probably "just" an abscess as there was no heat or filling or obvious wounds. Either way, seeing him uncomfortable always makes me worry. 

Back in the fall of 2020 playing around even though he was "retired."

On Sunday, I gave him a quick trot out and was very happy to discover that he was sound. I took him back up to the arena and lunged him for ten minutes. He got happier and looser the longer we went. After making sure he was sound at all three gaits in both directions, I let him off the line for some free play. He galloped around snorting and snaking his head at me as he gaily flew by,

Speedy has given me opportunities that I never would have had without him, so he gets whatever he wants in his retirement. If he's tired of working, he can loaf around for the next 15 years. If he wants to get back to work, I can make that happen too. We had a good amount of rain last week - the first rain in over a month, so there might be something brewing in his front feet. The sudden wetness could easily cause an abscess. As of Sunday, he looked perfectly sound, so I'll just have to wait and see.

As we all know, "let it be an abscess" is the horse girl's prayer.