Not the best of days .....

I discovered a sting on my leg at lunchtime that was really itchy, popped in to Boots to get some stop itch insect stuff and whacked it on without really looking at it.  Turns out it is ammonia based, sting no longer itchy but sat through a meeting with a leg smelling of wee.

On the horse front things have slowed to a standstill, I had two really great rides on Max and had big plans for riding all four days over the Easter break last week.  Got him in on Friday evening to discover he was dribbling from his mouth.  He is fine in himself but he tongue looked a bit swollen and loads of green drool.  Washed his mouth out with some mildly salty water and he ate his tea happily.  Had bits of drool over the weekend so didn't really want to put a bit in.  Have been keeping an eye on him but in himself he is fine, eating, charging about the field etc.  Put a call in to a vet who is also a qualified dentist, he is coming out on the 5th May.  In the meantime if things get worse I will call my own vet out.

Bit of a blow but I probably should have got the teeth checked out before I started him back in work anyway.  Has been interesting though because I have gone from 'do I have to ride' to 'I wish I could ride' which in a way is quite nice.  Also, made me realise that I do feel a lot more for Max than I thought, after the first ride I thought I would be overwhelmed with joy at getting back on board, but actually I wasn't that bothered.  Really he is not one of the horses I would really love to be riding again, that is not his fault and not mine either as both of those are sadly deceased.  I've had a couple of turns in my relationship with Max which has moved us on a step in the right direction, the last was when I said the words 'you are not going back' to him and things started to improve.  Perhaps this blip and my concern over his health will take us another step.

I maybe won't have the relationship with riding him that I have had with some other horses but I am trying to work at it and actually I am enjoying spending time with him on the ground.