Minor adjustment to plans

I'm swapping one bay mare for another at this weekend's combined test. Instead of taking Freddie, I'll be taking Gina!

Fred's always had a pretty minor little hitch in her giddyup. Richal and I have been ignoring it because Freddie has about 123098 issues that could be causing it. She's a hideous paddler, which sometimes tricks onlookers into thinking she's taking a funny or lame step. She's ouchy when barefoot. She enjoys removing her shoes and gimping around. Sometimes she's stiff. The hitch doesn't manifest constantly or consistently. Sometimes it gets better after she's warmed up. Sometimes it never appears. But Fred never acts uncomfortable and never takes a head-bobbing lame step.

Freddie loves the Theraplate.

Now that Freddie's been in consistent work for a couple of months and kept her shoes on for a full shoeing cycle, you'd expect the hitch to maybe resolve itself. But it hasn't. On Monday evening, Fred was looking just off enough that Richal didn't feel comfortable taking her to a show this weekend. No one wants to be excused from the ring for riding a lame horse or start the rumor mill going that their horses aren't well cared for. So Baby Fred's eventing debut will have to wait until Mystery Hitch is resolved.

Freddie also loves eating. 

Hitch or no, I saddled her up yesterday and went on a short trail ride with Richal, who was on the giant freak-of-nature Tennessee Walker/Friesian Goliath, and one of the students on a saintly five year old Appaloosa named Andy. 

I was super impressed with Fred, who was unfazed by cars driving past, neighbor horses cantering by in excitement, and dogs barking. She went up and down steep embankments, listened to me, and walked over telephone poles. Goliath was busy spinning in circles and making Richal's life miserable; Freddie was unconcerned. She didn't mind when poky Andy had to trot to catch up with us. The only things that got a couple of little spooks out of her were a truck pulling an empty trailer rattling by and a dog that ran up to a fence and started barking (the fence was to her back). I always knew she was a basically sensible creature.

I'm looking forward to taking Gina to the combined test- we'll be doing Green As Grass, as I didn't want to make the event organizer's life difficult by switching divisions; plus, we all know Gina isn't the most reliable horse over fences. I think a course of 18" cross country jumps will be a good confidence builder for her. Hopefully we'll have a good time and finish on our dressage score!