Another Setback

It's been a hectic summer.  Between a jam packed race schedule with lots of travel, and a full time job with a lengthy commute, riding time has been scarce.  I've been so busy, I don't think I've even been to the grocery store in a month.  Looks like I won't be riding tonight so I can restock the cupboards!

As a follow up to my last blog, Larry's progress and regress have been frustrating.  Some days he shows a lot of potential and lets me entertain fantasies of what he can accomplish in the show ring.  And other day's he's so frustrating I just want to throw up my hands.  I finally concluded that boot camp would be the best plan to reform his sometimes sour attitude towards work.  The idea isn't to inflict a hard or grueling workload, just to help him realize that he's not a pasture puff and working for a living is expected.  In fact, when he behaves, his workouts can be quite short (10 minutes one day when he was particularly tractable).  When he misbehaves, that's when he has to work longer until we can get something right.

With my hectic schedule, I was very late giving Spring vaccinations this year.  Last Friday, to be exact.  Wouldn't you know it, Larry had a reaction to the rabies vaccine and is now sporting a large puffy grapefruit on the side of his neck.  I'm not panicked, as he had a similar reaction to the botulism vaccine in the fall, and it eventually went away with hosing and anti-inflammatories.  However, it does mean that I won't be working him for a while until the swelling goes down.

On the upside, I have only two weeks left at my job, and I will be back in school part time.  It should afford me extra time to do things around the farm (including ride), even with studying. I am really looking forward to that!  By that time Larry's neck should be back to normal size and he and I can both work on our respective homework.