Raising a white flag.

I am in a weird funk right now. Things are not going well with Riley. He's not happy and either am I. It's been about a month since his shoes were pulled for good and even though I was told to keep him in work (and invested in TWO pairs of boots for him) he's miserable. How can I tell? Well, he's the kind of horse that greets you in the field, he comes in eager to please and never minds going to work. He's been avoiding me at all costs in the field. I have to drag him out and he's even planted his feet a few times and refused to move. Yes, this could just be stubbornness, but it's not. I'm dressing his feet with Sore No More before rides, Durasole after and babying the hell out of them to make sure that he's comfortable. He's not. Last night was the last straw for me and I left the barn feeling really defeated. What he needs is time and no agenda (and although I've convinced myself that I don't have one, I'm still holding on to a glimmer of hope that I can ride him sooner, rather than later). He needs to be in a lay up situation for the next 4-6 months. I don't want to rush this. I can't. He's too nice of a horse to simply put glue-ons on him, or pour $$$ into tests when we know it's his soles. I like the farm where we are now and it has lots of great amenities, but we can't use any of them. Yes, the arena has nice footing, but to get there he has to walk on gravel. To get from the field to the barn is the same story (and it's a hike). I thought about just leaving him there for the winter and trying to just go out once a week or so to pull him in and groom him, but I know he'll be miserable coming in across the rocky terrain/gravel.

Riley bashed his nose on the gate latch and cut it. Did I feel sorry for him? No*

Moving okay but still NQR even with boots.

 He looks okay tracking left, but definitely sore tracking right.

So what does this mean for us? Well, after I posted a photo of Riley on FB last night my trainer called me this morning. We had a weekend planned in two weeks where I was going to bring Riley down to do a little boot camp. Obviously that's out of the question now and I sent her an email this morning about that (which then prompted her phone call). She felt as though I should consider a diagnostic appointment at Penn on Riley's feet (I think she was under the impression that he was sore/off 100% of the time). Once we discussed the situation a little further she agreed that time was the best answer for him and to re-evaluate in the Spring. We came to the agreement that Riley needs to be in a more closely monitored environment. Right now I have little control over his feeding situation and he doesn't have access to a stall if he needs it. So something needs to change. We discussed some possible situations and I'll share more with you guys once a firm decision has been made. I just want the poor dude to be happy and comfortable again!

In the mean time, I need to figure out a way to keep riding. I need to be in tip top shape by the time he's ready for me!

Also, when life gets you down, there's always puppies:

New hound puppies sunbathing

This little guy is named Skunk!

*I nearly had a heat attack when I saw the blood coming from his nose
**I quickly put 2 + 2 together and remembered he just bopped his nose on the latch