3.  Color options:

There is a big, giant, yawning chasm of me that wants to take Archie out and immediately go do fun things.  Like cantering.  And jumps.  And cantering jumps.  But I rein the joy-chaser in and we continue our timed trot sets.

It's a beautiful place for walking.

From the fun little abscess experience, he had two weeks off.  He's been back under saddle for a week and I've officially started him back at four two-minute trot sets, but with only two minutes' recovery.  I thought about this long and hard.  I knew I couldn't start where we left off because he spent two weeks napping.  I also knew it wouldn't kill him if we did.  But I just couldn't.

The dip in the center is where I offered him some water and the spike at the end is where I tried to outrun bugs.

The plan from here:  we had been a day away from moving into four four-minute trot sets.  From there, I was going to scale back the trot work (maybe two five-minute sets?) and reintroduce canter work.  A month after cantering, I was going to introduce jumping.

Sweaty after yesterday's ride.

So now, we're going to roughly replicate the last three weeks.  I hope to have him cantering in the beginning of June and jumping by July.

Lots of exciting stuff around here.  Or not.  Stuff around here.

D went out of town for about 36 hours this past weekend.  Now he's in love with the city of Boston.  During that time, I stayed mad busy.  Washing our cars, mowing the entire lawn (it's a third an acre), cleaning, cleaning, cleaning.  Walking the girls and playing with the still-gimpy pony.

We will not look at you and this will be the best you can do.

Just started and already offended.

I had a nightmare about his hoof falling off on Sunday.  I was back at the barn in Augusta, where I'd worked, and had just brought all the horses in during a thunderstorm.  I went to check on him and his hoof was falling off in clumps.  In my dream, I remember pulling him out of his stall to show him to the barn manager.  So even though I traditionally take Monday off, I had to see him.

You may be asking yourself (legitimately, because I ask myself this shit sometimes, too):  if the ponykins is off, why are you still riding him?  It's because the "off" hasn't be replicated on the lunge or in hand.  With my tub off his back, he's asymptomatic.  And then there's the question of "herbs".  I recently switched Archie from the SmartFlex Senior that he's been on since 2010 to the version without herbs.  Would he be less ouchie with the herbs?

Fortunately, his soundness improves every day.  We did a short 25 minute ride with some trotting and he powerhoused through the laps with no hitch and felt pretty good on the grass.