I have been making it out to the barn more consistently again lately, though not as much as I was managing in the summer. For one thing, the cold hurts a little, and for another, vitzy’s has actually kind of been booming, which is great in many ways, but does cut into my horse time.
Still, I don’t feel as guilty about not showing up as much, since I know that Steen now gets personal human interaction daily, even if it is just in the form of ushering in and out of a stall and feeding.
The weight gain is going quite well. This weekend I took my future mother-in-law out for a couple of rides, and had to drop Steen’s cinch down one hole on the latigo to keep the middle ring in the middle. Last week, I had to take the throat latch off his bridle and have a new hole punched because it was tight to the point that it started to pinch him a little if he put his head up high. So, judging by his tack alone, he is now bulkier than he’s ever been since I’ve owned him, and judging from the look of his spine and shoulders, he is close to a nice round winter-horse-in-Iowa weight. He also seems more comfortable again. When I had Brian’s mom riding on a line, he picked up such a nice little jog for her, rounding his back right up into the saddle and holding his head nice and relaxed, I thought to myself, “Well, he’s obviously not uncomfortable.”