Bear has a tendency to get tight in his right side. We’re not sure if this is just something that happens to him, or if it’s because Brian has a tight right hip, but it does seem to help to have the chiropractor work on him from time to time. However, the chiropractor always ends up coming at times Brian can’t get off work, so this morning found me driving out to the barn to hold Bear for the doctor.
When I arrived there had been some hitch in the communication and it turned out there were a couple more horses in line in front of me than I’d expected. I brought Bear inside and realized I was going to be waiting for a while. So I grabbed his bridle, took him to the indoor arena, and mounted bareback.
I don’t ride Bear much, and when I do it’s usually because he’s being a butthead and Brian needs a second opinion about what’s going on. So it was kind of nice to have a chance to just do a little ride with no real goals.
My first thought when I started him going was it’s obvious Brian is a much better rider than he used to be. Bear felt smooth and attentive and his tendency to either over-react or under-react to cues was gone. He had a few minutes of giving me the suspicious-Bear-ears, but then he relaxed and we had a really nice ride. I didn’t demand much of him. Mostly we walked and trotted and I worked on keeping him balanced through his turns.
He was good for the chiropractor. When I put him on the line so she could watch him move before she worked on him, he went great. Usually Bear is not a fan of running in circles, but today he was all for it. He transitioned up without hesitation and looked great at both the trot and lope in both directions. The chiropractor commented that he’s in a lot better shape than when she last worked on him. I also do think he’s moving a little better since we started him on the senior supplement.
Ride Time: 0:20
Horseback hours YTD: 83:05