Confused, but also Progressing

I called my farrier last night to ask if he would be in the area this afternoon and if he had the chance, could pop over to Milo and check out his hoof. I was curious after I saw Milo last night, if indeed he did have an abcess. As stated in yesterday's post, he isnt exhibiting the usual abcess traits. I even saw him bearing his weight onto the effected leg and relaxing the other. So having the farrier out might help decide a course of action. If he could find an abcess, great, and even better if he could dig it out. He got back to me this morning and said he would be out to see Milo at about 1:30. I am not off of work until 3:30 but the great thing about my farrier is he is so willing to see Milo even if Im not there (though I try to be).

So I got a phone call from him saying that he doesnt suspect that Milo has an abcess. He too saw him running around like a psycho on Saturday and believes that he twisted his fetlock during his crazed running in the mud. He said he felt down behind and below his fetlock and could feel a slight amount of swelling. He also felt his digital pulse, but also said that Milo was extremely sensitive to pressure (he pinched) to his hind fetlock area. He even ripped his head around to bite him and threatened to kick! Bad Milo! I apologized to the farrier when I heard this, but he kindly shrugged it off and said I didnt need to be sorry for anything, Milo was simply exhibiting his extreme displeasure to the stimulus. Better Milo told him about it (Milo is very good at expressing his displeasure) then to not and have us believe nothing is wrong.

So his suggestion was to soak his hoof anyways, because it wont hurt. But also to wrap a hot dish towel around his fetlock area and let it sit until it is cold again. Then to wrap with a polo wrap for some compression to the area. Im a bit nervous about leaving a polo wrap on him out in the pasture. Granted, I know how to safely and correctly wrap a polo, he used them at the rodeo and its events, but Im still nervous about it staying on without my supervision. Maybe Im just overly cautious.

So this week's time out of the saddle has made me think about things. My last lesson with Sarah was all about my body position and riding correctly and effectively. I was bummed that I couldnt be working on this this week and was worried it might "go away" before I could ride again. Then I realized, I dont need to be on a horse to practice this! If I can work on my position at any time and adopt a new posture as the constant, I wont have to think about it that much in the saddle. Doh!

So I raised my chair up a bit at work, which keeps me from slumping over onto my desk front. I remind myself to raise my sternum to the sky and image my shoulder blades touching each other, but maintaining a soft lower back.

Ive also been working on rolling my hips in a downward transition. How can I do this when I havent been riding? Well, when I put brake pressure in my truck to slow down, I use that opportunity to continue holding my correct posture, and independantly roll my hips in the same fashion as I would in the saddle. The more I work on this and teach my body how to do it through repitition, it will be much more natural when Im back in the saddle.

I can already start to feel my posture getting better without having to think about it. Score!