Pony Dentist.

Probably should have snapped some pictures, but as usual, it was a whirlwind. The vet came out to do teeth yesterday, and I'm pleased to say that Moon needed minimal work as far as hooks and points :) Probably his best turn-out to date.

Of course, he's had that one tooth where the gums have been receding and bleeding, so the vet had a look, gave it a wiggle and told me about how there could be root loss and such, and I got convinced to spend $180 on digital X-rays. That showed a perfectly healthy tooth and root, and just some really upset gums. Le sigh.

So $400 later, Moon now gets an antibacterial mouth wash once a day to heal up his gums, and thankfully no expensive tooth extraction. I'm happy that he's all done before moving home, and I keep counting the weeks.

Four more :)

I'm NEARLY finished my chicken coop, which means hopefully soon I'll really start on his horse shelter. I gotta get those posts in so I can finish off the fencing of his pastures, get the gates up and it's at least ready to contain him. Not a lot of weekends to whip through all of that!!

His transition hay bale is home and stored away, and H is going to save a hockey net or two for us to use at home. I've got to start going through his stuff at the barn and moving it home...which is fun considering it's been like 3-4 years there, so we have a huge messy pile and stuff is everywhere. Don't know where I'm going to stuff it all :P

Oh, and I managed to do 3 miles last week :) Not gonna say it was easy, cause it wasn't. Moon was awesome, but after 2.5 miles my pelvis was aching and I was having a tough go of it. But I pushed and made it home without getting off. Man oh man. We did trot and canter most of the way, which is pretty awesome. My legs got an extreme workout. I'd say I'm still fit and still riding, but the extra 15pounds I've put on already, is a lot of extra weight for the ol'body to lift in a trot! Or hold up at a canter! I couldn't believe it. I even have a tough go pulling myself up onto the fence rail to sit. I can't imagine what it's gonna be like in a few more weeks, but at the same time, I keep saying, as long as I don't stop, it'll be easier to keep going. Hopefully I'll manage another 2-3 miles on Thursday and we'll keep it up. We're at 18 weeks now, and I seriously hope to ride right up until 40 :) Let's see how Moon behaves once he comes home...

Speaking of, I seriously have NOT appreciated just how hot Moon really is. In my mind, he's a really sedate QH. Typical laxidazy slow going old guy. He's turning 17 in May! He's been exposed to all kinds of crazy things, and really is close to bomb proof.

But wow. We were standing around talking while the vet was doing teeth, and of course, while every other horse got a single dose of tranquilizer, Moon needed a double dose. I TOLD the vet he would. He'll seem out, but as soon as you touch him, he'll wake right up. Sure enough, the vet went to open his mouth, and his teeth were clenched down, his head went up and he backed up at high speed away from him. Not so tranq'd.

The whole thing started me really looking at him. So much of how I perceive Moon has to do with our relationship. I felt connected to him from the first time I rode him, and that's developed. It's been what? 6 years together?? 6 intense years. I know him like the back of my hand. He's PREDICTABLE to me. Not only is he predictable, but because he is, I feel confident in how I respond to him. So much of our relationship is just intense familiarity, that we react and roll of each other smoothly.

But around the barn, he's near the top as far as "hotness". A crazy first thought to me...until I take of my rose coloured glasses and really look at him. He's REALLY responsive. He's very alert. He LOVES to run, and *naturally* loves to race. Not the kind where you need to push the horse to race, but as in another horse takes off, he wants to be there running past him. If he can't, he's a snorting, blowing, prancing mess. He was bred to run.

What he's not is dirty. He doesn't use dirty tricks, he has no desire to ditch his rider. He doesn't have horrible trail habits that make him hard to handle on the road. He's not spooky, when he does spook he's a small clean spooker. He's quite easy and light to move around, which means that you've always got good steering and control when you're out there. I STILL ride him in an uber soft bit, and he's never "run away" with me. He's never been one to turn sharp or stop hard.

He's stellar on lead. I totally stopped appreciating it, until Monday when I was leading another horse, who trodden RIGHT on my foot!! WTH?! I seriously screamed and started trying to shove his body off my foot. WTH?! I can't think of the last time Moon stepped on me. Lord knows I would have lost it on him. Without holding the lead, Moon trots and walks off beside me, and stops and stands based solely on body cues. He's even gotten to be a great ground-tier most of the time.

But none of those things makes his "cool". What they make him, is well trained to me. He's still the horse that one cluck means give'er all you've got. He's still Mr. Sassy pants, he's still the boss in the herd, he's still out there throwing a tantrum when his ladies are gone or you won't give him his head so he can chase down whoever just passed him. He is, truthfully, a hot little devil of a horse in a tiny package who's bred to do one thing and he does it well: Race.

It's funny how I love him, and how well he suits me, even though I don't consider myself getting on with hot horses at all. Perhaps it's because he's a sensitive hot. Most of his heat is emotional rather then physical.

And that's maybe what I love most about him.