Update on Deuce, and Introducing JAY!

Finally, the update I promised! Deuce seemed to be showing some improvement, albeit slow, so I have not taken him to the vet school yet. I discussed this with my vet, and the vet at NCSU. His back is not quite as sore, and I can now stretch his front legs forward without him exploding backwards in pain. The farrier, however, still could not put him on a hoof stand long enough to finish dressing his trim. We are planning to give Deuce some bute before he comes out next time to see if that will help. It looks a little exaggerated in this picture, but gives a good idea of the asymmetry.
One reason I am not feeling as stressed out having Deuce worked up is that I found a lovely new horse! I am still keeping Deuce's best interest in mind, but I also admit that I like to actually ride. Deuce is settling nicely into his new role of "pesky little brother," and he and Jay like to play together and get along just wonderfully!

Jay is an 11yo OTTB gelding who has done some eventing with his previous owner. He knows through First level dressage, too. He spent 6 months the first part of this year with a professional trainer. Here are two links to videos of her riding him: http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v4...urrent=Jay.flv and http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v4...Dressage-1.flv

I realized during the process of looking at Jay that I am officially having a confidence crisis for the first time in my life. It really hit me the first time I cantered Jay. I was honest with the owner and her trainer/instructor about what I was feeling, and they still thought Jay and I were a good match. I cantered him a couple more times that first day I looked at him, so that I was on a good note, but have decided not to push myself since then. Jay is also recovering from EPM, so it is probably good for him to work up slowly with me, too.

I did decide that I needed to get back into lessons as soon as possible, especially with the confidence issues. When I really thought about it, I have not had a lesson since the last part of 2001! A lot has happened since then, and then I started back riding a green horse. I have not really cantered a made horse since about that same time. So I found an instructor and had a lesson last week!
We first worked on getting Jay really moving forward and using himself. This also got him softened through his neck and jaw. We then worked on taking the inside rein and really asking him to soften and bend around my leg. When Jay then put weight on his outside shoulder and my outside rein, I would just close my fingers around that outside rein to 'hug' him and give him some support. From there we changed the size of the circle, going straight, adding stride (speed), and slowing, as long as he is soft. I have been doing lots of transitions and giving him a lot of breaks on a long rein, too.

I just got back home from a fabulous ride on Jay. At first, he felt more 'stuck' with me today. I really asked him to keep moving forward, and did lots of transitions. He finally gave me a really nice stretching trot in both directions. I am thrilled! I even found myself feeling very tempted to canter today, so that is a really good sign. I am still planning to wait for now, though. Jay has not put a hoof wrong, though, to cause me to be concerned. I just think I really need some good experiences under my belt, and want to give myself the best chance for that to happen!