Mustang Saga

Scout's trip to the trainer was mostly uneventful, except when some dumb kid rode his bike right in front of us and I had to hit the brakes pretty hard. Thanks to that and the winding, bumpy road, I don't think Scout liked the ride much. But when we got there he wasn't all sweaty and worked up like I expected.

Here's a picture of him in his temporary home. That paint horse was pretty nice, he just really wanted a buddy to hang out with and made Scout feel right at home. My baby is pretty fat and out of shape. I should have taken good "before" pictures to compare with how he looks when he comes home.

I don't know why John took this next picture but it shows the kind of terrain Scout will be enjoying once he's ready to ride out.

Other than that and taking care of everyday business with the horses, I don't have much to report. Things have been too busy to mess with the horses at the time of day when I can be out. But one possible good development - I'm beginning to think my skin allergy is a reaction to sunscreen, maybe not a reaction to sun. I'm testing that theory by not using sunscreen but I'm still staying out of the sun for now. I'm really hoping soon I can quit behaving like a vampire.

Oh, and Kara asked about how he sees out of the eye that was injured as a baby. The retina had detached, which the ophthalmologist said would not heal in an older horse because there is no blood supply to that part of the eye. In the womb they still have a blood supply in the eye. Scout was still so young there was a possibility there was enough blood supply still there to allow it to heal. She was not optimistic about it though. There are times I think it's totally fine, and even my vet thinks he sees out of that eye. But then I notice things that make me wonder how well he sees. If he's walking with me or his mom, he likes to keep us on the "bad" side, maybe so the good eye is looking out and we're protecting him where he can't see as well? He also seemed to have trouble switching eyes in the round pen when I was doing turning exercises with him. But then, those are both things normal horses do when they have a dominant side. I'll be interested to see if Keith thinks he sees differently on that side. I did tell him about it, just in case it becomes an issue. One day I may have another ultrasound done on the eye, but probably not unless it becomes a problem. I'd like to know whether the retina miraculously reattached, but I don't want to pay for it just to ease my scientific curiosity.