Lots and lots of improvements!

     I am proud to inform you that Mr. Udex has been improving... a lot! For starters, he can roll all the way over now!!! As I mentioned in one of my other posts, this means that his back is getting strong enough to flip over. A horse with a weak back will not be able to do this.  Before he would very, very, very rarely roll completely over due to his back being in bad shape from the rollkur. Every time I ride him I ride him with his back rounded! It is not easy but it sure does help!! Also I use a device called a pessoa (which uses the horses hind leg action to help him round himself, thus resulting in a nice rounded spine.) Last but not least... HORSEY SIT UPS! I bet you never knew horses could do sit ups! Of course they don't preform their sit ups the same way us humans do! A horsey sit up is when someone either stands behind the horse and rub its haunches a certain way, making the horse perk his back up and round it beautifully, or pushing up on the bottom of the tummy, resulting in the same thing. It is very hard for the horses muscles to do these 3-5 times a session!
    Lessons have been going quite swell with Udex!! He is getting over his fear of being alone in the barn or the arena these days. Of course he does let out the occasional unexpected whinny, scaring the crap out of me! Nothing worse then having a peaceful trot and being all relaxed and then out of nowhere... Neiighhhhhhhhh! Always makes me smile though. (:
   In my lessons we are now working on sitting trot. I have a very good seat in sitting trot, people have stopped to tell me how great it is. My seat in sitting trot is my most prized riding trait!! However, with Udex, I just can not seem to get it right (nor can anyone else who tries to sit him ;D) He is extremely bumpy! When I first got him one step in sitting trot was enough to make me loose total balance!! Now though we are working on it and I am proud to say that I can sit my horse at a sitting trot!!! Every time it gets better and better. In a few months time I will be able to sit him like all the other horses I ride!

   I am so, so, so excited!!! Every day he is becoming more and more of the horse he was! You can tell that he is feeling well enough to be the real him! It makes me so proud to see how all my hard work is paying off!! It is like magic!!!! One day you have this skinny, scrawny, bony, mental horse and the next you have this intelligent, trusting, muscular, gentle horse! Nothing, and I mean nothing, can beat that feeling! I'm sitting here trying to think of how it feels to have bought a ready to go horse, and the only improvements you see are his movements with yours getting better. I could not be happy knowing I was giving all my love and effort into a horse that does not need it as more as some other unfortunate ones out there. Udex is truly a diamond in the rough.

some broken ropes

   Did I mention that my horse is a Murderer? No? Well he is! He brutally slays harmless lead ropes, reins, blankets, and other tack items!! Days when he is extremely fresh and the only thing on his mind is to run, he can't bare to stand still on one place. So what does he do?? He runs away from where I have him tied up and snap goes the lead rope!!! The second one broke yesterday in just a few weeks!! Also I have had sets of reins go snap!! I don't exactly know why or how they broke, but probably had something to do with Udex's magic slaughtering powers.
    Guess who has a birthday coming up!? UDEX!!! On Sunday (June 5th) Udex is turning 14 years old!! He is only two months and a day older then me!! I absolutely love the fact that we are so close in age. (: For his special day I plan on making him a very special treat and getting him a nice new soft brush for his "delicate" face!! Oh how I love celebrating horse birthdays!!!! :D Happy early birthday to you dear Udex!!!