News flash: ten weeks of restricted activity and not-very-restricted eating = fat horse. Yes, for the first time ever, Freedom is round. Even my vet noticed when she came for his 8 week check up and spring shots.
I’ve cut back on his grain, for sure. He’s down to 5 quarts of TC Senior and 2 quarts of Alfalfa pellets per day (there are times when he’s need 7 quarts of Senior per day to hold his weight). Maybe he’s finally starting to relax and enjoy his extended vacation. He’s certainly gotten better at sleeping in the paddock, bossing around Willow (I just hope she likes to get bitten as much as he seems to like biting her!) and eating every tiny green shoot that dares to grow more than a millimeter out of the ground.
The good news is that I can ride him again. Okay, it’s at a walk but we’re up to 30 minutes now and that’s enough to go somewhere. I’ve been taking him on short trail rides — out to the pony club ring, around the big fields, and through the woods. He likes to get off property and is eager to go further. He’s a horse that really needs a job, even if it’s just a hack.
It’s good for me, too. I’m really lucky to have other horses to ride but Freedom is familiar in a way that other horses just can’t be.