sigh

I'm in the midst of working on a paper worth 70% of my grade. I hate when things are worth that much. So much pressure and my brain is so mushy.

Shots and coggins day for Naners and Ollie this am.

Had to take a break from the paper after I fed the cats tonight. Naners and I went south:  4.08 miles, 57:48. Top speed 12 mph (321 mpm,) avg speed 4.2 mph. We got back, I untacked her and went to brush her head and noticed her right eye was shut. What? I think what happened is after I took her bridle off she scratched her head on the trailer and whacked her eye. Or something. Squirted saline in to see if I could get whatever was bothering her out but noticed a very tiny spot that looks suspicious. I have a call into the vet. Of course she was just here this morning. I'd send her a picture but Naners won't hold her eye open long enough for me to do so.

Update: Got a picture: ulceration. Vet has been and gone, get to give her bute and eye stuff. Now, at 7:22 I might get to eat dinner. When you go to bed at 9:30 this is really late to eat.

And this is what eye stain looks like when it has gone down the ducts or whatever and starts dripping from the nose.

Ollie working really hard

Yesterday I set up that exercise where you have two jumps in an X, so the middle of both jumps intersects. You can do the sides of each jump as a skinny, or jump the X in the middle. I kept it low, only a foot, and expected some issue to arise. Nothing. Naners just jumped them. Yay!

Today's ride north we went 3.56 miles, 4.6 mph average, out for 46 min, top speed 12.2 mph (327 mpm.) We trotted up the big hill twice and trotted up the little hill once.

Again with the trash cans?

Another ride out on the road to take advantage of that footing, this time with the pelham. She does not curl or get heavy with it and she listens to half halts really nicely, even when cantering towards home on the side of the road. She might be a little hollow... but I'm going to take that over the other options she gives me at present. I feel pretty confident it's going to give me what I need at St Johns now.

Unfortunately, our ride was marred by a swarm of flies! We never have flies, okay, there are flies but they rarely swarm like that and come on! It's March.

And again with the trash cans, today on their sides from yesterday's intense wind. They were  waiting to get her and careful attention had to be given them. The dirt piles have been deemed safe though.

On the cool side, a bald eagle was flying circles over/around us for about ten minutes at the start of our ride.  I see them enough that it's not like a huge event anymore, but notable.

I downloaded an app to track our ride. I wish I'd done that years ago. We went 4.1 miles in an hour, top speed 10.7 mph, which is 287 mpm. As that's when we were cantering I won't have to up the speed too much to get up to 300 mpm.

We both came back on the sweaty side. I had decided not to lock Naners up tonight, but after she rolled she wanted into the stalls with Ollie, so in she went. Silly horse.