I'm back!  It's been far too long since I've written, but there's been a lot happening.  I won't go into a lot of detail, but Lady has been having persistant trouble with her back, her hips and her feet over the past two months.  It has been bad enough (and painful for her) that I no longer know which horse I'll find in the morning; the one who's able to follow me slowly and happily, or the one I have to assist in hobbling across the field.  Over the last few weeks I have had to limit our playing time drasticly because no matter how little I ask for, she was consistantly offering and trying the Level 3/4 tasks we had been working on and pushing her physical bounderies again and again.  She would get this extremely determined look on her face, but it was SO clear how uncomfortable and painful it was for her.  I love my horse!
I've also had my amazing best friend to help me.  Jocelyn has been coming out 1-2 times a week and giving Lady a fully massage.  She is amazing in the area of natural health and has been a tremendous help to me.
My hoof care professionals are also responsible for helping me.  Linnie Brister and her partner, John, are barefoot trimmers and they do an awesome job of keeping Lady's hooves in the shape they are in.
Anyways, after all this I went out to see Lady this evening and she gave the most wonderful gift eVER!  She trotted 2 circles in both directions, on the 22' Line, backed up by her tail, "endured" extreme Friendly Game and played Stick to Me.  She had not felt so "normal" in a long, long time!!  She got a hug and lots of loving out of that.  :)
I know the road is still very rocky, all is still definitely not right inside her, but we're working towards it!
Savvy on!
-Kit Marie