Equestrian, DVM: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

The good: Candy's rehab is going great! His left pastern area has been relatively consistent in staying tight and cool. The vet added 15 minutes of hand-walking (or a bareback ride 3-4 times a week) to be increased up to 40 minutes by the end of the month. If all goes well, Candy will be off stall rest and back out in the pasture!

My summer research position has been going well- I really like the lab I'm working in, and enjoy the topic of research.

I found and (stupidly?) purchased a pair of TS Trophy Hunters for $110- that's $70-$80 less than everywhere else. I couldn't resist.

The bad: I terminated my lease on Sawyer (since he is technically for sale, I won't divulge details), and am currently horse-less. I am dabbling in lessons periodically, but haven't really been consistently riding for the last month.

I entered a 5k trail race (wut? WHY?)

I got the OK to pursue a second horse, but-

The ugly: I have to pay for that second horse myself (board/vet/farrier excluded- so the least expensive part of a horse). I currently have a small chunk of change from my research stipend, and am still working 8-18 hours a week in the ICU. I'm scraping my pennies together to see if I can afford anything that fits what I want: young, sound, 16h+ ideally, with a brain+scope to do 1.10m jumpers. Obviously, anything I do get my hands on will be green as grass. I just can't justify leasing when I'm scraping pennies together to afford something. I like the idea of buying because I could flip the horse and sell it when I graduate.

Missing out on show season because I have nothing to ride.

Feeling guilty because I have swapped around Candy's SmartPaks- I added Bute-less and changed from SmartCombo Senior to SmartFlex III to see if I can get Candy sound. If I can get him sound, ideally, I would love to do low, low level stuff with him, and maybe lease him out to an advanced beginner. I just feel so guilty- he's earned his retirement, and is content, even though I know he misses being in work. I hate the idea of having to drug him to be pain free, but, as my mom put it, most athletes have aches and pains they either work through or take mild pain relievers for. My trainer back home phrased it well, "Keep him comfortable, and ride him until he tells you this isn't what he wants anymore." Of course, bringing him back into work will be after the rehab process has ended, so for now (and for always!), I'm just working hard on keeping him comfortable, happy, and handsome!

Quick graze after his first hand-walk. He only tried to buck, rear, and bolt like 5 times while screaming his head off at his friends in the field down the hill. Old man tantrums. Then he tried to buck me off when I rode him bareback two days later, the sassy pants. Once I reminded him who was in charge, he was so proud of himself. He strutted around and stood in front of every jump. I was scared he might jump from a standstill- I could feel him tense and jig a little, the ding dong.