Learning the Ropes...

Today was the New Years hunt with the Harvard Fox Hounds at Flint Creek. What better way to bring in the new year?! My bestest friend was nice enough to drag me and my dingy baby along with her and we had a blast! This was the second time that Stretch and I have been hunting and it was much improved. This hunt began at a much faster pace than the last and it fried the baby's mind at first. However, our brakes were better from the get-go! Other than randomly flying to the left when he wanted to go, he was fantastic! I love watching a horse figure out new things and I certainly got to witness that today. Everything seemed to click and I left the hunt with a much more confident, quiet, mature horse than I had when I started. He finally learned that the hounds werent going to eat him and quietly galloped alongside two of them on a trail. He figured out what the horn meant, which ones to ignore and which one meant lets go! He also learned to rate himself with others in the field, which made stopping alot easier! Despite all of the positive aspects of the day, there was a negative one as well. Stretch's breathing has gotten worse. Perhaps it was a change in altitude or just galloping up the straight cliffs, but its a problem nonetheless. The noise got much louder but he still caught his breath and returned to normal quickly. After discussing it with Alex, we decided to schedule an appointment to have him scoped asap, which happens to be February. Hopefully it is not a major issue that can be managed by a simple lifestyle change, added equipment, and/or supplements. Not sure what this means for the three day, but we will push on and I will continue to hope for the best as we work out this unfortunate situation. Best wishes to everyone for a happy, healthy new year filled with the ones you love doing things you enjoy!