Ah, so busy!

Unlike me to be this busy and not crank out at least one post...but, c'est la vie lately.

• The odd, slight swelling in the back of Q's hind fetlocks appears to be her stocking up slightly in the field. (I noticed at the endurance ride that she would stock up in the hinds before the fronts. This swelling is ever so slight, just enough for me to notice something isn't normal.) She hasn't been ridden for more than 5-10 minutes at a walk for 2(?) weeks now. I work her from the ground a lot and have ponied her and have yet to see her take even the slightest of mis-steps indicating that she is uncomfortable in any way. Nor is she uncomfortable to me palpating the area.

She looked cute in the western
saddle during our 10 minute walk
the other evening.

• Q's back appears fine other than the hair growing back patchily white. I'd never spent so much time assessing her muscles until now, so its hard to tell if anything is abnormal. She's never been sensitive to the lightest or more forceful palpitations or massages to the area. I'm truly beginning to believe that the solution will be having a better pad that breathes. While I've had no experience with a heat rash scenario, others have suggested that it looks much like things of that sort they have experienced. Her lack of being lame, showing any signs of discomfort, and never faltering even when under saddle lead me to believe it isn't a saddle fit issue so much as a heat-friction issue. Because she has shown no signs of discomfort I'm going to start riding her again and just see what happens. It seems silly to not ride a horse that shows zero signs of discomfort or ill-health, no? 
• I'm ponying Griffin more and working with him. I plan on taking him along for a fairly significant trail ride today while I ride the ever-tolerant Mayer. He doesn't respect me in the saddle like he does on the ground, so we shall work on that today. He gets rather nippy to both rider and saddled horse when he's ponied; this must stop. Guy wants a job so badly...
• I have thoroughly been enjoying the beautiful WV autumn weather and was fortunate enough to spend two days in the field this week. Between last weekend in Canaan and this week in the field I have spent a lot of time in my favorite parts of WV - high elevation Appalachians. Watching the sun rise and the rays kiss the changing leaves 'good morning' has been wonderful. This is the time of year I absolutely live for. It is beyond beautiful and beyond words.
• My field work took me to a globally unique swamp full of very rare plant species. There are less than 6 places like this in the world. It has been incredibly rewarding doing work there and learning from some top botanists and geologists in the country/world. 

Hope your weekend is beautiful and fun. One day soon I will blog again - for realz.