We put Odin back to work Monday, and the difference is amazing. He is much more willing to step under, to bend, to go forward. I feel bad we didn't do this 6 months ago! I think it is hard to pin point these things which progressively gets worse, you keep thinking that maybe he is just not ridden supple enough, maybe he is getting old, maybe, maybe, maybe! It was good to see him flexed and see that there was a problem, and we can now feel this is much better. I still have to keep an eye on the back to see if it still is sore (I find it hard to poke hard enough to see the soreness, though). L. also suggested that I should have him flexed a year from now, just too see if he might need another injection, as this sneaked up on us.
Another great thing, last night L. told me to not let him hang on the reins and not hold him together by force. She explained it in a new way, half-halt, forward, let go. Keep doing this until he stays forward and up in the half halts, without me holding him there. This really helped! He felt so much lighter last night and today when I did this. I think I hadn't gotten a good feel for a light contact while he stayed in balance before. The 'let go' is the important part to remember for me, but I need to also remember than he can't stay up if he isn't forward.
That is another thing, he needs to be more forward than I am used to when I do this. I think it is a better speed overall, but I really need to get used to it. I instinctively want to slow down :).
I think between the injection and the oats, I have a whole lot more horse, yay!
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Odin sounds a lot like my gelding Fritz, an 1990 Hannoverian gelding. He was injected almost 10 YEARS ago, but I just wanted his hocks to go ahead and fuse and didn't keep up with the injections. It's always great to hear when changes pay off for the horse.
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