We have a unicorn amongst us!

While the sale is still pending a second ride and a vet check, I do think we have found our unicorn!  Due to the owner being out of town next week, we won't go back on Labor Day weekend (what a time, right?) to see him again.  If the parents approve though, we will move forward with the PPE!

This horse is SO cool.  Super cute mover that would do well in the dressage or hunter ring (M has expressed interest in dressage, but I think that is a ways off for her!).  He has loads of personality, and that's a huge factor in a horse in my opinion.  I feel like you can communicate and bond with horses better if they are inquisitive and social with their humans.  He seems to have a lot of "buttons", but this is actually a good thing for two reasons.  One, M is used to a lot of buttons, due to Amber.  It's more familiar to her than your run of the mill lesson horse who's sides are dead to the world thanks to beginners or uneducated riders flopping around for years.  Two, it will, I hope, help push her to be a better rider and pay more attention.  For a while I thought I was looking for a robot, but I have come to a lot of realizations during my hunt.  Getting a horse that is dead to the world, but knows it's job and does it for the rider, will not further her.  She will have fun and probably win more ribbons, but it will not help her down the road.  Strangely though, it has kind of dawned upon me that she really HAS made a lot of improvements as a rider since the last time I was horse hunting for her.  She is actually using her aids a lot more than she once did - she needs something that will understand those aids.

I can't lie, it's nice to feel like I've *almost* got this in the bag for her.  Still quite a bit to do, but finding the horse is really the biggest hurdle.

As for red pony, she is doing better and better.  This week I amped up her workouts a little more and she has handled it well.  The heat is miserable though, even in the late evenings.  Overall though, she seems happy to be back into work.  I think the DMG supplement is already starting to help her with muscle soreness.  I've also tried to take extra time warming up and cooling down.

Nothing tames this mane except when her neck cover smooshes it in the winter.

She could still stand to drop a few pounds.  I was hoping she wouldn't be quite so...volumptuous...after being back in work for a few weeks now.  My girth was getting worn out, so I ordered her a new one in the same size.  I suppose that my old girth stretched quite a bit over time, because the new one wouldn't even reach the billets.  Hopefully she will slim down a bit when fall comes and the grass isn't so plentiful.