Frappe is officially off the DL. I took him to see Dr. Carol Gillis on Oct. 9 for an ultrasound exam and she released him without restrictions. Yippee!!! The ligament is 95% healed and although there is some scarring, she doesn't think it will bother him. The subluxation is still slightly outside of normal range, but is not a cause for worry either. We are to continue to increase his workload until he is at the desired level. The good news for him is he gets to go back to turnout with his BFF, Tyler. Unfortunately the rain over the last week has limited his play time, but we need it. Poor guy. He finally gets the all clear to got to turnout and it starts to rain. His butt is shaved but the rest of him resembles a woolly mammoth. He's so soft and
cozy wozy. Anne will be giving him a full body clip in a few weeks.
Last Saturday Donna and I arrived at the barn around 9 am and Frappe was taking a nap. This is typical for him. He is known to take naps several times a day. And he snores. Most people think he is sick the first time they hear him. I happened to bring my camera with me Saturday so we sneaked up on him and took some photos. Donna snapped a few of me hugging him while he was laying down.
Training is progressing and going well. Anne is working on the simple changes, turn on the haunches and reinback with him. In my lessons we are working on the basics; rhythm, balance, suppleness. Our lateral work is gradually improving. We had our saddle adjusted last Thursday so that has helped.
Last month we rode with Kristina Harrison-Naness in a clinic. We had great lessons both days. The first day it was so hot, I thought I was going to have heat exhaustion. It was about 20 degrees hotter in Davis than at our barn in Fairfield. Krisi and Rociero XV left for Germany to train with Klaus Balkenhol, the US Team Coach, a few weeks later. She will be back home at the end of November and hopefully she will have time to come up for another clinic soon after.
