Prepping Gem for Clinic

Spent a while with Gem on the 45' line today. I want to take him to the clinic in 2 weeks and we need some work together to prepare. We left the property also, checking to see how herd sweet he's become. He didn't call, but we didn't go far. He was definitely tense about leaving. For the most part, he did what I asked anyway. :-) We did some falling rock, lots of circles with varying sizes and gaits to keep things interesting. We did lots of sideways and I worked on getting him softer and more responsive. He knows the games well, but the longer line is a challenge for us still.

I'd like to pass L4 online with him, so we need to play with trailer loading from far distances and at liberty. He's an incredibly fast learner, so as long as I keep my savvy in check he'll come along with me quickly.

We finished off with some liberty, just working on flying lead changes and his fitness level! He's outta shape! His left hock has me concerned and I'll watch it for lameness and swelling. He's got arthritis in that hock at an early age (he's 10).

The rain came, as it seems to do every evening lately. I didn't get to play with Tina. I got Gemini trimmed in the barn, though. Never enough time.

Personal note: I passed L3 Freestyle which means I'm officially L4 now. I'm not as excited about that as I thought I'd be. It's nice to be official.