Our 3rd check was at 58 miles...23 miles from the last check. We had never
ridden that far without a check before. The good thing was that this was all new
trail for us. We had never ridden this portion before. It was
beautiful...breathtaking views of lakes and mountains in the distance...ok, they
aren't mountains to you guys out west, but to us flatlanders (or trolls as we
are sometimes referred to...think about it), they are pretty big and just
"pretty" anyway. With the occasional Vicodin to keep me comfortable, the knee
wasn't that much of an issue though I was concerned I might be compensating in
my riding trying to protect it. Sure enough, at 58 miles the vet noticed a
"wobble" in Malik's right hind (it was my left knee bothering me). We talked
about it, I explained about my knee which she felt explained the wobble and when
we brought him back later in the check, she said it was fine then. She also
noticed some "lumps" as she was examining his hindquarters and was quite
surprised to find this mellow fellow was a stallion. They were all fussing over
him as he stood there, almost falling asleep while he was examined. In fact, the
vet rubbed his gums for him when she checked his cap refill and he stood there
with his lips open as if wishing she would do it again. What a silly horse! He
still had gut sounds of a C though he had been eating everything in sight
including what green grass we found here and there along the trail. He stopped
eating partway through at this check and we took a walk together. He needed to
pee and then he was fine and went back to eating. His gut sounds improved. I
thought at this check that he acted as if he'd like to roll but he didn't. He
did look around a LOT as if looking for his camp and his pen....at this point,
58 miles was the longest he'd ever worked in his life. We saddled up, trotted
out and were off with a whoop and a holler to go back the way we had come.
