The boys are starting to settle in at sleepaway camp.

Cairo has actually settled in immediately. Nay Nay? It’s been a much harder transition. He was fine initially but Sunday morning he was a mess and due to a bunch of stuff, he didn’t actually get turned out until Monday. He was also scheduled to go out with Cairo so he had to adjust to solo turnout (he had horses in neighboring paddocks so life wasn’t that bad).

Because he wasn’t out on Sunday, I tried to play with him in the indoor but he was an emotional train wreck. I did get some response from him on the lunge line where I could better direct his attention vs him just trying to barrel me over (yes, it was that bad), but it wasn’t pretty. Once we were back in the barn, he did relax for some grooming. I also added a hay net to his stall and he immediately started eating (vs mixing his hay with his straw — this horse cannot be trusted to have loose hay).

But Monday? He got outside. Was he happy solo? No. But he was out. He ran around. He bucked. He paced. But he also grazed when no humans were watching. When he came in he was better. The guys describe him as a little anxious but full of personality and well behaved to lead. OK. I’ll take it.

Tuesday the update I received was that he seemed much more relaxed and my trainer told me that she’d ride him the next day. I ended up bringing him in the indoor for a quick lunge and he was very good. He screamed once or twice (its his anxiety response) but otherwise he was happy to work.

As for his training ride? He was great. They did toss him on the line first. And he was very vocal (not surprising, it was pouring and he was not thrilled with it), but he was very good. Keep in mind it’s been a good 18 months since he’s really worked.

Regardless, I’m just thrilled that he’s back and able to BE ridden after everything that he’s been through recently.

And, I went back in the evening to toss his sheet back on and he just looked 1000% more relaxed. So, he’s definitely settling.

I have some Cairo leg updates, but I’ll save those for another post. I’m doing another bandage change tomorrow so I’ll just include all photos in one post.