Horse Five

So the better Apollo feels, the longer I need to walk him.  Wandering around the indoor arena at a walk can only keep us occupied for so long ... I walk through dressage tests, do spirals in and out, three and five loop serpentines, 10 meter circles strung together like pearls, figure eights, half circle and reverse, turn on the forehand, turn on the haunches, hands-free direction, back up straight, move this foot then that foot, et cetera.  Anything to get that leg working and keep us both from dying of boredom.

At the same time, I'm looking at it as exercise for me.  30-40 minutes of walking through deep-ish sand is great for me.  But I have been missing my Zombies, Run! game.  I usually use it on the elliptical, because I don't really run due to being prone to shin splints.  BUT.  It occurred to me that I could stick my phone in my pocket and play Zombies, Run! while walking Apollo!   I don't have to use headphones, which is fortunate, because I generally think not being able to hear what's going on around you while you're working with horses is a safety concern.

Anyway, the indoor arena in the evening, with no one else around, is a very quiet place.  Hoofbeats, the occasional sneeze or rustle or waterer noise if a horse is in a stall, but that's it.  Very conducive to focus, very solitary.   Usually, very comforting and zen.

But when you're listening to an episode of Zombies, Run! that has you, as Runner Five, stuck outside Abel Township at night, surrounded by zombies, and the radio operator from Abel has only one-way contact with you, it's deliciously shivery and creepy.   In the episode, the radio operator is kind of a voice in the dark, talking to you even though he doesn't know if Runner Five is dead or zombified or lost or what.  It was very very fun.  :)  Very Halloween.  

I turned to Apollo at one point -- he seems terribly interested in the noise coming from my pocket -- and said, "It's you and me, guy, us against the zombies.  Think we can do it?"   :)  Runner Five and Horse Five, surviving the apocalypse together.


So the wound is looking good.  I've gone to changing the bandage just every 24 hours.  It seems to do quite well when the medicine just sits and soaks in.   He does bleed more these days, rather than ooze, but I think that's fine.  He's moving around more, laying down and getting up and whatnot, and I think that helps the proud flesh slough off.  I think it also just kind of breaks the scab a bit, like it would on a person.  He's walking well and chipper, so I'm confident.   The wound is healing from the bottom (inside the leg) to the top (skin layer) and from the outside in.  This is good.   We'll keep on keeping on!