Thanks to folks who sent me messages of comfort about Vento.  Cautious good news.  My vet did a course of mesotherapy on him Tuesday, and I rode him yesterday.  He didn’t buck.  He didn’t rear.  He was my horse again.  I didn’t canter because I was trying to go slow and easy, but he was back to his happy self.

I looked up mesotherapy on the net and found that it’s a cosmetic treatment in humans.  In horses it’s used to reduce inflammation and pain in the back.  It sure seemed to work.  So fingers crossed that he will be better today and we can get back to work.

I’m still going to keep the appointment at CSU because I’ve got to figure out what makes him fall apart every so many months.

If he can be a pleasure horse I will probably keep him because I can’t bear to part with him.  Then I’ll start looking for another horse that can hold up to the upper level dressage work. 

I considered just stopping with horses when this happened, but Ian said he couldn’t picture Melinda without a horse, and when I rode Maarten, the big Friesian I realized that was true.  I can’t give up horses.