We turned Riley out on a sunny, warm (for January) afternoon. To be safe, I turned him out in the indoor that morning on 1 cc of Rompun to let him run and get relaxed.
At about 2:30 I came back out, gave him 1.5 ccs Rompun, and walked him out with his buddy in a 1/3 acre paddock. My heart was racing -- would he "snap out" of his stupor as he had the first day we turned him out? As you can see below, it was totally boring and totally wonderful.
Youtube version (sometimes Vimeo doesn't load)
The sun had warmed up the rutted footing (which is good) but one section of the pasture was pretty muddy (which is bad). Fortunately he was quiet and hung out eating hay on the dry side of the paddock. He was out for just over an hour, and you can see how happy he is. It was a happy day for me too.
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I love the expression on Riley's face as he sniffs the fresh air and stares off into the distance. I think he was smiling.
ReplyDeleteGlad it turned out to be relatively uneventful. We can only hope the footing will continue to improve. It would be nice for him to be able to trot around a bit more.
The part of him gazing out over the farm and then that whinny brought tears to my eyes!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great day for him and for you - thanks for sharing it. I think a lot of your readers feel we know Riley and it was so nice being able to see him back out in the "world."
Fantastic! I've been cheering for Riley from afar throughout this sordid journey and waiting for this post for a long time. So happy for you both :)
ReplyDeleteYay for handsome Riley! You must feel so happy and relieved.
ReplyDeleteWonderful. He looks so at ease with being outside again.
ReplyDeleteHe looks like a big boy. How tall is he now?
I love the pure feelings of happiness we can see. Boring? No way!
ReplyDeleteWooHoo and Hooray for Riley! He looks so very happy to be outside; I'm glad it all went well :o)
ReplyDeleteHe is so beautiful! I'm glad he's finally healed enough to go outside for a bit. He looked so happy!
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy to see it was a "boring" day for you and Riley! I've been looking forward to watching Riley get out again! congrats!!
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