Gotcha Day #2

Yesterday was 2 years since I bought Daniel!! So, the day before his second "Gotcha Day" (a friend with rescued pets celebrates Gotcha Day, since you don't know birthdays with rescues) I had Hoppy come over for a bodywork session on him! She commented that he really looks GREAT, and said that it must be the hills at Tory Hill. As the name implies, Tory Hill has lots of rolling (some steeply) hills. I've noticed that Daniel is much more fit, but I see him almost every day. I don't notice the changes as much as Hoppy, who sees him every couple of months.

Hoppy's done bodywork on him at the old Legacy (in Churchville, MD) where Daniel lived for years, has seen the new Legacy (in Hampstead) where he lived for a few months, and has been to Tory Hill many times. She has worked on several of the horses there, so she knows how this farm's turn out keeps them nice and fit. This is the second time she's worked on him at Tory Hill.

Hoppy said that the difference is really noticeable, especially in his rear, rear legs and back. She said his rear is very well muscled and round. She said his front and shoulders are better, but his rear is amazingly better! She and Jill attributed it all to the HILLS they have in their pastures. What we curse when we have to climb them in knee deep snow, is wonderful for our horses' health. Hoppy said that she's thinks my 21-ish year old horse looks better than he did almost three years ago when she first worked on him.
She suggested that I look at pictures from when Daniel lived in Churchville (that farm was FLAT as a pancake) and compare them to now. So, I found pics that are similar in angle and body position, and am putting two up. The one with me and the kids standing with Daniel was taken in October 2008 in Churchville, MD. The one with just Daniel was taken in August 2009, 3 months after I moved Daniel to Tory Hill. I'm sure the difference is even more noticeable now, but I don't have a similarly posed pic to compare to (and if I can ever figure a way to bypass the damned enterprise encryption on my Blackberry, I've got GREAT video of him trotting around the indoor.

Even in these small pics, I can see the difference she's talking about in the roundness of his rear. I think back to this time last year, when I was stressing about moving him from Hampstead (105 miles away) to PA... I agonized over where to move him. Looking bad, I think it's all worked out. I miss my Legacy friends, but, hopefully when Spring rolls around, and my new truck arrives, I can invest in a trailer and haul down to Fair Hill to meet up with them all!!! :-) And yes, Sara, I'll pick up Dawn and Sunny on my way!!!