nose to back

molly's nose to partner's back.... down the hill, round the 20 acre.

one half spook as we passed the stand of dogwood, there was a pheasant or something rattling round inside making a hell of a racket, but it was only half hearted.... back to following partner, until we turned down the last fence line towards the ford.

and i had some very nice trot on the lane back, i was very pleased with my position, and my rise which was very small.

so something's going right!!!

and partner cylced down to the yard - that's 5 miles!!!! bike is left there, she'll ride it back tomorrow night....

taking ma to kendal tomorrow...

the eyes

are very expensive.

I need two pairs of glasses. Not only do i need new reading glasses, optimised for use with the computer, but I ALSO need driving glasses... i half suspected that. so £200 later... and i have to wait 10 days, not sure i can bear the headaches.....

I think I'll be Ok with Vista .... the annoying thing is the man in the shop said it came with no software. he was wrong! Microsoft works, which has improved substantially since i first met it in Win 95; windows mail seems much better than outlook express used to be, there's a calendar and contacts that fits in with mail (won't be as functional as outlook, and you can no longer buy outlook as a standalone....)

i've actually been really posh and created recovery discs....there's a first time for everything, but i thought i'd better as the whole lot was pre-installed.

then thought, better do a reecovery disc for the pc - guess what, it won't let me. it wants me to put the data into a drive that is in fact a drive for a memory card or stick.... duh. and then says it wants a floppy for system data, when i don't have a floppy drive....

now what's that about?

the laptop has a lightscribe dvdetc drive, which is good (much easier than wrestling with paper, have one on the PC they're great!) and various other goodies....


might go back and tell the man in the shop he was wrong; after all, i bought a home/student version of office that i probably needn't have bothered with!

we're off to see the molly mare having wasted the best of the day's weather....

Vista

I'm wrestling with it.

Partner replaced the laptop, nice toshiba; Vista preloaded. yes i could have got one with XP online, but I don't know about you, I like to see what i'm buying.....

and I invested in office home & student as well (open office is all very well, but I don't really like it, probably because I need everything to work with the office system and i find it don't....) ..but i think i'll have to buy outlook. I'm using thunderbird at the moment, and much prefer outlook which I find easier to use

also have to wrestle with installing all my favourites....

the weather was windy and my head was killing me - I am SO looking forward to seeing the optician tomorrow - so we just fed Molly after we'd bought the laptop and then had dinner out, to save cooking ....

off balance

and trying too hard.

that's me, not the mare

She's being very good - she will now even take the one required step forward and stand still.

Think she's not objecting to the new bridle, not being nearly as resistant as she was. people i know think crank nosebands are generally horrid, but i think that's a lot because a lot of people tighten them too too much; i'm just tightening it enough. and the flash strap just enough.

but me.

we start off straight enough, but then it is the case that i am putting more weight right foot than left. that, i think, then puts me off kilter a bit and trying to straighten myself up results in the body getting a twist on.

so i need to work on that.

i guess over the last year i've been favouring the left foot more than i realised. so to be worked on.

but, having said that, i was doing better tonight than i have done recently.

i think i need to put the martingale neckstrap on. i find that the leather "handle" thingy (can't rememebr the correct word, leather strap that fits between d's at front of saddle) not in the right place for me to hold on to at the same time as the reins....

good night though. but we could do with a hack out now.

and finally got the farrier. he's coming tuesday first thing, hurray.

and the laptop? we don't have accidental damage cover for such things, counts as personal possessions and becuase laptops, cameras etc are normally taken about you need to buy extra cover.

so new laptop about to be bought by partner....i'm off to dabs.com and other places to see what's out there...

more good work

on the longlines. not a lot to say about it really, she went nicely (new bridle on, bit in) turns smooth, what can i say.

but - the farrier hasn't rung me still.

and my laptop is now history. claim on the home contents policy, i think (someone got up to quickly and knocked it off the table......)

so if anyone has emailed me recently i haven't got it as said someone had downloaded the emails to the laptop....

oops

you know when you dismantle a bridle and have to put it back together again? i think -in fact I know - i should have taken a photo before I started dismantling ... this is the bridle, very nice, plain black. I think i've cocked up the strapping on the noseband... and i think i need the noseband higher than i had it...

Molly let me get on no bother, which pleased me no end after 10 days off.

i was working on keeping myself upright and straigh. when i had it right, it was clear from her way of going, and when i had it wrong that was equally clear. i think i concentrated too much on keeping the weightin each leg even and don't think i managed it....

did i say, i think it's odd as normally i keep my weight off my right leg such that it's forever coming upwards....

anyway,didn't get that feeling so much tonight, so i suppose that's a good sign....

and finished before the rain - when we got home the heavens opened!

back home

one cat looks pregnant (he's male, he can't be....) the other hasn't been seen. worrying. mind, he never does do regular hours, so we'll have to see...

molly was so pleased to see me she cantered up to the gate. then wolfed her tea down. didn't get there until 8pm..... and left money for farrier in the morning, hope he does her (hasn't returned any calls, but know he's coming for other horse....) so left money and have sent text message to other horse owner (who knows of plan.....). hope he hasn't forgotten he's meant to be turning up (the farrier, that is....)

will try new bridle tomorrow night...

scone palace

Scone is where we went today. first started in the 13th century as an abbey, apparently, and where all the kings of scotland were crowned - you'll have heard of the stone of scone, this is where it was originally. it was very interesting, and still lived in - by the earls of mansfield, a scottish family with an english earldom (2 earldoms, in fact....)

it was a good day, interesting

blair

horse trials.

we had a good day - the friends hadn't been before, but enjoyed the shopping, the children enjoyed the play area - I enjoyed the shopping, molly has a new bridle! she doesn't have a new bit or a mattes correction pad, but hey ....

didn't see many horses; my ankles had given up by then! watched some showjumping (that was a CCI* as well...), there was a disabled rider demonstrating dressage to music - the RDA was the charity this year.

the UK version of Ansur were there jean - total saddle solutions it is now over here... and i went into one leather/saddle place, earwigged a bit of conversation and said "how do I know you're talking about treeless?"!!!! they were of course, so had a bit of a chat - the saddler not convinced!

the car? i've done 300 miles on 1/2 a tank, which is about £25, so that's really good, very pleased. handles well, lots of oomph when needed! and it's got much better lights than my previous one, and the heating/air con/etc is automatic, you just set the temperature you want and it does it all for you.

very impressed.

that lesson

was so needed. we've decided i'll go do that once a fortnight for a while.

i need to straighten myself up.

it was an interesting start. .... baby squirrel in the arena, spuddie hadn't seen it before (fair enough, carole hadn't either!!) and i sat the resultant major spook!!!

it's clear that i've lost a lot with all the time off. It's also clear that the reason i feel as though i'm in a chair seat is because i am.... mind, that is difficult to really tell, as the fhoenix is much more likely to put me in a straight hip heel line that spuddie's saddle, but in the scale of treed saddles it was in fact pretty comfy.

my rising trot it much more the thing on a balanced schooled horse - but, i twist and tip, and am very stiff to the left.

We think I need to insist on a new xray on the foot; i physically couldn't do the excercise stand u in stirrups due to the consequential pain. you could tell when i got off how much weight i put in the right stirrup by the way the saddle had slipped that way. this was on the lunge, you'd expect more weight on the inside and thus to balance out over the total ride, but it hadn't happened....

the saddle did slip during the spook and we probably should have got off and put it right properly, which didn't help/

so i spent a lot of the lesson trying to get the bottom of my leg below the knee to stay back and on.. by the finish we had my left hand on the left shoulder for a while and it was obvious how that helped me loosen and straighten (and that'll probably account for the pain in that shoulder if i lie on it? a thought!) i could feel the difference.

i don't think i'll ever get it totally right; the left foot, apart from last year's fracture, had had a previous fracture (or was that the right foot? ) but definitely a load of sprains - and no physio after any of them....

but if i get myself a lot straighter it'll be a major advantage!

so a lot to think about and i'll go back a fortnight tonight. and i made better time getting there than i thought.

don't think the cars have heated ignition, it's a hdi, different from the engine on a tractor/old style landrover (which had one).

the cat's got gingivitis and if he doesn't recover might have to have a load of teeth out! but we were half expecting something a lot more serious...

10 days off

is what molly will have had off by the time i can get back to some work with her.

yesterday i went to look at new cars - mine has 110,000 on the clock, so needs replacing. found one, 2 1/2 years old, only 17880 on the clock (done nothing) diesel so more economical. bank said yes, so i spent lunchtime sorting that out and knew i had to empty the car tonight, due to the lunge lesson tomorrow. plus, the man clearing our garden wnated the shed emptied, which is fair enough cos it's dead (the coal man backed into it more times than was good for it over many years...) so then that had to be done. didn't finished until it was getting dark.

so by the time i've had my lesson tomorrow it'll be too late then....

and we're out saturday, blair horse trials sunday, what can i say?

hope she remembers what she learnt...

weather?

it rained on saturday, sunday, yesterday (plus that headache) and today. I suppose to be honest I COULD have tacked up today - other people did and rode out - but it was mizzling, had teemed down whilst i was driving home and seriously looked as though it was going to again. so i didn't do anything. and Molly didn't want all her feed. this is probably because i've got some new feed, she's had it before but not for a while, and i wonder if they've changed the formulation? mmm.

reading glasses

were left at home this morning and i didn't realise till i got there, so didn't come back home as it's a 50 mile round trip.... but oh the headache!

anyway, it motivated me finally to ring the optician for eye test - was due to go in June and didn't, and I know i need a new prescription!

so in consequence molly only got fed and turned out again.....

very damp...

had it stopped raining at all, i might have ridden. as it was, it was raining this morning and it's raining now, and there haven't been any dry spells in between to speak of....

hospital

is where i'll have to go in the morning. i thought it was just a cut, but i think it's gone into the joint (knuckle at base of 1st finger left hand) as it's seizing up and hurting....

jetwashing

the stable and the rubber mats - and inside the haybar - in consequence of which i'm filthy .... but looks a lot better. i should really paint, but doubt that i will - maybe next year! earlier in the year.

and went up to see instructor - decided i need a lunge lesson, and wasn't sure if she still had a horse to do that with. Old Spuddy (home bred by her OH, must be hitting 20 now -spuddy, that is - so called as he was born in the potato shed!) will do the job and I'm going up Thursday after work. note to self - put hat in car! Makes much more sense to work on myself whilst NOT on molly!

Don't think I'll do any work with molly today though ... totally knackered, and still have to go back with the Stanley knife to trim the rubber matting, it's amazing how it spreads over a winter!

edited to add - nearly cut my finger off with the Stanley knife....well, not quite, but I've bled a lot!

and it rained a lot as well...

I need to find out

if the saddle agent has recovered from her broken leg .... really need her to come look at the saddle set up.

but apart form that we got some nice slow trot today, and my rise wasn't too bad.

started off with the feet out of the stirrups to get my legs stretched down a bit. think i should do that occasionally throughout each session - give her a break and stretch my legs down ... and then think also perhaps i need the stirrups a hole longer?

made the mistake of trying to taker her down to the 20 acre. she wouldn't even go to the top of the hill. possibly doing that after some time in the arena was a mistake, but anyway we struggled to get back right after that. on the other hand, at least she left the arena ...

longlining with the bit

for the first time since our accident on the 26th may - was a "bit" worried about what she might do, but thought it would be ok as i've been working on her acceptance of the bit, and we've got the strap shutting her mouth. and she worked well, as well - if not better - than on the bitless.

our changes of direction are getting really smooth, i've got to be really careful where i make that change as the arena is so small, did it right both ends.....

she wasn't on the bit until near the end, partly down to me as i didnt' want to push the issue too much in the circumstances, but when she came back to walk she was looking good so i tried to push it a little bit in trot.

and the halt was a lot better.

i wished i'd had someone videoing it.... but there we go.

oh, and we only had one walk off when i was putting the longlines on...

working on trot

in the dry, happily!

she moves better in the arena, you're right Jean, because it's better going (if a bit deep!) so i worked on keeping my position right, keeping my rise low and keeping her going where i wanted to (after I'd got off, adjusted the saddle and got back on again ... sometimes I don't put it on quite centrally, not assisted by her slight asymmetry, and it was really obvious tonight!). I was a bit better, I think and we got some nice circles. I'd forgot to put my sunglasses back on which made left rein difficult (straight into the evening sun up the long side, painful!).

her walk is improving and she's not arguing with the bit so much in that.

rain again

i suppose we can't complain too much, but it would have been nicer if it had rained whilst we were all at work.

so i went to the shoe shop and got some crocs..... thought they might be comfy, they are.... would like some flip flops (the one's i got in france have been overused, not had them off my feet for a month!!) but they didn't have the right size, and as for the colours ... well, not for the office, that's al i can say...

yes, the kerrits fit excellently well - i think it was the xl you got me (in the car, and too wet to go out and check!)

i need

a lesson onthe lunge, never mind molly!

i'm fine in walk. but seem to have lost trot altogether, even with the stirrups up a hole....it's as if i can't sink into it properly when out, but can in the arena, i don't understand at al....

felt most of today's ride as though i was perched - didn't feel as though i was sitting really deep at all. .....i could think i'm still getting getting used to the saddle, given the little riding i've done this year one way and another, but still and all...

molly was very good. stood still, when i asked her for one step forward so i could get on she did that and didn't move any further.

so i reckon we've really cracked that one (she says, touching wood!).

We went through the ford again going out following suzie, but she's not yet confident enough to take the lead through it, and to be fair it seemed a bit stronger today after yesterday's rain...but overall a nice ride, and we came back through the 20 acre and she was striding on ahead nicely and didn't even come to a halt at the site of the gate (open) in front of her (it's a narrow one..)

the Ford

Molly went through it - with barely even a hesitation, let alone an argument - on the way back from a nice slowish hack out with Jackie on piper. I was really pleased, as by that time she'd got totally fed up with my telling her to keep her jaw soft! but there we were, through it. Really good, so now she's no excuse for not doing that one!!!!!

I must have a lesson, and must try and see if I can get the agent to see horse & saddle yet. I'm even more sure i've not got it set up right/i'm not right, and i'm not sure which is first..... can't get the trot right when i'm out at all, and found myself bashing back on the cantle whilst trying not to. not clever, and accounts for the sewing machine (who can blame her).

On the other hand, my sitting trot is getting better, assisted by the sit tights.....it's as if i'm sitting better and feeling better, so that's better, but have lost the ability to rise to the trot altogether....ah well, in the scale of things, that's not such a huge problem and no doubt i'll get it right again soon. all this not riding over the last 3 years hasn't helped!

but - we got a few canter strides as well, up a hill on a track, thought i'd go for it as i haven't cantered since i fell off last June (06, that is....)

partner and her friend spent today making this:
Mr I Hulk.

for a "find the scarecrow" game as part of the village fair next weekend. To be put up in our garden Saturday morning.. and in the meantime to frighten us all in the dark!!!!

this is worth a read

http://geehawpaul.blogspot.com/

if sadly now over before we found it....

walk to halt

since she didn't want to go out on her own (if i'd got down there an hour earlier, could have gone out with a group from the barn...)

anyway, walk to halt and lots of work just keeping my fingers going when needed to keep her jaw soft. combined with circles, half voltes and serpentines.

stopped when I got halt with the jaw remaining soft

her habit is to set her jaw and bring her head up when i ask for halt, so that's to be got out of.

i was pleased with what we did. she was starting to get the idea by the end clearly....

and of course that helps me as well in terms of my position, so all good.

she wasn't happy

in fact, gave me a bit of a fight over the right rein thing.

we were doing groundwork..

going right, she kept stopping and turning in before i wanted her to.

then at one point she really took off, pulled away from me, bucked and kicked and pulled the rope out of my hand, and took off in canter round the arena. was so pleased I'd shut the gate!!! stopped herself once by standing on the rope, then set off again, but eventually calmed down and stopped and i was able to pick the rope up again...

dear dear

so i made her go right a few times more, but was struggling to keep her out ... possibly didn't keep at it as long as i should have done, but it is friday night and i was starving (still am, come to that.... tea currently a work in progress...)

we'll get there though.

she also tries to come in when i haven't asked her to, and if i send her back, she doesn't go straight she does it on a circle so she ends up with her left side to me.... mmmmm.

back to work for molly

longlining.

She did very nicely, no argument at all. and I didn't rope circle first.

Lots of trot both reins, we strictly need more space than we have in our arena, but we're doing really well. Halt is a bit difficult; but i'm still longlining in the bitless, until i'm totally confident about what I'm doing..

at the end she was standing square so i thought i'd try flapping one rein against her side to see if she'd go sideways; she didn't get that and didn't really appreciate it! but hey, we'll learn.

and the garden man? seemed to be going ok until he got to talking about rotovating. we have bindweed, and if there's one thing you don't do, it's rotovate bindweed. I started discussing this, and he had a tantrum said he didn't want the job and buggered off sharpish. My view, if the man won't debate something as basic as that, i don't want him ...

ebay

james, they can't do that save in limited circumstances, and certainly not on a buy it now AFTER the item has been paid for.... go check it out.

molly has had her tea and gone out again; i'm waiting for this garden design person that partner has organised to arrive.....and for said ebay vendor to provide an explanation....

the cat

was vetted by my horse vet .. who was slumming it at a different practice. well that's not quite right, he's reduced his time at the horse practice and is doing reduced days and is no longer in the partnership there, so was locuming (is there such a word) at the small animal practice the cats get taken to...

he's got a gum infection, for which he got a jab of antibiotics, but there's some concern about other infection/whatever and if the excess salivation don't clear up in a couple of days, take him back for tests.

that's depressing, he's not young and broke his hip earlier this year....

as for molly - she was pleased to see me when i finally got there.

now, here's a thing. last night i found a myler combination, the right size, new on ebay, very good buy it now price, so i bought it. today, my money was refunded, "due to urgent unforeseen circumstances" it was withdrawn ... after i'd bought it?.... duh.

and again!!!

and much better - she didn't move around at all, I was on dead quick!

and then had a nice ride out with Julie, round the fields, up the hill, trot, walk, trot, walk... now, the sewing machine trot when out?

and I'd put the sit tights in the wash, and forgot to put the furry cover on the saddle... like glass. now why didn't i get a suede seat? you tell me, must have been a moment of madness...

But I was very pleased with the molly mare tonight again...

partner has arranged for me to take HER cat to the vet tomorrow night after work, and for a man to come and discuss hard landscaping our back garden the next night after work.... i have complained, but the arrangements were made by then!!!

and again...

but it took a bit longer today, and I did have to get off at one point and lead her back round (it was better to do that than have the tantrum that was incipient...)

she then marched happily down the hill to the 20 acre.... into it ... then promptly decided she was frightened of smething in there, the mare that happily marched on ahead of suzie all the way round last week!

then we went up to the gelding's field with gaynor, and back. she's pretty much given up napping ot the stable.

then of course, since she refused to go anywhere on her own, she ended up in the arena.

I've just bought a new book - schooling exercises for dressage riders - so set to with some of those, one of the trot ones in walk, then walk/trot/walk/trot, and some flexions to try and get her to soften to the bit instead of setting herself. she gets that for a bit, then loses it. partly me, partly her.

at one point we had a lateral movement across the arena; the trouble was I hadn't asked for it deliberately but I know what the problem is, my right hip/seatbone.

then back through the yard to the willow (preventing her from napping to the stable quite smartly!!! it's scary when she starts that as its hard concrete with rocks on top (small rocks, but sharp ones!) and next to a stone wall) and back to the arena to get off.

I still suffer with that foot i broke last year if I land on hard, so do have to get off in the arena. anyway, don't want her to get used to me getting off in the yard, as that would be an excuse for more napping back to the stable. the stable is NOT where we stop work!

success

got on at th emounting block by myself with no help

took three goes - but she wasn't moving her bum away from me, she was moving forward. and I didn't get off, just kept turning her back to me .. at one point i thought i'd try getting on the wrong side, but she moved forward again... YAY.

then went in the arena (had thought I might go out, but that would have been pushing it!!) and did some work, my rising trot was better but I wasn't really trying for anything exciting since the success of the day had already been achieved.

i suppose arguably i should have got off again and then got back on.....

foot & mouth

again.

let's hope they get it under control this time, and we don't have a repeat of 2001.

where i keep Molly they have cattle & sheep - it's an organic farm supplying at least one major supermarket chain.....so i guess there'll be restrictions on our movements as well!!!

last time was a total nightmare for everyone who did anything in the country....

will it or won't it?

rain, that is. looks like it's going to, damp grey clouds...

Molly and I did some groundwork again, rope circling. she went the directions I told her at the pace I wanted, which is progress. didn't do much (thought it was going to rain, and it did start to try to, and it IS friday night!). little issue on goingback and coming forward to work on. she goes back. all I have to do is turn her in and drop the rope to the ground and she goes back, which actually she's not suppose to. coming forward she comes to far, and she comes when she hasn't been asked sometimes.

But i got what i wanted for the night...

maybe

we've cracked the problem with mounting from a proper mounting block straight on in the yard, but not the stool in the arena?

whatever, got on again tonight - TBF, Julie was at her head again, but she showed no signs of moving away AND let me do her girth whilst mounted, which is always a disconcerting task with dressage girths!

and we had a nice ride round the 20acre in walk, we knew where the brakes were when waiting for Julie on Suzie, and she didn't try and trot back to the yard from the ford as she was wont to do.

so well done her.

the only fly in the ointment was when I went through to the arena to get off (still have problems wtih that foot i broke! plus i don't want her to get back to the habit of napping to the stable) and lo and behold she took serious exception to a piece of farm machinery that has been tied up next to the arena entrance for months and months. nice sideways leap that i sat to, and got her in ....

here's a picture i saved from google earth:
the black line is the River Wear, and the 20 acre is the second field above the buildings in the middle next to the river....

last night and tonight...

last night we had a bit of a battle re whether she'd long rein or not, which i won.

and then she was going very nicely!

tonight, decided not to bother with the ground work. the YO had moved the mounting block from where it was (where you had to go round the corner to get up onto it, thus giving the horse an immediate excuse to turn quarters away) to another place next to the muck heap where it is straight edges. so thought we'd see how she went, and I'd go out with Julie who's still on walking exercise with Suzie.

so led molly up to the mounting block, julie stood in front of her with a polo, and she showed no inclination whatsoever to move away or into me.

very pleased. and since it's the first time on her since 5th June (and that wasn't a success due to my leg ... last time i actualy rode her in earnest was April, I think!!!) i was even more pleased...

ggrrhh......

still can't get on.

can do pretty much everything else.

think i possibly need MORE time .... but on an evening when one has been to work and has the law to mow before it turns into a hayfield......

together with sarcasm from someone because i forgot to take the stool back saturday - i said, at least i didn't leave it where it could be run over.... (wasn't in the mood for sarcasm at all by that stage!)

kristofferson

was so worth seeing/hearing. Excellent. all he did was sing. his only mistake was saying "hello newcastle" - he was in gateshead (it's called Sage Gateshead...) but that's what happens when two cities market themselves together, people get confused.

the house got cleared.

Molly got fed.

the madam

wouldn't stand still at the stool for me to get on.

did some rope circling - left, right, stand, back, forward

did some longlining - she stood stock still whilst I attached the long lines, and whilst I took them off.

Then she followed me to the fenceline where I'd left the reins (next time I'll have them wrapped round me - I also wanted to get the longlines out of the way rather than leave them all over the arena...)

so when she wouldn't stand still, we went back to the circling etc., then tried again; and again; and again; and eventually I looked at the time, we'd been at it over an hour and I had to think abot stopping as I knew I'd have to pick partner up at the local railway station..... so we finished on her going right in trot.

the stool is at a height where if she steps into it she gets my legs and I HAVE to go back off it. she knows this, I think .... depressing.

So we'll keep trying.

Possibly not tomorrow though; have to finish clearing partner's parent's house so it's empty for the buyers.

and - we've got tickets for Kris Kristofferson at the Sage Gateshead tomorrow night! really didn't expect there to be any, but there we are, sorted!

flat tyre

came out of our redcar office late - lengthy meeting with client - to find the off rear was flat. tried to undo the spare - it was seized up. happily, staff members husband assisted (in fac did the entire job) and i had to drive back slowly with teh spare on (it's one of those thin ones that you can only use as a spare).. so first job in the morning is get tyre sorted. the cause of the problem? a house screw.... some builder not clearing up!

and Molly? got her in and straight into the arena without so much as showing her a grooming brush. we got trot right rein AND i managed to keep it going.

So only 5 minutes, but a good 5 minutes.

mounting block? ask, was how to get one made. asked my mate if her partner would, and she said yes (course, what he says when she tells him.... apparently, his mounting blocks are now in demand, so second string occupation if he gets sick of being a horse vet, unlikely but hey).

i shouldn't have used the "R" word

rain, that is.

it teemed down all afternoon. stopped as i left work, but Molly was still wet, too wet to groom, and was clearly going to rain again (as I left, it started).

so i swept the junk out of the stable instead, i hadn't done that for a while given that she's out ....

I'm thinking about asking my friend to ask her partner to make a mounting block, he's made a wonderful one for them...alternatively, IKEA do a nice stool for about £10 but too low for my liking, and I found one on Robinsons website last night for £28.

and better

much better right. by the finish she was consenting to keep trotting (or i'd got better at asking for turn in before she decided to walk, which should end up with the same result....)

it's amazing how hard she works and thinks when in fact it's not nearly as intensive as e.g.a full on lunging session. which i won't be doing for ages if at all.

think i'll try the longlining tomorrow if it don't rain. I'm concerned that our arena is really too small to do that effectively in.. will have to see.

and I MUST buy a new mounting block, some plonker having broken my stool (I think someone took it out of the arena to use to mount, and then someone else drove over it, it's the only explanation and I'm annoyed...)

this is so working....

Molly is really paying attention. still prefers left to right, but will now stand where i put her, go back, come forward, de dah. still an issue on right rein though that I will have to work through - turning in for herself instead of when i tell her. on the other hand, she is going right when i tell her without too much of a battle, and thinking whilst doing it. hopefully she's not thinking of new ways to avoid it...

good work...

sorted out the training halter, I finished up with it right last night and checked with pictures when i got home; Molly was working better tonight, thinking about it all more. A bit of a challenge right rein, but doing it without the huge strops. a bit of a challenge going to her right from a standstill, but that will come. A bit of a challenge getting her to turn in straight to face me when she's been going left (she wants to stand so i am on her left slightly) but easily sorted by moving myself slightly and pushing her back using the visual cue of the snaky rope. And an oddity - stand her facing me, and she moves backwards; does she think that's what I want her to do? not sure. Clearly what I want is for her to stand where I put her. and on right rein - took a lot longer to get her to a place where she would keep a trot going, so stopped after I'd got that.

Onlooker commented that it looked good.

Jean, the event i missed would have been dancing horses AND dancing people (probably together on occasion... saw something part of the same thing when we went to see Appassionata last year). Very disappointed not to have got there....

the skin condition improved substantially to the extent that the hands were just about clear by this morning and the feet were able to wear socks all day yesterday and today.

By the close of business tonight, though, I can see the hands starting to give up again, so that leads me back to the contact dermatitis to something at work.

the legs are a lot better but not perfect and there's other bits still not right, but a substantial improvement on where i was even on the day I set off for the holiday.

more photos

the Bilbao guggenheim



the moon and venus, believe it or not; I was surprised this worked, and it is faint, but that is what it is...
the view from the terrace of the house...

photos from france

This is sunset over the Atlantic, very late on Saturday 14th July, I'm very pleased with this.

These are some saddles and stuff in a display at the Château in Saumur; vintage western, and vintage French army that are, you have to say, very like modern Portuguese/Spanish.


And this is the house in which we were staying for the week at St Jean de Luz. Between 5 couples, it wasn't bad at all...

back to work

Molly was pleased to see me, even after my two week absence she came over to the gate!

Very muddy so got a good scrub up, and then to do some groundwork. I think I've forgot how the halter goes, will have to review the vids to remind myself. I think the only think max forgot was that he'd put the halter on molly when I wasnt' actually there watching ... and I'm sure i manage to upend it somehow in transit, it fell off it's hook when i was driving home.

but we'd remembered most of what we needed to remember!

I bought Molly one of those crocheted fly head pieces in France, rather nice, and here she is with it on - I'm rather pleased with it, it's much nicer than any i've seen over here...

I was very tempted in the same saddler by a leather lunging roller with turrets and black girth, euros 99 - actually would have been a really good buy and i will wish that I had, but decided I already had a roller and didn't need another no matter how good. I was wrong - I haven't got on with turrets and a matching girth in leather, but there we go! I was pleased at myself for NOT buying it, since as we all know it's very easy to go mad in a saddler, especially when there's bargains of that sort to be had....

holiday notes - photos later

Well if I'd had my brain in gear I could have typed up the events of each day and then uploaded the whole lot all at once.... I had my Palm and its keyboard with me (the palm has satnav....) but I didn't even think of that until this morning.

The satnav anyway didn't work in France; I think the full map of France was all too much for it, so whilst I had mapping, I had to work out direction myself. Useful nonetheless, especially when mislaid in a town and having to wrestle with the one way system as well.

Anyway, the highlights and adventures of our holiday.

Drove down to Folkstone late Monday for an 0530 am train; in fact got the 0337 train, so were there even earlier then planned, probably just as well. But I really mustn't do that again, much more sensible to drive down the day before and book a night in a travelodge! Straight to belgium (about ½ hour) on arrival for cheap baccy, then a couple of hours shuteye in a laybye.

Took us most of the day to drive to Saumur, which isn't really that far but kept having to stop and sleep! Eventually got there about 11pm, mad, and overslept for breakfast the next day.

Saumur is very nice, lots to see. Spotted that the Cadre Noir did a demo show every Thursday – but, this was the only week it was cancelled! They'd gone away somewhere for the week to do a demo elsewhere.... Freebie tour of the place instead. That was Thursday morning, having spent Wednesday looking at the town and the château, which had an interesting display of old saddles etc... very reminiscent, and probably in fact exactly the same as, modern Portuguese/Spanish styles.

Thursday drove down to near Bergerac, Friday was the christening to which we'd been invited, lovely day had in good weather. Then Saturday down to St Jean de Luz in Convoy .... 5 cars, us, 3 American couples and the American/French couple whose 4^th child was the one being Christened. Massive villa booked – and there was a room for us, which they'd thought there wouldn't be but there was. So that made it cheaper all round and saved us finding a campsite.

Sunday spent some time on the beach; Monday – went to Bilbao to the Guggenheim. Realised shortly after arriving that it was no distance at all to Bilbao, so off we went, so pleased we did. Mind the art it contained didn't do HUGE amounts for me, but the building is fantastic.

Tuesday partner joined some others (essentially, one person per couple) on wine hunting trip whilst the rest of us stayed home and minded the kids (of whom there were 10, not including the non walking baby....).

I'd got a flyer for a dressage/flamenco show that night, but no one wanted to go with me and when I set off I realised I was out of petrol – and i already knew that the local supermarket, which had the only 24 hour petrol station, didn't like my card as I'd had to pay cash for the shopping. So I didn't go, which was a disappointment.

Then Wednesday we went into Biarritz and Bayonne, which were interesting, and Thursday to ST Jean town in the afternoon and then the adults went to Hendaye just on the French side of the border for dinner, there having been a babysitter found for the kids.... early start Friday morning and drove up to Calais in one go ... not too bad, if lengthy, and a 2 hour lunch break in Poitiers.

Found a hotel with a room in Folkestone Friday night, then Saturday morning went to Hastings to see my uncle (rang the home he was in to say was it ok to come, to be told he was in hospital....really glad I went!). Got home 9 last night.....

home at last

after a rather good holiday!

drove from St jean de luz to calais yesterday, won't be doing that again! found a hotel at folkestone then went to see uncle in hastings - in hospital!!!! was glad i'd gone, may well be the last time i see him .....

catch up tomorrow, it's too late at night and we've still to unpack the car!!

a dry day!

with sunshine for most of the day, amazing. lots of laundry done. was able to get molly in without getting soaked! she was dry so she got groomed & flysprayed!!!!

my feet are feeling vaguely better; shame the hands are still struggling, but they're easier to deal with in some ways, being more accessible!!!

hopefully by the time i come back from my hols i'll be able to put socks and boots on comfortably..

not packed yet, but at least we've got clean clothes!!!!

and a tent..... eek..

durham

city ... that was where i wanted to go for my birthday, only 2 1/2 miles down the road, so that's where we went.

there was various musical bands playing at various points around the town, including one from Rajasthan in India, the Jaipur Kawa Brass band, very good, a New Orleans style jazz band, and some others.

bought myself an expensive handbag, the cheap ones keep collapsing (straps snap) - i like the back pack style of bag which are not easy to find at all.

also a book or two (a new Jonathan Kellerman) and some new summer shirts... shorts didn't suit me, even though i needed some it's very hard to get them to fit.

we're going to go see molly soon and then go to the pub for dinner..

favourite blogs

do you think i should re-organise that list? it's getting very long, and i think it might help to put the horse people ones together.....

will it ever stop raining?

doesn't look like it at the moment... although they say we'll have a dry day sunday!

blogging in the horseworld is becoming even more popular....as you'll see from my links...another added...

Molly is doing well, waiting for me every night - whether she would if she knew she'd have to work for her supper is another matter! I do hope the anticipated southern french sun sorts my skin out! put my boots and socks on tonight because of hte mud, and rather regretted having to.. not comfortable yet!

teeth

Tonight molly had her teeth done; the person is a young lady called Ruth, so I have her in my diary/contacts as "ruth the Tooth" - happily, she's ok with that, quite liked it!

Molly was very good, much better than last year when she really had to be held down and we had to give up a wee bit before we wanted to ...

this year, yes she had a bit of headshaking, but in the scale of things no problem, and we were all done in good order.

the only problem was, the heavens opened as I got to the yard, so we all got wet afterwards....

two people came back off their hols - they'd been where we're going, apparently it rained all the way down and all the way back and was grey cloudy all the time they were there bar one day.... pah! hope it improves for next week....

winnats pass

a photo of the pass i drove through yesterday on the way back...


I drove through here yesterday; fantastic, and the sun was shining. goes down to Castleton and then you cut down to Sheffield via Ladybower reservoir...

photo from http://www.rural-roads.co.uk/winnats/winnats1.shtml; don't know whose the copyright is but credit to them....

.

june & the 4th of july

June was apparently the wettest june since records began.... july isn't going to be much better at this rate.

4th of July - american independence day - this is for jean & james and any other american readers. I live not too far from Washington - the original washington, site of washington Old Hall where George Washington's family originated. They have a friendship arrangement thing with Washington DC, and today there was lots of Independence Day celebrations. They even have the John F Kennedy primary school (that's for children under about 7 ....). so that made the local news.

and here's a picture of Molly's leg....
it's looking vast amounts better, i'm really pleased with it.

west bromwich

is one hell of a drive & back..... just made it back to our local petrol station on fresh air and was shaking with tiredness and hunger I hadn't felt till i stopped as I put petrol in... just chucked some chunks of cheese down my throat and cup of tea to hand....

and i called at caroline's on spec but they weren't in as we know....will leave C to post the photo I took!

trip was worth it though, and came the slow way home and found some interesting places for us to go see...

dry!

apparently it did rain momentarily, but I missed that, it didn't where i work. so Molly got groomed, being as how she wasn't soaking wet, and also sprayed with fly spray....

i hold with my decision not to start work with her again until after my holiday, there is little point for the sake of a week now and anticipating improvement in my skin over the period as well!

if only my feet would stop overheating as well!

i'm still fairly sure my hands are something at work, but will have to wait for hospital appointment and tests.... as for the rest, who knows!

got to go to west bromwich tomorrow; 4 hours each way! hope it don't rain and the roads are ok...

bazzyboy

you MUST check this out - again, found by someone on EE, superbly funny...

http://www.bazzyboy.net/index.html

and the makings of a good book, i should think!!!!

no infection

in my hands.... they were SOOOO hot and SOOOO red, and I hadn't been feeling well, i eventually took myself to A & E. they took bloods and checked and there is no infection, thank goodness, but the dr agreed i did the right thing to go given recent medical history.....as i said to her, if my horse had this degree of heat i'd be digging around for the abcess!!!!!

so never actually got to see molly today, bad mummy.... but she'll be find, if vaguely miffed as she does know my normal time to turn up...

balance saddle

the person in the stable next to me has a new saddle, a balance saddle; i am so pleased, it was one of those situations where one didn't know what to say. So she had me take some photos of the horse's withers and we're going to update regularly to see the changes as hopefully he will now develop some muscle and finish up with the back he shouldhave. we agreed that too often people say a horse is high withered, when what they haven't realised is that it has atrophied due to an ill fitting saddle....

molly got fed and turned out again before the rain came on again which it was supposed to and finished up not doing.

my hands are very hot.

i think i'm allergic to something at the office, which would be very tedious...

my hands

are getting better i think but the weather is still pants....heating on at the end of June phooey!

no rain!

and the sun got out as we got to the yard, although it was nippy. only having one car between us meant at least i had partner's help at the gate. She got fed and turned out again....we were COLD. But I'm really pleased with her leg. and I'm pleased i didn't cave in to any temptation to rug; she was fine and would have ended up overheated today....(just because i was cold doesn't mean she was...)

the car isn't mended; the part was supposed to come, but it was in sheffield and sheffield is closed because of flooding....

if the weather improves and my skin improves i'll hope to start doing something by the end of the week.... but since we're going on holiday a week monday i'm not sure how muchpoint there is in doing huge amounts in the time left! may be better to leave Moll until after my hols....

the weather

is disgusting, howling gales, torrential rain - in yorkshire more floods, man dead (foot trapped in storm drain i think....) boy missing cars floating away, houses under water....we're lucky here not getting that where i am.

went to see molly when partner came home - they were at the far side of the field in the field shelter, so i just left her to it...if i'd got her in it would have done more harm than good, as she'd have had to be rugged to wick the water away and keep warm, better off out where she can move if she wants to etc and has the company of the others.

doctor doesn't know what's wrong with me and i've to ring him on wednesday as he's trying to see if my hospital appointment can be expedited...

video edit magic is good and capturing from my analogue camcorder - but, didn't get the sound even though it was supposed to...

90 years ago today

my mother was born, and she had a party today. a fair amount of family and a load of friends, about 50 to lunch; more were expected for tea, but i had to come away as i was getting very very itchy and had omitted to take lotions & potions with me. it was too warm in the building once everyone was in...

catching up

with someone who doesn't post on EE anymore .... just realised, and this link to her blog was posted

http://www.angelfire.com/me/innisfailte/anxire/

very pleased to see that!

and i've just realised i didn't say anything yesterday, how remiss!

the car broke down - keys stuck in ignition when i pulled up at the yard, called the AA out, i need a new whotsit, entire new unit in fact, had to leave the car there overnight with the battery disconnected, jump start it this morning and take it to dealer, they can't do it until tuesday anyway......and it's going to be pricey - i could have spent less for a different part, but that would have taken 2/3 weeks even to arrive!

and i've bought some cotton gloves from the chemist so am sitting here with cream all over my hands and gloves on top, the thought being that'll help....

and it's tipping down, loads of thunderstorms etc. if there's a dry patch later will go back to yard and check molly out

thunderstorm

saw the fork of lightning about 2 seconds before the roll of thunder, so it was directly over the yard...and it was teeming......warm, but teeming...

5 minutes work

my legs/feet were hugely better, i could get my boots on without everything feeling all horrid, so i did 5 minutes in the arena with her. Her leg doesn't look as though it's going to be busting open again, so I decided the concerns about possibly getting arena in the wound are over.

she was a bit gobsmacked.

we seemed to remember what we needed to remember.

BUT the one thing we can't get yet is stand still so i can get the tack sorted out BEFORE we work.... she'd behaved herself with max in that context, as she wasn't in teh arena, she was in a field she hadn't been in before.... mmm.

andyway, i was pleased, left right, backwards.

i need to work on my technique, but she was doing what i wanted and when she didn't i got her to do it.

but I do think our arena is going to be a tad small for longreining....for that you really want your circles larger than the 12' rope will allow, but widthwise, that's about all there is....

nuno oliveira

someone on EE found this:

http://nunooliveira.artblog.fr/

shoudl be good once we struggle through the french & possibly other languages.....

Molly's wound is still looking good, and the slight swelling is reducing.

my hands spend the afternoon being bone dry and cracked, and my feet were swelling on the way home, so decided to bin the plan to work her and continue looking after myself.

the new cream is working, but not convinced about it on the back of my hands.

the doctor

said he didn't think i have an infection, and gave me a new prescription for the psoriasis. i have to go back the week before we are due to go on holiday (france.....)

i was even able to get my boots on without feeling all icky....

shame about the rub at the back of my heel, but progress!

as for molly's wound that's looking huge amounts better. if i can get my long boots on tomorrow night, and her wound continues good, she might find herself doing some ground work tomorrow night!

it was supposed to rain so i didn't hang the washing out. of course, it didn't rain....

a rest

for me anyway. partner did as promised and didn't require me to move furniture or whatever, and came and helped with Molly.

having had a discussion with the chemist yesterday afternoon (that is to say, the pharmacist..) i decided to try the corticosteroid on my hands... it works. so i expect teh doctor to prescribe something along those lines tomorrow.. shoudl have got a prepay thingy for my prescriptions!

molly's leg is looking good. it got a bit of a wash off tonight - getting the gunk that was left from the dressings off, rather than the scabs, which can stay till they're good and ready to come off by themselves!

molly is better than me

her leg is healing nicely. she doesn't want me to wash the gunk off (wasn't planning on taking the scab off, that can continue as it is for the moment i think) but there's some gunk where the dressing was. and she didn't want me to blue spray it. she's got so into moving over when i go to her back end whilst holding the rope that she thought that was what i wanted her to do. heyho. julie had to hold her head.

but i decided i don't want to work her in our arena until the leg is better healed than it is! our arena is so deep that if i wear short boots i get a boot full of arena. so if a horse is working in there you get a lot of crap kicked up - crap that you don't want getting into and affecting wounds on legs.

would be better if i could use the mares field, but can't as of course the mares are in it! shame as it's nice and flat!

as for me - my feet are hot. my hands are hot and dry. i shall be pleased to get to the doctor on monday. i can't even wear my short boots comfortably. socks were not a good idea.

still raining

teeming down in fact; i did think about keeping her in , but decided against; it will stop.

the leg got blue sprayed again. I'll have a good look at it in a dry spell tomorrow. should be OK, and she's still sound. and the good thing about this weather at least it keeps the flies off.

when i went to get her - picture, at the other side of the field from where we get them in, there's another small gate - horse width, could be opened from horseback, but no one goes that way - leads to the 20 acre... some dummy had left it wide open! so i went round to check that all the mares were present and correct. if i knew who'd done that....

she's acquired a nick on her flank, probably from hoolying yesterday.

I'm back to the doctor Monday; I'm starting to wish I'd insisted on an appointment earlier this week, but it seemed a lot better and since I'm not off sick and therefore prefer to go at a time that minimises time out of the office.....

jean did you read my reply to your comment on Wednesday....?

she's home!

philip brought her up during the day and left her with a haynet! bandage off, blue spray on, the wound is hugely better, he said more blue spray and she can go out, so after a mouthful of tea, out she went to hooly about with the others. largely "whey hey, she's home"

they say it might stop raining mid weekend so i do hope so.... had too much time off since last tuesday!

wagon mended

at last - so all being well, molly will come home tomorrow.

concepts - pressure and release, just as they do themselves with each other. the horse resists the pressure, it's harder on her, she gives tot he pressure gets release from it it's therefore easier for he to do what's asked than anything else.

pressure can be visual as well - e.g., waggle the rope about to make her back away from my space (horizontally not vertically)

so to have her go right, point right holding that arm out gentle pressure to take her that way; if she decides no she's going the other way, circle the end of the rope applying visual pressure as well and she'll move away from that..

and if you're able to move their feet about where you want, you get them to do what you want -

end result you get their respect, they know who's in charge in the relationship

when i get the vid from the camcorder sorted it'll be better sound...

one more

movies at last

all 5 minutes each....

video

is finally coming together.

i have had to upgrade the software that came wiht the camera to edit that video, and buy separate software to capture the camcorder stuff (it's an analogue camcorder). The man in the shop said the bought software would play with the stuff from the digital camera, but he was wrong! dammit.

currently uploading one to photobucket...

molly still away

the wagon still isn't fixed.
an opportunity to prune the clematis and mow the lawn, but an opportunity i could have done without.... ah well.

and i couldn't get through to the doctor's at all, every time i rang it was engaged, which is unusual..

and partner isn't home yet.... wasn't aware of there being anything on tonight...so a bit concerned...

bramham

yesterday we went to bramham horse trials, about 1 hours drive, to meet the friends who molly's been staying with. this was after we'd spent 4 hours in the hairdressers! (end result looks good, but does my head in being there that long! at least there's good books to read!). had a really good afternoon - was annoyed i didn't have my shorts as it turned into a gorgeous day when the forecast had said it would be horrid!.

got there - 2 30 in the afternoon! - and they wanted to charge us full price to get in. was going to just drive straight through but rang mate who said park up in lorry park next to them and their friend's wagon - so did that! spent not TOO much money - found some 30' long lines for £20 the pair which was good, and a new straw hat which i need in the sun and of course had left mine at home! so now have two summer hats, which is good! partner well happy; she'd thought it was some local poxy event, and was very impressed to find that whilst not as big as burghley/badminton it is a proper job!

didn't walk the course (too late really, and my leg not really up for that yet!) but they have a big screen next to the showjumping (international showjumping as well).

plan was, go back to friend's put molly in wagon and fetch her home.

saw molly go in wagon, we set off first and never thought about the fact that philip was revving the engine. got to yard, waited and waited, partner went to macdonalds at 10 pm ... i was to take away by 11 had them in every ditch between here and there ... rang the police from home .. no reports of anyting ... drove back down. wagon still parked where it had been .. molly back in field ... house all dark .. came home....

the brakes had failed on the wagon; they thought they'd texted me from cell phone but that text still hasn't reached me... my texts didn't get to her.... mobile signals all down as well.... aargh. and they'd only just gone upstairs so i could have knocked and spent the night there......partner thinks they could have tried harder to get in touch but i'm not sure what more they could have done when their landline has been down for weeks (landline supplier being pillocks and not sorting that out!) so i'm knackered and they're knackered.

they're going to borrow a trailer later and bring her up this afternoon...

bad news from the yard

one of the horses died tuesday. apparently, it was found covered in cuts in the middle of a lot of collapsed fence. that was the message i got this morning. the more likely story this evening is that is collapsed intot he fence. apparently it suffered so much muscular damage to its back end that it was physically unable to get up; it also lost a tooth...? owner's to take away of course - an ex jockey, damn good rider, got a lot of time for him....

the good news - a 12' training line for gbp 15, between 10 and 15 less than most places online, from a nearish tackshop where i called onteh way home tonight.

molly's coming home tomorrow night, after we've all spent the day at bramham horse trials.

early tea

because molly's on her holidays and i was home, we had actually had our tea - including pudding!!! - by 7pm!!!!!

Molly's wound is doing really well, barely needs a dressing, and she was really good stood like a rock when it was changed last night - a vast improvement on tuesday morning, when she nearly knocked philip over, so a change for the better already!

trying to find a 12' rope - you get the halter but not the rope - and the price variation is interesting, from 24gbp + postage to 30gbp + postage...so i've got my eye on some on ebay....

longlining

these were off the digital camera; Max took some pics whilst i was longlining; no video of me doing this on this camera though and i haven't wrestled with the camcorder yet.

and the word is that her injury is healing very very well, philip's very pleased with it and thinks we'll be able to take the dressing off by the weekend when she comes home!

i think i forgot to say

I left Molly there for the rest of the week. They have a small injury paddock and friend's now fiancé (they got engaged Friday night.....) a horse vet said she'd be fine out, and they offered to keep her to the weekend. That is so much better for her, as at home there isn't that option - she either goes out with the herd, or she stays in, and she gets bullied sometimes so....

I suggested during the work that some of molly's issues may be to do with the few months box rest she had to have at 6 months old, thus missing out on the early socialising with other horses she should have had. Others will be to do with the fact that she is generally at the bottom of the rung in the field, is bullied, and therefore possibly thinks if she's bullied there, she'll bully me/people instead in a gentle sort of fashion (she's never been nasty, but never kept out of your space...). Max, i think, thought that was possibly right. Also agreed, I think, that there's something in her history I don't know...

anyway, i've bought the editing software - came in less that the price tag on the box! - so will slowly get to it all.

and my friends horse

which was rescued from someone's front garden!

this was her second session with max, and he was there for a refresher and work on some ridden issues.

she had a minor battle at the beginning, but the real revelation was something no-one knew was going to happen.

whilst my friend went to get her tack, max was just playing and got his lunge whip out ... and the mare went ballistic. had clearly been thrashed in a past life (and she's only 7). by the finish, she was accepting the line over her back, whirling round her head, being cracked on the ground beside her and not twitching. it sounds nothing written down, but it was a hell of a lot to see. no one hadknown as my friend doesn't use the lunge whip lunging so hadn't had a thought about it...

and it was all done without physical force.....

wow....

right left and centre....

yay ... she now goes right, left, back, forward, stands in her own space .... did throw her toys out very scarily at one point, but part of that was memory of the last time she was on the longlines ....longlining with the Dr Cooks BB, a new one for Max (her lip hadn't healed ...)

When throwing her toys out ... she threw herself to the ground ..... aargh..... then got up and got on with it properly! another advantage of a treeless saddle; the horse can do this with no harm to either itself or the saddle (or, if the rider happens to be on top, the rider either....)

lots of homework to do

and loads to digest, and HUMUNGOUS amounts of video to edit....(and thanks max for your help with that whilst i was working!) (my friends all left me alone when it was molly's turn, they'd all had to go back to work...)

I've got 2 1/2 CD's of yesterday morning, a teenager & her horse; 1gig of molly plus 1 1/2 hour of analogue video. i put the video on the mounting block, and the digital on the top of a jump post, and just essentially let them both run. so sometimes there's just a view of grass...

when it's all digested it'll all end up on here....with links to photobucket, but i think i need to buy some video editing software that will also take analogue

should have done this within my first 6 months of owning molly

yay!

thanks max....

max

this is such a worthwhile visit. Molly is being seen tomorrow, but I watched today; I said to him later, had I known then what I know now, he would have seen molly ages ago.

and Molly is realy chilled; she was a bit gobsmacked last night when she got puton the wagon at 21.50, but settled really well once she was offloaded and has been out inthe small injury paddock today .... and didn't have a radge that she was on her own... to be fair she could see other horses and some cows, but still.... well pleased.

and i've filled two 1G XD cards with movies so far. trouble is, there's not going to be anyone to film me!!!!!

longer walk out

set partner to take molly out for her bit grass; whenshe got back, she said she'd taken her down the hill! EEEK. but no harm done, still sound as a pound, and a bit happier i guess..

jean, you asked about my leg .. subsiding slowly!
partner reckons i should ride monday if needed. i'm not sure.... see how i am.

neighbours

are good to have.... julie and her husband (with suzie, the old mare with the nearly repaired tendon..) offered to take molly out .. thatlet allison off the hook, and molly got longer out.

the small holed haynet had collapsed on the floor... this is why i have small holed, when they rot, they can land on the floor with no damage to anyone or anything except themselves...

she's still sound.. shame about me!!!

nice walk out

apparently molly got to walk along the front of the house ... not what i'd planned, but partner had spotted a horse being fed outside the field (one of the geldings from the field opposite the mare's field, the normal place for grazing is along the grassy track between mares and geldings field...) so sensibly took her the other way. and apparently she was very well behaved.

we've been talking some more about nedt week, and think that the bandage can go between the fetlock and the hock to protect the wound... which should be a lot better by then... and we should be ok. i just hope i'm not expecting/trying for too much.... but if the vet says she should be ok, then one can only go with that!!!!

edited to add ... small holed haynets, jean.....! i do know that one........actually many years ago saw a friends horse caught up, was horrendous to get her out as she kept panicking.... nightmare.

partner came to help...

to walk molly out whilst i mucked out.... thus, one hopes, reducing the amoutn of walking i do ...not sure about that, but doubt if partner's mucking out skills would be wonderfull......may be doing an injustice there.

but that worked, in that i didn't have to do both things. Molly wasn't out as long as i'd perhaps thought, i said, did she volunteer to come back? no, had been brought back as partner was worried that she was being a bit frisky and didn't want to lose her of course....

she's defnitely gone off the haybar.

and as for feeding off the floor... there was a dreadful mess ...

so it's haynets....becuase that way shecan eat and look out of the door at the same time!!!!

good news

we were really pleased with the look of the wound when the bandage came off; it had bled, as you would expect, but had stopped, and looked really clean.




as usual wiht a photo doesn't look quite as nice as it did inthe flesh; this camera phone does take good photos!

anyway, redressed. There's a bit of swelling but nothing exciting.

he says, if she's still sound on saturday and nothing is looking horrid, she can go on the wagon - the reason is, my mate's partner is a really goo dhorse vet, to all the trainers in middleham (well, a lot of them!) and he can change the dressing when we get there. if I'm not totally happy, then my vet will come next monday and change dressing; and if it starts going tits up, ring vet before....

as for her eating. ... turns out she's gone off the haybar, because she can't see out and ofcourse she knows its summer and everyone else is out. so the hay is back on the floor by the door...

oh, and antibiotics in her feed, breakfast and tea.....

the problem is going to be me

i went to teh gp on a walk in basis on my way home from the yard, saw another gp ... he said, it's cellulitis andi shoudl be resting it. i said,no one's said that before! so essentially i've spent 2 1/2 weeks doing things i shouldn't have been doing...

my partner thinks i should go anyway, and my mate rather agrees. .. max can do molly and my mate can do the biz .. the point is for molly to get the work, and although he likes to work with the owner, i'll be there if not upright!

she's sound

took her out this morning for a bit of grass .... when she'd finished marching up and down! didn't want to stand at first (she really wanted to be in the field, but tough) and didn't stand and eat until Julie with Suzie appeared up the hill - and as I suspected would happen, when Julie started taking Suzie back in, molly followed (by going ahead LOL). anyway, she was sound as a pound, even the slightly puffy knee wasn't a problem, so I'm really pleased about that. Hope it's as good when the vet takes the dressing off tomorrow...

then I found she'd moved one of the rubber mats... i'd only two left down anyway as I'd been in process of taking them up to clean it up over the summer; so i've put another one down, hopefully will then prevent that happening again as there is a line of three down the one side of the stable...so molly had to stand in the yard in front of Suzie's stable (there's a pen....) whilst i did that....

she's really hacked off at being in though.

and all that haylage I'd left for her? mostly still there. clearly she was only having me on when she started eating it last night....she'll eat when she's hungry, but i wish she'd do her normal, and just eat!

eating....

She likes the new haylage.... in preference to her tea.....



i did think about taking her out for a walk, but it was blowing a howling gale, i was frozen and my leg wasn't happy (not that it's cold, just me....) and she wasn't that fussed once i put the haylage in.



hopefully the leg is starting to heal under all this bandage.....

but mum i want out....

is basically Molly's position....

She was fine in herself when i went down this morning, there was more than sufficient to muck out so clearly nothing going wrong with her innards which canbe an issue with antibiotics

A friend gave the jab (i'm useless at them, TBH)

if it stays dry ( had rained overnight and this morning) i'll see about walking her out in hand for a pick of grass, but on the drive to avoid the bandage getting wet...

when i've had my breakfast and sorted myself out will go find supplies....

reboot phone

I thought I'd lost all my photos, but then found the phone wasn't taking photos at all, weird, to restarted it.... and lo and behold

So, the access to the mare's field



The gap she went down

Showing the space between the hedge and the wire
and this is molly as i left to go the first time, still recovering from the sedation and decided this was a good place to prop her head.... i was a bit worried she choked herself, but it would have been exceedingly difficult to move her...

I guess the wire is there to keep the horses off the hedge ..... previously it hasn't been an issue, but this is a new gate, they've fenced off the original as they've reseeded the entire strip and are letting the new grass grow......

we always said this new access was dangerous, i think we were expecting one of us to be kicked if anything went off at the gate, since there's nowhere for a horse to go whilst you shut the gate and if you haven't got a really long lead rope it's a pig to shut behind you ...

i so nearly

didn't work molly at all ... and i wish i'd gone with that.

She got away from me on the long lines .... tanked away... stopped to talk to her friends - i nearly got a hand to the lines .. she tanked back the other way and into the gateway where the gate to the mares field is ... i had a horrid feeling this would go pear shaped .. it did .. she went down the gap between the hedge and the wire fence, then got over the wire fence into the field, was chased round .... one of the lunge lines broke ... when we finally got them calmed down and caught her .. her off hind was bleeding profusely .. had to have the vet .... sedated, flushed out, all bandaged up ...



very lucky it wasn't a lot worse though ... she'd chested the wire before going over it and we're very very lucky she didn't totally do her front leg in as well.

she nicked the artery lower part of off hind; vet thinks we'll be lucky - he didn't stitch it ..I have to jab her in the chest muscle tomorrow and Monday and the vet will be back out Tuesday to take the dressing off and see how she is...

i had some photos on my phone but have managed to lose them all as the phone didn't connect properly to the pc and when I disconnected it, they obviously all went... pc lying when it said there wasn't a drive at the end of that lead....edited to add.... i'd texted it to a friend and she's texted it back to me ... horrid...

and i have to go back in an hour or so, to see how she's doing and give her some haylage. and will have to go to feed store tomorrow for haylage and shavings.... had to borrow...

more groundwork again

after I'd wrestled with the fact that the road from home to the yard was closed; it's a nasty bendy lane which people regularly take too fast and go over the centre line, and tonight a car ended up under a transit van. police said no one hurt .... I guess what they mean is, no one seriously hurt. at least it wasn't' one of the horses, the main yard of the estate is at the bottom of that lane on one of the worst bends.....

so molly did a bit of groundwork again, much better than earlier this week in terms of going right, but I can't teach her to stand in her own space, so really looking forward to the session with Max ...

and the friend who organised it came back from York sales yesterday with a 7 year old Dutch warmblood working at medium level and jumping at a bargain price; vendor put it in last minute, no one hardly left to bid on it, perfect for friend's partner. vendor was in floods of tears at having to part with him anyway .... she'll be kicking herself more for not putting a proper entry in. My mate hadn't even taken her wagon as she hadn't been looking for herself ... another friend was looking for a shetland! So I'm all green eyed, as you can imagine. the bargain Price? £1,100 (that'll be about $2,200 US).....

antibiotics

more, lashings more ....2 weeks ... hate to think what they'd have done if i were allergic to penicillin. and an appointment with dermatology, and a lecture on sunbeds in case i get skin cancer. i want rid of the psoriasis again ....the sunbeds work, and i am not going mad with it like some people do...

huge black rain cloud overhead when i got to the yard so i just fed and flysprayed .. and of course when i got home, the raincloud dispersed. isn't that just typical.

long reining

round the 20 acre. She was generally very good, apart from a tantrum as we got to the bottom of the hill going away from the yard, that involves going through a gate and first she didn't want to go and came round back to me then when we got through, she decided turning round again was good... but after that, she walked on really well, didn't tantrum at all going through the gate out again at the other end, and when we got back along towards the house didn't tantrum at the helium filled birthday balloon that was going to leap out and bite her from about 200 yards away ... just turned to look at it a couple of times, thought about tanking back the other way, but didn't, and gently passaged away from it towards home.

i was quite impressed, really (and if we keep this up, i'll be a lot fitter as well,...)

long lining

just a little bit (if only because i got a huge amount of the arena in my boots!!!)

had to set it all up before we left the stable, given her propensity for failing to stand still in the arena whilst i'm trying to adjust tack! got round there ok, got her going round the outside both reins in walk, then some trot circling both reins, changed direction without too much protest

i'd left the gate open (a bit difficult to close it behind me) so when i was trying to stop to dismantle everything and stop, she decided leave the arena was good - that'll teach me for stopping at the gate end, but it is a lot shallower in terms of the depth of arena - so we finished up longlining through the yard and out along towards her least favourite place.

think i might try longlining her out along that track tomorrow if the weather stays ok.

my leg is improving i think and my elbows certainly are - psoriasis there as well but at least it didn't get too badly scratched!

and the fresh air is helping of course..... short sleeves as well - but i don't know how i'm keeping warm really! just keep me away from chilly breezes!