working in the snow (2nd post of the day)

i was right in thinking snow would enable me to work molly - arena surface was much imrproved. and it was the only chance for her to get out today. I would have turned out in the snow this morning, but no one else was, so i couldn't ....it wasn't cold and they woudl have been fine but turned out there'd been a misunderstanding - when i got there i was told they were all staying in, so fine, but later turned out another would have turned her horse out if there was another out. the joys of misunderstandings!

not to worry.

She's stopped having hissy fits and is working much better, if I can I'll lunge tomorrow rather than basic ground work.

In the meantime, some more pictures

this was as i left her whilst I skipped out and put more hay etc. in ....

here of course she wants to be back in again!

this is good, she looks particularly pretty here I think!

this was a couple of seconds before the one above....she was thinking about it!

and this is the church next to my house (which I photographed this mornin from my window) but seen from across the football field (I walked to the yard and back, this was on the way back..)

winter wonderland

the top photo was early this morning, about 0815, and the other two were about 12.15, from the same spot.... upstairs window in my house!

deep freeze...

didn't relent enough to thaw the arena surface - the sun didn't get out enough today ... so nothing done. It was just a shade too solid and icey to be safe. only good thing to report is that YO agreed we could put hay/haylage out in the field for them.

I have the advantage there, in that Molly is on her own so no one to fight with - so she stood and scoffed the lot, apparently, then went and stood by the fenceline next to the pony in the small paddock (they've fallen in love....)

and there isn't another big bale for tomorrow, or wasnt' when i left - happily, i still have a small bale left and dead easy to go get some more, so long as it doesn't snow heavily..

clipped and worked

the clipping took all morning - not for anything Molly did, she was very good (save for the "armpits" - but the clippers.

at the end of last winter I took my blades to be sharpened, as you do. when they came back, they were nicely wrapped up in oiled paper and in a box. They stayed there, until this morning when I got them out of hte box (which had been in the car's glove box).

They were blunt.

Louise offered to let me use her brand spanking new never used before liveryman clippers. It took us about 3/4 hour and 3 calls to the vendor to work out why they woudlnt' work (tensioning, resulting in the reset button needing to be reset, and that was a pain in the ....)

once i got them going, I whizzed through it all, and Louise was amazed at how much came off. People say TB's don't get hairy, but they do!

She looked very smart, if i say so myself. I must try and find the trimmers to attack between the legs (assuming that blade got sharpened, it went and came back at the same time as the clipper blades, so I'm not feeling very confident...) and finish that up. I did a better job than last year....

by then it was lunchtime, so went home, had a rest, lunch, and put dinner in the oven to cook (stew .... very good, if i say so myself!) then went back and did some work with Molly - surprised, as whilsst I was chopping onions I was watching it snow!

the arena had thawed out enough to be used, so some groundwork. Getting better. She was being challenging, but gave in much better than at the weekend, and the overall result was much better! Molly managed to avoid the total hissy fit of Sunday ... only thought about it.

hopefully it'll stay dry and not windy so we can carry on ...

what i should have done

was clip this morning when it was dry, if freezing! it started to rain properly lunchtimeish, and by the time i got her in, she was a bit wet... and it was still raining, and still is! so i guess that's a job for the morning...

hissy fitter...

well, had she been a cat, she would have been having a hissy fit. againn, when I started her off right - she'd been fine left. We were rope circling a la Max....she was NOT happy, and i had to work hard (as did she in consequence) but I had to keep going longer than i'd planned as I slipped over on a patch of ice underfoot in the arena (she was ok as she's large and heavy enough to break up the surface, i'm not) so the result was that i had to really then make sure that she was doing what i wanted, and she was very pissed off about it. then, of course, I had to stop sooner than i'd really have liked as, due to the lack of clip, she was very hot and starting to drip with sweat, which isn't clever when it's this cold. so, she got her thermatex wicking rug on again, got led out in hand for 5 minutes, and didn't get her tea - left a friend to do that about an hour later ....

then went to collect the clippers from gaynor, and whilst there, admired her new week old son, one forgets how tiny a new baby is!

tomorrow, all going well, Molly will get clipped. and hopefully the going will be a shade better for me!

molly was not pleased

to be asked to work....

it was -5 this morning when i went down so turned her out and decided to go back this afternoon (could see the sun was going to come up so prospect of it being a bit warmer...)

lunging was the order of the day ... i just wanted some nice walk. I got that left rein. Right rein? she started with that, then decided bucky hissy fit challenge me was good , she did NOT want to go right ----- i thought, OOPS - i knew if I didn't win that one i'd be in trouble, and happily I did. I don't think I'd have won it 2 years ago.....

so we got her going right and eventually down to walk, which was what i wanted. but some back up to trot/canter - i didn't mind that, so long as she went the direction I wanted.

phew.

trouble was, given she's not clipped, she got a bit warm. So i put the thermatex rug on on the basis that that'll keep her right overnight...

so must find the clippers - i have a third share in a set which are at harbour house, will have to text and find out. and somewhere i have some small trimmers which would do the job, but quite where they went when i moved i'm not sure - in the house somewhere!

anyway, definitely will be clipped!

and at least a week groundwork before i get back on, if not two .... small yard competition 2 weeks tomorrow but whether i bother i don't know....

tea...

i was home in time to give molly her tea -

the car is still full of stuff.....decided to unload that in the daylight tomorrow...

fish & chip lunch, steak sandwich dinner

hopefully my back will start improving now i'm back home....

packing...

i do hope it all fits in the car!..you know what it's like when you fetch stuff down in bits.....should do, i'm a good packer, but there's a chair (fold up) that i brought with me...bits and bobs....

lunch

was interesting (as well as being paid for!). might have something more positive to say soon ... even if it does involve the odd week in totnes! (that's devon, jean....)

last week

in wilmslow

i'm quite down, really, understandably given that it's back to the dole next week (hopefully not for long). but i won't be sorry to see the back of this flat. a fridge it was last night (and the inside of the freezer section of the fridge reminds me why mine is a self defrosting job...)

bitter cold

and it had snowed last night, although not a lot.

I'm still not feeling totally well enough to ride, so didn't.

but did buy Molly a new rug - that she didn't REALLY need, but it was at a very good price and it looks rather good on her. so she's tucked up in her stable with loads and loads of haylage

oops

sorry about the lack of post last night, the internet wasn't playing.

and tonight, i left my lap top in the office.

the innards are improving slowly..... even felt hungry yesterday, which (despite eating a substantial dinner) i hadn't felt the night before. odd that.

Molly had her vaccinations today - apparently the vet didn't get there until 17.30, which is pretty late!

lovely dinner

at the legh arms with a friend (hi jenny!), and we didn't spend ALL the time talking horses, just some of it....

she's a lot nearer than i thought she was, and an even smaller world than that, turns out her daughter is round the corner from this flat .....

first proper meal i've had since sunday, so hope i'm still ok ish in the morning LOL. off to take my medicine now...

doctor

d I was in agony this morning, so gave up and made an apoinment with a local doctor - quite impressed, rang just after 0830, appointment for 1010, and i went early and was seen early. mega good. really nice young doctor. listened to me. listened to the rest of me (stethoscope!) wrote a prescription and i came home = well, back to the flat - via the chemist...

hopefully i'll be improved/not be in such pain by the moring.

food?

2 strawberry yoghurts.

1 banana, ripe

2 sliced of toast & cheese (late on)

3 glasses of prescription gloop

several cups of tea..

hungry? no. and some actimel to drink as well. my thinking being that yoghurts/probiotics of whatever sort are called for, in addition to the prescription stuff which i've had before and works.

and partner bought eh applechaff.

warm...

as opposed to cold last night. part of which might have been a function of being unwell, but this flat when it's been left is a serious fridge....no central heating....

must remind partner to go buy molly some feed (tee hee....) didn't realised how far down it was until too late yesterday...oops. enough for 3 days, i think, but not the week ... partner said "?applechaff?!?

remind m

never to eat seeded buns again... i knew it would come back and haunt me with a vengeance, and it is! I shan't be riding today, and frankly am surprised i even made it to the yard, thought at one point i was going to have to ring a friend ... hopefully things will settle down through the day so I'm fit for the long drive this afternoon...

but sorted out the remaining mud on molly's legs, and applied mud fever prevention - which also stops the mud from sticking! got through most of a brand new grooming block in the process though....

mud monster

never seen her so covered in mud - had i been here, i would have hosed the rug off whilst it was still wet mud, as it is it needs a really good brushing and cleaning itself

took me an hour to get her clean enough to get any tack on her, so thought I'd lunge - I didn't know there'd been a coin slot put in for the arena lights! no coins! and it was far too dark to do without lights, that full moon of earlier in the week was covered by cloud....

true, i could have done all that this morning, butdidn't think partner would really appreciate me not being home when she was trooping off to manchester after lunch! and then i had to go see a client who lives not far from me about a case... only opportunity and time limited so had to be done....


so hoping the weather is as nice tomorrow as it has been today and i can get on!

and she is apparently depressed - well, frankly, who can blame her, all that mud and not a lot to eat in the field. but the consensus is that she is missing me... so not too long till i'm back..

home again....

in good time ish tonight, at least - i was in by 20.15! takes an hour to get round Manchester, and then, amazingly, NO traffic jams in my direction. not even at Wetherby. was pleased i wasnt' going the other way, traffic back from hartshead to leeds - that is a LONG traffic jam!

apparently

the new bath at home looks wonderful, and is, as we thought, bigger than the old one (difficult to be totally sure till it was actually in place). so partner is having a wonderful time using it! the one thing i've had the advantage of being away - it might be cold, but at least i could have a bath/shower every day!

looking forward to getting home tomorrow evening....and seeling molly moo on saturday! hope the weather's ok for riding....

full moon (2nd post of the night)

this is from the main door to the block of flats tonight .... about 9 pm or thereabouts. i could ride in this, it's so bright! i can actually see the door, and even the lock to get the key in, without the torch!

hurray

in that i think the internet is sorted - have rearranged the room to put the laptop nearer the window, on advice from teh ISP, and so far so good, it feels better already!

no, nicola, i'm not selling the vogue, no way - but the agent has someone who actually wnts to SEE one in the flesh, and it is apparently proving a tad difficult to organise and i am, apparently, the only person in teh area who has one she can look at. I'm surrpsied if that's the case, but there we go...

on the job front, things may move on again ....the other temp in with me decided not to stay until christmas....so who knows, they may want me to after all.

as it stands, i shan't move molly until i KNOW, given that if i'm not staying, there's no point moving her for a fortnight only!

shame, as this coming weekend would have been perfect for the job.

jobs....

:-(. won't be getting kept on full time where i am, and neither will the other person (who was temp, like me, but had been led to expect he woudl be) for reasons i won't go into here.

so need to hear about the manchester thing.... and you never know, the one in durham might prove fruitful!

had i been getting the job here, i would have moved molly this weekend, but as it is, i shan't do anything until i hear about manchester one way or the other....no point moving her for a fortnight! despite the expense, the expense of travelling her would cancel out.

hey ho.

and the agent says someone wants to look at my vogue, now if i can just maintain my internet connectionlong enough to reply to that email, i'll be happy!

delay in service...

it's taken three hours to get online tonight! goodness knows what that was about.

anyway, meeting tomorrow so that should help in knowing what the plan might be!

jumpies...

well, very baby ones. when eventually it stopped raining for long enough to do anything without a soaking, i decided 2 trotting poles, with the polepods 2 high - esentially, cavalletti height.

Molly was good about them right rein, and did in fact jump, rather than trot over, several times. she wasn't nearly as keen on the left rein!

she was, i think, a bit full of herself, and really wanted to motor on a few times, but i decided i didn't mind that as it wasn't really about schooling, it was about her enjoying herself and doing something!

my boots have been traced to a cupboard, where they had been placed to dry. apparently there was a flood last week....

.

rain ... hair ... groundwork....bath (not!)

raining in the morning

hairdressers appointment, so no worries there...

sun got out

didn't get back to the yard till 4, and she was IN!!!! turned out there'd only been 2 out all day, oscar in the geldings paddock and molly in the mares...

and molly will be the only mare in the VERY near future...one went yesterday, and the other goes tomorrow/later in the week. :-(

though my muckboots had been taken - they have been put in my locker....

apparently there was a flood through the week.... it was dry over the other side of the pennines..

ground work ... she wasn't overjoyed!

we were meant to have our new bath fitted today. man turned up, took old bath out ... and we need new flooring underneath where the bath goes. so the new bath is still sitting there!

stanneylands

livery - used to be a racing yard, is rented from the previous trainer - excellent! fantastic boxes, lovely paddocks, the "lunging ring" is more than big enough to ride in, a horse walker!!!. price is right (£23 per week DIY, £12 per day if I want her done), nice people, and under 1 1/2 miles from the flat, ditto from the office - i could walk it if i had to.

So once I know definitively what i'm doing for the next few months, that's sorted.

and an agent rang as i was leaving the office - a firm whose office is within 2 miles of this house, might be interested and so is being sent my CV. YAY.

yard hunting

can't believe i haven't updated since monday, how awful. still, nothing to say.

tonight i went to the tack/feed store at ashley and wrote down a load of contact details for livery yards...will ring them over the weekend, i think, and see what people say.

and tomorrow lunchtime going to look at one that used to be a racing yard, opposite the stanneylands hotel, so only a mile, if that, from this flat. whether it fits the bill or not is another matter, but geographically perfect! a gallop that you can trot round (no longer suitable for full gallop, he says) and a lunge ring - he was unclear about it's size, but they don't have a manege.

mobberley

yard outside there in the back of beyond - one of those, if you don't know it's there, you'll never know it's there, so as secure as can be in the scale of things. nice people, nice horses, arena, nice stables, tackroom, feed store; couldn't see the fields but lady said, mud! but horses legs didn't look that muddy when brought in! believe in turn out every day, good. £60 per week inclusive of hay/haylage. would have been inclusive of bedding as well, but that's straw, which we dont do! that would have been £65 per week. and they turn them out for you in the morning.

6 miles from the office, 8 or 9 miles back home again...

i don't use that much haylage in a week - and forgot to ask how much to have molly done on a weekend when i go home for weekend...

drat

r
wanted to do something with molly today but also knew i still had my laundry to finish up so i have stuff to wear this week, so decided to turn molly out and then lunge her later .. mistake. by the time we got all the chores done and a shopping trip for stuff for the house, it was raining. and to cap that, the laundry wasn't dry....i don't have a tumble drier, so it either hangs on the airer next to a radiator on full blast, or goes outside on the rotary airer if rain is not forecast... so it was next to the radiator, and just hadn't had long enough

think i've got enough shirts for the week....and packed some smart sweaters as well, so should be ok

photo

from yesterday, whilst we were waiting for the farrier

maybe

the time off is helping ...

this afternoon she clearly remembered what she was meant to be doing in walk, and we got a halt/walk transition nicely, and even better, we did a good walk/trot/walk transition when she didn't set against me/get her head back up etc, and some nice trot circle.

that was the good note to call a halt on.

but she's a very hairy pony! absolutely no point in clipping when i'm only doing anything at weekends. don't let anyone tell you TB's don't grow a thick coat, cos they do!

jean, the motherboard on the laptop had died. over £200 + vat for new board, + the labour to get it put in - so 6 of one and half a dozen of the other whether to do that or go for a new one, and decided to go for a new one. it's very whizzy, even has a built in web cam! more to the point, 2 years warranty. the hard drive off the old one is now doing duty as an external hard drive, and he chucked in AVG Pro (a anti virus etc. software programme) for free.

so i'm busy reinstalling software ... which, thinking about it, may not have been necessary if i'd connected up the external hard drive....but then i'd have to do that every time!

new laptop

at vast expense .. and i'll hve to go back to the shop on monday as he forgot to put the battery in (have to go back anyway, i left some bits as i couldn't carry any more! and wanted to set it up over the weekend ready for next week)

looking forward to seeing molly tomorrow, farrier is due for a foot trim for her, and hope the weather improves..

laptop

now refuses to switch on, despite being plugged into the mains and in any event having a full battery. an internal electrical fault, i think. so need to find a good computer repair man ASAP. (it's out of warranty)

so until i can get it mended (do hope i don't have to have a new one!) this will only be updated from home. :-(

as for £60 per week - i'm used to paying £25 box rent full DIY, + buy my own haylage/feed, and £60 is only £13.50 less than i'm paying now for box rent and having Molly fully done monday to friday.... haylage/feed cost me probably around that £13.50 a week (depending on the size of the haylage bales and where i get them) + shavings at current price, if I'm doing it one bag a week (unfortunately, slightly more ATM).

well

on the yard hunt front. i wrote to the one that had no one home the other day, letter went today so you never know they might ring me tomorrow.

i rang the one in mobberley; they only do part livery for £60 per week inclusive of all hay haylage etc.. and he said, feed, but surely that can't be right? and they do morning turnout, you just turn up at night. i'm going to go look one night next week (already have plans for tomorrow). colleague had forgot to ask her friend, so sent email tonight.

on the flat front, no word from the landlord yet re the bathroom, so i shall probably seal it round myself on monday if i haven't heard anything. can't be doing with a bath in the morning, a shower it should be!

on the pay front - realised tonight that i am also paying my own EMPLOYER'S NI contribution - very bizarre! and not what i'd expected, not doing a lot for the budget!

and i thought the laptop had died - had told it to reboot, but it didn't - it wouldn't do anything! went out for milk I'd forgotten to get, and it booted up ok, so i suppose it had managed to overheat in the 20 minutes it had been switched on...

my back is hurting, which i think is to do with the seats - both in the flat and in the office, neither are ergonomically correct!

and when the place has warmed up, i'm having a bath tonight - too cold to face the prospect this morning!

photo

that fellow livery in durham took, i think at some point over the summer. apparently there's also one of molly in the air.... looking forward to seeing that! i think she looks quite imperious in this one...

so far livery yards are too far away, bar the one with no one home last week and the other with 100 horses on it....

tesco

i'm sick of the inside of. it's only a mile up the road, so if i remember i need something.

and tonight, i caved in an bought a printer for here, it really is not convenient to have to wait till i get home to print something! and opened the box at home to find no usb cable, apparently they don't ship with them these days. phooey. but i'd assumed there wouldn't be ink, bought some, and needn't have...

met one of my neighbours today, woman in her 30's, i guess, a gardener .. doing well in leafy wilmslow! nice person, i thought!

anyway, have emailed myself yard recommendations (thanks fiona & mags) and will see where they take me...

in hand...

coulnd't make my mind up what to do, so tacked up, but then no one to help get on and of course molly wasn't going to stand anywhere sensible - she'll stand, but with her head at my shoulder - i move the block - she goes around..

so in hand roudn the arena 2 or 3 times left rein, only once right rein as that side is of course counter intuitive for me, being right-handed...

then untacked, and someone turned up

turned her out without her rug as she'd actually been too warm yesterday, and i was working in my shirtsleeves and not feeling the cold - she's a very furry mare! i expect she'll be fine without, really, unless it totally teems down again...

and i saved myself £1 by bringing her in myself - with the clocks going back, it's time to bring her in before i set off (and my driving is done in the dark.....euch).

and people, avoid Wetherby until they finish the roadworks, the traffic jam was back to the harrogate turning so i turned off there and had the satnav plot an alternative route over blubberhouses pass and past skipton & colne....lovely (not, in the dark, LOL). hate to think how long i would have sat in that jam otherwise!

a flattening wind

that is, fit to flatten anyone rash enough to do anything in it! so no one did - at least, not on our yard, as the arena is too exposed to the elements. if it were in the lee of the road, would have been different, but there you go.

and i had an expensive day.

firstly, came out of the house and thought, oops, near front tyre doesn't look right. I needed 2 new front tyres. £86.

and during the week, partner had taken my mountain horse boots to the cobblers, they needed new zips. they aren't going to get them. he couldn't do it (and if couldn't no one can!) and i know it would cost £100 the pair for mountain horse to do it. so they're in the bin, and i now own a pair of Ariat Grasmere the sort with two laces). rather nice!

hopefully the weather will be better tomorrow...

a 4 hour drive

for what should have been 2 1/2 hours

i decided to avoid the M62, which is always likely to be a disaster area on wheels, but didn't do any better the other way - volume of traffic going from motorway to single lane through narrow town and then up over the tops to sheffield & the M1. THEN huge traffic jam from Wetherby back to Leeds - those who know that area, know that that's ridiculous. and THEN they'd closed the A1M at the exit just before the one I wanted. I got home at 21:25, instead of just after 8.

and the livery yard hunt? a colleague at the office has a friend who has a horse on a small DIY yard, so is going to enquire for me.

livery yards

i went and looked at two. the first one looked very nice, quiet, small, indoor that i couldnt' get to see - there was no one in! clearly there was going to be people about at som epoint as there were haynets made up but not at that point and it was getting dark.

then the other much larger round the corner, i thought since i was there i would see (this is at woodford) - barn arrangement, large stables, lockable area behind but a bit dodgy to get into, steep drop, indoor, large outdoor and other stuff it was too dark to see. seemed nice, but apparently (report hath it) has a large turnover, and i've a feeling it would be TOO big for molly to settle, really. one can't really know but it is a very large yard with a huge number of horses (and a huge amount of acreage). she says turnout all year save when they flood

anyway, i want to go back to the other one (i don't know the name, only the address!), and still need to ring mobberley which i'll try and do at the weekend.

and for some reason my email client isn't working keeps trying to connect to the wrong server, which is ridiculous. that's thunderbird, so i guess i'll go try windows mail instead..

the joys of flats..

are minimal. nice email to agent this morning with little list = including lack of sealant round bath resulting in i shan't have showers until that is sorted ... too damp.

discovered tonight can't open kitchen window, locked shut and no key, not clever when cooking!

and i wish there were lights by the main door to the building!

livery yard hunt - the lodge at woodford or a yard at mobberley (not the riding school) to be investigated - and which tack shop open until 8, to check notice board....think she said the prestbury one, but can't remember.

moved myself

into new flat, with assistance! had to go out buy ligthbulbs, and am adding to the list of faults that i don't want to be blamed for later....

foudn i'd left my orthopaedic pillow at the hotel, so had to go back for that! which meant dinner in pub again, not a hardship really!

agent sent man to mend what we thought was the inside aerial fixing into the telly, but turns out that not only did it need the external aerial sorted, but the telly itself was out of order altogether.. lovely!

most everything is put away and the bed is made, so that's the main stuff done.. and i have llist of livery yards and saddlers/feed stores.

sorry!

for not saying anything yesterday - but not a lot to say.

because she'd spent so long in - since friday night until yesterday morning, not including the lunging in the morning and bit of work inthe afternoon - i thought it much better for her to get out in the new field and get her legs excercised and thus get the swelling down ....

so out she went, and all hte horses had a really good day as there is GRASS in that field.

so that was sunday.

and edited to add

this is the yard we were talking about:

http://www.quarrystables.piczo.com/?cr=4

but i won't be going there because their routine doesn't work if you work 9 -5 ; shame, as it looks great.

bit of good bit of bad...

this morning, I turned her out in the small arena to stretch her legs whilst I mucked out - she wasnt' really interested in doing that, just stood and whinnied at me!

Then I lunged - not necessarily for work, just for exercise at that stage - had a plan for the afternoon! - but someone had left out a small pole on blocks, no more than about 6 - 9 inches high. so I lunged her over that, and by the finish she jumped it! worked it out. I was so pleased - she never has been taught to jump that i'm aware of - in fact, clearly i was right to think that! - so i was pleased that she "got" it. useful exercise for her, once she gets the hang of it we can move on up...

the plan for the afternoon was to ride out with partner on foot. unfortunately, by the time i'd managed to get on, she'd got feet full of gravel and small bits of stone, and was lame. I took her back, picked the feet out again, and we went in the arena - and she was sound.

My feeling is that with all the mud, her feet have gone a bit soft and the little bits of stone were just a bit too much

we then did some work in the arena instead....

but she was a B to be mounted again. YO had done a litte with her through the week, and got exactly the same reaction as i do - quite happy to stand at the mounting block until someone climbs up to get on, then bums away.

anyway, have pretty much decided to move her over to wilmslow - losing too much with these huge gaps

home again..

molly got wormed tonight,as did the rest, so they all have to stay in tomorrow save for leg stretching and being ridden. so since her legs aren't good if she's in, they swell, i guess i'll be doing a bit with her to keep her moving...

and thing PRO a move - there's an EE teacher in cheshire....

so, what should i do?

move molly over here or leave her over there?

pro move:
she'll get more work (if i find somewhere with a lit arena, even if it is outdoor)
it'll probably cost me less - cheaper for someone to do her for sat/sun than for monday to friday.
i'll be back in full control for more days of the week

con:
she's settled where she is
i'd have to give up that stable for the period she's away...

that's it really, i think!

if anyone thinks of other pros/cons, let me know, help me decide....

in the meantime, foudn a flat - one bedroom, bath/shower, kitchen, living/dining - small, not the best, a bit tatty really, but does the job...£425 pcm + bills....so will take it, hope there's enogh money in the bank for deposit.

and i'm struggling with expenses, putting the details on, it's a website for an umbrella company that does it all and they even have a help section, but it has missed one detail that i need them to clarify.

and i won't get paid until that's all sorted out and i've inputted everything. and i forgot to get a vat receipt for my diesel when i filled up last thursday ... bummer. and with not having a printer here was unable to print out the booking details for the hotel...which acts as receipt - so shall have to see if i can get at that via web..

i hope caroline

is holidaying somewhere warm and dry, as it's teeming down here (where i am is in her general neck of the woods)

didn't get the derby job, and it's probably just as well as it turns out ...but since this is a public blog, enough said.

so, stay in wilmslow for a while, and then see what turns up, the agency have something i will be interested in and the people want to see me, in manchester.

Caroline did wonder why i would want to move the horse - because i'm here and she's 150 miles away and that don't play.

anyway, finally watching some telly for the first time in months... having a telly that works helps (still haven't got that set back up at home!)

partner has downloaded my emails at home - i am pretty annoyed, as i keep saying, don't! when i get home at the weekend i might just delete my account at home, that way she can only get her own, not mine - i can always set it up again each friday night and take it off again on sunday afternoon! or just keep it on this laptop.

lack of updates...

i think i did well last week having anything to say, but i know i won't do as well this week so possibly won't try too hard.... a shame, but this is meant to be a blog about molly, not about work and being in wilmslow!

the bedsit i was going to see wasn't going to work - place was nice and i would have taken it, but they want a minimum 6 month let :-(

carrying her tail

was what she was doing in walk on the lunge this morning, which of course means she is relaxed. partly as she "gets it" and strengthens up and partly, i wonder, because the back man was out Friday and she had the electric machiine thingy (i wasn't there, what do i know) on her, apparently she was stiff down the left side.

anyway, she offered right rein on the lunge with no asking so i took it, no stress at all, i didn't have to get after her to go that way - WOW. is that the first time that has happened? i think so.

I was pleased.

the only annoying thing was that it was such a lovely morning that every half circle i was blinded by the rising sun - these specs are supposed to be transitions, but frankly, i think they've got them wrong when they made them. and partner says they're grey lenses - they were supposed to be brown, dammit.

10 minutes good

Decided to ride this morning, on the basis that having been away all week partner would appreciate me being at home when she is awake LOL...

so got on, in the new smaller square area as YO's OH was putting lights round the main arena - he said, just walk, there's still soft spots....

anyway, for the first time just about ever, not only did i get a soft, non resisting halt, i also got a soft, non resisting, head stayed down etc, walk from halt.

that was after about 10 minutes, and it was so good (albeit no way perfect, no doubt, but still ) I got off.

her scabs have not come back, YO has been putting mud fever prevention cream on and it's ok - just as well, the mud is still horrendous - sure the water board have created a stream where they didn't used to be one, as a result of their flood prevention works!

think i'll do some in hand work or longlining tomorrow ...

and then i'm back to wilmslow

sucessful day

120 delegates, we all had a good time and were well fed! if anyone's ever organising a conference, I'll recommend St James as a venue

2 friends will not be able to live down the fact that they were looking for a hospital ... their excuse, well i'm not sure, other than they clearly don't read the front page, let alone the sports page (for foreign readers, i am of course talking about the home of Newcastle United FC....)

back in newcastle

at a better hotel, for our conference tomorrow. good dinner.

and derby has been back int ouch via the agent and has a concern about whether i'll stick the course with the travelling, so i've made a suggestion to convince them of that

otherwise, it's wilmslow for a while longer and then there's the possibility of a job in manchester on maternity leave cover for a head of department....

looking forward to seeing molly on saturday morning

and seeing partner tomorrow night, unless she's called out!

i miss

believe it or not, the getting up, going down, turning out, mucking out, bedding up, etc and generally interacting with my horse!

another reason for fetching her over here, caroline....

anyway, i've found a bedsit and am going to look at it monday, walking distance from the office, attached to a house where the landlord lives, photos look ok .. would be half what i'm paying for hotels

different roads

to the same place. still on the subject of books.

i know what you mean, jean, about different thinking in different books from different people.

BUT in essence, they are generall all saying the same thing, if in a slightly different way.

they may not agree that they are, but they are.

and it's interesting to see how different people explain (or don't) the same thing... some easy to understand, some not, and the whole gives a more complete picture..

anyway tonight's fix of herbermann is certainly useful on bending ....

books

not being at home and thus not actually doing anything with Molly, i brought a load of books and dvd's with me to try and get caught up on my reading.

i keep Fillis in the car to dip into - i find the typeface quite hard going, so can only read a small amount at a time, so that book is useful there as i read it whilst e.g. waiting for partner or, as on saturday, having lunch in the car before interview!

i'm reading Herbermann's Dressage Formula whilst eating meals on my own. I'm enjoying that, can can see why people who've been on his clinics have got a lot out of them.

i've got Udo Burger's book with me as well, currently, i confess, doing sterling duty propping up the lap top to improve it's angle. i have started it (it was bedside at home) but think i'll finish Herbermann first.

Anja Beran's book is in the bag, i got most of the way through that a while ago, and it's to re read

and i bought maximize your horsemanship on Sunday ...

and various others! i think if i'm going to be away a bit, then it's useful reading tiem .....

also brought a load of dvd's to play on the pc - some i've already seen and need to view again, others to start from scratch

i recently bought the philippe karl set - unfortunately, on video not dvd, so they have to be watched at home when we re-set the video up (or if i have time, try and work out a way to link the vhs to the pc. technically possible, i gather!). but i think they'll be to go back to and back to over time.

and i've got the latest thomas covenant as well, on a totally non horsey note....

oops

soory about the lack of post yesterday - the new technology had a child block on it that has taken until this morning to get off (in that, having done what I needed to do last night, it didn't work until this morning...)

in wilmslow for work

I did ride yesterday morningk, in glorious sunshine (if a bit cold!) and had a nice forward trot and some nice walk.

you'll remember the horse i towed to horsepital a few weeks ago? same issues on mounting as Molly - but i think his might be easier to sort

a good day - but not with molly

I did SEE molly of course,turned her out, mucked out, bedded up etc - then went to Derby for interview, which IMHO went rather well. Seemed to get on with the people, and teh technical questions were interesting (I'd read a new case that the chap asking me hadn't....)

So have hopes of that, think it's a good prospect, without counting too many chickens!

then came home, Molly had just been brought in so fed her and came home for a well earned cup of tea.

and have arranged for her to see the back man Friday, top local horse & person physio is coming to the yard anyway and he's seen her before (saw her mother as well) so too good an opportunity to pass up. last time I had to take her there, which proved to be a nightmare as I was let down at the last minute for transport...

round pen

the morning was taken up with the man being here to sort the boiler out, and find out why we have a leak under the bath. the boiler is mostly done, but needs a new expansion chamber. and that bath? we need a new bath! very fine hairline cracks, it doesn't owe anyone anything as it's been in donkeys years (the chap remembered getting it for previous owner of house many moons ago) but a bit of a b....

and while he was doing that i was finding my work related documents (practising certificate, very important piece of paper!) for the agency..

and the weather was pants

and i had to then take partner's car to get something else looked at

then the weather improved and i planted my garlic and winter onions - thought I'd best get that done, since I've not only got a job but will be working away!

so it was later than I've been used to lately when i got to the yard, and time I'd got her in and checked her legs for mud fever (definitely sorted!) by washing them off etc, decided to just round pen as the light was starting to go. she did ok, i was pleased.

rode out .. but!

Jill came out on foot, kindly, to give molly confidence (that was the plan; jill's horse currently out of action with a bit of a virus!) - the plan in due course is to ride out together

anyway, we had two attempts to turn back before we got to the turning we want. one because, we think, she clocked some mares & foals she'd seen before; the second, i'd misjudged the turn right was turning early and she tought i meant turn round.

anyway, going up country lane we all could see a caravan that LOOKED as though it ws in the middle of said lane - you really couldn't tell that it wasn't until you got up to it.

that was a real problem for molly so we decided i'd get off and lead - but of course, no way she was letting me back on again. so we both had a long walk!

we had various attempts at various points to get her to stand so I could get back on but wasn't going to happen.

so when we got back to the yard, molly went in the arena and did some schooling, once i got on (with a hand at her head...)

YO thought i should get someone else to get her sorted onn the moutning front - i said, you're welcome to try next week when i'm away, at your own risk... but she agrees with me that if i'm losing my temper, i have to stop trying as that is counter productive. It was at least very clear to Jill today that it's just pure stubbornness on Molly's part, not fear, not pain, not anything other than her

there is no doubt some reason why this happens and she does this, but no idea what it might be..

hurray!

I have a job. a locum job, starts monday, in Wilmslow (which is just down the road from Caroline...), the money's good and it's work I know.

And Molly? Natasha's phone was switched off, so hope she's not had some other horror go wrong with her health, as she didn't turn up. I spent so long waiting for her to get back to me, i ran out of time before my evening meeting to do anything sensible with Molly so nothing got done...and since I had to leave some hourse before it would be sensible for her to be in for the night, i had to ask someone else to do that for me...

practice...

standing at the mounting block (the yard's big one).

it is in a corner; if she stands on the left of it as you go up it, then she can't move away, but would be on the "wrong" side for mounting. and there would be a risk that she would panic ....not that she's a one for panicking, but you never know.... if she stands on the right of it, she can move her quarters away so that she is along the fenceline but with her head facing me.

so on the left, i was able to use the pressure halter, gentle pressure, to get her to move right up and stnd alongside. but, if i moved back she moved back away.

on the right, she stood along the fenceline.....despite treats if she stood in teh right place..

phooey...

i would be happier if the mounting block were somewhere where she could move round it (so i could keep her working without getting off it... and try not to get pulled off, but it's a large area to stand on) or if it was alongside the fenceline itself away from a corner.

ah well, weather permitting natasha's coming tomorrow and we'll see whether we can sort it again...

aaarrrgggghhhh

the frustration of trying to get on.

then once i'd had a hand to get on, and we were both concentrating, i was interrupted by someone wanting to know if i'd read my letter - to which i said, what letter? the one from YO about increased rates. haven't read it yet. after that didn't really get it back... lot of head tossing. but some of that is improved a lot when i remember to slow her down with my seat. but really i'd got so pissed off with her tonight.... don't know why, as it's nothing new this, but it seems particularly frustrating when she stands just slightly where you don't want her, you move the block, get up on it and then she moves as you lift your leg to put it in the stirrup.....

lugning over poles

was the order of thre day today - i was far too knackered to do justice to riding! spent the day in the garden, dug out the potatoes (rather good) and related tasks...

so decided to lunge, over trotting poles, and tried a very small cross pole as well.

she's better with them in a straight line than a curve, although that might be me, and didn't really like the cross poles.... she did one proper jump and so far as i'm aware that is the first time she's jumped anything.

i think she found it interesting, at any event - interesting in wrking out how to cut in and not do them!

but over the straight trotting poles at first, it's really good to see her really using herself!

this sort of thing wil do her as much good as the other bits of things i'm doing with her...

i wonder if it would be worth while seeing about a proper jump/loose schooling? dunno ... and would probably take me forever to set up.

summer at last

two good days for weather, and apparently another tomorrow. so we got a lot done.

I didn't struggle to try & get on Molly without help, it would have taken too long - just got her head held.

we're starting to get somewhere with the trot, and the walk is improving every day, so I'm very pleased.

and even more pleased that I have great confidence that I'm NOT going to slip off the saddle! the joys of a suede seat.

apparently Molly is chewing up the segregation paddock, whilst at the same time not moving about ...

hopefully, if it stays dry (ish) she'll be able to go out with the mares by tuesday..

there's a new mare out she hasn't really met yet, as they have not coincided in the field since the new mare arrived... that'll be interesting!

and the rest of the day ? dug out half my potato crop,must do the rest tomorrow and hopefully plant some garlic..and possibly partner might come out for a walk with me & molly (and pick blackberries..); and went to the hairdressers..

boots

have been a trouble to me for half the week.

firstly, i got that huge blister the other day, walking in my mountain horse high riders - sill thing to do.

then, yesterday, the zip at the back of said boots finally died and will have to go to cobblers to see if it can be mended.

today, i took my posh regent leather boots that i haven't worn for years (since i got my first pair of mountain horse, in fact) - but had to spend so long on ground work (trying to see if i could get herself to stand) that my left foot was protesting severely by the finish. and i'd forgotten how slippy they can feel against the horses side!

after an hour of ground work, I'd almost got her to stand - but to the point where when I started to lift my foot to put in the stirrup, she'd move! eventually, got someone to hold her head. he said, i should be quicker - maybe, but i'm not getting younger and i can't be quicker and she SHOULD stand...

i did feel i'd made some progress though, but she's a challenge...

after that i trotted a bit, even managed a change of rein whilst in trot, and then asked for a nice walk - which we got! 2 circuits of the arena

so then we stopped.

lovely day

glorious, in fact, so nice we could have lunch outside after our morning meeting.

my interview went ok, i think, but one of the people who was suposed to be interviewing me wasn't there as he'd caught a lurgy that's doing the rounds, so if they decide to go for me i shall have to go back for a second interview. but that's par.

then came home and rode, eventually after i'd washed the feet/lower legs. think i've cracked the scabbing properly this time, can't feel any more coming back.

didn't bother with anything save getting a hand to get on.

took me half the session to remember what i was meant to be doing!

saddle really comfy,very happy with it.

molly did some nice work once i'd remembered what i was meant to be telling her, especially in terms of rebalancing her by slowing her down!

and we did some serpentines that we haven't done for ages and ages.

i thought she did well considering its a few weeks since we've schooled!

shattered....

well, my legs are.

Jill and I set off mounted (lush saddle...) and were going to go up to the pub then right up Marks Lane and back round through the village...

we got nearly to the pub, and someone started giving it what for with clattering metal behind the farm opposite the pub, and Molly wasn't having that - turned round - i could NOT get her to stop very on her toes ...

finished up back at yard, got off, and then turned rond and WALKED her out, we did the full thing we were going to do mounted.

then Jill's Oscar wasn't right, so she got off and led as well.

Did try to get back on Molly moo at the only suitable spot, but she wasn't having that at all ...

and of course, i was still in mylong riding boots, so have discovered a corn on my left little toe that i didn't know i had.

Jill thinks Oscar is becoming anaemic again, so will need some time off, so suggested that on Friday we'll go out with her on foot and me mounted... on the grounds that that will assist in reassuring Molly.

I think we would have been ok if it hadn't been for the crashing metal...

So pleased with the saddle, though

the vogue arrived

here it is.....
suede seat, lush....

a dry (ish) paddock

i checked the small isolation/starvation paddock this morning (it currently has grass!) and found that the mud in that was not at all deep - in many places the ground was dry, and where it wasn't, the mud would not get higher than possibly the tips of molly's feet... so out she went.

the legs are looking a lot better - and better again tonight than this morning. definition is back. If the weather stays as it is, she can stay in there for a few days. still too deep to take her up to the field, as there's a morass to get through on the way.

so that was all she did today, partner wanted me to come home for an early tea, which we don't normally have...

a visitor!

Stephanie came for the day, enjoyed the visit as always!

She says she thinks I'm trimmer - must be all the walking, LOL!

She also thought - not having seen Molly since the end of July - that she is changing shape in the right way, so that was pleasing also!

and Molly? we thought, lunge and in hand work, the plan had been of course lunge in walk, but Molly wanted to go faster - so we let her, and - get this - I got CANTER - YAY! haven't been able to get canter on the lunge with a horse since I can't remember when! did it. both reins.

then back to in hand work after she'd got that out of her system, and that went really well left rein - not so good right rein, but then that's both our worst sides of course. but very pleased

and the poor mare had both of us scab picking, one on each back leg - so she couldn't do anything about it, can't kick out at both of us!

well exercised!

i woke early (had set alarm for 7, but up at 6.15).

so by eight, Molly had been mucked out, bedded up, hayed, watered, AND walked out - we went over the motorway bridge (not empty, even at that time on a sunday!) and saw a a red squirrel just the other side of that bridge in the hedgerow. it sat and looked at us, and we stood and looked at it. Very impressed, I was. Don't know what Molly thought.

then home for my breakfast, put laundry out, sorted out some of the video from yesterday, went to tip, then to sainsbury's, back to yard, ate the sandwich i'd bought and did some in hand work in the school. I felt much more confident about that than I had prior to yesterday. skepped out, back home, cleaned the bathroom (faint...)

back to yard again about 5, mucked out, washed feet/legs, walked her out again! crikey! all done by 1830, and then i've come home and have made a pie and some flapjack (well, they're in the oven as we speak)

and spent too much on ebay - one new camera for under £50 (well, new to me, i'm sick of mine forever running out of charge on its AA batteries!) and 50 DVD-R discs on a spindle - much cheaper than PC world, even adding in the costs of cases - under £17 including postage.

and the new saddle might arrive tomorrow (posted saturday, apparently)

hope i get a job before i spend any more LOL

where to start?

the end, probably - Lincoln Grooming Blocks are really good for getting scabs off. I think I knew that, really, but happily reminded myself today. so from here on, the plan is grooming block THEN antiseptic wash.

the start - 0630 this morning. had to be in Yorkshire (Brompton on Swale, near Catterick) for 9 .... Becky HOlden clinic - so did molly in jig time, turned her out in the arena for her exercise whilst i mucked out etc (that'll save me at least 1 walk out in hand, as she was moving round instead of standing at the gate wanting to be back in). then back home for a quick breakfast and got there just on 9.

had taken camcorder and digital camera. onto second tape on camcorder, needed another battery "knew" i had another one charged - well, i was wrong. and then, to cap that, found I'd left the XD card for the camera in the D***** computer... duh. so only 3 people got videoed. and I would have needed more tapes than i'd taken ...

decided to come home at 1, the lunch break, as of course I still had molly's legs to wash and to walk out etc ....

did the leg washing, was about to walk out, when my tummy decided to tell me it was empty big time ... fair enough. so molly in round pen whilst i went home to chuck food down my neck.

then we walked out - this time i took her a different route, up to the bridge over the motorway. she was a bit unsure, and it was far enough, so we went back, but will try it again at a quieter time (maybe, early one sunday morning?)

eventually got home at 5.30

but what a gorgeous day. sunshine and heat. of course, none of us were dressed for it!

copied from my post on EE just now:

"just to keep me entertained, my friend rang today. her husband (top horse vet in North Yorkshire, all the racing yards about ) told her to tell me on no account to cold hose if giving antibiotics ... i said, when did he say that? ... Tuesday.....

anyway, different vet today. more antibiotics; as i'd worked out, keep washing the legs; the bandages weren't helping in terms of keeping on top of the mud fever (arguably have brought back what i'd already got rid of). more walking out (but I can lunge....) 3x daily (did i say, just as well i'm not in work?), and she tok a blood sample just to be 100% certain there's nothing else going on.

ALSO said that Molly may turn out to be one of those that gets filled legs as they get older. phooey. she's never had filled legs, neither did her mother, nor, so far as I am aware, her brother (save when HE got raging mud fever, then a horrid infection, then colic because of the antibiotics...)

i think i might dig out my tub of antiseptic wipes as well, they're useful for wiping off"

apart from that -

my Fhoenix went off in the post today, do hope it gets there. Waiting for the vogue to arrive.

Now, get this - i knew the cheque for the Fhoenix had arrived, it was inside my paying in book, but still in its envelop. Partner opened the envelope whilst I was out (even though I had already said I knew what it was, that was why it was there) and wanted to know why i was getting a cheque for £600. I didn't tell her...managed to avoid that, by complaining, with justification, about her opening my post.... and happily, easily foudn the box for the saddle wihtout having to ask her where she'd put it. WAsn't overjoyed, I have to say.

took mother to the station, have her car here for the weekend - she's gone to london, haven't told her partner's gone too! TBF, mother booked her weekend ages ago, she's gone to a wedding, whereas partner didn't decide until last weekend...

and the other good news? I have a job interview on Thursday, YAY!

bath time!

we were all gobsmacked, it was a gorgeous day.

it was so hot in front of the barn, i decided to chance my arm at bathing her - i've never given her a bath in all the time i've had her, and TBH i'm not sure, in the past, if it would have been a good idea.

but I put the rope halter on so i had control

and she was good as gold. even let me hose up between her back legs, which is VERY good - and considering last week i couldn't get a brush there without risking a foot in my belly, i was very pleased (but that was probably to do with the infection....)

after that, i walked her round the yard for a bit to dry off, and then jill turned up, we'd planned to go out together, her riding, molly in hand. we only got as far as the pub up the road (7 minutes...) when her phone rang - she had to go back, pick up one of her children who had fallen ill at school (unsurprising, his sister had it at the weekend .....)

we got past a huge artic with it's engine running (parked) with nothing save a stare, and on teh way back, the lorry driver came over and gave both molly & oscar an apple each, so they were happy! and showed us a photo of his daughter over a cross country fence, looked rather good (on his phone...)

then i mowed both lawns, at last (having got changed into shorts!) and went back to set her fair for the night and give her another walk.

i'm having the vet tomorrow - someone's coming out anyway, so might as well share the call out fee - as one fetlock is going back up again...it'll not be the vet who came last weekend, as i know he's on a day off tomorrow...

conflict - he recommended cold hosing for the swelling/heat - is that making the scabs of mud fever come back? thought i'd got on top of it, but I had to wash off and get them off again LAST night and covered them all in sudocrem (cure for all ills, that stuff! and apparently works on sweet itch as well)

now how to i get big box out of loft wihtout partner knowing i'm doing that, to send saddle off to purchaser? she put it away, and i don't know where it is....

edited to add - of course, all this walking out on the road has me on her right, not her left, and she is NOT giving me grief about that, so that's got to be all to the good...

more improvement

went for two walks today, as we have beeb supposed to but haven't been able to since sunday what with all these trips to vet with other horse..

the back legs continue to subside, the near hind better than the off. definite definition, which is good.

rang the vet, though, as the last antibiotic is in the morning and given the off hind is still up a bit, was a bit concerned, also not sure about future management...

he thought it would be fine, see how it goes once antibiotics finished, and i could turn out - but I'm not going to turn out yet, still not totally sure the mud fever is totally gone, and the fields are hock deep in mud, apparently....

so she's better off in, possibly turned out in the arena whilst i muck out/bed up etc, and possibly back into light work - some lunging at the walk, like that...

the first walk out this morning was a new route, turn left, roudn the corner, over the railway bridge (defunct railway) from which you can see our yard/fields, into estate, then back... bridge a shade hairy, stayed on pavement (it's quite narrow, the road there...) and hi viz'd to the 9's..

the second walk this evening, turn right and walk to the pub - we were UNDERTAKEN by a man on a pushbike... plonker! i should say, i was on the nearside of the road, and then inside me/molly was an area a bit like a layby....i.e., for parking!

andback to the vet again

fellow livery owner was seriously let down by the "friend" of hers who WAS going to go up for the horse today, so Jill & I went back up for it...horse had to be sedated to load, she said it would, and she was right. It needs huge amounts of groundwork (and Max if possible....)and huge amounts of time spent to get it not frightened of the trailer. once it's in, it's fine - but it's the getting it in that's the issue. anway, got him home, we were done by 12.30 ... went home, bite to eat, came back to see to molly's cold hosing/walk out.

bear in mind it had been raining all day (still is...) Molly wore her luminous yellow exercise sheet under a roller, and i wore my bright yellow long mac with Hi Viz vest over - we COULD be seen!!! LOL. one man got the finger for refusing to slow down when asked (didn't want people screaming through puddles) and I am pleased to report that I got her as far as we went on Sunday, up to the pub, so that's her full 15 minutes ....

the front legs are back to normal, so i've left them without the stable bandages, will see how they are in the morning

the off hind is showing a great improvement, the near hind not so much but subsiding slowly.

then decided i might as well set her right now until the morning ... gave her all the haylage i had left, and then had to go to local feedstore for a bag - couldn't be bothered to go all the way up to stanley to my usual supplier (better haylage, better value, better packed easier to deal with) so got what the man had .. it's a nightmare to deal with as it's not in slices, you end up with it all everywhere, not as much and cost more.... but i was pretty knackered by this stage!

of course, i'm spending twice as much as i would normally be on haylage, given that she's in, and will have to buy more shavings than i normally do...

towing

the vet came out for other owner's injured horse, and wanted it taken to clinic

the end result was I drove yet another owner's landrover & trailer (she normally has her husband drive and he was at work) with horse in, and horse owner followed...

so most ofthe day was taken up with that!

happily, the horse is ok and is coming home tomorrow, someone else is going up for it

Molly? i decided to do the walking out after rush hour = that was why i was there when the vet came anyway, and thus able to help! - so the end result was she didn't get cold hosed until about 17.30 this evening, and was walked out in the vening rush hour which was a lot busier than usual. The Motorway (which is just across a field from us) had major traffic jams both ways, and for those that know, our road is the diversion.

Molly is totally unphased by traffic! just as well. and was quite happy to walk a new route, but not the one we'd already done.

legs still subsiding.

Friesians in Yorkshire

after doing Molly - 2 hours, including a nice walk out in hand, with company (jill came out on Oscar for the walk out!) and having breakfast, went down to Yorkshire to see the Friesian Stallion grading & show - only because Vicki was coming up with Antsje for the ridden mare class.
the grading was interesting to watch - and there was one lovely mare with foal at foot, foal kept trying to knock the runner over! (this is done the Dutch way, the horses are run round by runners, in this case people over from Holland for the purpose, and the judges are Dutch as well)

then came home and did Molly again.

the legs are subsiding, slowly, but tonight she wasn't as keen to go out as she was this morning/yesterday. her near hind is much better, and the off hind is now recovering it's shape

the bad news? another horse on the yard was discovered to have an infected puncture wound - it had been hidden by a flap of skin, which came off today. vet's coming tomorrow.

vet visit

i should have been more concerned about the swelling in the legs than i was. When i got there this morning, it clearly wasn't clever and the fronts were looking a bit up as well. so rang the vet, since it was clear that she has an infection. he took one look and said "lymphangitis"....

so

antibiotic injections immediately x 2; antibiotics in her feed, 1 sachet twice a day for 5 days....

to be kept in, stable bandages on (haven't had to do stable bandages since I can't remember when!)

cold hosed x 2 per day (each leg, 10 minutes each or thereabouts - happily, i found i can do both back legs together, or at least i could today the way she was standing)

hand walked out on tarmac around 15 minutes x 2 per day

and ring if i'm worried/it doesn't settle

but she looks really smart in her green stable bandages and green & blue check rug, also new today - the cotton sheet i'd been using is now minging (that, for international readers, is a local term for filthy!) so had to have a new one so i could wash the other...

and i didn't really need new stable bandages as I did have some, but couldn't resist green on chestnut.....

so tell me

yesterday, i put molly out with her lightweight outdoor on. it was a lovely day and she would have been too hot.

today, she went out without = and it rained, in the afternoon, and by the time i got down she was too damp to put tack on (happily, she was still warm, of course!)

go figure.

on the other hand, i did get the roller and cavesson back from teh saddler. not totally sure the cavesson is right on her, too large round the nose by a shade, but will try it and see.

and for sale - fhoenix, 18" butt leather, £650

1/2 hour

and I gave up and went and asked someone to hold her head. I hadn't done any groundwork, it's always worth a try wihtout, so guess what i'll be doing tomorrow?

BUT we had some successes.

nice walk.

and I think i've worked out what i'd been doing wrong in trot (been thinking about that this week) and tonight got it right, so we got some nice trot - not as nice as the walk, but i didn't expect it to be, i just wanted forwards, straight as we can and neither of us losing balance! my position was a lot better - tink i wasn't trying so hard, and I consciously let my fingers loosen (think i've mentioned before my main issue with it is not doing that!)

long reining...

it's a good while since i've done this, stopped because she was not with it at all. sinc ethen i've done some more reading and thinking, and had a lesson (thanks Jenny) and reviewed Max's DVD on the point as well - i was long reining per Max, not per Jenny (not having the new roller back yet).

decided to put the BB on to avoid problems of her setting her jaw

and we were hugely better than last time. I was working the outside rein better to get her moving/round and thus not pulling so hard on the inside.

did about half and hour walk/trot/ different directions, circles and large. was very pleased with her.

she was in and done by 5 as i had a late meeting and the nights are drawing in, enought haylage to sink a battleship - this is the first winter she's gone into looking thin ....

the haylage i tipped - sorted itself out whilst outside so i rescued it

a good start.....but i made 2 mistakes

the good start was lunging this morning.

roller (not the new one, not got that back yet) loose side reins, bridle & lunge cavesson (again, not the new one).

She really relaxed on left rein; right rein was hugely better, hardly a problem at all getting it.

so i was really pleased with that.

the 2 mistakes? i turned her out without a rug and hung the washing out, expecting, from last night's forecast on the met office website, it to be dry until late. I should have checked it again this morning, as it rained.....the washing it still on the line, wet. Molly came in in a dry moment (and happily had dried off again) but was NOT impressed at all at having been out

and I've had to tip a bale of haylage (small bale) as it was seriously overheating (i re-wrap once I've taken some slices out). rang the man and he agreed with me that not right ....I've a horrid feeling the next one might go the same way... hopefully they'll replace. I've not had a problem with his haylage before, over years, so we'll all be a bit concerned...

rode!

amazing, it wasn't raining, it wasn't going to rain, even got washing on the line!

So, didn't trouble myself to try and get her to stand for me, much quicker to get someone to hold her head .... saves a lot of grief, not to mention time, and we start off relaxed instead of stressed.

Did some nice work! trot not so hot, but that's my fault. walk is improving no end .... she can keep it going a lot better, i'm improving in asking for turns (slight flex inside, let the fingers out on the outside, helps a lot if i don't conflict her) and it's becoming easier to bring her back into balance with my legs (well, thighs).

i still feel as though i've forgotten more than i'm learning.

and of course, this was in the fhoenix, not the trial saddle.. :-(

mats up....

was the order of the morning, as expected.

molly went out, much to her displeasure (had to put the rope halter on to get her out) and with her legs clagged up with mud fever stuff

then the remains of the bedding went, the mats came up and the ponds underneath the mats got soaked up by some not yet soaked bedding and swept out.... i go there a good bit before 8 am, and got home @ 10. all before breakfast, this!

the floor underneath is not level, and there are dips in it - you can't tell this when it's dry, of course! it wasn't that the water level outside got up enough to come into the barn, it's that the prevailing wind direction blew it into that end, and it was coming under the minuscule gap between the floor and the door. they say. whatever, the floor outside the stable seems to dip into the stable, and then, as i say, there are places for ponds to form.

at least i had the rubber matting down. it would have been twice as bad if i hadn't! a

YO has offered me a stable move, we'll see how it goes as the stable is directly opposite the tack room and toilet, next to an outside door so i can get out that way without having to pass any other horse, and in due course the tap/horsewashing area with hardstanding is going to be outside that door. So I'd rather not move her unless I'm forced into it by the weather, and this weekend WAS exceptionally bad...

and we're not as bad off as some!

and after i'd sorted that out, i built an Ikea bookshelf, now sitting in the corner of this room. much needed. will need a couple more shelves, i think.

then went back with a view to riding (it had been a nice day) - as i was getting molly from the field, having put new bed down and filled haylage net, it started raining again...

washed her feet off, no scabs so that seems to be sorted, and legs were no longer filled, thank goodness

ended up doing a bit of rope circling in the arena, just to say i'd done something!

flooded stable

i missed the worst of it (I was there before 7 am, as I had to go to Teesside to pick partner up from the airport, suntan & all....) although it was pretty bad then - apparently later in the day it was pouring through molly's stable door

mostly, it's under the rubber matting - which is another advantage of rubber matting. but the bed is a disaster area and of course I didn't have any more so inthe morning I shall be chucking out what's left (£13 worth of easibed....) and putting shavings back down. hoping the rain doesn't get that bad again for a while..

partner said, can we not sweep the water out? not without lifting the rubber mats, of course, and no way I was doing that

Molly went in the arena with the other 2 mares whilst we all mucked out this evening, it was a lot drier by that stage

If tomorrow remains as it is this evening, she's going to have to go out - legs are filling with being in so long. this box is not as big as box at harbour house so she can't move about as much, i haven't had her with filled legs before.

and i left her with her outdoor on (lightweight!) to protect against any further damp from below!

what i should have done

was turn her out in the round pen this morning whilst i mucked out - don't know why i didn't think of that! I did think about lunging, but time i'd mucked out i was concerned to get home as i knew the person was cming to pick the saddle up, and would probably need to ring me to check directions (as indeed she did!).

so, about 9 am it started raining - and raining- and raining - and ..... you could grow rice quite easily in our fields, and i was really pleased molly was in anyway, but of course she's had no exercise..

never mind. hopefully it'll improve....

the vogue trial

ends tonight - being picked up in the morning - and happily the weather relented for me to ride! I worked on walk trot transitions (getting myself to NOT block the forward movement with my hands, which i'm a B for....didn't used to be i'm sure, but I am now") and Molly is clearly getting stronger as she is finding it easier to work through properly in walk and carry herself. no where near consistent yet, but getting there. and we even had one not too bad halt...

unfortunately, the arena has been affected by all the rain, the side nearest the barn is seriously boggy, so we have to avoid that ... which means in fact it's good as you have to ensure you are working about 1 1/2 metres in from the outside track on that side. no support from the wall, so need to work on straight.

natasha thought she might fetch a horse up tomorrow and either go out for a hack with me, or we'd go up to holmeside or somewhere and use their indoor. either way, woudl be good for molly.

bad me...

i rashly believed the weather forecast for today, which I had read last night, and turned poor Molly out without a rug. Oops.

wouldn't have been so bad, but I was in Yorkshire for the day,and it didn't in fact start raining properly until the afternoon...

BAAAAD me.

So she was very pleased to come in, and got her thermatex type wicking rug on immediately.

I'd bought extra feed (up to now, she's just been on Top Spec, so bought some apple chaff)

I've decided on 2 things

1. she's going to be in 24/7 for a few days/week or so until i get on top of the mud fever

2. she's in overnight now for the winter...

Apart from that, had a nice day with Natasha. Lunch at Betty's in Northallerton (and brought some nice cakes home), and the purpose of the trip there was to buy a decent mounting block: in blue, rather pleased with it. the stool i was using has died, and i need one like this that i can move round.

but managed not to buy any jackets, boots, breeches, tack, rugs or anything of that nature, despite visiting two saddlery stores ....

molly the wuss

but i can't blame her in this weather, i suppose.

from which you'll gather she's in again overnight.... why does she choose this year to do this? i didn't want to be buying bedding/haylage just yet!
a couple of years ago - the second winter @ harbour house - she insisted on being in a month before the others. last year it was beginning of November before she came in overnight, and then only because of yard rules. and here we are, beginning of September.

i knew i wouldn't be able to ride -could see another huge storm coming- but thought i might have time to round pen - not. left her to her tea and some haylage with a view to turning out later (about 1930) but no way would she leave her stable.

lunge & ride...

I decided to lunge first - 5 minutes either rein in walk - before riding (AND did some flexions in the stable first).

I liked her walk left rein, nice and relaxed, and seemed to be moving through properly from behind.

right rein - I'd studied the dvd I made of Jenny working with her - we did get without the need to trot first, but not for long and then she became argumentative and kept turning in, irrespective of what driving aids i was giving her. short of winding her up into trot and then trying to relax her down again, it wasn't going to happen again.....

went back to left rein, and that was still nice.

then to get on.

aaarrrgggghhhhh..

had to get someone to hold her head again.

After that, she did some nice relaxed walk - and then got stressed and decided she'd had enough. i didn't have my schooling stick. and to be fair, she had done a fair bit by this time (as when she was refusing to be mounted i did some in hand round the school as well, on the basis that if she was going to move, she could work as well...)

phooey. i guess i need to do some serious ground work every time again before i get on. so annoying, we'd pretty much had this sorted a few weeks ago, but have gone right back