lunging and medicine...

time to start to do somethign again .. i've just looked back to see when i last rode, and it was nearly a month ago!

Anyway, I knew it was a while since I'd been on her, and the last time was dire, so thought that starting off with some lunge work would be a good idea.

I think i said yesterday the mares are now in the field next to molly's stable... anyway, whatever the reason, no problem at all getting her in (mind, it is uphill to the gate, not down!)

and she was much more settled largely, i expect, because she knew her friends were just "there" rather than miles away....hopefully this will help settle her in the stable prior to the winter, since i've missed my chance of a box in the enclosed yard for a while!

as I say, lunged....i was very impressed with her lunging. didn't do too much, but what she did do was good, i let the side reins out 2 holes and she was wrokin through from behind into the bit and had a lovely outline. and no trouble getting canter first time of asking both reins, which was also pleasing. only a half circle each way in canter, but it was the getting it i was after

I'd bought the cortaflex and some devil's claw so put that in her feed.. the recommendation on both is that you give a larger loading dose at the start, but i think i should not have given quite so much devils claw, the brand i bought had an additive in that smelt lovely, but not sure Molly was TOO impressed with it! ended up feeding her the bits left with my hand :-)

Hopefully these will have the desired effect.

farrier arrived...

hurray! said, normal trim, and did just that.

so I will start working molly again tomorrow, weather permitting.

need to go to shop for glucosamine and think i might get some devil's claw as well.

Molly is in season - horrid! had to do leg washing yesterday whilst waiting for tooth person to arrive, and probably will need to again tomorrow.

the mares went in new field - right outside her stable! - today, and will be there for 2 months apparently, then back to the other one we've just left. not sure it wouldn't have been better to leave them where they were for the next 2 months and then put them in the front next to stable field for the winter, but we'll see.

one thing is for certain, I shall have to keep a VERY close eye on the legs for the mud fever/whatever it is... she was showing signs of that again yesterday as well. that would be a nightmare, as she won't want to stay in this stable 24/7, that IS for sure.

This week hasn't gone as planned, what with farrier having to cancel on Wednesday, as i didn't want to do anything until he'd seen her as well. and of course all these appointments were afternoon jobs so taking time out of the working day, so not quite caught up from being away. but almost! all the post is done anyway

hopefully, back to routine after today.

and nearly moved her again! my friend is renting house on the estate, and there are 2 stables next to it that were, until last weekend, occupied .. but the occupiers have gone and she was offered them, much more convenient for her. she thought of me second, and i would have taken molly down there... nice flat paddock, no mud (considering the wear flooded it 2 weeks ago, it's bone dry now!), just the 2 of us, and friend woudl do morning turnout/evening fetch in given it's right next to her house. but the person she first thought of decided to take her up on that opportunity...

for me the only disadvantages to it would have been no arena with lights,,and no 24/7 turnout due to small size of field but the field is VERY flat, and 1 minutes walk to an arena anyway, and could have lived without 24/7 turnout if i didn't have to go twice a day.

in the meantime, i'm waiting for a box to come free in the inner courtyard of the yard i'm on .. something happened whilst i'm away that makes it look as though i might have missed my chance for a while, which is somewhat annoying! just before my hols a horse was sold off the yard and a box came free but still facing the field, YM offered me it but i said i'd wait until yard came free .. i shoudl have taken that, and then done swop that i didn't know would be available to get the box i wanted, as that is what someone else has done. drat.

teeth and tunnels

today molly had her teeth done, and was much better about it than she ever has been before. Dentist said her teeth generally were vastly improved and we can move to a 9 month cycle (it's been 6 monthly since i got her).

Farrier is coming tomorrow...

and tunnels? partner had arranged for us to go visit the victoria tunnel in Newcastle, it was an underground wagon way for the old pit at spital tongues (which closed in the 1860's) and was then used as an air raid shelter in WW2. Very interesting...

RAIN

the effects of the downpours whilst i was away are still to be seen .. one of the other yards onthe estate has a HUGE pond in one of the horse's fields....

Regular readers may recall that before I went on holiday i made an appointment with the farrier for today; unfortunately, he had to cancel due to one of those vagaries of life that sometimes afflict all of us (blimey, yes i did swallow a dictionary!) so we will have to rearrange. depressingly, he didn't have my number! he does now! and then it started teeming down again, as forecast.

Teeth tomorrow, hopefully it'll be drier....

and molly had been in a few times whilst i was away, once when they were all in during teh downpour, and seemingly a few other times when someone had to bring her in rather than leave her alone in the field. Three barrowloads removed... and of course she was not happy to be in!

weather on all fronts..

there's another weather warning at home....

the holiday blog

is where it's at for the next 10 days...

http://www.clairesholidayblog.blogspot.com/

ringbone

is the differential diagnosis of choice.

interestingly, the farrier turned up to do another horse whilst i was waiting, so i was telling him, and he thought that, on the grounds that molly doesn't have the feet she would have for navicular syndrome....

so, booked him for the day after i come back from holiday, as Molly will be about due.

I'm to get cortaflex (that's easy).

the real question is whether this can be managed barefoot, or whether i'll have to shoe in front.. and if so with what?

anyway, she got a good lunging whilst we were working it out!

it's interesting

what one finds one has learnt after years of reading/observing...

today i was helping someone with pole work and jumping, and noticed stuff about seat/hands that i would never have noticed a few years ago!

Molly? i took the Max pressure halter out with me and a longer lead rope than usual, put it on and pulled... she came. but she is not right. we are thinking navicular syndrome or something of that nature, which should be managable (Queenie had the same)

and in terms of this becoming apparent after living on a hill when she didn't used to live on a hill.. this makes some sense, for regular readers, of the "standing at the top of the hill planted" refusing to go down to the 20 acre...

and this may account for some schooling issues as well.

in the meantime, i dug out the fly sheet i had bought for queenie years ago. i must have shrunk it in the wash, as it fit molly a treat. the other mares didn't recognise her! they all had to do sniff polite checking that itwas in fact a mare they knew!

someone did a rain dance....

but there are various culprits - i was in the process of putting saddle on, two were outi nthe field catching their horses...who knows. but at least i didn't leave any washing on the line. and it's still tipping down now an hour after i left!

anyway - catching and bringing in was a fraction easier today ... the first stage was uphill, and after a minute's pulling, she came ...

she stopped when we got to the down hill bit.. whether that was because it was down hill, or because one of the other mares came trotting over to her, i don't know.

i did try to take some video of her walking down hill, but not wonderfully successfully .. one bit i thought i'd taken, i hadn't, and the next bit there's a lot of her head in the way!

i was starting to think about Queenie; she developed spurs on both front navicular bones.... but, her last few years she was sound barefoot in the field. alternatively, she's trying really hard to train me not to fetch her in, and failing....

edited to add: friend's OH, horse vet, says lame bilaterally in front.

in hand walk..

after a wash off with hibiscrub solution for it's antiseptic/cleansing properties on the scabs.

and after a bit of struggle to get her in again. They were a lot nearer the gate. i took ordinary headcollar and schooling whip and bumbag with treats (happily the other 2 don't bother investigating those, molly would prevent them) .. caught ok, but again, no desire to move....movement was achieved by facing her, and tapping with the schooling whip (just touching) in/behind the shoulder....and me walking backwards!

i do think theres something about her action down hill... looked again on the way back out to the field, which is down a steeper hill but not on grass ...not quite right... will get someone else to watch, i think! or perhaps try and video it...

and the scabs...i wonder, actually, if she might be allergic to the fly repellent? i'd forgotten that i think it was one day last week instead of spraying, as the spray doesn't spray very well, i'd put it on a sponge and put it on that way?

so walked out in hand up to the next yard, stopped for a chat and back round...

poles and jumpies

but before that, the ongoing saga of getting her in from the field.

today, there were only 2 mares out, mine & steve's; we went down together... Steve was back up at the yard (a hike up a hill!) and nearly tacked up by the time i got molly there.

I'd not expected her to plant when she could see that Tia was being led off and she knew she was the only horse left in the field, but plant she did. ggrrrhh

BUT, i do wonder if in fact it is the going down hill? whichever field we are in , one goes downhill to the gate in the valley, then up the other side to the yard. going out to the field, she moves on, but then of course she's going somewhere she wants to go..i dunno, but it's getting very tedious.

I might take up tash's idea and take my pressure halter and 12foot line out and work her in the field....dunno.

anyway, after she was in, and had her massage, still a shade scabby down the side where the saddle flaps woudl be, i decieded lunge and poles

2 poles on the ground one side of the arena, 2 poles on polepods on the other side.

she did both very nicely.

i then set up a very small jump which she jumped nicely from the right but not quite so nicely from the left...

then we called it a day.

it was VERY hot in the arena, no breeze - because it was blocked by the copse, soon as you left the arena and came to cross the road, lovely breeze blowing up to cool us down.

and finally, completely OT, the water lily in our pond has flowered:

30 minutes

to get her from the top of the field to the bottom ... a 1 minute walk, probably? i stand at the end of the lead rope .. eventually she moves to me.. and so on, for half the distance .. then she consented to walk on properly and follow me. duh.

the rash. could it be buttercups? scabbing, anyway, in places! so didn't ride as she's not wholly happy about the areas being touched. in fact, by the time i'd wasted 1/2 hour talking to lisa as well, then gave her her massage (another 1/2 hour!) i decided not to do anything with her as it was getting on by then.. turned her out, came back and realised baaad mummy had forgotten to do her tea!

she's clearly short of something, though, as she used both licks (one horselyx, one himalayan salt lick) neither of which she's touched for a while, so that'a s good sign in one way (that is, that she knows she needs whatever it is and helped herself!).

oh, and if it's buttercups ... there are sheep on the estate, but whether the estate would put them on the horse fields to get rid of the buttercups i don't know..

big green ball....

Anyway, Molly had had a brain change, or had made up with me whatevert it was, or something...I had no trouble at all catching her, and she came straight down to the gate. that's the first time she hasn't protested one way or another since we moved to Blackdene in, when was it, April?

So that was a good start.

And she was very calm, for a change, in the stable.

She has what i think is rain scald - unsurprising given all the rain! - and it has com eup under where the saddle flaps and my legs would go ... so it was probably brewing on Tuesday and i should not have ridden then...

anyway, lady on the yard has a big green ball and i asked if i could borrow it, for something different to do. (that's her website, BTB, some good stuff)

took it to the arena and left it in the middle, went back for Molly .. time i got back to the arena there was a friesian being ridden round the arena and the ball was outside by the gate... molly not impressed by that, and i not impressed either .. we have no booking system, the people had come down from the other yard where they have an indoor arena... no comment!

so had to take her back over for a while (at which point i realised i'd locked myself out of my tackroom!)

anyway, eventually was able to go back over, the ball had been put back in the arena but only just inside, so a spook as we went in was in order.

after that, i was able to persuade her to touch it, and then i let her off to see what she would do .. wander round the other end, was the answer.

i moved it innto the middle and she wasn't bothered; led her up to it and she was fine, let her go off again and moved it, she trotted...

led her up to it, and round it, with her nearer it than me .. fine...

move it? opps.

so led her back and click/treated until she'd touched it, and had her touch it a few times, then stopped for the day.

happily, other person who shares my tack room came with key to let me in!

i shall keep an eye on the rain scald .. not had that before .. a few have it ... if it's not rain scald, it's something about the field that they're in ...

headache...

caused by brining the boot lid of the car down on it... doh. that was outside new client's house at 5 pm.... glasses endedup on floor, amazed they're not broken, and i expect i'll have a lovely bruise in the morning.

partners gone to teh sage gateshead to see Ry Cooder and others (including someone from Buena Vista Social Club) and had it not been for the head i might have gone up to see if i could get myself a ticket...they were like hen's teeth and she'd got one but we couldn't get 2 so that would have ben on spec anyway...but given the head i thought that probably wasn't such a good plan!

did go down to see molly ... took bumbag with treats (she wasn't going to let her friend have them!), caught her no problem and took 1/2 hour to get her down to the gate, using click/treat ...

2 things... whatever she's developing an allergy to (it's probably rain scald, given all the rain we've had) seems to be now over the saddle area - under where the flaps would be ...so i probably definintely shouldn't have ridden last night..

and i'm not totally happy that she is ok moving DOWN hill .... will have to try and watch her when i'm not trying to catch her... it may just be not wanting to be in!

anyway, hopefully that excercise will have helped in terms of getting her in tomorrow..i need her to go back to being caught and brought in easily. and i'd rather do it hte nice way first!

the alternative is take the pressure halter and 12foot line out and work her in the field (there is a flat bit at the top)

1 hour later....

molly condescended to move her feet and come in .. that was after the 10 minutes it took to actually catch her! but then she planted herself. i did manage to not lose my temper, but am not totally sure how ... you can imagine I was NOT impressed.

so why, after that, i thought riding was a good idea, i'm not sure. particularly as, after her massage and when i was trying to put the saddle on, walking round the box was deemed a good idea... (that was because she knew someone was about to come up the hill....)

so you won't be surprised to learn that when i did get into the arena and got on she had a strop head on ... not for any good reason i could immediately discern

at one point we were sure she was lame on the near hind (tash was giving someone else a lesson ) ... i left molly being held by spectator and went back for my lunge line .. but she lunged perfectly sound.

Tash got on for 5, i got back on but it wasn't going to happen .. by that stage the lesson was at canter poles, so i was pleased that we stayed in walk, really ....

i knew i wasn't relaxed and really shouldn't have ridden.

i think ATM we're winding each other up a bit...

tomorrow won't do anything as i've an evening meeting so probably won't have time

wet and warm.....

that was molly

the thunderstorm started (centred over my village, felt like my house but not quite!) early afternoon, and it was coming down in sheets again .... still raining when i went out about 5.30, if not as hard...and was not going to stop!

i went down to the field (in my walking boots, the only things that are safe!) to see her, and she was very wet, but very warm, and at first not totaly overjoyed to see me, but did then decide to stand still so i could check her over ...

was still raining when i eventually came home after 7....

hopefully it'll improve for tomorrow! but the forecast says not....

things to do with one's horse

whilst wearing a skirt... because it was SOOOOO hot i really didn't want my legs enclosed in jodphurs! so we did groundwork, which i thought was about right for the circumstances....apart from me being overheated, molly was really unhappy to be brought in (maggie one of the other mares had been in last night for a show today, so molly only wanted to stay out with her and Lady) and it took 2 of us to get her.. at least they didn't tank off down the other end of the field, which is huge and hilly of course.

so bounced about her stable whilst i brushed her off, whilst listening to see if she could hear maggie & lady (not)

so just did a bit of ropecircling stuff, getting her paying attention to me and so on...that was good, fed and turned out and they all cantered to each other! happily another mare goes out tuesday.

as i left, the wind got up .. could see big black cloud over home 4 miles away .. it was, torrential rain, soaed getting from car to house so much that i had to change.... rivers running down the road!

it's stopped now, of course

and that should help it all be a shade cooler...

lunged ... and poles

it was so hot i didn't really want to ride...but i wanted to do something, so tacked up for lunging/longlining....

decided to lunge, and got a couple of poles out. it's a good long while since i've worked her over trotting poles, and in the past she's raced them, avoided them, anything but go over them nicely

today was a different story. she didn't protest about them at all, went over them at a steady trot as requested, didn't try and curve in away from them and generally was a good girl. that was on both reins. and she was lifting her back legs up nicely through them as well.

and this was with side reins on, as well as without

excellent piece of work!

she'd already been in for a couple of hours or so when i got there (roll on there being more mares!) and had spread her bed about with the result that the last place i wanted her to be was in the stable, the ammonia smell was horrid and there's no breeze in there (there was a breeze blowing gently up the valley, but not in her stable window, went past the front!).

so sorted it out afterwards and need to put some more down i think....

part of this is the way she's using the stable, as she stands with her head out the door, then has a walk round, then stands a bit, then walks round.... she didn't use to do this at previous yard, or not quite so much!

so more bedding on top and perhaps i might re-organise the stable ... thinking about moving the haybar to the back and have the bed at the front, perhaps. the idea of the haybar at the front under the (unglazed) window was that she could look out without having to move ...

ah well, have a couple or 3 months to decide before we're into winter again!

edited to add: the above was typed on the laptop out in the garden whilst waiting for the barbecue to get really hot.....

now guess what happened?

you're right .. i ended up barbecuing under an umbrella as it started raining! happily i'd seen the cloud coming and rescued the laptop, but had just put the food on ...

and partner insisted we eat under the tree, which, tbf, does provide some good shelter and it had in fact stopped by then....

more rain...

which i wasn't expecting today, but it started torrentially at about 1, stopped for about an hour mid afternoon then started again...

in the meantime, therefore, some pictures and video (the video of the lunge lesson is still proving problematic...am working on it but am having to try and change format to be able to post it..)

They were all take on the mobile phone camera

the first pic and the video show how relaxed she is for her massage .. she loves this!

the rest on various days.

i think she looks rather well in this one - i'd just turned her out again and she's looking for her friends

the other chestnut here is not yet 3! as you can tell, going to be massive!

and this was this afternoon; they've been moved into this field for the weekend whilst the geldings get moved into the field the mares were in (the mares then go where the geldings have been..). one of the estate workers can just be seen in the background...he'd been set the task of chopping down all the thistles and digging up any ragwort found.

this is just below molly's stable door so if they stay there all weekend she might be a shade more chilled than usual ... although, perhaps not. more likely to be more keen to see where her friends are

apparently at least one mare is returning this weekend, so hopefully we'll have increased numbers in the field by next week, which will make life easier (i hope!)

interrupted (again...)

2nd post with this title.

can't remember what it was last time, would have to go look. this time, it was partner ringing up because she couldn't find something on the computer, in the middle of walk/trot/walk transitions to get Molly balanced and with me, the plan being for changes of rein as well.

guess what.

we lost the plot after that....

she didnt' want to stand still whilst i took the call .. fair enough, it meant the flies settled .. and did a really nice relaxed forward walk round the arena whilst i was talking .. think it was about 3 times round EEK ... but couldn't get it back after that.

lesson? don't answer the phone. but i like to have it with me in case of need, of course!

but i think i was not losing the reins as much as i have been

thunder and rain

thunder started runbling around 2 or so ... wasn't surprised that it started raining just as i was getting ready to leave the house....had already decided not to do anything due to humidity/heat, the rain merely reinforced that view.

might, by close of business today, have video of that lunge lesson i had a few months ago ...i've been given the camcorder to sort it myself!

hot and humid

you can taste the humidity.

did think about groundwork... apart form anything else, my numnah is still drying on the line having been washed! ... but neither of us could be bothered and the flies were a nightmare.

have decided not to take up the suggestion of the market harborough... looks a shade too much like a draw rein, even though it isn't quite, and am not quite sure how it would help me, which was the point of the suggestion...

i could go back to continentals (currently taking up space on the back of the kitchen door!) but i do like the libby's ones i'm using at the moment, especialy as they have clips and i change bridles a fair bit (one bridle ordinary bit, one bridle myler combi, and the bitless!)

they have the advantage that if they do slip you can easily see how far they've slipped and where you should be!

lesson from BHSI

unfortunately without any pics or video - was expecting regular RI to come and watch but she had to work LOL

shortened stirrups one more hole (i'd already taken them up one) and that did help me a lot.

after that i really need to work on keeping my reins firmly between thumb and finger! She suggested I try a market harborough... and turns out a friend has one! My preference would be reinbows, which i've recently come across, but theyonly fit those really thick horrid rubber reins ATM so no good. we need a tool to help me!

not really anything too different from what we've been trying anyway, in essence, and molly did work better than she has recently (assisted by my being better balanced i suspect) but still really having to push her through the tranter/skipping malarkey!

One thing I wasn't sure of what she was saying - using the outside rein to keep her to the outside... but think that may have been another way of saying inside leg into holding outside hand.

and wanting me to use my hands to slow the trot, rather than slowing my rise! But i rather think that was because the trot was such that slowing my rise was difficult on occasion!

instructor used to run dressage comps and trains for BHS exams and so on, and thought Molly looks very pretty & good when working nicely!

good lesson .. and both molly and i got hosed off afterwards (I hosed my head!)

edited to add - forgot to tell yo the most exciting bit! a branch brok off from a tree in the copse next to the arena... happily we weren't right next to it, but clearly that could have been really hairy. she bounced a bit.. but neither of us could see it, so fine! she was a bit dubious about going down that side but eventually settled...

another ride...

after 1/2 hour trooping round the field trying to catch her! she and the other adult mare have a competition going to see who can be closest to the nearly 3 year old baby - who's an ID cross bigger than either of them by about a hand, ATM! so it got a bit dodgy, and a bit tedious. and the sun had got out so the flies were killing...

hope some of the other mares come back from stud soon, i think this could be a bit dodgy!

then, had to wash her bum... the light wasn't good enough yesterday anywhere to see anything, but in the sunshine today it was clear she'd had a major season...euch.

then out for a ride with other owner on her large wide pony .. her saddle slipped, she had to get off at harbour house (well, before we got there) to sort it out, i had to get off as molly had a one on as alan (the pony) wasn't following her...so had to have a hand to get back on .. then back. found a new way i hadn't know about to avoid the ford.....but needs all cutting down, very high grass (above our toes!)

and a barbecue tonight ... sun had gone in by the time we'd eaten!

guess what i found?

that's right, the phone i lost last friday... doh. I have a tyre in the stable into which goes Molly's feed dish... it had fallen into that, inside the rim, and clearly i therefore didn't hear it fall .. and it was the last place i thought to look. I found it because i actually picked the tyre up to muck out the stable...

Anyway, lunged Molly. She's becoming a nightmare to get the bit into her mouth...managed it eventually, but it was a bit of a struggle...due the tooth person end of july, appointment already made, but she gets checked every 6 so i can't see how anything too bad can have gone wrong in that time..

anyway, once we got that in, she worked very nicely, I was pleased with her. Tried some canter, but that's not so clever .. surface a bit too deep in places.

can see her muscles working in the right places!

and she'd been in since 10.30 - i got a text at 1 asking if i wanted her turned out again! i said not, since i would then have struggled to get her back in again, but hadn't known she wasin ... chap with the other 2 mares obviously came down early today! i could have gone down then as well had i known...ah well.

molly the leader!!!

only once, through the ford on the way back, but i was still pretty impressed!

friend now keeping her horse on my yard came up to ride out, and as I was unexpectedly free I went ....when she first texted me i thought i wouldn't be free but i was ... and it was raining! but molly had already been brought in before it started (the owner of the other 2 mares having brought both his in!) so was dry ... so off we went, me being visible for miles around in my bright yellow riding mac!

along the road, down the back drive, through the ford, through a couple of gates (tash had to wrestle with those!) through harbour house, down the hill, round the 20 acre, back through the ford up the track and back along the road to the arena for 10 minutes....

friend's horse came out of training about 2 months ago .... good as gold, save he'd never met water before... so 5 minutes thinking about that one and he went through first.. on the way back, i managed to get molly past him, she gave half a thought to not going through but did and gave him a lead (he was stil a bit dubious!).

the yellow mac came into it's own when we were nearly back, big wagon behind us that was half thinking about passing us on a blind bend where we knew he couldn't but he didn't.... and we were turning right .. so I put my hand out to show him that he couldn't and that we were turning, and he slowed right up and hung back till we had turned!

edited to add: i needed wipers on my glasses though... it were a bit damp!

diagonals

what is is, on right rein Molly wants me to be on the wrong diagonal....that doesn't help

got on first time, which pleased me as we've been a bit dubious about mounting since the saddle slipping incident!

walk was nice.

trot left was ok, got direction i wanted as well and some nice circles..

right rein ...tranter ... boot on ....very iffy ... as soon as i put myself on the correct diagonal she dislikes that...mmmm to work on.

the other good thing .. first time for a good while she didn't argue about me picking her back feet up!

more trot...

we can't accuse molly of not being forward anymore, she's certainly that...

but what we've found is, we have to let her trot on at her pace with no contact at all to speak of and then let her slow herself down.

trying to keep a contact for her to work into results in the impossible to sit to tranter sort of thing (canter in front, trot behind, nightmare..)

and jean you were right, we are co-operating in putting me on one side....but which sides depends on which way we are going!

anyway it was a good lesson, and molly worked so hard i had to hose her off....that doesn't happen often!

i still have a bit of a thing in my head about canter though...

not quite so good...

but at least not as muggy as yesterday, just nicely hot with a nice breeze where needed!

went over to the arena and someone had just finished setting jumps up ... so i got on (decided to get some assistance since it was there to be had!) and walk/trot round the jumps. couldn't get down outside track, circles either end with a diagonal one way and a dog leg the other way down the length. she was setting her jaw and i couldn't get her to soften...but at least she was happy to be forward again!

friend turned up about 2 hours later than she said she would .. she'd forgot her hat! so was read a lecture on the subject. since she had got on, i said we'll just walk up to the riding school and back, which was good for her confidence as well as last time she was on that particular horse she was off again ...

and i lent her richard hinrichs book & video on inhand work, as she hadn't known what i meant by that...

!!!! TROT !!!!!

first time since when? about a month before I left Leamside?

Granted it wasn't the best trot on this earth, but considering teh grief we've been having getting it at all!

I reckon all this massage must have something to do with it ...

but anyway, i was quite pleased with her!

not quite so pleased with me .. when i took the saddle off, it was clear from the sweat pattern that i'm weighting the left seatbone too much (or the right one not enough, whichever way you want to look at it!) so will have RI look at that - probably wednesday it'll be now. Saw her tonight .. what a chapter of disasters, hope i don't lose any more phones (although as i said to someone tonight, it did mean i couldn't be rung up and nagged as to when i was coming home!)

the trouble with having no mobile....

is that if RI did text me i didn't, of course, get it; and didn't have her number as it is on the missing phone, which i hadn't synchronised with PC recently....and ALSO i'd misremembered which venue she was competing at today, so no wonder i couldn't find her either! doh.

so molly got turned out again not long after 5, having been in since just after 12, well hacked off, and hopefully RI and I can touch base soon...

it didn't rain, either...

flaming june....

it rained, of course... from when i got to the yard about 2.15 till now and it still is....pah. soaked through, of course.

happily got molly in just before it got really heavy ... and she was in for about 3 hours... stood her in a different box round in the enclosed yard, which apparently might come free September (there's some confusion); will contact YM and check it out, as i think she'll settle better .. she seemed to this afternoon .. could see all happening in the yard and didn't have the distraction of a field to look at

got massaged, and i tried some flexions again but she wasn't having it...

turned her and her friend out in a downpour and i'll have to get them both in tomorrow as the 3rd mare is in tonight and will be at a show tomorrow...

and no sign of the phone. of course, what i'd forgotten when ringing virgin mobile this morning and them suspending it, was that suspending it meant that it couldn't be found by ringing it up... doh. no sign of it, and i even dug out the area of the muck heap where i'd dumped my barrowload yesterday... and it won't be in the middle of the field as the horses were at the gate yesterday, so i looked round there and no sign.. and it wasn't on the track down to the field... so that's that. it either got dropped outside the post office and i shall check that on monday in case someone handed it in (certainly wasn't on the road outside the PO!) or it landed in the river! i've a feeling it's history and may as well be replaced...of course, i didn't have it insured, so not sure how that works on the contract!

lost my phone....

half way through seeing to miss molly .. probably after her massage... i realised i didn't have my mobile phone (cell phone for american readers...)i felt sure i'd brought it out with me ... but hoped not. anyway, jsut got home and rung myself and it is neither in the car nor the house. drat. so need to borrow someone else's (find partner's work mobile, if nothing else!) and take it out to the yard and ring myself there...

and molly?

whilst the massage was doing its thing, i spent 10 minutes trying to persuader her that the stable is a good place to pay attention to me. not that successfully, i have to say .. the attractions of looking outside are more vital... never mind, it's too late to swop boxes now, i think...

after that tacked up for longlining with the bitless, so did 5 minutes rope circling and such first, and she was paying full attention to me and even went backwards with very little pressure (just a twirl of the leather bit on the end of the rope).

longlining was good, she wasn't wholly keen on going right in trot, but happy to in walk so we played with transitions, and also serpentining in walk up and down the arena, interspersed with trot circles..

she does work nicely on the longlines in the bitless. i think the reason it don't work bitted is that she's not that confident about the bit and sets against it more, which she's pretty much stopped doing ridden (hope that's not famous last words!)

early bird....

woke up and thought it was 7.30 ... only just realised i misread watch (through not having glasses on ) and it's only 5.30 ... but not tired and have a very bad back....i'm going to regret this tonight, i think!

ggrrrhhh ... at the weather!

plan was, ride molly, then come home and get the laundry in off the line and mow the lawn, which is starting to look like a hayfield (should have been dry enough by then).

Got Molly in and did her 1/2 hour massage, tacked up, led over to the arena... big black cloud starting chucking rain at us time i got her back to the stable it was pretty wet....

so turned her out (did think about trying to do some clicker/in hand in the stable, but she still isn't paying attention to me in there)

time i got home, through a major rainstorm..... sun has come out. pah. washing is soaked again and lawn too wet to mow.

and i've realised that a major distraction when she's in the stable is that she can hear people going down the hill calling for their horses so she's looking to see who/what is coming in!

perhaps this was the wrong stable to pick.... ah well, too late now.

it rained...

from about 945 until about 6.15 pm .... solidly and largely torrentially ... so by the time i got to the yard i had my shopping in the boot. plan, to muck out from her time in yesterday, feed her at the field gate and go home again.

most of the way through mucking out it managed to stop rainig, but since i had a soaking wet horse i carried on with the plan..

and of course it dried up more as i came home and hasn't rained since!

jean, you're right, it was that horse... but it's lame again tonight in another leg, and is going back whence it came.... it also, apparently, reared up, and was so terrified being without molly, molly had to be taken round to it's stable to say hello...?

so molly back in the original field with the other mares, and youngster being picked up tonight to go away ...

the forecast is for dry tomorrow, i do hope so as i washed all my breeches when i came home and want them on the line in the morning to be dry for tomorrow night!

time off

from anything is never good.

i reminded myself why i'd stopped doing flexions....molly won't stand still, won't stand square, and (in this stable) insists on looking out of the window....

at previous yard she wasn't quite so insistent on that but clearly wasn't quite square which was why she moved forward into me.

until she settles more and is happy in her current stable, i won't be able to do any flexions at all in there... pointless doing them in teh arena, too much space

then when i went to the arena to get on ... had to go back to teh stable for the pressure halter and a rope! she did in due course agree to stand still whilst i got on. she wasn't ansty about it, or stressed, just insisted on moving off!

after that we got nice walk in both directions and circles and round someone lunging her new horse

tonight she's out in another huge field with a new mare (well, mare that was here, hurt itself and has been elsewhere getting better and is now out with molly separate from the other 2 mares...) hope they're ok.

thunder then cue rain...

so no work done at all with molly ... didn't even bring her in, as there were only 2 out and i would have had to bring both of them and in any event she'd have had to stand for a good while to get dry before i could have put the massage pad on ... and it's still raining now 1 1/2 hours later.

i could hear it coming and knew what it was going to do, but couldn't go out as i had people to ring...and had to be in for the bread being ready as well! ah well! hopefully it'll be better tomorrow night

well that was good

a reprise of the work we did with Jenny last July, Emma was trained by Jenny. Steph and I were just spectating (i was videoing, and really thought afterwards I should have been right next to each one separately, rather than trying to get the whole scene and zooming in ...) but eventually i'll have something to send them all.

the downwards flexion and the lateral ...

and then some ridden work in the afternoon...which was interesting...

one lovely 3 year old shire did really well in teh morning, was the star of the show (had only just had a bit in , usually ridden bitless!) but poor lad was knackered by the afternoon!

and a gorgeous black 6 year old, absolutely to die for...struck a pose that was EXACTLY like one of those sketches from Fillis!

and we were really lucky with the weather.. one thunderstorm passed over whilst we were having lunch and then stood over edinburgh south of us for the rest of the afternoon but left us dry

course, had to drive through it coming south, it was horrible! and out the other side.. coming down to newcastle there was ahuge cloud over there and durham, but it cleared away ahead of me.

i'm afraid i spent some more money as well. new ariat bromonts that fit, at an astoundingly low price (very surprised, that vendor usually prices a shade over the odds!)

so must sell the ones that don't fit!

in scotland

at stephanie's today, going to a flexions clinic tomorrow... because partner's away for the week i thought i'll have the weekend! pics tomorrow probably when i get home! went down as i set off to make sure molly still had 4 legs etc, and hopefully will get back before dark to see her tomorrow night....

20 minutes

although i did wonder after the 3rd attempt to get on whether it was going to happen .. which it did after the 4th. i think we were both a bit dubious after monday's events!

still mostly nice and soft, i slightly went into trying too hard mode which is something to be avoided....and pushed her through her attempt to stop after 10!

had remembered my mp3 player so listened to hank marvin and the shadows, and niether of us were distracted by the bouncing lambs!

and of course she was more than happy with her massage... the machine does an automatic 30 minutes and then switches itself off.

bramham

was good, apart from getting there a bit earlier than we needed. had been told that friends class was 0830, and we didn't get there until about 0915... it turned out the class was in fact at 1030! um....

anyway, apart from one shower, we had a good weather day (we'd all gone with an assortment of foot and outerwear) and i came home with

1. a new pair of ariat springboks in black, at a reduced "show special" price.

2. an oster grooming kit at a VERY good price! (to be posted, should arrive Tuesday, they're paying the postage!). i've wanted one of those for a long time but the usual price is just a bit pricey to justify ....this price was good.

3. an equilibrium massage pad AND magnet therapy pad, all for the price of the massage pad....i didn't go looking for the magnet therapy pad, but since they were offering it in and it retails @ £90, that was a bit of of a no brainer... it's likely to hit ebay...

but without the person i gave a lift down to who is staying at friends for the weekend and will be back monday..

so whilst the bank account has taken a hit, it's all in a good cause and the back man did insist i massage molly every day ....i'll charge the battery tomorrow after partner has set off for her week away, LOL...

10 minutes

but it was a good 10 minutes - no grief on mounting, no setting of the jaw, lots of softness and, so far as i could feel, back legs coming through, direction as i requested after a couple of false starts (pheasant hiding in long grass, horse's tail swishing behind a tree, that's all you could see, and a very odd looking van through the trees!) ... generally very pleased with that, particularly as I was totally starving not having had lunch....normally starving makes me feel queasy!

so i was quite pleased with both of us (and yes, i put the shorter girth on!)

that was after Molly's feet had been attended to by the farrier.

coooold

well, i don't suppose it was really, but I felt really cold (had the heating on this morning) and when i got to the yard it was cold and windy and molly was desperate to be out (had been in for about 3 hours by then...) and i really couldn't feel up to anything ... so i fed her and turned her out, so she was happy! and it's rained a couple of times since i came home again so i don't feel so bad about not doing anything...think i'm having a bit of a blue phase ATM, actually! partner worries about me spending so much time at home on my own, and possibly is right... rejuvenation on thursday, off to bramham horse trials for the day.

not as thin as i thought...

Molly, that is .... or it was because she'd been in for a while already when i got there, but i think she's jsut not put on as much as i thought..

now why do i say that?

i'd done the girth up as much as possible.... the saddle slipped as i got on, i tried to put my other foot back on the moutning block and didn't quite get it right, so iwent backwards, my left foot came out of the stirrup (thank goodness) and molly went bucking round the arena with the saddle on her side as I fell on my back

shorter girth, I think!

got someone to come and help me get back on, as I wanted to get on again sooner rather than later and ensure she hadn't been adversely affected by that.

She was good

phooey.

I've never had that happen before! and so pleased i got the left foot out of the stirrup!

and it makes me wish i'd hung on until the shop had had the slightly taller mounting block in stock ...

better .... in parts

Friend on the yard texted me about going out for a hack, so off we went.... partner working on PC on work work!

Bit of a trying time getting on, and when I did, everything had moved underneath me so the first half of the hack was pretty uncomfortable! shims crook underneath, saddle therefore not square, therefore me not right... got off at harbour house to put it all right, but couldn't get back on again at ordinary mounting block! so led her back to our arena (i do like a walk, not! it was about 15 minutes i think) and got back on from my mounting block no bother at all. and everything felt much more comfortable! Friend's horse had been being a prat as well, turned out she was in season ... sorted ther out and we were both riding different horses! so left the arena and walked up to the next yard again and back round to finish.

so all in all, quite pleased, and next time if stuff slips we put it right again BEFORE going anywhere!

I think i hadn't tightened the girth enough, really...

back on board....

and she was very good.

i did have someone hold her ... since we're not allowed to trot yet and she still has some bruising, i didn't think rope circling was a good idea if she wasn't going to stand!

so she didn't argue the bit once

bear in mind between the arena and the road is a thick copse that you can't see through but can hear everything going past.

we could hear car doors being slammed (car at house next to yard), cyclists shouting to each other as they cycled along, traffic, and she could see the geldings belonging to next yard up moving about.

didnt' get herself distracted by the noises off (although the horses moving about did at first, until she worked out what they were...) and was particularly impressed by the non reaction to voices suddenly being heard out of seemingly nowhere!

only did about 15 minutes, which i thought was about enough

and was pleased it had finally stopped raining! about lunchtime....but we had to put the heating on!

rain rain go away

well it had by 5, when i went down to see molly .. but teemed down from about 0600 until then!

happily, i didn't have to wrestle with the hill in the mud ... they were up by the other drive, so i took the feed dish round in the car and fed her there!

She'd already been in at lunchtime, as it turned out - the owner of the other 2 mares got them all in as he wanted his in to dry out and rug them... had i put a rug on molly, she would have severely overheated (as it was, she was really really warm and toasty! despite the rain).

an i am told that at 0700 or thereabouts this morning she was to be seen standing next to the water trough .. with a young deer! I said, where was the camera LOL

bruising....

as to be expected, nice big bruise on her left quarters near the top....and back man had to watch her as she wasnt' impressed being touched! but settled....got some massagey therapy (electro stimulation sort of thing...)

give her another 2 days, then i can start riding again in walk only, and massage by hand to help reduce the swelling .. and then as she improves see how trot goes...

and given i can't do the exercises he gave me last time, i should, he says, by a massager.... equilibrium one ....

bargain....

curry's was selling printer ink for my printer ... at 97p! that's what the sign said, so i asked the chap on the till to check the price ... 97p! so i had the last 2, and wold have had more had there been more... guess someone made a mistake somewhere in the back office! but if tha't what their system said...

and Molly? when i get her in tomorrow for the back man coming, i shall have to take the pressure halter i think! and finally got hold of the farrier... he hadnt realised the text message i'd sent him was from me.....he does another horse of the same name, and was puzzled me talking about trimming ... so that's next wednesday.

totally o/t

and shamelessly stolen from a post on EE (no doubt taken from elsewhere, LOL):

Julie Andrews Turns 69,


To commemorate her birthday , actress/vocalist, Julie Andrews made a special appearance at Manhattan 's Radio City Music Hall for the benefit of the AARP. One of the musical numbers she performed was 'My Favorite Things' from the legendary movie 'Sound Of Music'. Here are the lyrics she used:



(Sing It!) - If you sing it, its especially funny!!! :D

Botox and nose drops and needles for knitting,
Walkers and handrails and new dental fittings,
Bundles of magazines tied up in string,
These are a few of my favorite things.

Cadillacs and cataracts, hearing aids and glasses,
Polident and Fixodent and false teeth in glasses,
Pacemakers, golf carts and porches with swings,
These are a few of my favorite things.

When the pipes leak, When the bones creak,
When the knees go bad,
I simply remember my favorite things,
And then I don't feel so bad.

Hot tea and crumpets and corn pads for bunions,
No spicy hot food or food cooked with onions,
Bathrobes and heating pads and hot meals they bring,
These are a few of my favorite things.

Back pain, confused brains and no need for sinnin',
Thin bones and fractures and hair that is thinnin',
And we won't mention our short shrunken frames,
When we remember our favorite things.

When the joints ache, When the hips break,
When the eyes grow dim,
Then I remember the great life I've had,
And then I don't feel so bad.
>>>>>>>>>>>>> > >>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>
(Ms. Andrews received a standing ovation from the crowd
that lasted over four minutes and repeated encores. :D

Thursday

is the day the back man can come....

hopefully i hear from the farrier soon .. spent all last week trying to get through to him but something was going awry with the texting, finally went on Saturday!

I did think about trying to learn to trim her myself, but my back wouldn't hack it... so i shan't!

happily, we're back to 3 mares, new filly (rising 3 year old ID cross, more ID than anything!) turned out this morning!

oops .... bang

today was bath day, the weather being so gorgeous.

So, took her round to the yard to bath her. she decided the hose was scary? not.

anyway, half way through hosing off she decided to play up again ... and slipped, bang, down on her left hand side, hips first (essentially, her back end went out from under her)

she's put her pelvis out.

This wasn't clear until some time later ... but she has. so i've texted the back man and am waiting to hear back

i expect she's got some bad bruising which will really show tomorrow

from 7 to 2

mares, that is. The rest have ALL gone to stud...

So it's going to be a bit of a nightmare, really, i expect, as the other mare's owner always rides in the afternoon and i ride in the evening at the moment...

i expect he'll fetch molly in and i'll turn them both out... but up that hill it's not clever! ah well.

Today, we didn't do huge amounts time wise.... but what we did do was good, little bit of ground work to establish a basic, then i got on and she was nicely with me most of the time - a little bit iffy at first as she could hear a lawnmower and could see someone going out into other yard's field for horses... but then settled down nicely. finished with a few halts down the long side, all of which were done without setting the jaw etc... so i thought that was a good note to finish!

a long unexpected walk....

in hand.

The mares had been moved back into the field they were in, so they were right up at the top by the harbour house drive near enough.

when i went to get Molly in, there was no way she would move down hill to the field gate we normally use to get back to our yard... no matter how much i moved her head, shoulders, quarters... i hadn't taken the pressure halter with me.

but she WOULD move back to the harbour house drive end, where there is a small picket gate.... so that's the way we wen.t

at that point, i had a choice - turn right, go out onto the road, down a dip up the other side to my yard. but it isn't necessarily the safest road, and whilst I'm happy to ride it, being on the ground isn't that safe as traffic can be a bit fast and stupid, and the sight lines are poor for cars ...

the alternative, turn left, along and down to harbour house, along the back drive, over the ford and round back up the side of the field my yard's geldings are in. That was the one I chose - apart from no traffic, it also meant that molly got a consequence for not having gone the way i'd originally wanted. If she thought she'd got out of ANY excercise, she was wrong.

The only trouble was, it took 40 minutes and by the time i got her back to her stable we'd both had enough excercise for the day! and i was pouring with sweat (it's HOT here...)

Therefore, i didn't ride.

lesson tomorrow, and i did think about rearranging it to next week bearing in mind we haven't done as much work as RI wanted this week, but decided to carry on as planned.

different horse?

looked like the same horse, was in the right place, new me, etc... but a different one to the one that wouldn't let me get on yesterday and wouldn't do anything the day before.

i was particularly pleased with her as not only was she working nicely after the first 5 minutes, but there was a young friesian ( 4 or 5 i'm told, only been in the country a year) being lunged .... and when it was cantered on the lunge, they didn't stay up the end they'd started at but ended up at the end Molly and I were, which at least meant we could then use the full school. finsihed up with three horses in there, 2 ridden and the one being lunged.

when i was taught to lunge, i was taught that the lunge cavesson should be on the bony bit of the nose and tight so that it doesn't slip about ... nothing has changed about that that I am aware?

anyway, you'll gather i'm a happy bunny tonight. hope tomorrow is as good!

in hand....and in hand...

i thought i'd do a bit inhand before i got on... she was good, i didn't hurt too much, what can i say.

but she wouldn't stand to let me get on, and i didn't have my pressure halter of course.

so did a bit more in hand and then stopped, i didn't have the time to persist with the mounting as i had to be home to work this evening (clients, of course, work days...)

mmmmm

well...

got on, did some work for what, about 20 minutes? she wasn't really lightening except occasionally .... but wasn't arguing from the off as she has been...

then she decided she'd had enough, and despite sitting up, legs as told, pushing ... all i was getting was sideways, and head tossing...ggrrr

got off and did some really nice in hand, was very pleased with that and i even organised mysefl enough to do something on MY "bad rein" (all wihtout stick, which I didn't have with me) think i even got a bit of shoulder in, certainly tried for it..

then got back on ...

and the head tossing got worse! with or without contact....

not prepared to have that argument on my own.

but next time, i'll take my schooling stick.

then when i put her back in the stable and took her tack off, something set all the horses off in the field - the mares she coul dhear but not see, and the geldings she could see .. and all she wanted to do was be out there. 1/2 hour later she hadn't more than had a mouthful of tea. so out she went.

and the sad nws, a mare which arrived just before the weekend was turned out yesterday - immediately hurt itself quite badly and was brought straight back in for the vet, and has today, i think, gone to horsepital....3 year old :-(

fell asleep!

but i blame the sun...

we got up really early and went up to northumberland county show - watched some of Nicola's class for her borders - and it was HOT... 30 degrees C, apparently, according to the car sensor...

got there about 9, left about 2 - tired.... went to my mother's on the way home.... came home, fell asleep for about 2 1/2 hours!!!!! so not me! and after a glorious hot sunny day, when I did wake up again, it was raining!

now what a surprise! not

Molly had, of course, put me where she wanted me and I hadn't realised! i wasn't sitting up.

So you'll gather we had a good lesson

lots of circles with the inside hand very wide and lots of small flexions with the fingers....and lots of assorted resistances from herself (she won't be able to tell me any more she doesn't know how to go sideways, she does!)

after about 20 minutes or so (one does lose track of time) RI got on and did the same, and she started relaxing....

then someone else came in the school, who'd a thought it Sunday teatime! - but not to worry, loads of room....

then i got back on... and sat up, LOL. interestingly, the feel is of a chair seat, but i'm not sitting in a chair seat... just shows how much i'd been leaning forwards without realising it!

so we were both relaxed, and Molly was working really nicely after that!

So I'm to do a week of that in walk, and next lesson is next saturday teatime...

still shimming issues...

i had thought that the propensity of the pad to move off centre was a function of my getting on, amongst other things.

it isn't - it's a function of molly moving!

I did a bit of in hand today, with a view to riding thereafter (lesson is postponed till tomorrow!) and realised after that, as i was preparing to get on, that the pad had moved off centre under the saddle (the result is that the centre seam is not up in the gullet where it started - this was particularly noticeable at the back! before i mounted).

so i undid it and put it all right, got on ... walked round .... got off ... and it had moved again...

I hadn't anticipated doing anything huge by this stage, as a horse was shouting loudly back in the yard and someone/thing was crackling about the copse next to the arena, but i decided to go away and think about shimming again.

the saddle itself stays where it should, so far as i can tell, but of course if the pad has moved, the shimming is also in the wrong place....

it isn't as agent had it, TBF, last time she was out, as I can't get quite the right thing for the back....

you woulnd't believe it....

after the difficulties of the last few weeks....

went out for a hack (myler combi in her mouth) with a friend.... good as gold, bar the moment when the geldings tanked up to the track we were on and hooned about....

particularly pleased as i'd expected a tantrum at harbour house, and when we got through there to go down the hill, the track to the hill is largely fenced off with (unpowered) electric fencing leaving a very narrow access....

she wasn't keen on going through the ford, but then it's a while since she's seen it.

and we got a proper trot going up the hill beyond the ford.

well pleased.

hopefully she'll be good in the lesson tomorrow as well!

this was all arranged very late last night via facebook!

myler combi

did the trick in terms of Molly NOT throwing her head about, etc....


but my new boots need breaking in. I got some new long boots this morning as the winter ones were far too warm .... fine in the hsop, as you would expect, fine walking to the arena ... but when i got on, it became all too clear which had been tried on loads of times and which hadn't. serious pain in my left ankle due to boot crease digging in sharply....

so i got off, wrestled with the boot put it back on and got back on ....three times round in walk and it was still painful, no point trying to do anything.

of course, molly knew there was something wrong with me, i couldn't begin to use my legs!

anyway, looks like i'll be using the combi for a while again, haven't had that on her for what, over a year? certainly well before I moved OFF harbour house last June...

the smallest mule on the planet?

THIS is great

can't do flexions

if every time i pick the rein up, she starts tossing her head about!

i thought flexions might be a good plan to try and get her head wrapped round havint he bit in, but clearly that wasn't going to work.

and this was only standing in the stable.

RI didn't get my text, something wrong with her phone, so will ring her tomorrow.

i'm feeling abit disheartened ATM.

i have texted RI

to organise a lesson.

She was better with the bitless tonight than with the bit yesterday, but trot wasn't going to happen. that was for one of 4 reasons

1. the going (we're back to DEEEEEP)
2. whatever with her muscles
3. remembered whatever about the bit
4. something i'm doing

or a combination of all 4.

never mind, we did get some sideways! several times. the circles were better. got some serpentines as well. couple of stops, for lambs i think!

tomorrow

i will ride in the bitless.

today, i rode with the bit in. and it was exactly the same as prior to the move - kangaroo hopping in trot and little hope of contact in walk.

this despite the nice work she'd been doing on longlines (mind, that was bitless...)

Friend was there watching ... she said she wouldn't have the patience!

i did wish i'd taken the bitless over with me, could have swopped over, but too far to go back and pick it up!

and i'd forgot partner was going out (to see a badger sett, apparently) tonight so who knows if we'll eat ....

mounting and staying on practice

happily, getting her in was easier than yesterday - they were much nearer the gate (about in the spot they were in the video i posted!) and i took the pressure halter and 12' line!

anyway, to ride again.. put the bitted bridle in, with the pressure halter in case of need.

led her over to the arena and there was a chap and his son having a kick about on the access, they stopped .... but then went to talk to someone on the drive (i'll have to post a pic of this as you'll never visualise it - but anyway, the access to the arena is through what used to be the gates to a big house, and there's a gate lodge on the right, opposite the arena a ndseparated from it by an expanse of grass and the drive)

So, into the arena. first attempt to mount, she moved so i worked her round (just had the lead rope, but does the job!)

second time, she stood, i got on, we walked round ..coming back down I knew that the noises of talking and bouncing ball was group of people standing outside house talking, but they were hidden from view by a tree. never mind, she just stood and looked, so i got off and led her to the fence line so she could see what was causing the noise..

got back on again, and i don't know what happened (possibly i let the lead rein go a bit slack) but she was sort of kangarooing/minor bucking/who knows what across the arena whilst i tried to get my offside stirrup and not jab her in the mouth but stop .. wihout falling off. all of which i managed.

i then decided we needed to try that again, so got off, back to the mounting block, took halter off and got back on ... walked round some more, admired the lambs who admired molly so much they were trying to climb into the arena.

did the whole thing one more time, and then decided enough was enough - boy bouncing football was now kicking it about on the grass, the rain was trying to start again not having rained all day, and i thought we'd done quite well overall, considering.

So, i think tomorrow i can probably dispense with the pressure halter altogher (hope so, it's a long way to go back for it, LOL) and do a bit more once i'm on....

eventually got on...

but it was a lengthy process

first, get one's horse from the field ... they were right up the top so i had to walk right up, and decided to take my walking stick with me in case i needed to brace myself if molly didn't want to come. that was a good plan - she was hapy to be caught, but didn't want to leave the other mares. Fortunately, they followed, but not as quickl as the other day so we had a lot of circling round me and trying to go back. eventually i decided the safer plan was walk back round behind the other mares and bring Molly down a different part of the hill, which got us a lot of the way to the gate and then she started planting a bit again near the muddy area .. but not too bad by then and at least it was level. Then through the gate and very carefully down the very slippy slope! I reckon it probably took at least 1/2 hour, possibly longer, to get her in and back into the stable.

then left her for 10 whilst i had a chat to another owner - Molly quiet and happy when i'm with her, but shouts when i'm not! - and groomed and tacked up. whilst I was puttin gthe saddle on it started chucking it down properly, and i did think it was going to stay too wet, but it eased off and was going to stop, so picked up mounting block and off we went to the arena. i'd put the bitless bridle on, largely because of it's qualities as a "pretend" pressure halter - but should have taken the 12' line as well! the lead rope not quite long enough. Anyway, after a bit of protest and working her on the lead rope, and reminding myself the hard way that whilst the reins are 12' they have velcro in the middle! so she had a trot round on her own! Molly stood still and I got on.

walked round twice, remindedmyself where the "seat brake" is, walked round again a couple of times and got off and called that a good day. Not much, I know, but whilst she wasnt' charging around it WAS the first time ridden in there and when i was on her i rather felt as though I should have lunged or something first (and of course we weren't supposed to be lunging!).

Still, next time will be easier.

and really it's all my own fault as she hasn't been worked at all since what, week past Friday? what with me being ill and the back man coming out and the weather... and i know by now that something every day is a better plan with her. Also, of course, she hadn't been in the stable since Tuesday...

anyway, I finaly did the video from the day she was first turned out:

thir d day off!

because it has rained all day! until after 7 or thereabouts....

and my voice is now failing ... but i've stopped sniffling!

if the weather is ok tomorrow, i will see about riding... back man said "light exercise" not sure what he meant by that, but whether we can go for a hack is a function of there being someone to go with...

it seems

that in fact Molly now living on a hill has brought to light some issues that may have been brewing for a while!

She had tight spots over both quarters in her muscles, and I'm to do some stretching exercises ... save that we discovered that I'm not in fact fit to do them with her due to my back/neck/etc issues! the exercise where you lift the back leg up with the hock bent, and then pull the foot forward, thus stretching the muscles... the alternative is an equilibra (? think that's the brand, not equissage too expensive!) massage kit and use that every day...

and her hocks are a shade stiff (unsurprising, given her history!)

she also had a sore spot just on the left wither, and he wanted to check the saddle until i said it was a HM treeless .... difficult to know about this one, as it's not that long since I had agent out and less long since the new shimming arrived .... it may be the new shimming that's wrong, but i don't think so .. we'll have to see (but he also said that the HM treeless was the best of the type....)

Poll etc were fine.

and I really should make an appointment to see him myself! (he trained as a human physio before training as a horse physio and does both!)

2 days off (which i knew he'd say anyway!) then "light exercise"

in the meantime i wasn't as well today as yesterday ... felt dreadful, in fact, all achy - and so coold (it wasn't hot out, but i think i was feeling colder than i might have otherwise!) i put the heating back on. bad me.

that was interesting...

Molly was right up at the far corner, the highest point of the field by the drive to the other yard, where she was last night, so i went up armed with the bitless bridle, which can also act as a bit of a pressure halter ...

she came along with me - followed, in a line astern, by the others! it was quite funny, i wish someone else had been there with a camcorder!

so you'll gather i'm feeling somewhat better - still blowing away, but the sore throat has gone and the head isn't feeling so bunged up!

back man tomorrow, lunchtime ish

computer came back, sorted....

hopefully back into some sort of routine soon, but not this week - evening meeting wednesday, away training day thursday!

phillippe karl

i thought whilst i was laid up i could usefully use the time to start on some of the videos and dvd's i've bought and not got round to. so i opened Part 1 of Phillippe Karl's Classical Dressage series.

Very Interesting.

I was particularly interested in the flexions, to see him do that....motivational to try it again with Molly ....

and interesting to see the ridden - particularly the raise the hands - you could see the horse sit back and lift himself, so to speak..

glad i watched that, now to open the rest....

day in bed

well, long bath and back to bed, with more lempsips etc...

molly? i drove down to the yard about 5 and they were al at the very top of the field by the drive down to the other yard. so i made up her tea, put that and the headcollar in the car and drove back round there and fed her next to the car. saved me a HUGE walk up and down hill that i really wasn't up for...also saved any grief she might otherwise have offered on the subject of leaving her friends, LOL.

lots of lemsip

blackcurrent flavour though, i much prefer it to lemon!

I didn't do anything with molly, the ear is still protesting if i bend over, and perpetual need to sneeze etc doesn't really help towards working one's horse effectively .....

partner had a mega-shopping spree.... she did get a new to her car, will take delivery at end of month - 2 years old and only 11000 miles on ....

not well...

me, that is.... sore throat, sinus if i bend over, couldn't get myself going until lunchtime ... lots of lemsips, strepsils, and trip to chemist to see what else they could give me for said sore throat.

Molly is fine, in the field...

the computer is still being mended.....will get it back on monday. The PC, of course, has the work software on it ... back up back up backup, thank goodness i had!

and the wind was ridiculous all day until about 7 pm.

so that was my day!

um....

you will recall i was very pleased with her longlining in the bitless last night... doesn't work as well on the lunge, probably because it is very difficult to get the length of the side reins correct when you have to wrap them round the roller a couple of times first!

so, um.

and my computer has been taken away. man came to the house today to put in, nter alia, a new hard drive.. and finished up saying, he didn't know why the office hadn't told me to take it in, when putting everything back kept not working! so he's taken it away to try and sort out!

hugely improving...

she was thinking about falling asleep in the stable - only thinking about it, and still standing up - but more than happy to just stand with her head out the window, and go back when i told her!

then i longlined with teh bitless - and she was working into the bridle when i got it right, so pleased, we'll get back to where we were in the not too distant future i expect

but isn't it odd - lead horse past someone, clearly not tacked up to be ridden, and am asked if i am riding ...?

back man tuesday

calming down..

she was much calmer today ... don't know whether that was partly to do with they were allnear the gate, but she was a lot easier to get in, and not bouncing round her box. i was able to groom her (last time was when steph was here Saturday) and tacked up to lunge .. only with the bitless, but still ...

next to the arena there's a coppice, where there was a chap getting firewood - didn't realise until she suddenly decided that corner wasn't nice and started cutting in, and i registered the noise being made by the chap ... didn't last long, and in teh scale of things all she did do was not stay out on the circle. later, she went back to full circles.

so overall i was pleased with the session.

i should get pony lengty side reins to work with the bitless, the full length ones are too long really, i got them a bit shorted by wrapping round the roller (which is quite wide) rather than jsut through the relevant ring, but that's not wholly staisfacctory. had i been able to get them a shade shorter she would havce been working into the bridle (cna't say contact with bitless!)

so i was very pleased!

rang back man first thing, and someone else rang last thing ... so we'll have to wait to hear from him..

a struggle won...

Molly again did not want to come in - we had a lot of planting, no i want to go back to my friends (who were following, LOL) and circling and at one point trying to barge over me (happily failed!) but got her out and down the hill - assisted by the walking stick (proper walker's walking stick) partner bought me in Aldi, this of course to ensure as much as I can that I DON'T come a cropper down the hill - especially as it tipped down all last night!

so got her in and left her to stand for 15 minutes or so, changed my boots (back to needing long boots for the arena, boot full of arena is uncomfortable!) and then took her over to the arena again for some more groundwork.

Someone had left one jump and some pony length trotting poles out, but there was more than enough room to work round them.

in a way, i'll be happier when she chills to the point where i have to push her on, rather than slow her down!

but she was listening more than saturday i think

then she got her tea and turned out - by that time, the others had gone back to the top of the field, so she screamed for them and set off at canter up the hill! coulnd't quite tell how crook she was because of the angle she was to me, but not really "flowing" if you see what i mean.

i'll ring back man in the morning (i saw no point in ringing over the bank holiday, as it is a holiday, and it's not as if he'd ring back until tomorrow anyway!)

my plan for today, made yesterday, was for gardening - lawn needs doing, some weeding, whatever .....

but since it teemed down all night i couldn't mow the lawn and partner wanted to go find water plants for the pond ... so that's what we did. almost back to wintry, bit of a wind, but we got the plants, came home via tesco for shopping and then put plants in pond before I went off to do molly!

and the most amazing thing? i didn't wake up until 0920, unheard of!

nothing.....

on the molly front ... we had a very late night last night and an early morning this morning, and then a day out with a friend who was here for the weekend, so really didn't have the energy .. but i have bought molly a new himalayan salt lick, 5 kg should last her a while!

mirrors and splints....

Stephanie is here for the weekend (and EE dinner in Newcastle tonight) so she arrived at lunchtime and we had a horsey afternoon. she kindly held the stable mirror whilst I fixed it to the wall, i put the hay bar up as well and then we got molly in.

we also got another mare in who otherwise would have been in the field on her own!

molly was somewhat more settled, the foal in the next stable was tied up outside, she could see other horses and the mirror was up, so she got groomed, then did some ground work and also let her loose in the school for a canter round - she was VERY crooked in canter - quarters in both reins, very much so - also dragging her feet walking down hill - so needs the back man. happily someone else is also getting back man (qualified physio) next week and he's seen her before so hopefully i'll get her seen.

she wasn't as crook in trot rope circling, on right rein a bit (steph says, i coulnd't see it as well) left rein much better.

so we only did 10 minutes of that and brought her in for her first tea since monday! then turned her out.

she is, of course, doing a lot of hill work in the field that she hasn't had before, so that'll be working muscles she probably forgot she had....

and splints, you all wonder .... we wondered if i've got one on my left shin, from the accident i had in february 2006 when i walked into a box in my sleep. it would certainly account for the continuing pain, and occasional inability to weight bear of an evening when i try and stand up

anyway, doctor on the 15th, hopefully she will agree and send me for xray ... i saw different gp last year who said "soft tissue injury", a diagnosis with which, of course, i disagree (a soft tissue injury would not render the leg non weight bearing, now would it!)

a small success....

went armed with pressure halter etc.

happily they were at the bottom near the gate, so caught her no problem (she actually started coming towards me) and she didn't get upset going down the hill (just as well, it was very slippy as it had rained again, both going carefully!)

didnt' jog up the other side

but put her in her stable and she started screaming and shouting ... must ge the mirror up tomorrow, that'll help - no way she was going to stand to be groomed.

so i put the halter back on and went over the road to the arena and did some ropecircling.

no trouble getting movement, but her attention wasn't wholly on me. didn't keep it going too long, just enough to know she was listening enough to go the direction i wanted, not the one she wanted...

then turned her out again after another attempt to stand her in stable....

she'll settle in time ... just not quite yet.

cancelled tomorrow's lesson, not worth it!

nearer....

to the gate, which was a relief. i didnt' try and catch her, as i knew i hadn't time due to late meeting, but went and said hello and fed her polos...

as i walked back to the gate, other owner was brining her mare up and molly started shouting for her....

i'll try to get her tomorrow....