rain? snow? what was it?

who knows, but it ws so dire this morning that Jill and I agreed we were keeping Oscar & Molly in.  normally they're first out (and often only ones out these days) but it was TOO wet - considering the fields are muddy anyway, and we thought the downpours and wind of this morning was too much on top of that!

so in they stayed.  I regretted it though as Molly still needs exercise to keep her legs down.  They've not been so bad for ages, but particularly puffy today. Jill has the vet coming Friday, so I can see how she does.

so time i'd mucked out this evening (the rain having stopped and the wind dropped) i loose schooled her in the small arena.  Again, useful to see how she's moving.  and then we did some "picking feet up politely" practice, as we'd lost a bit of that!

and when i got home and FINALLY got signal on my mobile phone - got a text, going for a hack in the morning, that'll be interesting!

a right radge....

that was me - well not a full blown one, but working on it! So I shouldn't have bothered riding. The cause? excessive noise - YO's OH had the roller going outside the barn, all over, and for some reason it really rubbed me up the wrong way today.

then, having cycled down in nice weather, and there being nobody there when i arrived - time i got her groomed etc the weather had turned and we ended up with 3 of us in the arena.....wind up all their tails - starting to get damp - pointless.

So i got off again after about 10 minutes, before i lost the plot totally and thus made Molly do the same.

I was on long enough to discover that Jean is right, it's my knees of course!

and of course time i set off home the precipitation had ceased (the wind hadn't, though)

cycling

to the yard and back. It was reasonable weather when i set off, nice and sunny, no breeze.

Time I got Molly in, mud taken off, tacked up, on - the wind was picking up and it was getting cooold....

the continuing good news is that she is still stanidng to be mounted - this is after 2 days not being ridden (you'll remember i lunged yesterday and didn't feel up to anything thursday).

and she still offered to take the contact down a couple of times in trot!

I was also thinking about why i'm putting too much weight on the inside, will have to work more on that. If i don't put the weight on the inside, I end up with that leg coming up a shade and feet moving to end up jammed too far into stirrups. mmm.

anyway, 25 minutes of reasonable work, still with a forward and softish trot, the only person still there said she was going, and i was getting cold, so stopped.

cycle home? half of it. I'm not fit to cycle UP the hill from the yard yet, so walked half cycled half.

partner was impressed - she said, she'd seen my car and thought i must have taken hers, realised i hadn't and took a while to realise i'd taken the bike! how much i do that depends on the weather, but it's only a mile, and I should!

lunged....

hadn't done that for a good while, what with all themoutning practice and good lessons & good riding, so I thought it woudl be interesting to see what she's doing from the ground.

She walks when asked.

Her trot is more through.

She cantered when asked both reins.

She went right rein with no argument at all - if a bit hurried.

she came back to walk when asked...well, not immediately, but hugely quicker than has been known in the past.

She wasn't as relaxed as I'd have liked, but no matter

The advance lempsips seem to be having the desired effect, in that I'm getting no worse, which is good, and felt inclined to do things today!

instructor rightly suggests lunge lessons for me - but can't do that on Molly, she's not strong enough and not good enough on the lunge for that! so she suggests a fellow livery's horse when he's back in work....(he hasn't done a lot all winter....). anyway, we'll see what we can do without that for the meantime.

Hello Danni & Trudi! put some pictures up!

lemsips 'r us

think i've caught the bug partner's been fighting for a month now...so am medicating it before it gets going!

was ok this morning, i thought, but by this afternoon i was really struggling to keep going and since it was a horrid day weather wise (damp, windy) and molly clearly couldn't be bothered either (she'd been demanding to come back in since 0900, and was brought back in at lunchtime when i got back from taking fellow livery owner to hospital & back!) i decided to just give more hay/feed to see her till themorning and come home and dose myself up with aforementioned cold medicine!

take the contact down

in trot.

something else I've never had on any horse I've ever ridden before.

Am I making progress, do you think?

and she really did keep the contact. I remembered what i'd missed when she offered this during the lesson sunday, and was ready for it! A bit disconcerting in terms of horses head nearly on the floor, but hey.

BUT i've started putting too much weight on my inside foot again on circles, especially on left bend. a while since I've done that! and it may be one of the reasons I broke said foot in 2006. Now why the heck do i do that? a subject for next lesson.

Also have started halt/trot.

poor molly

because it's been so warm the last couple of days & nights, and she overheats if overrugged, she has a lightweight stable rug on.

I'm up bright and early as you see - and you should see the frost on the cars. drat. but at least it'll mean the mud is frozen and any hay I put out will stay on the surface!

whoo hoo

it might not have been technically correct (in terms of where my hands were) but that was the best trot i've ever had on any horse ever.

through, round, soft,moving (was she moving!)

my hands were on my thighs but i was flexing the fingers as required.

instructor happened to see it (she was there mucking out etc. a friend's horse, friend being poorly bad)

i wish someone had been there filming, y'all would have been as impressed as i was!

still good

lovely trot, on the bit sometimes, definitley moving, and my steering has improved hugely as well.

walk wasn't so good - but i was thinking about forward forward - and TBH i don't think she could be bothered! until we'd trotted.

and the weather was great. no need for a jacket.  i even put some washing on the line....

the saddle keeps the leg right, dummy....duh!

now I did know this - it was why i bought the Fhoenix and then the Vogue.

Why, then, was i moving my lower leg slightly back from where it should have been? put that right, seat more secure, horse goes better. Duh!

You'll gather we had another good lesson.

Didn't think it would have been as I had to go back in for the pressure halter to get on - although to be fair, it was blowing hard, going to rain, and I had some polos in my pocket I'd forgotten about but Molly knew were there.

Anyway, i decided my warm up was carry on from friday - move her on forward on a long rein to get her relaxed and thinking forward. Then when RI came in i had her take the halter off, and we worked on trot.

Instructor, having watched this (I have to say I knew part of the crap trot was me) decided part of it was Molly and part of it was me (the legs...). So, put the legs right, and just push her through it - pretty damn uncomfortable as apparently she's skipping all over underneath me trying to avoid working - not assisted by a need to avoid the d*** harrow that's been left in the arena! - and by the finish we had a really nice trot ON THE BIT.

this was all with an exceedingly light contact indeed and hands low.

Not once did Molly argue about any of it, she kept her mouth shut and her head was still virtually throughout.

So very pleased again, and will work on that for the next couple of weeks or so before arranging next lesson.

headache

which i think was caused by too much time spent looking upwards, with my neck bent back, into the tree - we were taking down the christmas lights. so i'd pretty much decided not to ride, and it was stil very cold (-3 this morning) with added windchill - so didn't. glad i didn't, i wasn't really up for it. painkillers to the fore! looking forward to the other half of my lesson in the morning, anticipate the headache will have gone by then as i'm not planning on looking up any more today, LOL.

good lesson

well, 1/2 lesson anyway, other half on sunday.

Firstly, Molly stood to be mounted without pressure halter etc - I did ask Jill to stand nearby in case, but she stood! YAY.

i'd had a text from teacher to say start warming up she was on her way, and was behind hand doing that due to receiving a phone call!

and Molly was in season - she and the other mare had been "tarting" over the fence - i blame the new mare for that, Molly hadn't done that before! That accounts for the less good work earlier this week.

anyway, instructor turned up 1/2 hour later, had been held up by her son having a tantrum, as they do.

She was pleased with where we were compared to last time (i'd been working, and we weren't as stressed as first lesson anyway!) and we worked on getting molly soft/round and on what degree of contact would get the desired result without stressing her head. at one point i had her so soft/round she offered forward into a lovely trot without my realising she was going to, and then did something that no horse has ever done for me before - offered soft and down! she wanted to stretch down. unfortunatley i didn't recognise that, so blew it, but there we go!

we then gave her a really loose rein and pushed the walk on, riding by seat, and then gradually took the contact back. very interesting!

then instructor's youngest child (fast asleep in car with engine on) woke up -someone had been minding her! wind - and needed her ma. so we ended lesson there, as molly had been out an hour and i was frozen. instructor said we'd finish up on sunday, she was clear she hadn't given as much time as she normally does.

she said molly was tracking up and overtracking really well and looking really god, and was pleased with the work we'd done since the last lesson. I was pleased. and of course, the first lesson, as I say, was stressful..

the other thing - with all the work, molly's mane now lies all the same way!

so more on sunday.

and my god deed for the day, i found some bedding for another livery owner, she thought no one had any of what she uses in stock, but someone did, so off we went to get it (beats hoovering as an occupation! but i had to do that later...)

partly successful

but I don't think it quite works - partly due to the fact that the bit is a hanging cheek, and i think there's insufficient space between the top of the bit and the noseband on the bitless. someone suggested that it may be possible to attach the bit to the bitless ... not sure about that, but it might be

Worked in that I was able to get on first time with no hassle. But she didn't seem as though she was totally happy with all the stuff on her head.

I got off and removed the bit bridle and remounted (easily). with the bitless, i feel as though the entire weight of her head is in my hands! and that feels fairly dire. the odd moment when she thought about dropping her head, but only very odd moment... tried some trot, but couldn't get it (my fault again i think - reflecting on that, i need to get after her more to get more movement!).

got off and replaced the bitless with the bitted. first time of trying to remount she started to move, I moved her off smartly and then cracked my schooling whip off the ground, and then she stood whilst I mounted.

by this time she was unsettled and my thighs & bum were cold (it was back down to freezing!) and overall we weren't doing anything well at all.

So i got off again and did two circuits in hand. Just to prove to her that she CAN work nicely and CAN accept the bit and CAN work through her back into the hand.

this was all in the small arena - the main arena was in process of being resurfaced, nearly done, hope it's finished by 3 pm tomorrow as i am having another lesson.

anyway, it was more mounting practice!!!

thawing...

above freezing. got as high as 4!

following through my thought about the DR Cook's BB having the same effect as a pressure halter, today I rode in the BB. I got on first time with no argument.

BUT then we lose a lot in the work in that Molly doesn't then work properly over her back as there's not the same contact for her to work into. but no headshaking etc of course. Having said that, I have to think more about getting stuff with my seat, and circles, straight lines up the middle/across the centre inside leg to outside hand were working...

As it's such a long time since I've ridden in it i didn't try for trot.

I think it should be possible to have both bridles on so I think I'll play with that thought tomorrow!

ice.....

-6 this morning, did get to 2 degrees this afternoon but that did nothing to make the arena safe - it was a shade TOO hard for my liking!

snow!

i was surprised, it had been raining last night, but there was about 1/2 inch of snow this morning and the arena was frozen....so i put off the vague thought i'd had of riding this morning, and rode this afternoon instead.

the pressure halter is good when moutning, but really not so clever riding as after a while it drops down her nose and upsets her... so i'll go back to the on/off/on/off until i can get on without it...either that or if someone's available to take it off once I'm on....

but we got a few lateral steps today, not many, but more than we've had before! then it got really cold as the sun (what there'd been of it this afternoon) vanished to i got off, my head was getting REALLY cold...

rode out!

i shall have to start using labels, as it then woudl be easier to look back and see when i last rode out. anyway, went out with Jill this morning, only up to the pub and back (Oscar's not fit yet and Molly's first time out for ages) and she was very good!

So for the first time in I can't remember how long, I was all done and home by 10, only thing left to do today is bring in & feed this evening.

going to watch Natasha stressaging this afternoon, at least we haven't got snow on the ground like last time!

unsettled ....

for 4 reasons, i think

1. we were in the smaller arena
2. there was a jumping lesson going on in the larger arena
3. i left the pressure halter on.
4. 2 of the new horses were shouting for each other (one in stable, one in roundpen!)

i think 3 was the most important and will not do that again. i will go back to 2 or 3 on/off and then take the halter off and get on the final time....

having said that, we did get a few nice trot strides - the going is a bit better inthe smaller arena, no boggy bits to avoid - and i did manage a circle each rein.

but then she got against the hand again, not hugely badly, and i think a lot of that was i was trying to wrestle with the reins AND a lead rope - granted a lot easier than the 12 foot line, but still in the way!

alnwick

stephanie & I had a really good day. we both spent some money - books, jacket, trainers, lunging cavession with bit hangers! lunch.

found a copy of Mrs Hubroun's SideSaddle but didn't buy it - it was £38 and we don't want to ride side saddle... but it's a rare book, probably won't be reprinted, and someone out there will want it!

molly did nicely without me, apparently, and i went down gave her tea and checked her over..

i think...

we're at the stage with the mounting practice where really all Molly needs is the presure halter on and she'll stand....i tried first time without it today ,but that resulted in a move ..as soon as i put it on, she stood.

but the 12' rope is too long and thick to carry in the hand sensibly, so i think i'll try it with just a lead rope (then i needn't get off again...)

interesting how calm Molly is about it all now.

a few more weeks of this, and I'll be able to try again with the tall mounting block in the corner....it's too heavy to move, you need three people at least, and it's badly placed altogether .. but given the progress i'm making at the moment, that one will be "cracked" eventually as well!