That feeling of inadequacy

We managed some schooling last weekend, after a fab ride out on Saturday (see video below!) I felt pretty good about it. Making it into the school, me not worrying. Rio being a bit of a prat and me still not worrying, trying to get a feel with him again... All until I put together my video. He fought and fought with me, and despite him coming in a bit, despite me desperately trying to get him moving forward into a contact; all that happened was me holding him together, and it didn't flow at all. 

I've booked us in on a dressage clinic next month, and I'm just dying to get in there to try and work this out. It's come to that point where I feel like we need to step it up or I just feel like I'm not enough for him. This weekend's frustration was my lack of ability to just sit to the trot. I'm not kidding now, this is really starting to eat at me. By now, I should be past the point of getting excited about sitting to three strides before I lose it again. Right? 

Wrong. I need to remember not to run before I can walk. In the grand scheme of things, it wasn't so long ago that I was terrified of that school and of Rio being stupid in there. 

It wasn't so long ago that on a hack I would have been a sprung ball of tension at the slightest trip or spook. 

It wasn't so long ago, that if another horse had come sprinting past causing Rio to rush off in pursuit, that I probably might have lost my seat (maybe a stirrup or two) and bailed out in a big sprawling mess. 

Not any more.

These are the things I need to remember, and when the inevitable downs of horse ownership and riding come into play, these are the things I need to draw on. How many times have you been through these patches? How did you get yourself through them? I don't want to feel like I'm letting his potential be lost because I'm not a capable enough rider. I want to learn, and I want to be able to teach Rio, and for him to learn with me. It's time to start saving to try and get a trainer in every few weeks. 6 weeks and counting until the clocks go forward. I cannot wait.

On a more cheerful note - here's our hacking video! 

If anyone has any tips they would care to share, I would be more than grateful.

Stuck like glue!

We have had a smattering of snow over the course of this last week, but whilst the snowfall has looked impressive at times, it's not lasted long! This was on Thursday afternoon - I was lucky enough to be granted a late request for a half day's holiday at work. I took Rio out around the village with one of the girls whose 4 year old TB can be a bit of a crazy boy, and Rio was a bit fresh. I intended on changing his numnah back to his woolly white one, but ran short on time with the weather threatening. His new one has been rubbing a bit at the back of the saddle, so I had temporarily padded it out with the half pad which seemed to fit much better too. I think he may be changing shape again a little. It could have been the numnah that caused him to do a speedy stomp around the village, or maybe he just knew the snow was coming! 

I finally got around to putting my photos in my frame! Such a gorgeous boy, and now I get to admire him all of the time. 

Today we went out in the trailer with Sarah and Franks, and Rio got to try out his big boy pants and take the lead! We had an interesting start, to the point that I thought his saddle must really be causing him aggravation. Whenever I asked anything of him, and again in between, he was skipping around being a bit silly. We gave him the benefit of the doubt, and took the boys up the canter hill for a leg stretching trot and it seemed to do the trick. Franks was being super good, so Rio and I took the lead, to give him something to think about, and test his brave pants!

He did have a couple of moments, as you can see in the video haha. It was a fab ride. We still have plenty to work on, but it was just great. Sadly the SD card was full before we finished our hack, so we didn't get footage of the uphill gallop at the end of our ride. My seat has improved so much, as has my confidence and trust in Rio. Not long ago, if he had taken off up the hill at the rate he did, I would have been genuinely scared, and pulling him up. Not only that, but he ducked abruptly to the right once we hit the track at the top - straight into a low hanging branch. I've no clue how I stayed on, as I had to duck down over his left shoulder to avoid getting smacked in the face, and of course that's the way my balance was thrown by him jumping across to the right. A quick glance at the floor reminded me that's not where I wanted to be, so I looked straight ahead and we carried on!

This month is looking to be an expensive one on Rio's part! Just as well I'm accustomed to being poor on his behalf hey. I'm running desperately short on hay, and have somehow got to try and make it last until Saturday. I've managed to make up a haynet from some of the fresher stuff around his bale for the morning, and I'm just going to have to hope the rest is enough... (I do have a backup offer from Sarah should this fail! I can't let my poor baby go hungry in this horrible cold weather)

Going off piste

We're not going down there are we mum? Yes. Yes we are. 

Um, I'm not so sure. Bailey doesn't want to go in there, and Monty is hanging back, so I don't think it's safe. Really? How about you give it a look, and then if you really don't want to, we can discuss it sensibly? GET ON! 

Mum. No. I'm not going in there. Look, my head is under the roof, and I'm telling you - it's SCARY. I'm turning around. No you're not. Look, have a second, that's fine, but you're not turning and running away from it. You're better than that. Come ON. 

AAAHHH ok mum we're in, it's... it's not so bad actually... I just need to check the others are following! Good boy, I told you it would be fine! Of course they're following, you've just shown them it's not scary, you ninny. You funny boys.

We've had a mixed bag this week. Rio came up for a little play on Thursday evening, and there were three horses in for the night. Do you think he would go into his stable and stay whilst I closed the door? Not a chance. He ended up being driven backwards the length of the barn because he was being so rude. We went into the indoor school to work on manners, where we experienced difficulty in getting him to stay on the right rein in walk or trot. We made it in the end, and ended up with some nice movement once he was actually listening. He joined up, and was happy to follow me at liberty in the school in various shapes and over a small raised pole. He went into his stable (still with a little fuss) and had dinner afterwards, so I still managed to have my own way on that front! 

Yesterday we went on a little mission around the local village, and ended up doing alot of road work. It was probably around 1hr 45mins with minimal time of that being off road, so although we had taken it steady and it was a walking hack for 98% of the ride, I was still a little worried about his splint and hind (unshod) feet. All was well though, and there was no sign of heat or swelling today, and his splint is no different. In the picture above, we are all lined up on Amy's drive (not pictured, but Monty is the one I'm holding!) 

We certainly drew a lot of attention, as there aren't usually horses on the roads we trekked. There are probably a few people with photos and videos of us now... Amazingly none of the boys pooed on the drive, but we did stop at Tesco on the way back to get a coke, where Bailey decided the pavement was a great place to let one go. That didn't go down so well, despite Mils trying to kick it off on to the road - the cashier wasn't impressed. Hey ho. Won't be going in there for a while! (The reason we were on the pavement was because it's on quite a busy road, and we were less in the way on the pavement than milling around in the road... I know we're not technically meant to be up there - just sods law!)

So we come back to today's ride, where we conquered the scary underpass! Rio was lovely and relaxed, other than the little fight to get him to trust me that he wouldn't get eaten down there. When we got back I decided we would spend a little while in the outdoor school again, whilst I was feeling comfortable and confident in the saddle. He would not move past the other boys as they were stopping to be untacked. Amy kindly grabbed her riding crop, and we were off. We had some lovely movement, and he even took up a bit of a contact with a bit of work from me. Perfect. Here's a video Amy took on our second run (can't beat a good bit of desensitising!) - I couldn't leave without going back again to get photos haha.

Walking on wind!

We braved the winds today. After our little play yesterday, and not having done anything else since last weekend, it could have been interesting. Except the Alfa rage seems to have dissipated!

We went out with Millie and Bailey for a wander around the village, and Rio tried out his new boots again! He does look dashing all dressed up with his smart booties and exercise fleece. All was going well, and then we came back in onto the field, where a lady was walking through the footpath that runs alongside the track. Rio was a bit on his toes, and had a little spook, which I'd contained. However Bailey is still learning how to follow, and had other ideas - all I heard was "my pony's going to explode!" The perfect cue before we took off full speed ahead down the field. I found a few seconds to realise that if I sat in, gave him his head and then checked him, he might come back to me. Hey presto - we had a lovely canter whilst we watched Millie disappear off into the distance and pull him up at the corner. 

We decided it would be a good option to get them to walk around the field so that the next time we went out on the field, neither of our boys would expect a good canter! We had a canter up the first side, then walked back to the yard, and I even had Rio on a long rein. Millie decided that she wanted to take Bailey in the school and hop a few small poles/cross poles. It seemed the perfect opportunity for me to address my fear of the outdoor school. I decided I would go in and walk Rio round a couple of times just to say that I'd done it. A building block as such.

 We walked around a few times, and he didn't put a hoof wrong, so I decided to try a trot. I was so pleased when he dropped his head down into a lovely contact, even though my reins were longer than usual when I would be asking for it. 

And then this happened! We were having so much fun, we "jumped" several times and didn't even think about being in the outdoor arena!

Needless to say, Rio got lots of cuddles, and was treated to an apple and pear in his dinner this evening.

Ride / play safe x

Go Pro is GO!

I have added a new video to the video page! Here's the first part of the compilation I did from the Go Pro from our ride at the weekend. So much fun!

Ride / play safe x

Winter Blues and some news

Oops time is flying by far too fast at the moment, can't believe I've not blogged in almost 3 weeks! There's not much exciting to report as we've not been doing any riding during the week. Rio is a field ornament in the week, and coming out for rides on the weekend. We had a great trip out in the box on Saturday last week, to a new spot I'd not been to before. There were BRIDLEWAYS! We never see bridleways where we are, so this is such a novelty you wouldn't even understand. 

Rio is enjoying working his way through the long grass in his field, he gets a bit opened up every other day. I want him to be in tip top condition for the colder weather, and also to make the most of the grass before we move over into the Winter paddocks. I don't want him to get bloated though... Balancing it is hard. 

He's looking pretty good. I'm not convinced he's enjoying being rugged up to the max, but we've been getting away with 100g for now, except one night this week which got down to 0, and I was super pleased I'd put his 220g on. It's been pretty soggy so his field is now getting mushy, his head and top of his neck and mane are muddy and it's all dried in, and poo picking is a bit like skating around some mornings. Hey ho, bring it on. 

In the meantime, I've been helping out a couple of times with my cousin's horses. I schooled Baby the week before last with my cousin schooling Oakey and today we went solo as my cousin wasn't able to get down. It's good to have a ride in the week whilst I'm not able to do as much with Rio, but it's also good for me to be able to ride a different horse. It keeps me on my toes, makes me concentrate, and gets me thinking about my position. Riding a 17.1 warmblood is markedly different to riding a 15.1 welsh D cross! He worried me this evening as he was bobbing and dropping his shoulder as if he was lame on his right fore/left hind when we first went up into trot. However, it seems he was just trying me on as once I asked him on and he picked up a more forward trot, he went absolutely lovely!

In other news - meet Coheed & Cambria, our new little piggies:

Ride / play safe x

Autumn is on it's way

I can't believe it's starting to get dark before 8pm already. We saddled up for a short hack out up the track this evening at 7pm and it was already drawing in. We went out for a wander with Rach and the boys were very brave. We got to the top of the track to find that the bee keepers were harvesting honey from the hives. Not only did they have to make it past a strange car parked on the edge of the field, and a strange smell of the equipment, but the bee keepers were in full uniform, masks and all. There was much persuasion involved, and I was glad I hadn't braved it alone today, but we made it past and didn't end up in the ditch! 

More hot poulticing on the squidgy jaw, and there's not much more coming out. Rio was very brave this evening with that, we went in with much hotter water. He wasn't very impressed last night when I washed his mane and tail! The tail wasn't so much of an issue, but my gosh, do not wash his MANE! He was even less impressed when I plaited it up,.. Impressively they were still in place when I got to the yard this morning, but they didn't all quite make it to this evening. I couldn't quite muster the determination to plait it again this evening by the time we were done, so it will have to be done again tomorrow so it trains over. 

Sarah and Franks are away in the New Forest for 4 days now, so I'm either gonna have to find a different hacking buddy or brave it alone again over the weekend! I'm off to Burghley Horse Trials on Saturday with my mum as part of my birthday present in my new posh boots also from my mum for my birthday! On Sunday we have birthday celebrations for my niece, and then we will be working on the indoor school. It's been dug out today as it was super deep, so we are going to wash the walls down, paint it up, rake it out, and top it up where needed. It will be great to bring everyone together to do it, and also to know we have somewhere to ride over Winter when the evenings have drawn right in! 

Ride / play safe x

Just a quick one!

Lovely hack round the village with Sarah and Millie this evening. B even took the lead and seemed to love it and Rio managed just about to stay behind too. Franks was most impressive staying at the back! What a good boy.

I forgot to update you on Rio's lump under his jaw, so it is hopefully good news. It erupted on Sunday and we got a bit of pus out, luckily a friend was there to do the squeezing as I'm not a huge fan of gunky stuff ... it is looking much better and the swelling has now gone right down so I hot poulticed and my friend squidged it again this evening and I will be keeping an eye on it over the next few days. He did seem a little less sore there today so fingers crossed it is healing and all the nasty stuff has made its way out!

Ride / play safe x

PS. Spot the difference! New boots finally arrived - my early birthday present from hubster! In two years they will likely be equally as well used and loved!

Walking on (rainy) sunshine

I do love google plus auto awesome gif images. Especially since I take so many photos to create a series like this haha. 

So I pulled up to the yard as Sarah and Franks were crossing the road in the drizzling rain to go out for a hack. This is it. Today's the day. Another friend had just pulled up, so I asked if she was planning to ride, and it was a maybe, depending on if it started to rain more heavily or stayed the same. I was riding, no matter what. Instead of poo picking first to let the drive go, I just went straight down to the field after a quick chat with a few of the yardies, and got him in.

After a quick brush, the drizzle had started up again, so with my friend still down at the fields, I grabbed the saddle, took a deep breath and tacked up. Sarah and Franks got back, so I let them head back off around the back before I put on his bridle and mounted. Millie was sat in her car and gave me a little thumbs up as we marched off up the drive, and we were off! 

The rain inevitably got worse as we got out onto the road, but darn it we were doing this. I avoided taking him out on the field on the way out as it's the first time I've ridden after his legs have been clipped. He's still adjusting to being able to feel things brushing across his legs where his feathers would have been before. Having said that, I walked him through the long stuff again on the way up and he was very good, only flinching twice.

We did the short loop around the village, and he had a good pace. I felt surprisingly relaxed, and was focussing on chatting away to Rio and keeping my heels down. I adjusted my left stirrup to be one hole longer and felt far more secure. He was busy having a good nose around, but I was happy with his responses to what I asked of him. He stopped when I asked, he moved on when I asked, and for the most part, stood nicely. The only exception being the slightly busier corner junction on the way back, where he just fidgeted around a few steps, but still didn't do anything stupid.

Here's the best bit. I bit the bullet and we rode back across the field. He jogged a little coming through the entry onto the field, but I sat quietly, waited for him to settle down and he did a little bit of a half passing walk across a third of the field, and then walked very nicely after that. Franks and Sarah were walking back down to the field as we rode up the last bit, so he made sure they knew we were coming home. He has the girliest whinny! He called out a couple of times around the village, such a sweetie. 

We survived!

Ride / play safe x

Making progress

Just a quick update this evening! After a good ride out Tuesday evening, we braved a little walk out around the village with no equine company. Sarah accompanied us again on her bike, and me and Rio were very relaxed! I was so pleased, so now I just have to get on with trying it on our own, like, on our own. We shall see!

Tonight we went for a ride up onto the stubble fields with Sarah and Franks. Our first proper canters out on a hack (we've just had a little one with Sarah last week) since the river field broncs, and it all went swimmingly. It's all very helpful as the stubble is on a sweeping incline, and we had a little fleeting moment where Rio felt like he wanted to fly, but I checked him on it, and he came straight back to me. We had a little sideways spook whilst cantering the straight, but I was able to sit into it and went with him and just carried on. Overall, I'm very very pleased with both of us!

Feathers are still on, but fingers are TIGHTLY crossed they are coming off on Saturday morning. Rio has the farrier tomorrow, so new shoes, fresh legs, and if the weather allows, I think he will have a nice bath and I'll try and sort out his mane as it's a bit of a mess! 

Ride / play safe x

Relaxing into it

After all the excitement of Sunday, and the rubbish weather yesterday, a nice chilled ride was on the menu this evening. With the wind blowing the trees about with force over the course of the day, I could easily have talked myself out of it altogether. 

As you can see, Rio's feathers are still in place, we got forgotten again :( I'm starting to think I'm going to have to give it a go on my own, which is scary. I don't want him to look a total scruff bag! Clipping tips for legs VERY welcome!

The wind was still blowing fairly when I got down to the field, but with poo picking done, I didn't let that stop me from calling my boy up. To my absolute joy, he walked straight up to me this evening (I do love when he does that!) - headcollar on, and off we went. He walked out through the scary electric gate without batting an eyelid, let me close it without even glancing back, and was quiet and collected walking up and waiting to be tacked up. All in windier conditions than usual. 

I was very pleased, and by the time I mounted, the wind had more or less died down, aside from a few gusts on the ride. We walked a new route this evening with Sarah and Millie that I've not done before, and it was lovely. We took a loop route where we usually go straight up and back again, and the difference was amazing. The ride felt much longer, and was much more satisfying. We had different terrains, surroundings and footing, and plenty of hill work, up and down. Rio seemed to really approve of this hack, there was lots of stretching and snorting, and I felt comfortable giving him a good length of rein without worrying about him running off. 

Ride / play safe x

From bronco to nanny

The boys' mothers meeting this morning

So after our little incident on Monday evening, tonight was the night for getting back in the saddle. Tuesday night I was waylaid by a table top tack sale which was a little disappointing, but I did come away with a faux sheepskin white numnah for a tenner. Last night I was shattered and hungry and had a bit of a headache, so I just poo picked, watered, fly sprayed and ointmented up. I've started doing the 5/2 diet so for two days a week you stick to 500 calories or less. It's my first week, and Monday and Wednesday were a bit hard!

Tonight I went and got Rio straight out of the field instead of poo picking first (no time to talk myself out of it because of the heat/wind/headache/insert any other lame excuse here). I have now started riding with a schooling whip as he's been getting a little big for his boots recently, and so far its working pretty well. A little tap behind the leg if he's being a bit silly and he gets on with it. 

We were walking around the school chilling out and working on not looking at the scary thistles that have cropped up along one side, minding our own business. All of a sudden we were half way across the school with me growling and yelling expletives at him whilst I sat out a spack attack. What I thought happened was that we jumped sideways a bit and tried to bronc, and that I'd stood up a little out of the saddle in my stirrups before he calmed and we carried on walking around. What actually happened (as we almost ploughed through Stacey and her horse!) was that he literally jumped with all four feet off the floor and turned mid-air and had a little attempt at broncing. It also turns out that I probably didn't actually get up out of the saddle, that's just what the view looks like when I sit up and pull the reins up to keep his head from going down. Go figure. We moved onto a nice trot after that. 

Stacey is an instructor, so I was pleased for feedback afterwards, and especially pleased when she said I didn't move a muscle sideways and just went with him, and handled it well (perhaps other than the swearing...) Let's hope this is the start of sitting this kind of nonsense out - or better yet, the start of me winning a battle of wills against him doing it at all. 

We went on to do some nice trot work on both reins, and even managed a few strides of trot on the bit, and then I bit the bullet and sat in for a canter transition before I had time to think about it too much. It went very smoothly, we did a half dozen strides, and I brought him back. On the opposite corner, I asked again, and we did a few more strides down the long side, brought him back. Lots of encouraging words and strokes to the neck, and some more trot work before we changed the rein and repeated the exercise on the other rein. It was equally successful, and made me feel much better. There was no hint of a bronc, which leads me to further believe that Monday was a rebellion. 

After that we walked off a moment and then escorted Millie and Miss B on a walk around the village. Miss B is Millie's TB rescue project, and had her first set of shoes on today. We made it around the village with Rio as a nanny horse (yes... we actually trusted him with this responsibility... hmm) and Sarah on her bicycle. Miss B has a tendency to go backwards. A lot. When she stops and doesn't like something, back she goes. She was especially trying this on the way out, but it's got to be a behavioural issue as she was absolutely fine out front on the way back. 

I'm pleased to say that Rio didn't bat an eyelid whether he was in front, behind, beside, or being backed into - aside from one mystery "rush" where he did a few little steps of trot/canter on the way back for no apparent reason (cue another growl - I've finally found my voice, which is good as he is quite responsive to vocal cues). Luckily we were a few steps behind Miss B and had the room to do it, but who knows what that was all about? All in all, I'm pretty pleased, and fingers crossed we can take on the stubble field soon... Perhaps with Sarah and Franks'supervision!

Ride / play safe x

Double Whammy

This evening was interesting. Yes, it was windy. Yes Rio had a little bit of a funny five minutes after standing quite nicely at the barn for quarter of an hour. Despite the wind, he settled once I untied him and moved him away for a bit. Once Millie and B got up, we tacked up and headed out for a ride. B was very spooky with his owner yesterday, so it was a bit of a test to see how he would go. 

Both boys were walking out very nicely, and Rio was being good, so I decided we would give the river field a go. All was going well, and we had a lovely trot around the outside of the field. Unfortunately, I made a grave misjudgement and didn't bring Rio back to walk before the corner. We trotted a few paces down the middle track (our regular canter track...) and then I sat in and squeezed him on. What ensued was a few regular bouncy excitable strides which I was ready for, followed by broncing, and my third fall. I was expecting that he would do his usual couple of excited strides then settle down, so I sat in, instead of getting up out of the saddle. 

Rio stood and waited for me, so I got up and got back on. Mistake number two. We'd ended up back on the canter track. No sooner had I settled my bottom in the saddle and was about to find my right stirrup, and he was off again. I wish I'd had the reaction time or thought to give him a short sharp smack with the schooling whip, but with one stirrup I was more focussed on trying to get out of the saddle and attempting to bring him back. I failed. Off I came again, and managed to wind myself this time! I felt so bad for Millie as she looked on, the second time I came off she said I grabbed my wrist (I guess to hold onto something whilst I got my breath back) and she thought I'd broken my wrist! She went off to get Rio as he had wandered off a little this time, and was going for a wee... So it's obvious to say that this wasn't a spooking incident. This was boundary testing again. 

So we walked the boys in hand to the bottom end of the field, straight down the canter track. You would think that butter wouldn't melt! Millie held on to him whilst I got back on again at the end, and we attempted to pop him behind B to walk the route home. He wasn't having any of that though, so I let him go ahead, and we walked back up the outside of the field and out across the bridge with next to no issues. We got back to the yard without further incident, so I got off and unsaddled him, and off he went on the lunge to work. It's only the second time I've lunged him and before it was a bit rubbish. This time, he came to quite nicely in the end, trotting and cantering much better shapes. He worked until he got a bit sweaty and dropped his head to stretch out on each rein... 

Work in progress. I'm just hoping it's not going to be every time he comes out without Franks that he plays up. He was fine when I got back on him the second time, and he was fine cantering back in the outdoor grass arena, so now I don't know whether to get his saddle checked, get his back checked, or just put it down to him being an absolute sod, and a youngster. I often forget with his mainly sensible head that he's still just turned 5.

Ride / play safe x

Our loss is Rainbow Bridge's gain

It's been a week of gains and losses, and ups and downs, and change.

Rio is back in his own field permanently. I got down on Monday morning to find that he fancied a side of Franks with his grass dinner. He has had a bit of a gammy eye earlier in the week, so he had this rather fetching fly mask which we bought from Sarah as she wanted one with a nose for Franks. Rio wore it fine for a couple of days, and then decided he didn't like it any more, and kept taking it off and has ripped the top of the mesh away. He's now in a different one of Franks' old Mark Todd fly masks which doesn't have ears to see how that fares... 

We've had a breakthrough with the NAF Mud Gard Ointment with clearing the small mud fever patch on his right hind pastern. I slopped a good blob on when I went down on Friday night, and on Saturday morning the scabs all but completely came off with ease. I've been reapplying it to keep it safe, and keeping the last little bits of scab at bay. Fingers crossed it's now on the mend, although there's now a chance he has mites. Woohoo for a gorgeous feathery boy hey... Watch this space. Our post-ride routine is getting longer by the day! We now have to wipe down and apply mud gard, part all feathers and spray in parasite spray, and he's also being washed down with warm diluted dettol to keep his coat clean and shiny (plus I love the smell!)

So this week we have gained a few bits. Fly masks (x2!) sheepskin saddle saver, courtesy of Sharon, because my jeans are starting to go bobbly on the bum due to my suede saddle! We have also acquired nettex mud away from my cousin, which we are yet to try, but should help keep the mud at bay once the weather turns again. Finally, today, we've been given the parasite spray to try before I have to resort to calling the vet out about Rio's foot stomping mite possibility, and Deosect, which I've not used yet, it will be a last attempt before calling the vet. 

Sadly, we have also had a loss this week. Due to his arthritis, the decision had to be taken to put him out of his pain. He was a fantastic little horse, safe and sturdy, and so loving. Our yard really pulled together for Millie, and we spent Tuesday evening at the barn until almost midnight whiling the hours away before the day. Bob's field mate of 14 years didn't take it too well (understandably) but he seems to be doing well now. He's a round little 11.2 pony, and is definitely missing out on his daily scratches. Rio was only interested in trying to eat him when we put them in the school together, so he went in for some cuddles with Franks on Friday. Brandy actually came out on a hack with us this evening, he is such a sweet little pony. 

We went out for a mini photoshoot with Bob out and about the yard. He will always be remembered at the farm. Rest easy big guy xxx

Ride / play safe x

Sweet Shots Saturday

Jump on with both feet

Me and my boy are in training together!! After last night's adventure out with Sarah on her bicycle keeping us company, we went out for a mooch around the village with Sarah and Franks. I've come to the conclusion that I may have to carry a schooling whip when we're out and about - he had a stop yesterday when it was just us, which I managed to move him on from. Sarah was there for moral support to get on at me to get on at him, and it worked. 

Today, we took the lead for most of the hack, although Rio did tuck himself in behind Franks in the big field for a little bit at the start. We kept a good pace throughout, and Rio was pretty good, even when faced with a bus that slowed down but didn't stop to wait for us to pass! We went out across the grassy field by the river, but couldn't take our usual route thanks to the recent rain. Half of the track was a mini creek! We took the outside track, and stuck to a good walk, making our way through the little ditches that had formed. 

Rio was going well until we came across a patch of ground where there were distinctive different colours, lots of brown long grass across the green. We had a sideways hop with a 90 degree left turn into the foliage, which I think I comfortably sat. I turned him back to where we were headed, and tried squeezing him on, but he was rooted to the spot. I gave him a few seconds to have a look, but he was just planting himself by this point so I had to try and show him I meant it. A few strong pony club kicks, talking to him, geeing him on, and he still wasn't moving a muscle, so on this occasion we had to put Franks in front, and have him show Rio there was nothing to worry about. We took the lead after this again, and he was really good for the rest of the ride, even staying up in front across the big field on the way back home. Funnily enough, he still side stepped at the spot where he threw me. Such a strange boy. I had to take that route back or I knew Sarah would tell me off for avoiding the incident site! Haha. Got to love it. 

Rio will have tomorrow off as we are off out for dinner for my mum's birthday, then we will see what we get up to on Thursday evening. 

Ride / play safe x

So what is your horse for?

I got down to the yard to see Rio this morning with his girlfriends - yes, plural! 

Now I know why I have Rio, but I wonder for what reason other people get their neddies. For me, it is not just about me and Rio but the yard itself, and the people. The atmosphere of peace after a long stressful day, somewhere where I don't have to sweat the small things and can roll with the punches. I love that he's not a perfectly preened show pony; if anything, he's an absolute mud monster at the moment. He comes back from a hack dirtier than he leaves, because he's s a sweaty boy. He has a fidget and tries to scratch his butt on everything in reach when he gets hosed down. He pulls silly faces when he's trying to eat an apple because he can't figure out how to bite it once it's in his mouth. He has a huge trunk on him, and can't stop snouting at everything around him. 99% of the time, spooking doesn't even result in him moving from where he is. The other 1%, well who knows. Our bond is getting better every day. I can easily while away any number of hours at the yard, whether it's with Rio, or just chatting away the time. We keep on breaking new barriers together, and today we had our first adventure out together with no other horses, that wasn't just around the big field. Yes, my friend cycled with us, but we were the only horse and rider, and you know what? It was wonderful. 

All in all, having him just makes me smile. That's what Rio is for. He keeps me sane.

So what is your horse for?

x

Totally-awesome Tuesday

Perfect hack with the boy this evening. We took a friend out for her first hack with her share pony somewhere other than the yard, and she loved it! 

Had to get a photo with the "Bridleway" sign as we don't have any near our yard...

This hill is awesome. You can't appreciate it with all the ferns at the moment but it's just awesome. It's not huge, but it's pretty steep, and the power from behind you can feel when you canter up it. Just (you guessed it!) AWESOME! If you watch it through, you'll see us take out a fern on a sharp bend, and right at the end, I just missed the shot that would have been great to get - Franks leapt up from standstill and Sarah's matrix style somehow meant she stayed on. We honestly thought she was a goner! Sadly you can just see Franks' legs come out and me saying OH MY GOD!

Lovely canter after Franks' little episode - have to laugh at my little wobble when I've turned around. Was so great to have my camera on my wrist and be able to get photos and videos. Will definitely do it again until I have the joy of a head cam or Go Pro!

My third attempt at a running plait - I think I'm getting the hang of these things! This was taken two thirds of the way into our ride, and still all in!

Having a munch back home before we went back down to the field. We had a little discussion at both ends about getting into the trailer, but all in all was not too bad. 

Ride / play safe x

This cat's got THUMBS!

Meet Murph, Sarah's feline friend. He actually has thumbs! Check those bad boys out. He's a total dude, and very cuddly. We're not talking at the moment though, because mid cuddle he decided to try and attack me last night. (Attack is a strong word... He got a bit carried away though!) Anyone got some Cravendale? He's coming for it!

We had an early start this morning and had a super long canter across the fields, Rio took the lead to start with, and whilst we were trotting he offered up canter a couple of times so I decided to sit in and go for it. Despite offering it up, and Franks being right behind us, it wasn't long before I was having to work hard to keep him up a gear, and inevitably we dropped back into trot. Franks took the lead, and we trotted a little further before I asked him back up, and we had a wonderful long canter, with only a little encouragement needed. We'll get there eventually! He was a bit more springy today, and felt like he was pushing through from behind a little more. 

The boys spent a bit of time in Rio's field today (they've been sharing Franks' mostly!) after Sarah and I had a further prune of the nettles and thistles. We're steadily working across the field, and thought the boys might like a change of scenery and a good opportunity to self medicate some nettles/thistles if they so chose. They had a few hours of munching the long grass, whilst we popped out to have a nose at a show. 

When we moved the boys back, I noticed Rio had caught himself on his right hind (again!) and it looked pretty fresh. He keeps grazing himself and getting little scrapes just in front of his chestnut, I've still not figured out how, but today's looks a little deeper than normal. I walked back up to the barn to get some hibiscrub and hypocare, and he was actually very forthcoming. He walked off after I'd washed it out with the hibiscrub, and when I got to him with the hypocare bottle we had a minute or so of pirouetting whilst he turned his bum away from me until I moved him over sideways and he stood nicely. He stood perfectly whilst I tried to reveal the cut and spray it.

He had a good look and sniff at my glove - I was speaking to a friend not so long ago about what colours horses see, and I'm convinced Rio must be able to see blue. He doesn't fuss over Franks' feed when Sarah comes down in the morning (black bucket) but he ALWAYS knows if he's got feed, and his feed bucket is baby blue. Interestingly, I came across a great blog post about this, and as it turns out, it looks like blue is one of the colours they can differentiate! You can read the blog post here, I'd recommend a look. 

Ride / play safe x

P.S - updated the blog header as I now have so many more photos to choose from :) what do you reckon?

Poo and nettles

The boys standing watching Sarah fill up the water bucket. Bless them. 

Rio went out on a solo mission around the village with Sarah today. My leg is still feeling a little twingey so I decided it would be best that I give it another day to recover as it was pretty immobile at times yesterday. Happy to report that it's much better today! 

So it turns out Rio's freak-out on Wednesday night probably was down to a pile of poo. That pile of poo that he spooked at on the Thursday night hack got another look today when Sarah took him past, but his reactions are getting less each time. Today he had a good look, then calmly walked around it. Apparently he did a poo of his own which he also had to have a proper look at on his way back. What a silly boy. Other than that, he was very good. He wasn't even very sweaty. 

I took some cutters down to Rio's paddock today to attack the army of nettles and thistles. It's just a small dent but it's a start! I had to give up when my arms started feeling numb, so will carry on tomorrow.

This is after my attack on the foliage. Should have taken a before and after shot! Plenty still to be done, but it's actually looking much better already. 

Rio's new bit needs to be replaced as we tried it and it was a little too small so I'm sending it back to get the next size up to try. He was happy enough hacking in it today, but for schooling, it's just not quite wide enough to be a permanent solution. Little bit gutted, but I'll have plenty of parcels to look forward to this week as I had a little shopping spree this week for first aid and fencing supplies, and obviously the new bit will have to come!

Ride / play safe x