News and New Stuff!

Well I have some happier news to report - and an explanation on why Sarah is riding Rio in this picture! We are pregnant, and will be 26 weeks tomorrow! Rio has been off work since my last post, for my peace of mind but it also came at a good time over Winter whilst I'm trying to balance his digestive system. Sarah kindly agreed to brave the saddle for me a few weeks ago just to see how he is getting on, and he was a little angel. He had started pulling his head down when I mounted, because he was getting uncomfortable, and there was none of that on this day. He usually takes 5 - 10 minutes of being a little more alert, on his toes and joggy before he settles in our friend's manege. Not this time - he was lovely and relaxed from the get-go. This may have been down to the groundwork and long-lining I did with him before, but this was the first time he has been under saddle in 3 months+ so he could have done anything. It was lovely to see him looking a happy chappy again. 

I think he is looking well at the moment (and I think in this picture he does too!) He has had a follow-up visit with Donna since September and we saw great improvement. He has been less spooky, and thanks to the groundwork we even ventured out around the neighbouring field on long-lines on our own a few weeks back. It's been keeping me active having Rio - and although some days I've possibly done a little too much, it's great for keeping me going! 

In other news, I have an exciting new venture in the planning stages! I've decided to take my maternity leave as a perfect opportunity to really sink my teeth into my photography, and launch myself into business. Please do add me on Facebook and Instagram so you can keep up with my updates. I'm super excited to open a brand new chapter in my life - and not only that, a chapter that can tell other people's stories! There's plenty to plan, and lots to get sorted, but I can't wait to give this my best shot and see what's out there for me. Launching my business with my first child on the way is not complete madness, right? ... 

I'll try to be a little more active again now, it's been a bumpy few months, but we're back on track! 

Treading new waters

I'm falling more and more in love with this boy. 

On Tuesday evening in the wind we came up and did some groundwork. He was lovely and responsive and relaxed. His claustrophobia behind is developing, and he managed to back up over a pole much faster than the other day. We then worked on our circling game, where he relaxed faster, and ended up walking nicely with a good stretch on both reins. I was super excited when I managed to ask him to stand with both right feet one side of the pole, and both left feet the other side! He's really gotten the hang of stopping with his front feet over the pole, so I felt it was time to step it up. It wasn't easy, but after a bit of patience and perseverance we made it. 

Today the weather was warm but with a cool breeze. Sarah kindly waited for me before getting Franks in to ride, so we saddled up and joined them for a gentle mooch up the track. It's the first time I've ridden in almost two weeks, Other than his usual habit of being a little joggy on the way back, he was good as gold. I just need him to relax a little more and not feel he needs to rush on the way back! It's hard, because I think it must be partly something I'm doing, but I just don't know what. I've been much more relaxed in my riding over the last few months, but perhaps I'm still overthinking it.

When we got back, with all of the jogging, he was very sweaty. He stood very nicely whilst I sponged him down (of course he rolled when we got back to his field!) and I was super pleased. When we got back down to the paddock, I decided to do a bit of ground work (mean mummy I know!)

We did some work on backing up from the first gate to the second. Then I asked him to circle - left rein, lovely. Straight out, nice and relaxed, and stopped when I asked him to. Right rein - well, it was far more lively. I'm not sure if I have a stronger send with my right hand because it's my dominant hand, but I found this evening that he responded better to no carrot stick being used on that rein. His disengage was much improved, which was a big positive. 

All in all, I'm so pleased with my gorgeous boy. If I can really stick to my ground work, we are absolutely going to be rocking it in the future. And I will stick to it! 

Then and now!

I've finally gotten around to having a look at comparing my photos of Rio from last April to this year's shoot! He's grown up so much in 12 months, and I couldn't be prouder of where we have come from and where we are going.

I've been feeling very tired recently, so there have been some questions raised over the lack of riding I've been doing - I've taken preference to developing our groundwork and riding for a shorter length of time. I'm sure that some people think this is crazy, but I'm happy. Let's face it - Rio is an opinionated young man when he wants to be, and he's a half ton of horse to take on when he's got his mind set on something. If taking a step back is what I need to do at the moment, then so be it, and we will work on getting to know each other better! 

The pole clinic went well. Speaking of attitude, Rio took some of that with him that day. After going to move him into a field away from the arena and him going to trot off around me, we took to playing on the ground. 40 minutes later, with lots of backing up, driving, playing with obstacles, and getting control of his feet over a pole on the ground, and we mounted up with a renewed understanding. 

The morning session resulted in a light, forward going and responsive ride. The fear of the end of the arena was almost gone, until his brain was a little overloaded by the end of it, but I was absolutely chuffed with his efforts. 

The afternoon wasn't quite the same story. Unfortunately I think he blew his mind and left his brain by the trailer for the most part. I ended up getting my instructor to ride him, and it was a pleasure to watch him in the end. He tried his little heart out, and although he totally lost it on a few occasions at the scary end of the school, he really made up for it in the end. 

Onwards and upwards!

Sluggish start

Having spent all Winter complaining about the ground being wet, the wind being cold, and not being able to ride, I am now in prime riding season and feeling so tired I'm really not making the most of it!

That said, the little bits that we have done have been positive. Trying, but positive. The third time of going to walk Rio out of his field after our first session, and he's walking up to it with no issues. I'm still leaving him to graze in order to close the gate a few yards away, but the panic is not as set in as it was before. I am hopeful that a few more sessions will crack that. 

I brought him up on Thursday evening and gave him a good brush down, before I hopped on and took him into the outdoor arena for some schooling. He was really not very attentive at all, and when my friend left the school with her horse, he was very tetchy. I decided to see if I could test his senses a little outside of our usual routine. Sylvia Loch has recently moved into the local area, and classical dressage is something that I would like to further explore with Rio. I think that with both done correctly, that CD and parelli will work nicely hand in hand. Both intend on creating a bond with the horse whereby a tiny movement or suggestion speaks volumes. 

So I decided that I would try simply dropping my inside leg weight slightly more into the stirrup, and see what happened. Now, Rio is still quite young (yes I know he's six now!) and is quite attuned to weight distribution. Something that I'm keen to utilise and not lose. I was pleasantly surprised that whilst keeping my line of sight straight through his ears, not moving my hands and reins to steer, that he started to turn. A little more weight in the stirrup, and he turned a little sharper. What magic this is. The basics are there for us, I just need to learn how to develop them.

For now, we will stick to small tweaks, and we need to do a lot of bending to ensure those corners aren't taking at a 45 degree angle to the ground when we make it up into canter. Moving forward, these little things are what give me the belief that my boy really can do anything, if only I can help him to learn!

Rio the Parelli Pony

It's that time of year again, I've got over 1,000 photos to choose from to edit. This year I had the pleasure of photographing Franks and two other horses as well as Rio! There are some beautiful shots, even though I do say so myself, so lots of playing to be done. 

Over the last few weeks, probably even getting on for months I have kept saying that I need to get back to doing some groundwork with Rio. As it goes, whenever the weather has played ball, of course I have ended up riding. This is leading to small problems that are developing, and him pushing a little more every time. I've not been picking him up on it, and allowing him to get away with it, so I will now be taking it very seriously. Yesterday we went to visit our friend with Sarah and Franks, with a view to schooling in the arena. I wanted to speak to Wendy about some confidence exercises to do with Rio on the ground, and we had a fab Parelli session.

It turns out that Rio is actually very claustrophobic behind. Once he listens, and focusses on me, he is very good at backing up. As soon as we put a pole behind him, however, his whole facial expression changed and he was genuinely worried. This was a ground breaking discovery for me, and has given me a whole new perspective. We played the squeeze game, going between the fence and two upright barrels, going through a standing hoop, working up to going over two half barrels in the hoop, and finally stepping over the two barrels laid on their sides. 

After all that thinking, he was positively sweaty, but after a bit of a break and a brush down, we saddled up and took to the arena. It took me at least 5 minutes to mount from the block in the corner of the school, but I remained persistent. I was so very close to giving in. A deep breath, and walk of a circle, and he finally stood still in the right place and we were off. Within minutes, he was blowing out, and was the most relaxed he has ever been in the arena there. 

I didn't push him too far as he was clearly hot already, and we've not been doing so much these last couple of weeks. After some lovely trot work, I squeezed him into a canter - and we cantered a full lap of the arena. It was just like cantering any other horse, and felt much more natural than we've had previously. He still motorbiked the second end, but the first bend was much smoother. Not only that, but we did a full lap of the arena on the other rein too! Yee Ha!

This evening, as it was pretty warm, I took to the field with parelli halter, carrot stick and 12 foot rope. I will give Rio confidence, and he will learn to respect me and trust me. We practised some backing up, before I took him toward the gate. Where he stopped, is where I started the driving game. He started trotting in a panic when I drove him towards the gate. As soon as he gave me a more relaxed response to my question, it was important to let him rest, and reward him. It took some time, but mixing this in with backing up, by the end of our session, Rio was standing outside the gate in the spot that he usually freaks at. I was over the moon. We will do this!

Our first go at dressage!

As promised, here is the video footage of our first ever dressage test.

Even though it was amongst friends, and intended as a bit of fun, I was still SO nervous beforehand! Those four little letters are just terrifying - t.e.s.t ...

You will notice that my reins are a bit loopy - this was intentional, and intended to assist me keep them a consistent length. I have a habit of playing with my reins, letting them slip through my fingers, collecting them, and the circle continues. We weren't after collection here, just relaxation and a nice rhythm. I hope you'll agree that the rhythm side turned out pretty well. 

Comments on our sheet were as follows:

1. Nicely on centre line

2. Lovely fluid and free flowing trot

4. Good trot

7. Needs to show more stretch (he was supposed to walk out on free rein on the half 20m circle left rein, and I was quite surprised when he didn't stretch down as he's usually very good at it!)

9. Energetic transition (yep... we nearly took the judges out with us going into canter on that bottom corner haha)

10. A little forward (I was pleased he went up into the canter and maintained it, so I didn't try and tweak anything this time - that's something we will work on)

14. Broke early (didn't quite make the whole of the second shape, but again I was super pleased with his effort and he did drop into a lovely trot, so I decided to stick with it)

15. Good centre line

16. Lovely square halt

General comments:

Delightful youngster! Good paces, very forward. This could be controlled better going forward by better rein contact. Quietly ridden. When you both have more experience this looks promising!

63.2%

Happy mummy. Happy Rio - look at his little face, he's adorable!

Positively Spring

The pole clinic went well! This is our first time over the new poles at Wendy's. Having done coloured poles before, it never struck me to take him over them before we started working with them. His beautiful bascule was from a trot, as he tried to keep us both safe from the blue and black pole monster! (Hubby says the poles are white and gold...!) When I took him back around to walk over it, he didn't want to go anywhere near it, but after 5 or 6 small figures of eight over the poles, we were all good. 

I definitely need to take Rio out off the yard for a hack this weekend, as we schooled on Monday night and this morning before the farrier visited. He worked very well both times, and has started to settle more in our outdoor arena. Or maybe that's me. We are working more consistently together, and I have been trying to work more on my breathing to enhance my communication with him. Bringing him down from trot to walk with a sigh along with my aids has proved to work well, but walk to halt still takes a little more. 

Today we did some canter work, and although the left rein was a little touch and go, his balance on the right rein was much better. We had a lovely rhythmic 3 beat canter from A, doing a 20m circle, and back up the long side, where I asked him back to trot before the corner. It was the first time I've felt able to ask him to collect a little, as opposed to getting him into the canter and letting him settle into the pace he wants to keep him in the canter! He is also responding much better to my carrying a schooling whip. It is only there for when he pushes through his shoulder, as he's lovely and forward anyway. He's really getting the hang of it now, and as soon as I touch it to his shoulder, he instantly straightens up and moves over. We even managed a bit of leg yield on both reins today (and once in trot too!)

Last night (much to Rio's dismay) was bath time as the temperatures had shot up. He was a bit of a fidget bum, but once he realised that the hose stayed on him no matter where he moved to, he eventually gave in. Well, for a couple of minutes anyway. Then he had to test it again. I did feel a bit bad, as by the end he was shivering as the temperature did seem to dip off all of a sudden. 10 minutes with his waffle rug did the trick to warm him back up again though, and he's lovely and soft today! 

I now have a copy of our dressage test, which I will be editing and uploading soon - super excited, you can see our super speedy dressage cantering antics!

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.

Cool day

I love a good girly lunch. Me and Sharon were the only ones who would have our photo though so here we are. After we stood in the falling snow for a moment (it lasted probably no more than 10 minutes, but it tried!) we'd all done our yard chores for the morning, and set off for a delicious fry up down the road. 

I couldn't believe the ice that I pulled off the top of Rio's water in his bucket this morning. This was around 10am as well, it was so cold. Amazingly, there was next to no frost... All very strange. Rio soon tucked into his breakfast and I was far too excited about spreading his hay into more than two piles. I'm loving this drop in the wind speeds again. 

We spent today's hack (there were 5 of us today) practising not sticking to the horse in front's bottom, and standing to wait when asked. The first time I asked him, he just kept walking, in super collected fashion, and popping in little side steps. Not to mention the one attempt at a little mini plant and rear - he didn't get that far though as I gave him a quick kick to remind him who was in charge. As soon as he stood still for one second, I allowed him to move on, and we upped the ante from there. By the end of the hack, he was standing, and not moving a muscle until I asked him for as long as I tried to leave him. 

The improved response was with him in 3rd position though, and not fourth where we were on the first attempt. It's progress anyway. I'm not sure he will ever be a last horse kind of boy. As long as I can have an acceptable level of control over him wherever we are in a group, then I'm happy. If we can be in a more comfortable place for him, then all the better for it. 

When we got back to the yard I felt comfortable enough to sit and stretch out my legs without my stirrups for a few minutes, which is a relatively new thing for me to enjoy. I dismounted, and popped him into his stable for a bit. So proud. I just tried not to make a big deal of him being in there, other than to make sure he knew where I was so he didn't panic. 

I walked in and out of the stable again a couple of times whilst tidying things away, and getting his rug in to put on him. He listened very well, and didn't even have any haynet to keep him occupied. He did try to walk through me once, so I backed him up and made him wait. When it came time to walk out of the stable, I motioned him around and he came and waited behind me for me to clip the lead rope on. He walked out quite calmly, and I loved every second of it. 

Ride / play safe x

Stable manners

Just look at Rio finally starting to look a bit more at home in his stable! I was trying to persuade him that the bank corner is a safe spot as much as by the door! Treats r us!

Seriously though, he did so well this evening. There were a couple of horses in for the night, so I'm not sure if that helps but the improvements are certainly showing.

Tonight I changed his rugs over, picked out all four feet and managed to walk out of the stable to get something and come back in without him trying to shove his way out of the door. It's amazing.

I could see he was thinking about scaling the door up at one or two points but I called him over and kept his mind off it and, for today at least, it worked well.

Ride / play safe x

Speedy update (and another video...)

Better photos to follow - more stable work this evening, and we'll update you on that tomorrow. Super happy. 

Last video of this Sunday's playing, I promise!

Ride / play safe x

Making progress

I can't get enough of these photos of us - it's such a novelty! 

We made the most of the quieter weather last night, and Rio came up to do some more work on relaxing in his stable. There was no hesitation from him walking into the barn (yay!) and he walked through confidently (yay!) without sniffing at everything and shoving things off the sides (yay!)

Once in the stable, he munched on his dinner much more calmly without swinging his head around every few seconds to check he's still safe. I popped out of the stable for a moment and closed the door, and faffed around and he was very good. So as he got close to finishing his dinner, I went back in and sat on one of his storage boxes in there. He had a good look around, stood at the door, and went to try and jump it. Cue the carrot stick, for some confidence building - he doesn't need to rely on the door to feel safe!

It was actually fairly successful. I'm not sure how long we were in there, but I was able to move him away from the door when I wanted to. He dug into his haynet a few times, and then settled himself stood in the middle of his stable, or a few steps away from the door. I was very proud of him. He didn't barge out the door, and even waited a couple of steps behind me whilst I opened the door. 

So here's a little video (again, I know!) of us "jumping" the other day. There will probably be one more to follow on my next post. Sorry for the video spam - I'm just so pleased with it.

Ride / play safe x

Motivate me Monday!

We are still dancing on tiptoes after yesterday's lovely experience. 

It really sucks that the wind and rain are so poo and bringing moods down. My motivation this evening was totally sucked away, despite seeing Bailey in his stable and daydreaming about the future when I might be able to give him cuddles in the stable! We have many more stable training sessions to come.

Ride / play safe x

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

Keep it natural

Hey everyone! Mum has handed me the reins this evening as she's been super busy starting to plan a "baby shower" - whatever one of those is.

My breakfast and dinner were changed just over a week or so ago, and I feel so much better now that I'm on a more natural feed. I've always been on Alfa A, but since mum changed it for ReadiGrass I feel much calmer without all the extra rubbish in my system. 

I was so well behaved this evening, mum didn't have to raise her voice once. I had a lovely brush, and mum says my coat is looking super shiny. Looks like that new diet is having more effects than expected! Yay me. I'd also like to mention that despite my field being quite ... empty... the yummy hay is keeping my spirits up. I always get at least four little piles to go and munch, which does mean I have to walk around to get it all, but I can let that go. I've even been getting five or six piles some days! It's boring standing still all day anyway...

Does my butt look big in this? Guess who's been practising tail plaiting again? My tail is getting a bit long again... Ahem... It is smooth and silky though! I didn't even fidget whilst it was plaited this evening. I got so many cuddles and scratches, which just helped me relax more. I even plucked up the courage to wander through the barn. I wasn't asked to, but mum didn't stop me - we walked up and out the other end, and I got some more scratches behind my ears before we walked back through the other way. I can do this. Maybe mum will start doing some of the scary stable training again soon, then I can show her how brave I can be.

I really enjoyed my stretches this evening, I'm super flexible! The carrot was nearly at my bum and I barely had to strain - yum yum. I also had to stretch down and out to the side, which was a bit confusing at first, but I got it in the end. I've obviously gained mum's trust more as she let me off the lead rope when I was doing them, so I made sure I was on my best behaviour. 

I couldn't resist showing off with a flashy collected canter when my head collar came off in the field whilst I waited for my hay to be brought in. I've been making an effort when my feed is brought in to pay attention and wait for my bowl to be put down and be told I can have it. It's been much easier since I started paying attention as mum doesn't get shouty or pushy with me.

Catch up soon! x

PS. There's another video been posted on the video page - it's a follow-on to part one!

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

Red mist on the clear?

It's been a good couple of days. Yesterday, Rio lead out his own little hack around the village. He was responsive, patient, and even when he had a little worry in the scary corner as we left the field, he worked through it with me. What a brave boy. We stopped and started, did collected walking, had a beautifully controlled steady trot, and even managed to stand and wait for others without fidgeting. Is this really my boy? 

It seems that the mists of alfa anger may be lifting. Or it may just be that he's enjoying regular work. Either way, it made for an absolutely delightful ride today when we hit Belstead in the trailer with a couple of friends. It's been a while since we've done this ride with anyone other than us and Sarah with Franks. I wasn't sure what he'd be like! 

I was given the scary responsibility of riding with the Go Pro today (Sarah's chrimbo prezzy!) and it was pretty cool. It amazed me just how light it was - you just about forget it's there, which is great. Not so great when you gasp, or talk - we all know how bad we sound on video, right? Seeing some of the footage at the end made it worthwhile, there's something super funky about re-living a brilliant hack, and seeing your boy's ears bobbing along! Fingers crossed I can get my mitts on the footage so I can post some here for you in the near future. For now, these lovely shots of Rio's bottom will have to suffice. 

We had a couple of moments, he lost his back end a couple of times going over a slightly icy bridge, that wasn't so fun. Then on the way back someone had gone to hold their dog but stepped back out of obvious view, so that was clearly terrifying, and we did an almighty side step/leap off the track onto the field - sorry Mr Farmer Man. I was mostly relieved not to have toppled off in full public recorded view of the camera! That would have been embarrassing... 

We also did a couple of jumps (inadvertently!) one on the first canter track, where we hopped a puddle, and another jump going up the canter hill. I'm not sure if he thought he'd reached the top and was trying to jump the crest again, or whether he was just getting excitable. He did really go for it on the second run! He also had a super hissy fit at the top whilst we waited for the others, foot stomping and all! Despite all that, he was far less sweaty today, even with his exercise rug on. His girth line was sweaty, but thanks to his new Le Mieux numnah, and hopefully him being a little fitter, he had only traces of sweat under the saddle. Even his armpits weren't sweaty like usual!

All in all, a very enjoyable end to my time off between jobs. Tomorrow I start my new role, and I must admit to being a tad nervous! Our ride today was a perfect distraction. Now to see next weekend if it's alfa rage that was causing his grumpiness, or if it is just lack of work... Bring on the Spring!

Ride / play safe x