Christmas Clip

Winter is a bit poo at the moment. We've really done not much at all these last couple of weeks. Rio is going to be super fizzy by the time I get to ride on Christmas morning, so that could be interesting... 

We went out for a ride with Sarah and Franks last Saturday, and he came back super soggy with sweaty armpits and all. He had his first proper plait in his tail by me! Anywho, his sweatiness meant that my decision to have a bash at clipping came around sooner than planned. On Sunday afternoon, against the fading daylight, I took arms with my friend's clippers for the first time. 

You can clearly tell the difference between the first and second side I did, but I'm mainly pleased. Rio did have sedation in the form of paste, but given the fading light, I only gave it 20 minutes at most before I went in for the clip. He didn't seem to take much effect from it, so next time we'll be trying to go it alone! He was a super good boy, until the last 10-15 minutes when he was obviously bored, and did walk through Sarah a couple of times to prove his point. 

I had to finish clipping his face and tidied up a few missed bits when we had the vet visit on Tuesday, as it was dusky when we finished and he'd behaved well. Still can't believe how dark he is under all that hair!

So he had his yearly injection, his 6 monthly dental check and rasp, and also had his microchip when the vet visited. He was such a little gem, fidgeting a little with the rasping, but was otherwise completely compliant. This weekend, he's been out of work as I haven't been about - Saturday was a day of resting after a night out on the town, and today we have been at the zoo with the family!

Ride / play safe x

Box training

This week we have kick started box training with a vengeance! After a stressy visit in his own stable on the one day we did last week, I've done three evenings working on getting Rio more comfortable in his surroundings. 

Control scenario:

Hesitant to walk into barn, coaxed in

Eats two mouthfuls of food, with stable door closed, then stresses

Encourage rest of food be eaten

Two sloppy stress poos

A lot of fidgeting, barges and won't stand still for any length of time

Stands at door, backs up and starts sizing up to jump the door twice

When leading out, anxious but does stand when asked at exit of stable & barn

Monday:

Hesitant to walk into barn, but walks himself in after a moment

Investigates a few of the stables along the way

Eats food more happily, still looking around - stable door left open

No poos

Fidgeting, barges, but stands still for a few seconds with encouragement

When leading out, stands nicely when asked at the exit of stable & barn

Three attempts - mostly successful

Tuesday:

Stubborn walking into barn

Another horse is present tonight in the stable diagonally opposite

Eats food, with a few glances around - stable door left open

Fidgeting, barging to get out of stable to see other horse several times

Backs up when asked, on one occasion backing up three horse lengths

Snatches one mouthful of hay from haynet at back of stable

One regular poo

When leading out, stands nicely when asked at exit of stable & barn

Two attempts - partly successful. Much more barging through stable exit

Wednesday:

Walked into barn after sniffing the entrance for approx 20 seconds

Walks himself into stable behind me without hesitation

Eats food, with a few glances around - stable door left open

Fidgets, barging out of stable, less frequently than yesterday

Stands for 20-30 seconds after being very testing and barging out of stable to barn exit

In this instance, raising my voice to establish control worked well

No poos

When leading out, for most part, stands nicely at exit of stable & barn

Four attempts - one awful (the runner!), the others mostly successful

It sounds crazy to reference poos, but Rio does poo a lot when stressed, so for me, this is a perfect indicator of his insecurities. I decided to keep the stable door open so that he can see that he's not there as a punishment, and that it doesn't have to be a scary place to be. With the door open, I'm hoping that soon he will realise it's easier to simply stay inside his stable, where he can enjoy dinner and hay, and then we can start moving on to closing it! The only thing I wish is that I had somewhere to put my two storage trunks - there's still plenty of room with them both in there, but he did manage to belt the one closest to the door into the second one last night with a hind leg when he swung around. No damage to him or the box, but it would be one less thing to worry about.

Anyway, after last night's rather more stressful learning curve, when I turned him out, Rio and I had a little play at liberty in the field. It's something I've not really done for a while, and I really don't know why. I stood quietly at the barn for a couple of minutes before walking him down last night, in order to let me re-collect, and not let my frustrations get the better of me. Playing at liberty, I totally forgot those frustrations and really enjoyed my boy. He's just such a sweetheart. We walked, trotted, and I even goaded him into some lovely bouncy canter in the darkness, and we had lots of cuddles. We actually did a few steps backwards, with just a light tap on his chest as a cue!

This evening, he had the night off from box training, and had his dinner in the safety of his paddock. Once again, we played at liberty for a while; the highlight being me jumping sideways to the left and right whilst he faced me, and him mirroring me. I love his Welshy ways! This has just made me more determined that Winter will not ruin my time with him. He never ceases to amaze me, and he lifts the darkest of moods in minutes. 

Ride / play safe x

Grabbing opportunities!

It's that time of year when the rugs come out, and we get to cosy our little furries up! Rio is rocking out in a no-fill rug to protect him from the showers for now, but he should be having a hunter clip soon. He will get use of his rugs this year for sure! Last year we only made it up to 180g, and the 240g and 350g have sat untouched and unneeded. He was also a sweaty betty last year, so hopefully I won't be standing around for an hour waiting for his waffle rug to dry him out before I can turn him back out again. 

I managed to ride once so far this week since coming home, on Tuesday evening. We went for a little hack around the village with Sarah and Franks and I was just so pleased to be back in the saddle again. Since then, the weather has been poo, so he had another couple of nights off. 

I am pleased to say I rode tonight. Out round the village, through the field. Just me and Rio.

We only went and did it! Our second hack out on our own, and a longer route than the last time. I hadn't planned on it, but I think that's what made it easier to bring him up and get on - I hadn't been overthinking it all day as I'd expected the weather to suck again! When I got to the yard at 5.40pm (against the sunset clock!) the sky was bright, there was no wind to speak of, and I knew that this was too good an opportunity to miss. 

I muttered away to myself/Rio if I started thinking too much, and did my best to stay relaxed, which I think went pretty well. Rio had a bit of the jitters and held up a good pace for much of the ride, but all in all was quite responsive. He stopped dead at one junction, but after having a moment of me being gentle in asking him on and getting nowhere, he got a bit of a growl and a kick on, and off he went. We had a good trot along the bottom road, before he got fidgety when I asked him to wait for a car to pass. I'm always glad to have my "young horse in training" hi viz so that people hopefully have that little more understanding when he's a bit cheeky. I ended up having to turn him full circle in the road and asking him to stand again to let them pass, but he was much more co-operative the second time. 

Most excitingly, we got back on to the field, and I was walking along with a long rein (almost on the buckle) so I decided to have a trot as he had settled a bit. Half way across the field, he was behaving so well, I felt comfortable and confident enough to sit in and ask him for a canter. It was glorious! A beautiful smooth transition up, no silly jumping around. We cantered almost the whole second half of the field and he came back down to trot just a few strides after I started to ask him. Little steps. Except this feels like a huge one, it's absolutely made my day!

If I can keep chipping away at my demons over the Winter, I can't wait for next Summer!

Ride / play safe x

My chunky monkey

Yes, that is Rio in a rug. No, I haven't gone soft just yet. I was hoping on Friday to ride after work, and the forecast was showing rain for most of the afternoon. All straps and buckles had to be adjusted for it to fit him as he's bulked out a little since he last wore it! What a chunky monkey. It actually just about fits his shoulders now instead of it hanging loose around his neck. He's growing up so fast *sob*. Anyway, I didn't ride on Friday so it was all a bit pointless, as I still had a headache (day 5 and counting, although today it has been much more dulled).

I just had to share this pic. My phone seems to save the last image on the camera viewfinder when I lock it/close the camera app. I'm going to be keeping an eye on the thumbnail as I have a feeling it could provide some gems! This was Franks trying to pop over and say hi. 

I now have my dad's camera for a few weeks, so bring on some photo shoots to have a play around with it... We had a day out at the beach today so I'll be reviewing the shots I got from that some time soon, fingers crossed I got some good ones. 

Sarah took me out on Saturday morning for a hack with the boys. I decided to go for it despite the headache. We had a lovely peaceful hack up the road, and whilst we didn't gallop across the stubble, we did have a trot and then a wonderful collected canter on the track through the stubble field. There was no bucking or broncing, and Rio was very responsive, collecting himself to stay behind Franks when I asked him not to pass! So there we are, I've now cantered since the incident, on a hack. Hurrah!

Ride / play safe x

After a long day

There's nothing more relaxing than a peaceful groom down at the yard. I've been having a bit of a "low" day today, and wasn't sure how Rio would be as it's been a while since I've felt like this. I needn't have worried, the wind kindly calmed for an hour or so, and although he did have his usual protest at coming out of the field, and a small argument once we were out, he was an absolute star.

He stood perfectly whilst I picked his feet, rubbed him down with the rubber curry comb, then sprayed up his mane and tail before vigorously attacking his mane and trying to tame it over to the right side. I was amazed at how relaxed he seemed, it was a pleasant change. As you can see, he was more than happy to pose for his photo to be taken! I'm sure he had a nice roll a few minutes after I left, but he looked lovely for a while, so it's all good. Tomorrow the feathers come off! He's going to look such a smart young man. I may have to get my friend to attack his beard at the same time... 

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

Happy Horsey Weekend

We've had a lovely weekend! Yesterday, Millie and I spent almost 9 hours "at the yard" (we did pop out to the local tack store, which counts as being at the yard in my eyes!) You may have seen a picture of Millie's little pony on my last post - meet Brandy. He's a darling little twenty year old pony from the New Forest, who loves being in his cart. It was my first time driving, I've never been in a cart before! We had decided we needed to pop to the shop to get a drink and maybe an ice cream, so Brandy took us. We parked up in the car park, and boy do people come and talk to you. Several people came over to stroke him, and were asking all sorts of questions. That was new. I'm not really a people person... Interesting experience! I even got to take up the reins on the way back home, and we had a little trot and everything. It was awesome.

Today was pamper day, and my cousin kindly pulled Rio's mane for me this morning. He looks so super handsome now, and his short tufty bit doesn't look quite so short and tufty. I begrudgingly let her pull his forelock, but wouldn't let her do more than one pull as I love his forelock long. Admittedly, it does look very smart now. We decided that before he had his bath, we would ride round the village and stop off at the shop on the way back as there was a little bit of cloud coverage and a slight breeze. Rio wanted to show off his new 'do' to the world as he's a posh boy now. They were a little fidgety whilst waiting in the car park, but overall it was pretty successful. Who needs to park a car in a car park when you can park ponies?

So when we got back, it was bath time. He was much better than usual on the left side, I even managed to hose him down, lather him up with the shampoo, and rinse him off on my own without too much fuss. However, the other side wasn't so successful, and ended up with me holding him whilst Millie hosed him. He was very naughty at one point as he kicked out when his hind end was being hosed. Due to his left brain thinking, however, he didn't kick towards anyone or anything, rather he kicked out behind him like he had an annoying twitch. After a telling off from Millie and I, there were no more legs going out where they weren't wanted, and although he didn't stand still, we made it through. Perhaps whilst the weather is still warm, he may get hosed down daily for the next week to see if we can't get rid of this silly behaviour around the hose. 

Just because he's such a poser!

Amazingly, and possibly for the first time ever, he didn't even roll when I turned him out in his field. It's a big night tonight, he's spending tonight AND the day tomorrow in with Franks. We've extended the fencing in their paddock so there's more grass in there again so fingers crossed there will be no bitten bottoms. He's also back to having a hard feed once a day, as they're not getting all the nutrients needed from the grazing at the moment, so he's on chaff and a low calorie balancer to make sure he's getting all he needs whilst he is (still!) growing. Come on Rio, let's get that last inch or two out of you!

Ride / play safe x

Relaxed pony

Love how he stands like a show pony so often. 

Rio had the evening off today, he wasn't very forthcoming with leaving Franks in the field, but with a bit of pressure and release (and unfortunately a bit of snaking) we made it out in a few minutes. He's proving his intelligence again as he's figured out that when he goes for a wee he gets to stop and munch some grass. Clever boy.

He's been stomping his feet a little recently, so I've been keeping an eye on him as he could have mites in his feathers. He's not been so bad these last couple of days, but I brought him up this evening, I washed his legs down with some hibiscrub in case he has any unseen sore bits. He had a little leg massage, and was very good and stood steady pretty much the whole time. He's also got a little scabby patch on his right hind just on his pastern, so I've been treating that with warm diluted hibiscrub, and taking the scabs off. A friend has lent me some udder cream so I've been putting that on, and it's starting to look much better. A quick application of baby oil on his feathers, hypocare on the graze he keeps catching on his back leg, and it was time to head back down to the field. 

Ride/play safe x

Dentistry and Ancestry

Rio did some beautiful side stepping this morning. Coming out of his field at 6am wasn't at the top of his to-do list. I stayed calm and jovial and moved him away from me before inviting him to follow me, and he did without question. He had to come up to the starvation paddock to wait for the vet so I had a shorter trip to get him! It was the first dental visit since I got him, and the receipt for his last one in August said "dentistry under sedation". Needless to say, I was a little anxious as to how he would be. 

As you can see, he was a little star. No sedation, and he did fidget a little, but didn't really run away at all. He was fine with the head gear when he had it on (sorry no beautiful photos of that gadget!) and was an absolute gent having the edges rasped. He's got wolf teeth through, but as they are not causing him any issues at the moment we won't be touching those. He did his mumma proud again today, love this little man so much!

I was also talking to my friend about Rio's ancestry yesterday so thought I'd do a quick Google search. This is Rio's mum! Glenalla Ffion. She's actually for sale at the moment - and I never realised she was only 14hh! If only I could afford to keep a second horse, I might consider buying her and reuniting her with her boy  - she's only 8 now, and is being brought on under saddle. Sadly there is no further information on Rio's dad except that he's a UK stallion named Finley. I've not got any further than that - Google has failed me! I'd love to know what breed his dad was. There are a few on allbreedpedigree.com but I've no idea if any of them may be his daddy. Here's Rio's lineage: click here

Ride / play safe x

New outlook

Much has changed since I left to go on holiday. I missed the yard lots, and definitely missed my Rio! We have ridden every day since I got back except his rest day on Tuesday, and I'm loving being back in the saddle and feeling comfortable there. We've been riding with others every day, which has been really quite pleasant, but we are going to have to start flying solo once a week soon so that I can start working on our ridden bond and loosening him up on his own. We also need to work on getting into the outdoor school, which I keep putting off because it's been breezy. But I'm back in the saddle!

I've been working on keeping myself relaxed, and I feel like a completely different person. I'd started getting very tense when riding, and would definitely avoid long reins. Since getting back from holiday, I've found my confidence again, and my balance, and am currently more than happy giving Rio his head without panicking at every twitch of a muscle or every time he looks around for a nose at what's going on. 

The pony play day was great fun, we had a bit of action on the ground with him trying to establish dominance and failing because we wouldn't give in to his very Left Brain antics. (That's the rearing - he never does it in a dangerous way, he does it in such a calculated fashion, and never with the intention to physically strike out at you). Some good transitions into canter, which we need to continue to work on, and then will come the work on cantering for an extended time - we are currently lucky to get one circuit! On the plus side, I did manage a couple of good canter transitions without looping my fingers through the neck strap to stop my hands going up, which was a huge achievement for me. It just goes to show how much more relaxed I am with him right now. 

Once we'd had some lunch we played the gymkhana games, and whilst Rio wasn't sure what was going on when we headed away from our team, when we were heading back towards them, he was more than happy to kick it up a gear and canter back! He was absolutely brilliant for his first time playing, my proudest moments being him standing very nicely whilst I dressed up in a scarf, long coat and gloves (whilst mounted) and also him letting me swing myself up from the ground after bobbing around for an apple for what seemed FOREVER (had to keep the apple in my mouth), and cantering flat out back to the team! There was a mounting block up at the other end, but until recently I've always mounted from the ground because he used to fidget too much. That's no longer an issue, and I'm proud to say we are mounting from the ramp every time now. Love him! 

Ride/play safe x

Saddle up!

I'll keep it brief where I can, there's a bit to cover since I left off for my holiday! By the time I left, this was the state of the fields. The morning that I flew out to Cyprus, the girls were down at the yard at 7.30am retrieving the horses from their fields as the water came over the river banks. They're still on their Summer grazing at the moment, and probably will be for at least another week!

So Rio survived his night in the stable. However, somehow he managed to jump his stable door not long before I got to the yard the following morning.

This is the door he jumped. Not a low one, and not much room to launch or land! Amazingly, he didn't go lame, although that didn't stop me worrying about it for the first few days of my holiday. Once I'd got a friend to check him over for me, I had a ride! Yes. I RODE!

He was a superstar, and thankfully with the lack of wind, he didn't step a foot wrong. It was the best boost I could have asked for.

Sarah was taking Rio on a few days after I left to keep him busy, so I had plenty of photos sent over to me whilst I was away, from her and Millie. Rio always loves to have a good roll after he's hosed off and boy has it been warm here, so he's been a sweaty boy!

My sleepy boy after he had worked hard with Sarah!

Bromance time - Rio had a sleepover in with Franks last night after we went out for a hack. I made it out for a hack within 2 hours of being back home. Wonderful! We were back out again at 7.30am this morning, even better! Tomorrow we have another Parelli Play Day. 

Casually flinging poo and sticking it to a tree... Because that's how we roll...

Rio looking pretty fly! Trimmed his tail back up again as the ends were grubby, bleached and starting to trail on the floor. Snipped the long feathers to avoid so much ground coverage, but couldn't bear to take the scissors to his mane despite his missing middle patch... Jury is out for what will happen with it. If I can grasp the running plait, it will stay - if not, it will be cut and pulled... Such a handsome young man!

Ride / play safe x

Foto Friday!

My friend caught this awesome pic of the boys having a nap this week. How cute!

Having a good roll!

I was getting concerned about how squishy Rio's field was getting.

That was nothing after a day of rain!

These are Rio's pastures.

Stable training last night. This was after less than an hour. With company opposite.

Decided to bank it up as he never comes in.

Went back down tonight (yes, just a small one so he doesn't make a total mess tonight!)

Dinner bribery to help him settle. Had to make the big decision of rug or no rug, and settled on a waffle cooler as he was soggy and has an open window above his head. Oh I hope he's ok.

Everyone else I know worries about their horse being out. I worry about Rio being in! Hopefully with Miss Bella for company he won't be too unsettled. He was much more co-operative this evening after clinging to the door and being very bargy in the stable last night. He moved back when asked with much more ease today, and I was happy to stand in the stable with him without worry of being squished! I even picked up all four feet in there, and put the waffle rug on. Small steps. OH and he walked straight out of the field - compliment to the horrendous state of it bless him. He was cheeky half way up to the barn when he realised he'd made it far too easy, but I told him off, refused to back down, and he came quietly after that. 

So much for getting back in the saddle tomorrow - now I have to worry about him being stabled whilst I'm away which was not part of the plan, and it's meant to continue raining tomorrow! 

Ride/play safe, and I hope you guys have usable paddocks!

And my education begins

I'm going to give Parelli a go. It makes sense to continue to work on our relationship on the ground whilst I'm nervous of hopping into the saddle, so I'm going to take it as a positive thing, and hopefully work on improving our trust in each other. From now on I will try to focus on the positives, and we can work on the rest, so here goes.

Achievements of today:

• Walking out of the second electric gate without much fuss (we won't mention the first for now!)
• Facing down a stray green balloon
• Not completely trampling me at the sight of the two terrifying geese, although it was a bit hairy for a second!
• Walking past said geese when they had flown off and regrouped further up without any fuss at all
• Walking in and out of the arena gate three times with only one hesitation
• Standing quietly by the mounting ramp, even with me above him, and leaning on him for a moment

Ride / play safe x

Confidence Crisis

 Looking like butter wouldn't melt after ignoring me for three days when I was pottering in his field!

What with not riding due to waiting for my foot tattoo to heal, and Rio being a bit of a pillock on the yard at the moment, my confidence has taken a knock. I'm perfectly happy to work in hand with him but just getting into the saddle feels like an accomplishment! I took him out around the field last week on our own, and he spooked and attempted to rear up a couple of times in the scary corner. I walked him off, and we did a loop and did it from the other direction with the same result, but I didn't get off, I didn't fall off, and I resolved to keep calm and get him back to the yard. That actually made me feel a bit better, knowing I could stay on, but on Friday I decided to walk him out in hand on the lunge line to get him used to being in the scary corner. Clever old me forgot to grab gloves!

I'm not kidding when I say I would rather have another foot tattoo (because that barely hurt!) than experience rope burn EVER again. However, it has healed fairly quickly, and I was back in the saddle last night for what I hoped would be a mooch around the village with Sarah and Franks. There were no major dramas, we made it past spook corner without spooking, through the overgrown exit of the field, and around the roads, past the barking dog behind the fence, and on the way home he decided to get an absolute stomp on and get a bit jiggly. I did my best to relax, and we made it home in one piece, so now I just have to stick with it and try and make hacking normal again. 

I'm off on holiday in a couple of weeks, so Sarah will be taking care of Rio and he'll be having a bit of a boot camp. Fingers crossed, having a more confident rider will give him a boost and a helping hand too, and I think she's looking forward to having a play with him! He's certainly getting a bit of Welshy character about him, and we're working on keeping the bulshiness at bay. I still love playing in the field with him, when he's in the mood for it, we have such fun :)

Ride safe x

Parelli Play

Today was a great day. Rio tried out his new leather headcollar, and looked so very smart. When we got to the parelli play day, it was changed for a rope halter and long line. The above is the first attempt and demo of how I was to play the Friendly Game. Rio was unsure of what to make of it all at first. He wasn't worried about the carrot stick and didn't move away when asked, and then took a few rounds of "lunging" before he settled. 

After a little while of playing Friendly, he soon got the idea. It's as much of a learning curve for me as well as him - if not more so for me! He's such a clever boy. Holding the carrot stick in the appropriate position, dropping your energy, and slumping when they've responded correctly - it's a lot to think about! 

We learned about moving off, and trying to drive from zone 3 (much harder than expected...) this took some effort initially but that was more down to me not grasping the concept to begin with. We tried to mix this in with some target touching, which had some mixed results, but he achieved so much in such a short space of time, I really was so pleased. 

Standing at ease with no grass munching! You can see him watching to see what we're going to do next. There were so many photo opportunities today, and he had his ears forward so much - I was too busy having fun to play photographer even though I had taken two cameras. It's no wonder Rio was all sweaty - we worked and thought hard!

Before lunch we had a little play in the arena with a tarpaulin, and he didn't bat an eyelid at it - he thought it was great fun following it around, and barely moved when I put it over him. He did have it up higher than this but I didn't get a photo, and he was happy walking with it over him too. Brave little man! We left both boys loose in the arena when we stopped for a spot of lunch. Whilst they have travelled together a number of times now, and been out on adventures together, they've never been in a field together before. They were having an awesome time in the arena, but sadly as soon as we headed over to try and get some footage, there they were like butter wouldn't melt! 

With all of the larking around, and once Rio had become a little acquainted with the big bouncy ball, we played with it some more, and I managed to get him to walk into it a couple of times to push it along with his chest. After a little more work on the ground, and with almost everyone else taking part in the barrel racing, I headed over to tack up and hop on for a little 10 minute ride to ease back in. Little did I know that this would be an impromptu lesson with Sarah, and with Rio very relaxed and paying attention, the pressure was on me not to let him down! 

We did walking over poles, and then some trotting over poles, which threw me a little as it was the first time of doing 4 trot poles in a row and I'd never experienced him truly picking himself up like that. He even was offering up odd strides of canter, so Sarah said it would be a good time to try and get an established canter for a length of the arena. The only problem with that is my hands! I don't think it helped that I've been out of the saddle for a couple of weeks now, but I know I do it anyway, I ALWAYS throw my hands away when I ask for canter. If I'm not throwing them away, I'm snatching them back when he goes to boost off into canter, and therefore blocking him. He "springs" into canter and in a schooling environment, it still catches me off guard. 

Luckily I have a neck strap and it has proven today to be a great addition to Rio's wardrobe. By looping two fingers through the neck strap, I was able to keep my inside hand down, and in turn my loose outside hand stayed much more still, and gave me the control I needed to keep him out. With a little bit of pony club kicking and some dodgy sitting trot, we made it at least half way around the arena a couple of times! He dropped out of it on his own, so before we finished, we had a canter on each rein where I ensured I was the one to ask for the downward transition. It was great. I was starting to feel like I was letting him down, but thanks to the neck strap and some positive guidance from Sarah, we made it!

Ride safe x