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

New year new look

My Photoshop trial ran out 17 minutes ago, so I thought I'd use the last bit of time having it to update my header! My question to you, if you would, is which one do you prefer? Quote or photo?

Fingers crossed the weather tomorrow afternoon thaws out enough for us to have a good ride!

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