Cady lame, good boy Rodney + Rodney's salon experience

On Friday I had my lesson booked with Tamara but Cady pulled up lame again. Or should I say, is still lame. I'd trotted her up since last time and she's sound in a straight line but on a circle she's still not right.

Either her near fore or her off hind is troubling her. I'm going to ask the farrier to have a poke around in her feet to see if there's a bruise or some gravel in there. The other possibility is that her hock is hurting - it's been bothersome in the past and she's gained weight so it may be playing up.

The other possibility is that the giant splint just below her near fore knee is now starting to affect the joint. Or it could be none of those things - that is the joy of horses! Needless to say she is perfectly happy in the field with her friends so that's good.

I just couldn't miss the chance for a lesson and Rodney very obligingly agreed to be caught so he was the stand in. I explained to Tamara that he's coming back from a break so we didn't go too mad and focused on some suppling and stretching work. He felt miles better and tried really hard and it was such a pleasure to feel that rhythmical trot again.

On Sunday I took Rodney for a walk out just to stretch and did ten minutes of walk/trot work in the arena. He felt lovely and was happy to be caught so I hope he's feeling better now.

Sadly no riding pics this weekend but I did tackle his slurry coloured tail and these are the results. I think he has the most beautiful mane and tail - when it's clean it's this stunning blend of chestnut, cream and a deep red.

You can also just about see his new field headcollar. It's an Aerborn one and much lighter than his other one so he should be more comfortable and experience less rubbing. Just one thing - why did I buy dark green? It looks good but how am I going to find it if he ditches it in the field?!

Oh, and one more thing - a big congratulations to my friend and her faithful steed for a first in her intro dressage class and a second in the prelim test on Friday. Richly deserved :) Well done!

Good horses, great friends

Last night was a proper treat.

Remember Ice who we picked up from Gatwick a couple of months ago? Well his mum also owns a beautiful Friesian called Luckas and last night we all went for a ride together.

The weather was warm and sunny and the fields were crammed with poppies so it was a golden evening. Luckas is amazing - he has the most giant, stately, cruising walk. He's definitely a Rolls Royce as his mum says. It's a while since I've ridden a horse bigger than 15hh and combined with his long flowing mane I felt ready to charge into battle!

All the horses were really well behaved (Ice has settled in so well and is the sweetpea we suspected) and we had a good catch up on the way round. Perfect.

The only issue is that Luckas may have a sore neck this morning as he had to endure a lot of patting..that's just one of the hazards of being handsome ;)

Happy horsing everyone x

Noisy, dramatic snorting

Last night was very rainy and I was still sulking (see yesterday's moan fest) so I was tempted just to count their legs and throw them a carrot.

Instead I brought Rodney in (he thought about nicking off when I went to catch him but it was too late - I already had him) checked his feet and his head for any serious headcollar rubs and then grazed him in hand for a bit.
I might try some loose schooling over poles and little jumps soon to see if he likes it and to help him work through...

Cady's field is a bit of a hike but I went and brought her in anyway - just for a quick check over and a carrot. She is extremely tight with her herd (they graze within inches of each other and rarely stray) so even 15 minutes away from them helps to challenge her brain - I think. She did big noisy dramatic snorting throughout the walk to the yard but led correctly next to me pretty well.

Tonight I'm riding out with my friend on one of her horses - I'm very excited as they are lovely. If the rain holds off I'll take pics.

Happy horsing everyone x

The slump

I'm in a slump with the horses at the moment.

I decided at the weekend to do some very short hacks on Rodney to gradually build him up again. I've been out twice so far for roughly 15 minutes a time and he feels pretty horrible. He's sound but I think his saddle is off and for some reason my weight is now going into my left stirrup rather than my right - possibly because the osteopath visits of late have rearranged me.

The second time I rode him I tried really hard to get my position right and have a gentle but stable contact. It felt all wrong and tense and I was pleased to get off again.

Cady is sound again but I've hit another dead end. As soon as we come out of the field she's on top, top alert and it is exhausting. I think she's lost confidence in me and at the moment I'm out of ideas.

I did see this (see below) on FB the other day - an experienced trainer discussing a complicated horse and his choice of bit. The dedication and time lengths involved in getting this horse happy gave me a bit of faith. There are some typos but you get the gist.

So. I have a lesson booked with Tamara on Friday. Saddler is due at the end of the month. Other than that the plan is to keep on keeping on.

Happy horsing everyone! :)

He has a history as hysteric show jumping pony. We got him cheap when he was 12, he is 23 now. 
 It took a long time to find how to treat him, and as long as we did things that he could not connect to his time as show jumping pony, he mostly was OK to deal with. That's why riding becomes problem and for some years I did not ride him, I worked him in long reins (it was actyallu his normal rein and I walked by his side). He did like that and after 2 years I could start riding him and tried a lot of bits. With the one handed curb he is most relaxed. Still a lot of arguments some days, where it can be hard to find the reason. Last time it was the curb chain, and some weeks ago he suddenly wanted a new saddle as he has gained some weight. Sometimes I also try another bit on him, but most of the times I come back to this as it gives best result.
I am not searching for the tool that makes the horse obey (in the old dominant way), I am searching for the tool that makes him understand.

Pics + lame horses + let's do dressage for a good cause

The news in brief...

Rodney is being very good to catch and seems happy with life. I need to start a bit of rehab work with him and now seems to be a good time because...

Cady is lame :( She went galloping around last night after the mares changed fields and by the time I bought her in for a lesson she was Mrs Hoppy Hoppington, poor bugger.

That's horses, I just hope she's better soon.

We had a lesson last week from Tamara Hudleston which was brilliant fun. Tamara is a top notch dressage rider and is giving lessons in return for donations to her charity mission. Read more about it here - basically she's taking part in a race across Mongolia on semi-wild ponies to raise money for the RDA Pegasus Centre in Morpeth.

Her lessons are excellent and get straight to the heart of the matter and the money raised is for a truly good cause. So if you're in the Durham area - get in touch with Tamara and get her to teach you!

Here is a bit more about Tamara in her own words:

I have been selected as one of 30 riders worldwide to race the Mongol derby in August this year. It's the longest horse race on the planet. 1000km in 8 days across Mongolia on wild Mongolian ponies. And yes they really are wild! It's no guided trek, you are given the start, the finish and its up to you how you get there. No showers, no stabling, no beds, only scorching heat in the day and minus zero at night. You carry your own kit and supplies (max 5kg) and you change horse every 40km. This is massive for me as I have never even done a 20km pleasure ride before. I am training very hard and fundraising for charity. As part of this I am teaching/schooling horses for free, well in exchange for donations to charity. Hate the session with me , donate £1, love it then donate as much as you can afford! Normally I would charge £35. I have my BHSAI (minus the 500hrs of teaching I have done and never logged!) I grew up eventing/hunting etc, in 2000 I switched to dressage and trained with a Dutch international Grand Prix rider for 2 years, training my own horse up to Prix St George and competing at BD regional and National championships At medium/advanced medium. I have also been on 3/4 of the last BD northern region teams including the Home International last sept. Everyone can do dressage I promise! Don't be scared, have a lesson or let me school your horse and donate to one of my charities. 

And now for some pics::





Let's all try very hard not to notice the fact my left foot is five inches lower than the right - SADDLE FITTER IS BOOKED LOL!

Enjoying the June weather

Lovely summer's evening

I am still smiling after my night at the yard yesterday. The weather was perfect for starters.

I took Rodney in the arena just in his headcollar and set him free but he decided to stay close and we had a little walk round together. When he stopped to have a sniff at things I waited for him and then we'd set off again. We even trotted (me running) around together. It sounds like nothing but it was heaven. The pics show him walking over after he'd watched a couple of horses walk past and followed them for a bit. I've also bought some little fleecy bits for his headcollar which you can see below.

I rode Cady again and I was very pleased with her. She was high as a kite but did everything she was asked to do and went where I asked. It was particularly helpful that another horse came in so we had a ten minute breather just watching from the centre which helped calm her. Once she'd cooled off I gave her a long relaxing neck scratch so hopefully she will begin to associate the arena with good times. The pic is her having a little snack after our ride.

I can't tell you how it feels to see him walking over instead of disappearing in a cloud of dust!

It's hard to tell from the blog view but I love his eyes in this one :)

He came to say hello when I walked past to catch Cady. I'm pleased with his weight.

Nom, nom, nom!

Fleecy bits - £3.50 for two at Thinford Saddlery

Pics (words below)

Letting her blow off some steam

You can see how tense her neck is here - I have serious work to do relaxing my arms and shoulders

See that tail whisking? Tense, unhappy, unbalanced

A little steadier

Better, still stiff in my wrists

No inside bend but more relaxed

A little hollow in her back but she felt much calmer here and had a stretch



Lots of praise to finish - ignore the tarty bra strap lol!

Stretching out