a walk.....

not that we went far - he got into power walking mode once he realised he was going slightly off the usual!

I had thought I'd walk down through the estate to harbour house and back round the 20 acre and back, but thought better of it for 2 reasons

1. his power walking
2. my level of unfitness combined with my dodgy hip

the combination wouldn't have been good

plus, i think he'll probably reduce the power walking each time we go out and go further.... (no he won't...but i'll get fitter and more up for going further!)

there was a third reason - it was spitting on to rain, and i thought we'd get soaked. as it happens we might not have done (it did rain properly but not for more than about 1/2 hour...)

so only went round the block, probably a mile? meant to set "endomondo" going on the phone but forgot till i got back

anyway, back to lunging thoughts

@ trudi - generally speaking, he walks on fine when led. the only current exception is bringing in from the field, but that's because he doesn't want to stop eating grass, LOL.

@ tracey - not sure that he does "get" that. he'll follow me round the arena, no problem, pretty much "to heel" to use a different analogy! but doesn't "get" free schooling

I need Becky to come back soon and generically need help!

If he'd do the work i want, he'd build some muscle and someone could ride him (I still haven't had my physio on my hip yet.....) but i don't think he's got the muscle for being ridden yet....

well that didn't work...

after a long time of him either standing seeking a contact (looked nice, but not TOTALLY what i wanted) or doing nice turns on the forehand to face me, i went and got help

Lynne, one of the ladies on the yard, led him from the outside whilst I was in the centre .... all good until asked to go on his own, when, guess what?

yes, turn in and stop, facing me ...

she thought it's as if he wants reassurance from me...

very frustrating

useful to have another eye, she couldn't see that i was doing anything to give him a conflicting signal!

here's a thought ...

i've been lunging just with the lunging cavesson. I wonder if he may get a better notion if i put the roller bridle & side reins on? ....mmmm ... bit of contact .....

anyway, shoulder doesn't approve of in hand work, i found tonight, so must crack the lunging somehow!

tap tap tap...

at the appropriate spot that should move Monf on round me to lunge...

and he either stands and looks at me, or comes to me, or does turns on the forehand.....

doh

stubborn .....? he surely knows WHAT i want, as he did it yesterday..

anyway, keys are found (I'd left them, someone had found them and put them in a "safe place" which i discovered today....)

lunging

didn't hurt my shoulder ... if anything, ensures i keep arm in correct place, LOL, more than perhaps I usually would...

fine left when we first set off .... then he stopped .. go right? no.....

ah well, another start....

hopefully becky can come again soon.

in the meantime, if anyone knew where my yard keys were.... happily can get into tack room, thus access to grooming stuff, but if i need to go into my cupboard for bridle, or trunk for massage pad, i'm a bit stuck....

i'll have put them somewhere safe...

is the weather too good?

one has to think so!

see, we're never happy, either too cold or too hot or too dry (the latter, definitely - no rain to speak of? in april?)

so i stuck to doing nothing with him today to give the shoulder more rest - and as well i'd decided that, as when i got there i realised i didn't have my keys. what's worse, I don't know where i've put them! oops.

luckily, hoofpick on swiss army knife (why it was bought!) and feed not locked away, neither was the fly repellent.

he's enjoying his time out, have to take rope halter to get him in as ordinary one is insufficient for the purpose!

seaside

saltburn by the sea, in north Yorkshire.....

pub tea on the way back (well, restaurant really, it used to be a pub) and whilst we were in there the heavens opened.....and again as we left.... hailstones? scary stuff...

beat the rain home though in time to get the washing in before it got soaked


monfy was happy enough. A shade damp, but if i'd got him in he would then have had to stay in to dry off - you know what it's like, they are warm until you bring them in and then they decide they're cold - so i just left him ... stopped raining soon enough... and no hailstones at home, they were confined to north Yorkshire thank goodness...

sea fret and sun

at Seaton Delaval Hall

to be exact, that was where the sea fret was! a mile down the road in the village, it was sunny..

had a good day out (bank holiday weekend) and lunch/dinner out, Monfy was happy with his first night out in the field, and was very warm when i went to take his rug off this morning.

This evening, you could see already his ribs are subsiding under flesh! hurray. Doctor Green will do it every time (they're now in a field with MUCH more grass..)

His feet are looking a LOT better... but he's getting sick of the amount of time i spend on them, so I've gone to click/treat for pick feet up tonight and it was working by the second foot, result!

decided to give my shoulder a further weekend and try and start some (gentle on me, LOL) work with him Monday or Tuesday...

out 24/7

the original plan was we weren't allowed to turn out overnight until sunday.

arrived at the yard to be told that plan had changed, we're allowed to do so from tonight!

YAY

put a rug on, as it's still a bit nippy overnight and he hasn't grown his coat fully through yet.....

he was last seen running and bucking about with a couple of others, we thought they'd be more keen on keeping their heads in the grass (as they're now also in a field with more grass)

one hour

it took to get Monfils in from the field - clearly does NOT want to leave the grass!

well, he's going to have to put up with it until Sunday, upon which day we can start leaving them out overnight.

and had it not taken that long, i had thought i'd take him for a walk out, but he blotted that one, LOL

shedding?

i really thought Monfils had nothing to shed - and he doesn't much - but what had grown of his winter coat is shedding....

I'll be really pleased when he gets a proper coat through

and he is in great need of a bath! I gather the weather will stay excellent through the weekend, so may well do it Friday....

tonight he had a massage - think the first time when he rolled was just co-incidence, he hasn't tried to do so since (mind, I tie him outside with a hay net, rather than risk it, LOL)

Had to go to Scunthorpe today - a place usually referred to as "sunny Scunny" in a vaguely derogatory tone - but it was fantastically sunny. Shame it was for a funeral, for one of life's gentlemen.

following

me round the arena, mostly - interspersed with the compulsory roll, of course...

doesn't want to move away from me

feet getting there, slowly (his, that is)

and i'm told he had another rug on the deck (rug rack in stable.... might need moving, but i'm hoping not to have to, it's just a case of keep him entertained enough not to bother the rugs....)

the shoulder's improving

due to not doing anything heavy, and the drugs, probably...

so, things to do with ones horse when one's shoulder is painful therefore, e.g., lunging is probably not going to be a good idea, neither is in hand work, if it involves using the left shoulder to any great extent? can but see, i shall have to be really careful of myself though

free schooling - not that he really gets it, but he can follow me round the school

get serious about introducing click/treat? that actually might be a really good idea, not wholly sure that my timings up for it but i can work on that!

going out for walks - get me fit as well!

anything else?

had it not been for the shoulder, i could have ridden yesterday - the steady 14.2 up at the old yard; ah well, some other time when i'm better

and the lass whose mucking out for me now i'm injured was late today - she'd told her friend to put pony on diet, frient didn't; she'd told her friend not to turn pony out on new grass, friend did. so what happens today? panic call from friend - pony with acute laminitis. she is not happy with her "friend" AT ALL (it is friend's first pony, so you'd think listening to the advice being given would be an "of course"...... )

NSAID's kicking in

so i'm not screaming in pain and have a shade more movement, which is good.

but being very careful, and paying for the mucking out to be done

rotator cuff injury

that's me.

so will be paying for the heavy work to be done until they go out Easter weekend, and won't be able to do any work with him.

will be lucky if i can keep his feet right. didn't try today.

but we've found my heat pad so that will help!

ooh my shoulder....

don't know how i was lying this morning, but my left shoulder's been giving me grief all day and now can barely move it...

AND i'm getting a cold (the sniffly nose and sore throat a bit of a give-away there!)

so didn't do anything with Monfy save pick his feet out, and hope shoulder is ok for mucking out tomorrow! i guess most of the work is done with the right arm, not the left...

this is historic, really - i used to have all sorts of grief with both shoulders, due to several falls off several horses over the years, until i got the orthopaedic pillow.. rather think i DIDN'T have my head on the pillow!

bees

which i didn't expect to see on a colder day..

went in to the arena and after 5 minutes there was one bee... great big thing, buzzing round us .. turned round, there was another... buzzing round us.....

get me out of here, thought i.

i know bees don't sting unless they are forced into it, but they terrify me nonetheless (nasty experience when i was 11 or so....)

but at least i did something with M, if not for long!

gone nippy again, not nice...wasn't really dressed for it!

in hand improving

Monfils was quite happy to move on in hand, got some nice stuff left rein. still working on full arena right rein to improve his confidence that direction/get the idea, as it's his least favourite.

omitted to put my long boots on, so my feet were full of arena

his had a load of bits, but not too bad to get out.. bad for my back, and bad for my left wrist when doing the feet on his left side, it's the way i pick them up and if he leans a bit it's not good....

hoofjack next time i'm paid some money....

a busy day

involving no work for Monfils....

started off with extra trip to local town with partner to take her car for service, so only had time to turnout.

ended with returning partner to said town to retrieve car, then had to call round and pay the lady who did Monfils last tuesday, then go muck out, get him in, pick feet out (MUST buy hoofjack!) and then rush home...

PC got mended (new network card) so that's back up and running .....hurray! whilst other methods work, some settings weren't transferable.

more time tomorrow, hopefully.

ulcers - that's entirely possible, jean, but at the moment it's usually feet, i think.

be interesting to see how he goes in the future once we've got lunging established and i can put roller - or even saddle! - on

although interestingly, he is starting to change shape already and build muscle, and i reckon some of that is just NOT using a haynet - haybar/ground for hay and feed

pas si bon

after 5 minutes going left, i changed to right, and he changed to non-cooperation.

not sure what the cause was, but i did find a shade more grit in the foot afterwards (having taken it all out before).

then i couldn't get out of my long boots - partly my left foot had swollen in the heat, partly the inner of the boot is coming away ... ended up having to cut me out of it boo hoo....

should have taken the thinner long boots out....

trouble is, you have to wear long boots in the arena, and those were what i had with me...

very sad, ariat grasmeres, not cheap...

il faut parle Francais....

Monfils lunges nicely to "marche" and "allez" etc...

so i guess i need an english/french horse training dictionary!

but i was really pleased today - both reins, twice, walk & trot.

by no means perfect, he needs to relax, but considering i was losing the will to live a couple of months ago, this is good!

more of it and he'll be much happier with it, and i'll only introduce the bridle and roller once he's happy with the work without.

but i might put a notice on the stable door as to why i'm not riding yet! LOL

a walk out

the mission for tonight, in lovely weather, was to walk down to the blackdene outdoor arena, where monfy hasn't been before, let him wander round there for a bit, which he did, and had a roll; then crossed the road to blackdene yard to say hello, and back up

very well behaved! and he didn't power walk, which was a relief! didn't stress at going an unusual way either, good, think he likes going to new places/sites

then sorted his feet out again, i think some of what he picks up is from the arena, and some of it is hard to get out, but easier of course if i do it every night

the bad news for the day - i clean forgot to go for my physio appointment! because something kicked off at the office (a client died, very sad!) and put me behind so that i didn't see the reminder clock up on outlook reminders .. doh.

he does not understand

freeschooling at all

but on the other hand, follows me round the arena no bother, any arena pattern i want!

very strange...

it's hard work getting bits of grit out of the edges of the feet! neither of us like that, particularly

but oddly, the white foot is the one that is least affected by this..

feet

teen tiny bits of gravel in the white line. All out.

Must must must be firm with myself about checking feet every day.

I've been a bad mum and not been religious about it.Was
Time i had done that someone was having lesson in arena. Too windy to want to walk him down to the outdoor down the drive.

And serious problems with pc, still being investigated

london on the train

for the day, for a work related conference at which i was speaking - a good day, improved by meeting a former collegue i hadn't seen for years, who was travelling back to durham on the same train .. and by finishing early, thus being able to visit Covent Garden Market (where i left my conference papers in the pub..... doh!)

Monfy was attended to by a friend, who tells me he is well!

massage and half a mane....

having a massage is NOT cue for a roll, which had worried me if you recall.

he had a massage saturday, and was good

did another one tonight, and whilst that was happening made a start on his mane - would have got it finished but the solocomb needs a new blade! so he looks a bit odd..

i'm going to have to take the new lunge cavesson back. i wasn't wholly happy with it saturday, the straps were oddly positioned, and when i put it on tonight i was even less happy with it

essentially, the straps that go round the jaws are wrongly placed and will, in fact, throttle him given half a chance. the angle at which they have been stitched into place is all wrong.

so back it will have to go. luckily i still have the receipt (retrieved from the recycling bin, complete with the plastic carrier bag in which the cavesson came!)

and yes, he says, i'll move in hand

i don't know whether it's the yard move or his feet feeling better, but he consented to move in hand this morning, to add to our success yesterday

I was VERY pleased with him, considering that last time a tried a few weeks ago (when his feet were sore) he just wouldn't do anything...

chose a good time as well - got the best of the day!

and I DO think working in the indoor is a help, nothing else much to distract either of us, plus, at previous yard arena was very close to his field, whereas at this yard, it isn't.

in the meantime, the broadband issue - it appears to be a problem in my computer. it occurred to me that it couldn't be an external line problem, as if it were, i would not have wifi.

so firstly got new ethernet cable, that didn't help

then plugged modem into laptop - result, internet working fine.

therefore, there's a problem in the innards of my pc, drat..

we can lunge!!!!!

i know i said this before, but today, huge improvement over last time i tried.

took a bit of work

left rein - crack the whip behind him (the subtleties Becky showed me were just not working!)

right rein - ditto, with added French... marche!

will need a lot of work, but a good start at a new place.

interruption in service

Puerto broadband problems on pc.
Rugs are off! And monies ok within, he's warm. So glad about that.weather permitting, start working him again - although hey, we have an indoor so who cares about the weather!