hurray!

actually rode! and actually got him to move!

that last ended up taking really getting after him, but since nothing else was working.......ended up having some nice trot, sometimes controlled and sometimes a shade not, a very marching walk (MUCH better than standing still, LOL) and cramp in my left calf, but hey.....

Pleased, it's weeks since i did ride what with the odd upper body problem (me) and weather issues (generally) and i was a tad nervous.. Got someone to help with the mounting, not worth getting us both wound up if that proved problematic...

had hoped to ride yesterday, but no sooner started getting ready to go to the yard than the heavens opened - we all got soaked, and when i got to the swimming pool later i was peeling wet breeches off, and had to leave them on a radiator to dry whilst i swam.....

hoping the weather stays reasonable for tomorrow and monday (back to work tuesday)

more gales!

but the yard itself was sheltered enough to be calm, as was the arena, so i took him in there again to practice going round on the end of a lungeline again...

he gets soo distracted by the mares, its unreal. but improves every time. i suppose one day he will lunge. I would like him to

debating whether to try longlining .....haven't done that since the summer when max was out, since it all went pearshaped again after that, plus was riding, didn't try it again, but perhaps we may get somewhere....

calm and gales....

so which way round given that partner wanted a day out before going back to work this morning?

that's right, the calm was yesterday, the gales was today....

ah well....

more howling gales!

we decided too iffy to ride - there were some who did, but they made sure they stayed in the arena, where there is a wall to provide some shelter from the prevailing wind - so monfils got a good groom and 10 minutes in the arena on the lunge line ( i WILL get that one cracked eventually, no matter how long it takes!).

The only advantage was that it was a good drying wind

ML - a sarnie is a sandwich.....

a lovely walk

but not on the horse, partner's idea of christmas is a walk on foot, LOL. It was a nice day, went to Castle Eden Dene, about 4 hours including a stop for sarnies. I did both horses so Gaynor could have the day with the family uninterrupted...had been going to suggest we take Monfils out for a walk, but that wasn't going to happen!

hope you all had a good day and got some nice pressies...

ready for christmas?

hope so. weather looking to be reasonable, so might even get something done with Monf, you never know!

the mud is drying up slowly, the weather is a lot warmer, but really better not tempt fate, and we've had the shortest day so it'll not be too long before turnout can be done in daylight, not dark!

muddy me....

taking the horses out this morning - one at a time, 2nd being Monf..... i slipped in the slippy mud by the field gate, landed on my bum; he was only interested in seeing where charlie and dylan were in the field, thank goodness, and standing still ... and when i did get up and get the gate open, he was so keen to be off i was struggling to keep hold of him (and the gate to keep myself up!) to get the headcollar off.... nightmare. the coat that was clean this morning is now in the washer on a rinse to get the mud off ... at least i had that coat on it kept my bum cleanish so i didn't have to go home for a 2nd shower!

baaad monf

was seen ripping the neck off charlie's rug, and has also been seen trying the same with Sep (and Sep is the horse that kicked him in the leg in August..)

lack of grass and boredom is the issue, i think; we're not allowed to hay in the field. hopefully, won't be so bad tomorrow as there has been a thaw

another anniversary

a year ago to the date (18th december), i went down to north yorkshire met monfil and bought him....

at the least the weather is no where near as bad this year as it was last!

haven't had as many highlights of the first year as i would have expected, but i rode him a fair few times, went out for some nice hacks if not as many as i could have done, and made a small start on work......

next year won't be wonderful as we already know i'm going to lose some of the summer to my left wrist, but hey.....

surprise! i rode!

and it's interesting how my confidence went backwards again after these last couple of months of orthopaedic issues!

only did 10 minutes in the arena in walk - everywhere an ice rink, so going out was never going to be a clever plan! - and that was enough.

slowly improving

the wrist, that is = which is more than can be said for the weather....more howling gales, not good. gaynor had the horses in for 4.15 today, where yesterday it was nearer 5 - (no gale, no cloud = lighter)

not fit to ride....

well, i possibly COULD have, but since my fingers aren't working properly right hand, wouldn't have been a good idea, and don't think i could have tacked up either....as it is, struggle to groom! did lunging practice instead, and kept distracting myself watching gaynor ....

interestingly, i managed mucking out better than i thought i would... no finger movements required!

this morning i couldn't slice a loaf of bread, but that improved as the day went on - so got ahead of tomorrow's game by making tomorrows sandwiches tonight.

hopefully i'll be able to manage both horses in the morning... and hopefully they have a good night, monfy has a new neighbour, a grey mare about 14hh

mud monster

i could not believe how much mud he'd found today....unreal.. it's still on him, as i'd spent the afternoon moving stuff to the end of the tack room, a better space, person who was there has left the yard and i wanted to bag that corner. I am so going to regret that.. the right wrist is not happy! 100% certain it is in fact carpal tunnel syndrome, rather than the after effects of the 20 year old fracture....anyway, didn't think adding grooming to the mix would help at all!

the plate to come out

of my left wrist.

Saw consultant yesterday afternoon; he agrees that the screws are impinging on the tendons (it shouldn't hurt me when pressed!) so needs to be out. easier to do that that reconstruct tendons, of course.

so that will be planned for late spring, i hope (after horses allowed out 24/7 for the summer).

in the meantime, the right wrist decided yesterday evening to start hurting again! subsiding now, thank goodness, but not good.....that's to be kept an eye on...

and we've been wrestling with horrendous howling gales, happily not as bad here as scotland - there's even been the odd house blown down, which is very unusual ...

new clippers

after last friday's disaster, bought some new clippers - liveryman harmony - bought over the internet saturday morning, arrived today, now charged up. can be used with battery pack (which clips to waistband) or plugged into mains, three different blades, two speed settings. hope we don't have the grief with these that we have had with the previous ones! Gaynor says, try the new ones on Monf before we get the vet out to sedate Charlie! Gaynor is improving, and wants to see if she can muck out for herself tomorrow - I'm not sure she should, but her choice, and i can always skip Charlie out after work if necessary!

was impressed by the speed of delivery - and impressed by the price! could have bought them at a shop 7 miles from here, but for £60 more..... no contest!
it's still all dark at the yard after work, with no one sticking about, so i really don't think a lot of anything will get done before the light nights reappear - and since we haven't had the shortest day yet .....

and it's cooooooold.......

finally

did a bit of work with Monf.....all these injuries haven't done a lot for getting anything done.

on the other hand, they do say that letting a horse think about something before doing it again can have benefits, and i rather think that was shown today.

trying the lunging (had no company to ride and it's such a while since i've been on....) and he was just about foot perfect .. only in walk, but none of the usual grief. the only thing that caused a problem was the mares kicking off about something, who knows what, so he stopped to see what that was and grew 2 hands, but then was cool to carry on again....

so i was pleased with that.

in the meantime, campaign to get G to go to hospital .... she hasn't, and she should....

hugs for gaynor

half way through clipping charlie, who was sedated, the clippers died. shortly thereafter, someone else turned up who had some - but charlie came round, and kicked gaynor in the arm. so he's got the worst clip on the planet (left side only!) and she has a badly bruised arm, she says - she's sure it's not broken. and i get to return the workload i gave her last week! and to buy new clippers - the ones that died are ones we bought a few years ago between three of us, and they have given up for no apparent reason before.

hey ho, to december...

which i hope is better than November was!

physio was good on Tuesday.

Monfils was muddy; got groomed; first course of action Wednesday morning was roll .. same this morning!

what is interesting is how he feels a lot warmer to the touch since he was clipped, than he did before. very strange, that!