Monday 30 September 2013

suddenly looking thin...

we knew there wasn't a lot left on the field, and talked last night of getting him in again overnight from tonight (he had one night in a few weeks ago, but wasn't impressed) but the difference between saturday and today was marked.  happily, he was warm (more than can be said for me!) but came running when i went up for him, and i put him straight in and rugged to keep the warm in (given he'll be standing) with 20 lbs hay plus his tea.....didn't do anything, thought he needed to eat more than anything else!

Sunday 29 September 2013

and today?

G says she had an excellent hack, after only one sticky moment under the willow going out...

saddle, surely....

Saturday 28 September 2013

saddle

is the only thing left, really.... is it the case that he would rather I went back to a treed saddle?  otherwise, we're stumped.

lovely afternoon was going to go for a ride out..

he wouldn't go past the willow, and by then (which is no distance) the shim/numnah had slipped down and back....

eventually, i went back

got off, readjusted everything moving the shimming more forward hoping it would stay put.

got back on ...

and he wouldn't move away from the mounting block.

it will be interesting to hear how G gets on tomorrow, with her own Vogue GP - but she doesn't need shimming under hers because she's somewhat lighter than me....

depressing...

hopefully, i will be able to borrow a treed that will fit well enough for me to try... not looking forward to that, it's a few years since i rode in a treed saddle (winter 2005/6, i think!)

in the meantime, this is he on the way back up to the field (i was further up the hill)


Friday 27 September 2013

slapped head...

me, slapping my own.... i left some of the bits required for both saddles on the dressage that i took home again... and didn't remember until at yard that that was so.....doh.

transpired it would not have been easy to hack out anyway .... could spot one of the staff with his van parked in middle of my usual route, apparently he was pruning trees, would not have been possible to get round him....

hopefully the weather will stay nice for tomorrow and i'll try again....

Thursday 26 September 2013

mmmm mixed bag...

so dressage saddle set up, with the smart panel as didn't have time to wrestle with the memory foam panels to put in ... first attempt aborted as i'd forgotten to put the knee rolls on, was wondering why it felt odd till i looked down and spotted why it felt so..

so off and sorted that out.  he required a lead into the arena - some others were going in - walked, got some trot, stopped.... stopped...

i realized the panel had moved back and down...

got off sorted it back on, back in, got some lovely trot and circles and so on .... then he stopped ead again.. wouldn't move...

the panel had moved again..

one has to wonder, therefore, whether it is the movement of the panel (or shims, if i'm using that set up, as they can move as well ) that is the root of the problem...

shims don't move as much, but they do drop down and i need more shim in ...

so think really i might have to go back to treed.... oh joy.....(not)

will see if i can borrow one that fits him to try,before i spend money, though.....

Wednesday 25 September 2013

EE consultation...

i put a post up on the saddles section of the forum, and others said they have had similar experiences.... so hoping the dressage is ok sitting in the car tomorrow so i can take it to the yard (no time to come home for it as it gets too dark too soon ) ... also hoping the weather improves!  G's day today, and what was light mizzle this morning turned to more rainy mizzle this afternoon so M was wet and unrideable as too wet to tack up...

Tuesday 24 September 2013

going to try the dressage saddle again.

you wouldn't htink it would make a difference, but i've been riding and not getting far in the GP since i think it was august last year... going to take the dressage back next time to see if that makes a difference, don't remember having the grief in the dressage...

both HM vogues, so you wouldn't think it would make a difference, but maybe it does....

from which you'll gather tonight was tediously standstillish again...

Monday 23 September 2013

in hand

because my hip needed more of a break after yesterday's long (for me at the moment) hack out (that and it got slightly stretched as i nearly fell off when dismounting....)

but the in hand is improving more again....

little but often for that!

Sunday 22 September 2013

lovely hack in lovely summer weather!

20 degrees C in the shade, according to my car thermometer, and i believe it!

G was able to borrow friend's mare and we had a nice hack out - first time we've been able to go out together for, i think, nearly 2 years, what with one thing and another!

along the back drive, over the ford, up to the riding school, back down, right along and down cocken lane (M studiously avoiding the strips where the tarmac was melted and we were therefore in the middle of the lane! sounds fair to me), stopped off at G's house before coming back up the park (M wanted to trot, not allowed, walking up that hill is very good for his bum!) and so back... to get washed off before he could be fed and turned out....

excellent.

shame we can't do that more often....

i must get more shims.....

and the mounting block is no longer sitting on the rubber mat it's been sitting on for a good while, and that makes a huge difference when mounting - the mat was probably only about 1 1/2 inches thick, i would say, but the difference in the amount of weight you need to put in the saddle is the difference between the saddle staying central, or shifting slightly to the left, which is what it has done the last twice i'd ridden (since the rubber mat was put back into the stable for which it was intended....)

Saturday 21 September 2013

beautiful day

shame the horse time was eaten into by mother.....actually ,it was worse than that - she was visiting sister in law in her care home not far from yard - i was to pick her up 4.30 - didn't have time to do more than bring M in feed and turn out .....wouldn't be able to go back later as partner had plans and needed to be home - so turned M out again, was leaving yard when phone rang  - care home - "don't come yet she's staying for tea" ............

gggrrrrhhhhh

Friday 20 September 2013

frustration reigns

as we were back to standing still tonight, mostly - with a limit to how long that could be borne due to it getting cold and the clouds of midges landing on me..... bitten all over ...

ggggrrrrhhhhhh

Thursday 19 September 2013

excellent lesson!

first one since last November! ridiculous, isn't it, but what with weather, feet, RI's issues, etc....

Anyway, we got movement.  we got off the leg. we got lots of lovely stretching. we got lots of good things including SI.

and of course we found out what i was doing wrong!  whether i remember to do it right...

anyway, trying too hard is the long and the short of it

left leg not too bad, at least it stays relatively still; right leg dreadful as it independently tries harder and moves about without my even realising!

the left foot hurts if i have too much weight in it (where i broke it in 2006!) so if i put enough weight in the right foot that sorts the left foot out but then i have to ensure i keep enough in the right to ensure it doesn't move around where it shouldn't...

the foot on the right sticks out as well - of course, i broke that ankle once, doesn't help!

and on top of that, i was not, as i thought, just pressing, i was in fact kicking!

lets hope i can put all that right....

Tuesday 17 September 2013

early morning tomorrow..

M decided he wanted in, nothing a lot left to eat on the field.  there was someone there after me, and she'd have texted if he'd kicked off, so assume he's happy eating...so up 5.50 am for the rest of the winter to get him out before work...

In other good news, i rode; we had no face pulling as the saddle went on and I did get a trot out of him; had spent a long time walk round/plant/walk round/plant and eventually got after him properly so he moved himself into a better walk and then we got the swing and up into trot - at which point i was right to have suspected the saddle had moved slightly left as i'd got on.... so only did one circuit of that but i was pleased after the grief we've been giving each other lately..

Monday 16 September 2013

all plans scrapped

when i had to leave the office at 2.30 to get my mother to take her to A & E ... which we got to at 15.30 ish and didn't leave until 19.50 ish....

think she's walked into something, nasty wound on the leg...

so rang G to see to M ... .and all she was able to do was feed at the field gate.....as she had her youngest with her...

we've decided to bring him in tomorrow; apparently they're all keen to be in.  I would have rugged had i been there, it's turned nippy and it's a full moon with no cloud cover ... but he'll have to wait until tomorrow...

hey ordered, must remember to leave money on Thursday! have enough bedding for now... winter striking earlier than i'd hoped (and they say the weather's going to be summery next week!)

Sunday 15 September 2013

all good

save for the mad winds!

it rained most of the day but cleared, as forecast, after 3 and got out quite hot (and blindingly sunny given the angle of sun and the hill to climb to get to field!)

he's still going for herbs/weeds/specifics on the walk back down to the stable but is continuing to look happier.

will saddle up tomorrow - we decided to give the medicine a full five days before riding again..

so, G having had such success lunging him yesterday she said, why don't you try tomorrow (I'd been thinking in hand work of course) ... so i did, and of course, waste of time with me..

i knew it would be......

Saturday 14 September 2013

lunging well

for gaynor, of course, not for me.  apparently he thoroughly enjoyed himself! now why won't he do that for me?  I didn't get to watch - i was putting rubber mats and bed back down (G lifted and hosed it all on Wednesday) so the stable looked a lot better!

anyway, he still seems better in himself, no grabbing onto tie up rope again, eating his hay and being a good lad.

we've decided not to ride until Monday - give him 5 full days on the coligone to give it a really good chance to help him before putting girth on ....

lesson on Thursday, not the tuesday originally planned, but if I have an inhand lesson rather than a ridden lesson, i don't much mind if that's right for him at the time....

Friday 13 September 2013

looking happier :-)

ML, the coligone is for potential ulcer.

anyway, he seemed a lot happier in himself tonight - no grabbing of the tie up rope in a "i'm in pain and need to hang on to something" sort of style, eyes softer, less worried...

did some in hand work and that's improving a good bit as well

but we have decided that the new cob sized bridle i bought for him a few months ago isn't quite perfect - the browband is a shade small and so i shall take the browband from the previous bridle....

this is why we keep old bridles, folks!

Tuesday 10 September 2013

the medicine's arrived...

too late for tonight but i went down after feeding the boy to get it .. i was concerned that i hadn't heard from vet's wife in response to my calls so went down, turned out she'd changed her phone number and forgotten to let me know.....

but the bad news was, as i was turning him out again, he started broncing - really really broncing - and i saw an insect that was EITHER a wasp OR  a horse fly on his back....no clue which, and frankly, i was trying to stay out of his way on a relatively narrow rutted track ..... it went, and we carried on but he was too hyper to be calm enough to stand and have a look, and no way would have gone back down to the yard.....

just pleased that hadn't happend when one of us was on him, was not sittable!

anyway, with that, and the medicine arriving of which he is clealry in need, all he'll do for the next three days is ground work/lunging and (gaynor's plan for tomorrow) some pampering as well ... his mane is to be tidied up and so on...

Monday 9 September 2013

in hand again

with a new bit in ... slightly wider than the previous  - on the grounds that he was ridden saturday and sunday and also that i thought it was going to rain (which it didn't).

he worked well; we started off with flexions, which he's getting the hang of nicely; and at least a couple of strides of SI were managed.  think i'm getting better at it as well!

Saturday 7 September 2013

lift my core....

it was so simple once i realised that in fact my body was sagging ..... lift my core, we walk; sag, we don't...

doh (where's the slap head icon when you need it?)

i also changed the saddle set up, but not sure how relevant that was - and i need to sort shimming for that ....

Friday 6 September 2013

it's raining, it's pouring ..

i hadn't expected ti to last quite as long as it has/will, or to feel quite as cold, and thus regretted not rugging M - but is he bothered? no

thought he'd want to get dry but none of it - bouncing round whilst eating his tea demanding out again, and proved he can collect and do trot shoulder in when being led back out of the yard again!

Thursday 5 September 2013

mmm

ok, so G's saddle is slightly different - i hadn't realised before, but even the pattern on the panels are different - hers isn't quite as high in front.

not sure i got the shimming right.  it slipped back a touch, i think... difficult to tell

but he moved.

only went into the arena but at least we got movement, in walk, interspersed with some stops..

so i'll use hers again tomorrow, and will reassemble mine with the panels and put the cork smartpanel in store.....

mmmmm

we're going to put them together to play spot the difference, and will have RI have a look when she comes (that's been a challenge this year, haven't seen her since December i  think it was what with weather, his feet, her moving house and then, as i found yesterday, her dad dying ......)

Wednesday 4 September 2013

saddle set up?

G & I have the same saddle - a heather moffett vogue GP.  G's is set up with the normal panels and shims, mine with the smartpanel (a cork pad thing, similar to the suberpanel but with a high wither cut).

G always reckons M feels wrong with my saddle rather than hers.  the only difference can be the set up.

So tomorrow, i'll try again with the ordinary panels and shims.  of course, in G's case less shimming is needed.... hope i can find all the shims i've got (both those that came with the nuumed saddle cloth and the ones i made later from one of those camper mats...)

anyway, it was G's night tonight so i've mowed the lawns...